My last three sets of tires

Bmwdumptruck

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That picture of the Mitas E07 Dakar makes me leery about riding on wet pavement. It looks like that solid center would quickly hydroplane.
The theory is the front clears the water before the rear gets there. Or at least that’s what Metzeler said of their Z6 road tyre when they first produced it, but they did say you had to havethe matching front as it was designed specifically to clear the water. (Sure i can smell bs)….
 

Sierra1

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Now that you mention it, we ran the Z6 for quite awhile on the RT. Great traction, and wear. Never had any issues in the rain. I never paid attention to the back tire :oops:. We tried getting them for the Honda ST, but they weren't offered in the right size(s).
 

holligl

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If you are concerned with the E07 front's center ridge, after some wear, just go with the + version. Front and rears are compatible between the two. I've run the regular front quite a while. It does run quite a while before you get to a solid center.

About 20kmi on this one. You can see cupping happens by then.

I just put on my first + version front, because I wanted a little more aggressive front for Arizona trails. The last several rears have been +'s too. I will trade off the mileage for traction for the riding I do. The + front is a bit louder, but with ear plugs, I don't care. Nothing as bad as the Shinko 804.

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Bmwdumptruck

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Now that you mention it, we ran the Z6 for quite awhile on the RT. Great traction, and wear. Never had any issues in the rain. I never paid attention to the back tire :oops:. We tried getting them for the Honda ST, but they weren't offered in the right size(s).
The Z6 was the second worse tyre I’ve ever had on my two STs. I fitted a new 6656AECC-A487-4582-93EA-0ED25D977247.jpegrear for a scottish tour, starting with a long weekend with a group. Did about 800mile over 3 days. Few weeks later I was back with the wife for a two week holiday, which included doing the north coast 500 loop. By the time we we’re making our way back to our friends B+B that was our base, the Z6 was so worn on the flanks It was getting very scary, especially in the scottish sunshine(rain). 2700miles was all it did.
 

Bmwdumptruck

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Although the Avon 3DXM, (which is the worst ever tyre I had the misfortune to use on the ST) ended up almost as bad, but it did manage 5000+ miles. It just caused so much instability it was scary. And the first04281634-0FD0-4085-A20F-D4DB60C311CC.jpeg front that was fitted with it was oval. I’m so done with Avons……. Great tyres made badly….
 

Bmwdumptruck

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Best tyre is probably an old stock PR2 I found. Lasted nearer 5500miles, shame they dont still make them in ST sizes. Got a 2 on the back of my Fjr, with a 3 on the front. Great combo and super cheap too. Went the same way as the others after Scottish trips though, so much Shellgrip up there….
D831AE91-34AE-4A97-922B-7A96064D1F3F.jpeg
 

Bmwdumptruck

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Two more reasons why I don't do Avons anymore.
ipad 012.JPG
Distanzia was on my old R850GS, my mate had been borrowing it while I fixed his vfr's charging system. He rang one day and said he thought I should see what was happening to the front tyre. It was about 5-6 years old at this point. Just removed a 10year old Conti from this bike and it was only just starting to perish.
ipad 033.JPG
This was a free XM3D, part of a pair supplied to appease all the problems I'd had with a pair of Storms that just didn't grip in the wet. I'd replaced the front storm with an OldStock Azzaro that was then fine. Avon sent these XM's to a local fitter, he tried fitting the rear in 3 different positions, but it still needed all this lead to balance it up. You can't see the extra half a strip that's also behind the spoke.
This was followed with another pair of XM's on my Pan. The first front was oval, same fitter couldn't believe how far out of round it was. And the rear caused massive instability which disapeared after it was replaced with a Pirelli.
Great tyres made badly........
 

OldRider

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Two more reasons why I don't do Avons anymore.
View attachment 90316
I've seen that kind of destruction on almost every brand of tire and the number one reason was because the tire was ran low on air for too long. Same thing happens a lot to four wheeler and SxS tires because their side walls are so stiff the tire will be low on air and you can't tell by looking.
 

Scrambler007

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Two more reasons why I don't do Avons anymore.
View attachment 90316
Distanzia was on my old R850GS, my mate had been borrowing it while I fixed his vfr's charging system. He rang one day and said he thought I should see what was happening to the front tyre. It was about 5-6 years old at this point. Just removed a 10year old Conti from this bike and it was only just starting to perish.
View attachment 90318
This was a free XM3D, part of a pair supplied to appease all the problems I'd had with a pair of Storms that just didn't grip in the wet. I'd replaced the front storm with an OldStock Azzaro that was then fine. Avon sent these XM's to a local fitter, he tried fitting the rear in 3 different positions, but it still needed all this lead to balance it up. You can't see the extra half a strip that's also behind the spoke.
This was followed with another pair of XM's on my Pan. The first front was oval, same fitter couldn't believe how far out of round it was. And the rear caused massive instability which disapeared after it was replaced with a Pirelli.
Great tyres made badly........
Also depends how old the tires were when you bought them. If they were already 3-4 years old, then you put another 4-5 years on them, parked outside for long periods of time, every rubber at some point will dry up depending on how they are stored. I've had many sets of Avons and have nothing but positive things to say about them. With that said, I've never had a tire last me 4-5 years.
 

Scrambler007

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Alan,

I looked at the 705's, and every dealer here I spoke with tried to scare me not to buy them. I think I will be buying the Metzler Tourance tires which seem to have positive reviews and a re a 85/15 tire.

Thanks for your response.
I've been quite impressed with the 705. Also love the 805. Those bashing Shinkos usually have never tried them or dealers aren't distributors for the brand. I've gone through probably 10 sets of 804/805s on my Africa Twin and they are amazing and they are so cheap to replace...
 

Sierra1

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That weird scuffing reminded me of tires that got hot. Which could be from riding hard, and fast, or as OldRider said; too low of a pressure.
 

holligl

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Also love the 805. Those bashing Shinkos usually have never tried them or dealers aren't distributors for the brand.
I tried 804/805's last summer for a Black Hills trip. Maybe it was the heat, but the rear ended up with significant cracks. Not an air pressure issue as I have TPMS and they were well inflated. The 804 front was the noisiest tire I've ridden, even wearing earplugs. They rode great, but more than one rider with them had punctures. Returned mine after the trip.


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Scrambler007

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I tried 804/805's last summer for a Black Hills trip. Maybe it was the heat, but the rear ended up with significant cracks. Not an air pressure issue as I have TPMS and they were well inflated. The 804 front was the noisiest tire I've ridden, even wearing earplugs. They rode great, but more than one rider with them had punctures. Returned mine after the trip.


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I've had one puncture in all the of the sets I've gone through, about the same rate of puncture as other tires. My friend also uses mostly Shinko 804/805 and never had an issue. Maybe it's cause we wear them before they dry out? I can go through 4-5 tires at the rear every year. For the noisy front, I usually have an aftermarket exhaust, so tire noise is never a problem :D
 

XTWalt

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Jul 8, 2021
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I've got about 3K miles on my Mitas E07's, non Dakar version. I really like the tires both on and off road, but the front is nearly worn out. I'll be lucky to get 4K miles. I ride gently and keep it at 33psi. I was expecting 8-10K. Very disappointed. Would the Dakar versions wear better?
 

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Paul466

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Mar 16, 2013
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I’m pretty impressed with the Dunlops so far, coming off sets of K60s I know I probably won’t see 14K out of the rear but I like the softer sidewalls, they work with the suspension well, Heading out to Utah for a week tomorrow, I will see how they really work…..:) Will try to do a report.
 

Pdrhound

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I felt like the motoz gps had better traction everywhere over the e07+. Wore much longer for sure in the off road direction. I'm blown away you got that mileage from the 805. The rear tractionator adv is my new go to for moderate or harder off road. 4,500 miles and it's not ready for dirt anymore, but another 1000 on pavement easy. The front crapped the bed at 2700 miles though. It was the best front tire I have had off road. Maybe it was a bad one? Kind sucked it didn't outlive the front.

For reference, I can barely get 4000 miles out of a rear 704
 
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