B
ballisticexchris
Guest
Yes that is it exactly!! Tire selection for on highway travel is 100% irrelevant when there is even a remote chance that my motorcycle will be taken off the highway. If I was to ride on the pavement exclusively then my tire choice would be a soft compound, smooth, street only tire.So, your opinion is that tire selection for road riding is irrelevant?
That's ... contrary to many (most?) peoples experience. Including my own. Maybe that needs some serious qualifiers. I find it matters a whole bunch. But, we probably ride differently.
Here is my qualification: I can easily adjust my riding to safely navigate pavement on a knobby. On my Beta I can run full blown non DOT knobby's on the street with no fear of what to expect. I simply adjust my throttle control, braking, and turning for safe travel.
I simply do not have the skill to safely navigate miles of deep sand/silt, off camber ruts, hills, mud, etc on anything other than an open block knobby. Anything less then it is just not fun anymore. I ride for fun not to struggle and worry when the bike is going to spit me off.
Surprisingly the current rubber on my Super Tenere is not much of a compromise at all. I cannot outride it's street performance at my skill level. For me the tire is simply amazing. For an aggressive street rider then the tire would probably not do so well.
You can read my review here:
Michelin Anakee Wild: Ongoing performance and tire life review
First off let's address the mounting issues. Zero drama! Easiest set of motorcycle tires I have ever mounted in my life. Not much harder than a bicycle tire. No UHD tubes, no pinched tubes, no double rim locks, no vice grips. Only took 1/2 oz of weight per wheel to balance. I'm really liking...
www.yamahasupertenere.com
I purchased my Super Tenere to do long miles of highway travel and safely get through sections of dirt that I will not have to turn around on. My only choice for tires at this point is an open block knobby. Until I get more used to the weight of the bike and build more confidence then I will continue to play it safe.
The unique characteristic of the E07 is it has the ability to last a long time and yet give just enough off road performance to safely navigate mellow off road travel. Anything other than a smooth fire road or small baby-head rocks, then it rears its ugly head. It's not bad. Just the nature of any Chevron Tread based knobby. I have tried quite a few over the years and do not care for how they perform on or off the highway.
Here is are a few pictures to give you an idea of what happens when you have ridden over 50 miles of glass smooth fire roads then have to decide if you can make it or turn around. I was so very grateful to have the tires I did. Over a mile of steep loose rocky switchbacks only to find I had to go through another 2 sections of super deep sand and silt with deep ruts buried underneath. The only choice I had was to turn around and go back 50 plus miles to pavement or push through. This is the reason I will not compromise for a safe tire. The open block design tire was able to claw the steep, nasty loose rocks, and long sections of deeps and and silt. And no tipovers!!