Yet Another Tire Thread

[RallyNH]

Hi Guys I’m looking for a tire recommendation for my Super Tenere. The bike came with Tourance EXPs which lasted approximately 8700 miles. I felt the on-pavement grip was great, coming from Sportbikes I was truly surprised by the grip and feel the EXPs gave. Off pavement they worked as well as you could expect a tire of that nature to work. When it was time to replace the EXPs I knew I was ok giving up some on-road grip to get a better off road tire. I ended up selecting the Avon Trekriders. On-road they roll fairly smoothly, there is a little low speed rumble and are pretty quiet as well. Grip levels seem lower than the EXPs and they lack the feel/feedback that the EXPs gave. Truthfully, they may be close to the same grip levels on-road, but the lack of feel makes you think otherwise. The wear seems good, I have 3300 miles, about 30% of that is two up and they show little to no wear. Off-road on dry dirt roads they preform quite well, they track straight and are not bothered by loose surface gravel. However this is where things change, on larger loose rock, say golf ball sized they don’t seem to dig in and bite, almost like the large tread blocks end up on top of the rocks. The real issue is mud, I live in New England so the odds of finding puddles and muddy patches is pretty good. The Trekriders in mud act as if they have zero lateral grip. With the traction control in TC1 and being very gentle the rear will spin all to easily and crowned roads give you the feeling that the bike is going to slide sideways out from under you. Interestingly I did have mud experience with the Tourance EXPs and did not have the same problem. I’m guessing that the issue comes down to the lack of siping in the large center tread block, so you don’t have edges to try to prevent that lateral movement. With all that said I’d like to find a tire with similar on-road grip to the Trekriders but with better manners off road. I’m currently considering: Mitas E-07+ (I’ve heard they are not a good as the old E-07), Heidenau K60 Scout (Wet pavement?), Metzeler Karoo 3, Metzeler Karoo Street, Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR, and Motoz Tractionator GPS. Thanks for the input!

 

[Sierra1]

Man, I'm making pop corn, and am going to watch this thread go crazy.

 

[bigbob]

Man, I'm making pop corn, and am going to watch this thread go crazy.

Mitas you can’t get them anymore tires.

 

[RallyNH]

Man, I'm making pop corn, and am going to watch this thread go crazy.

Don’t worry for my next thread I’ll ask for opinions on motor oil, religion, and politics

 

[EricV]

Try the Motoz Tractionator GPS tires next. They hold up well, have better wet traction than the K60 and decent dry tracking on pavement. Push them hard and you will wear the edges of the knobs, like any knobbie tire, but you have to decide what trade offs you are willing to accept for your riding needs. You don't get everything, pick two out of three and accept that.

I've worn out many sets of K60s, prefer Mitas E07 Dakar, but those aren't available now. A set of the GPS Tractionators is on my wife's GSA and at over 10k is still going strong with a lot of tread depth left and minimal squaring off in the rear. You will have to accept some noise and low speed vibes, but it's not bad.

 

[bigbob]

Don’t worry for my next thread I’ll ask for opinions on motor oil, religion, and politics

Religion. Oh my. The Pope is da man says my Baptist wife !

 

[ballisticexchris]

Big Block tires.

Mitas you can’t get them anymore tires.

Mitas tires are available at a bunch of online retailers:

Revzilla, Amazon, Rocky Mountain, Twisted Throttle, Cyclegear, etc

 

[RallyNH]

Big Block tires.



Mitas tires are available at a bunch of online retailers:

Revzilla, Amazon, Rocky Mountain, Twisted Throttle, Cyclegear, etc

I think my big question is how are the E-07+ compared to the E-07/E-07 Dakar they replaced

 

[RCinNC]

Big Block tires.



Mitas tires are available at a bunch of online retailers:

Revzilla, Amazon, Rocky Mountain, Twisted Throttle, Cyclegear, etc

You can't get the older style E07/E07 Dakar rear tires in the size for our bikes any more, unless a retailer has some old ones still in stock. Neither Revzilla or Rocky Mountain ATV has the older rear E07 in stock in our size. Mitas discontinued the previous tire, and replaced them in the size for our bikes with the E07+/E07+ Dakar. Supposedly they redesigned the older version to be more suitable for the bigger ADV bikes like the GS. They eliminated the old center tread from the new design. The older version was renowned for its longevity, which for me made it an ideal touring tire. The older versions I have on the bike now have over 9000 miles on them, with still usable tread life. From reports I'm reading about the E07+, they've lost that high mileage quality.

 

[nelly5]

I’ve had my Avon Trekriders for a season and am really liking them. I’m not hardcore off-reader, but they worked great during a two day BMW off-road course and they are great on the pavement too. So far so good. As of now, I’d buy again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RallyNH]

I’ve had my Avon Trekriders for a season and am really liking them. I’m not hardcore off-reader, but they worked great during a two day BMW off-road course and they are great on the pavement too. So far so good. As of now, I’d buy again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The only place I've been disappointed with the Trekriders is mud of any kind, to the point where I'm going to take them off. But I'm happy they work for you.

 

[RallyNH]

You can't get the older style E07/E07 Dakar rear tires in the size for our bikes any more, unless a retailer has some old ones still in stock. Neither Revzilla or Rocky Mountain ATV has the older rear E07 in stock in our size. Mitas discontinued the previous tire, and replaced them in the size for our bikes with the E07+/E07+ Dakar. Supposedly they redesigned the older version to be more suitable for the bigger ADV bikes like the GS. They eliminated the old center tread from the new design. The older version was renowned for its longevity, which for me made it an ideal touring tire. The older versions I have on the bike now have over 9000 miles on them, with still usable tread life. From reports I'm reading about the E07+, they've lost that high mileage quality.

I'm willing to trade mileage for traction so that may be ok for me.

 

[RCinNC]

I'm willing to trade mileage for traction so that may be ok for me.

With the old non plus version, I don't think you had to make that choice. They were a great 50-50 tire. I had them on my bike for a trip all the way out to Utah and back, and had them on every surface from asphalt to sand. They did great on wet roads and on those godawful tar snakes you see out west. I thought they were a great marriage of longevity and traction, and didn't require that you compromise one over the other. I'm sorry to see them go.

 

[jpward]

I think my big question is how are the E-07+ compared to the E-07/E-07 Dakar they replaced

I got 8,000 miles out of the original E07, and 6,000 out of the EO7+. The EO7+ handles just as well on dry pavement as the original version, but with improved performance on the dirt.

 

[ballisticexchris]

You can't get the older style E07/E07 Dakar rear tires in the size for our bikes any more, unless a retailer has some old ones still in stock. Neither Revzilla or Rocky Mountain ATV has the older rear E07 in stock in our size. Mitas discontinued the previous tire, and replaced them in the size for our bikes with the E07+/E07+ Dakar. Supposedly they redesigned the older version to be more suitable for the bigger ADV bikes like the GS. They eliminated the old center tread from the new design. The older version was renowned for its longevity, which for me made it an ideal touring tire. The older versions I have on the bike now have over 9000 miles on them, with still usable tread life. From reports I'm reading about the E07+, they've lost that high mileage quality.

I was referring to the EO9/E10. Those are both in stock at all the retailers I listed. The E07 is not a good tire at all for off road. I witnessed a hard crash with an Africa Twin trying to get through a sand wash with that tire. All the bikes with big block tires had no issues at all getting through the sand section. The Africa twin looked like a snake until the front end folded and pitched the guy off the bike.

 

[RCinNC]

My bad, I didn't realize you were talking about the E09/E10.

The E07's off-road ability didn't concern me, if by off-road you mean bushwhacking across the countryside where there literally isn't a road. They worked just fine on highways riding across the US, and they were equally capable on the dirt, gravel and sandy roads I encountered in Utah and Colorado in places like Shafer Canyon Trail. Plus, it wore like iron; I didn't have to worry about a mid-trip tire change. For a rider like me, the old E07 was the magic bullet of tires.

 

[shredmeister]

Everyone, email Mitas and let them know you like the old e07 dakar. I've emailed them before and they responded. I'm on the new e07+ on the back and I disagree with the earlier post about them being as good as the old...personally. I purchased some of those new a41 Bridgestone knobbies to try but, would just stick with the old e07 dakar if they still made them. I'm one who isn't to concerned about mileage. I'd rather have good performance. The old mitas was a good all arounder.

I'd be glad to show you how to get through the sand with the e07's. Not bragging, just saying not an issue. An Africa Twin had issues, well...you ride red you'll be on your head... kidding!

 

[jjc1957]

Mitas e07 the old ones with almost 12,000 miles. Look at the front tire it seems to wear faster then the rear but also seems to be breaking down a bit. Look at the small cracks on the front tire and no chicken strips. I purchased a set of Shinko 705's and will be mounting soon.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Everyone, email Mitas and let them know you like the old e07 dakar. I've emailed them before and they responded. I'm on the new e07+ on the back and I disagree with the earlier post about them being as good as the old...personally. I purchased some of those new a41 Bridgestone knobbies to try but, would just stick with the old e07 dakar if they still made them. I'm one who isn't to concerned about mileage. I'd rather have good performance. The old mitas was a good all arounder.

I'd be glad to show you how to get through the sand with the e07's. Not bragging, just saying not an issue. An Africa Twin had issues, well...you ride red you'll be on your head... kidding!

LMAO!! I hear you!! For me anything less than a knobby scares me when it comes to sand. Actually just the weight of this beast is spooky. This is a whole different world for me when I'll be getting off the pavement.

 

[Mak10]

Just got a delivery of the Bridgestone AX41 tires. Rocky Mountain ATV has these for a great price, and with a $60 rebate on two tires makes them around $90 each. Killer deal through the end of April. I ordered two rears as my front is looking good still.