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Tire experts speak up!

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synthlegend

synthlegend

Joined
Mar 27, 2019
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Based on the roads you guys have ridden (Dirt, Gravel Forest etc...) what's the most common surface on these FMs and such? I am thinking about ditching my Metzeler Tourance that came on my bike for something a bit more aggressive. Any need to do this or are most of the dirt roads pretty packed?
 
The Mitas e07 seems to be a popular choice and is probably what I’ll be trying on the rear of my husky 701 when the tkc 80 wears out. I think it’s the tire JMZ uses on his Tenere and he believes when the threads are showing, he gets more traction. :lol2:

Of course I’m also pretty sure JMZ could ride a Goldwing on a motocross track and finish top 5.
 
Mitas E07 definitely seems to be a tire to try. I guess I'll follow JMZs advice and wear out the Metzelers before I try another, unless I encounter issues
 
South Tex said:
The Mitas e07 seems to be a popular choice and is probably what I’ll be trying on the rear of my husky 701 when the tkc 80 wears out. I think it’s the tire JMZ uses on his Tenere and he believes when the threads are showing, he gets more traction. :lol2:

Of course I’m also pretty sure JMZ could ride a Goldwing TO a motocross track and finish top 5 in talking trash .
Click to expand...
 
South Tex said:
The Mitas e07 seems to be a popular choice and is probably what I’ll be trying on the rear of my husky 701 when the tkc 80 wears out. I think it’s the tire JMZ uses on his Tenere and he believes when the threads are showing, he gets more traction. [emoji38]2:

Of course I’m also pretty sure JMZ could ride a Goldwing on a motocross track and finish top 5.
Click to expand...
He would get top five highest hospital bills
 
No expert here. I kinda think the tire debate is like falling down the rabbit hole. When i started riding I quickly went to the e07 tire and did experience better handling and control. I think some of it was that the tire helped me as a rider. I have way more experience in handling my big ol tank of a mc now and I think I could actually do a lot of the off pavement stuff now with a 80/20 again. See these tires pretty similar now and kind of like oil, lot of personal preference and preception involved. Then again, I'm not a die hard dirt guy and like my overall adv riding on paved backroad stuff too. JMO.
 
E07s seem to have evolved somewhat over the last couple years.

Riders I know were getting 10K miles from a rear E07 on a Tenere.
I get between 6-8000 miles on an E07+ rear on my 1290.
The front is at 13K miles and still plenty of tread remaining.

I just received my 3rd rear E07+ and that should put an end to my E07 era.

My next set are Shinko 705s.
Probably get 2/3s the mileage but at 1/2 the price.
 
Hope this picture can be seen clearly. What do you guys consider this road? Is this like most of the dirt and gravel roads I'll encounter? I rode my bike for the first time on Friday and this stuff felt fine. Evey so often I could feel a rut, but no biggie....45-50mph was fine. Any faster and I cant see anything!
20190413_212500.jpg
 
synthlegend said:
Hope this picture can be seen clearly. What do you guys consider this road? Is this like most of the dirt and gravel roads I'll encounter? I rode my bike for the first time on Friday and this stuff felt fine. Evey so often I could feel a rut, but no biggie....45-50mph was fine. Any faster and I cant see anything!View attachment 232051
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That's average. Some will have bigger rocks, some have sand.
 
Ok thanks, I think I will just have to wait until I get out more to figure out what I can handle and if I really need to consider a different setup.
 
FM roads in south and east Texas are mostly paved now. You have to really search for dirt.

The road you posted can be flooded and muddy, it can turn into sand like powder or have deep tracks in spots. That said, I agree with the previous comment to wear out what you have now unless you plan on something much worse (the worse the better!) like Big Bend roads can offer.
 
Learning alot on here! Hopefully I can get some experience on these roads you are mentioning. Thx for the insight!
 
It looks to me the E07s are now only being produced in their + size, can’t find them for my bike anymore.
 
JMZ said:
You'll be fine with those tires for most everything around . Probably not great for 100% but I would wear them out before mounting something else.
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I don't agree about the Tourance tires, at least with my ability around here. They are not good as soon as you leave the tarmac. And mud or the deep sand in this area, forget it. Why I know you very good riders can make anything work for me those tires are terrible, got a new set rotting in the shed, came off as soon as I got the bike. Plus the pointed rocks on the SHNF roads love poking holes in them. Even on the road in the picture seems like they would be moving around a lot. Just my 2 cents.
 
Sportbiketrackgear.com has a really good deal on Metzeler Karoo 3s.....seem to be a blowout sale. Gonna order a set before they are gone. The Tourance can sit since they are brand new for emergency duty.
 
woodsguy said:
I don't agree about the Tourance tires, at least with my ability around here. They are not good as soon as you leave the tarmac. And mud or the deep sand in this area, forget it. Why I know you very good riders can make anything work for me those tires are terrible, got a new set rotting in the shed, came off as soon as I got the bike. Plus the pointed rocks on the SHNF roads love poking holes in them. Even on the road in the picture seems like they would be moving around a lot. Just my 2 cents.
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Rob , ride faster , it will make it easier. LOL.

Stickers ??? We don't need no stinking STICKERS !
 
woodsguy said:
I don't agree about the Tourance tires, at least with my ability around here. They are not good as soon as you leave the tarmac. And mud or the deep sand in this area, forget it. Why I know you very good riders can make anything work for me those tires are terrible, got a new set rotting in the shed, came off as soon as I got the bike. Plus the pointed rocks on the SHNF roads love poking holes in them. Even on the road in the picture seems like they would be moving around a lot. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I will agree with you Rob ... for the riding you describe.
Temper that opinion, though, with the seat time you have logged, the platform you've logged it on and the smorgassboard of tires you've experimented with.

Looking at the surface in the photos posted, the Metzlers aren't great, but a good tire to "learn" on because it's what the owner has at the moment.
Log some miles, some smiles and some experience ... learn the shortcomings of the tire. Then make informed decisions based upon real world experience.
It's tough to know what a good tire feels like until you've felt a not so good tire.

It was the tire issued on Stroms and so many of us today learned on that pairing.


It's dated, but here is a look and explanation of about adventure/dual sport tires ...

 
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I just rolled 2K miles on my new GS with the TKC 70 tires (900 miles for me). A BIG chunk of those miles have been off the pavement. Other than in outright mud, they have done surprisingly well. Saturday evening I got into some mud and had a hard time just getting turned around because the tires were just slipping all over the place! But, for gravel, dirt, mild sand, and broken pavement, it has done quite well. You'd have to hit a pretty sharp rock to actually puncture a tire!! I've run Tourances, Anakees, K60s, D606s, MT21s, and a mess of other tires and that has never once happened to me. I have picked up nails and a big hunk of scrap metal.
 
I'm blessed, I've punctured a tire on rocks twice, so yes I worried about it. Maybe cause I'm fat and go too slow through them, who knows.
 
Sounds like mud is a no go for just about anything except a 100% off road knobby.
I used to bury my 4x4 up to the fenders in mud so I know that when there is deep clay mud nothing gets a grip!
 
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