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ADV Gravel Riders - What Tires?

Quick note on the Michelin Anakee tires. On my VFR1200X, I have the Wild on the front and the Adventure on the rear. This is probably my favorite big ADV bike tire setup I've tried so far.

I did a 300 mile ride with a group this past weekend out towards Glen Rose which meant hitting all curvy paved roads and throwing in some gravel roads as well. I was really impressed with how this set did on the pavement. We were turning pretty hard and the bike felt surprisingly good. When we hit the gravel roads, I felt like I had plenty of traction as well. I was trying to roost a bit and had to give it more juice than I thought I would to get the rear to break loose, while the front tire tracked nice and tight.

Also, in the past with TKC80 and Shinko 804's up front, I've felt a weird shimmy at higher speeds. I would usually let off around 104 mph due to a wobble, but I was running up to 127 mph on these tires this weekend (closed course) and it was completely stable.

Front/Rear:

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Quick note on the Michelin Anakee tires. On my VFR1200X, I have the Wild on the front and the Adventure on the rear. This is probably my favorite big ADV bike tire setup I've tried so far.

I did a 300 mile ride with a group this past weekend out towards Glen Rose which meant hitting all curvy paved roads and throwing in some gravel roads as well. I was really impressed with how this set did on the pavement. We were turning pretty hard and the bike felt surprisingly good. When we hit the gravel roads, I felt like I had plenty of traction as well. I was trying to roost a bit and had to give it more juice than I thought I would to get the rear to break loose, while the front tire tracked nice and tight.

Also, in the past with TKC80 and Shinko 804's up front, I've felt a weird shimmy at higher speeds. I would usually let off around 104 mph due to a wobble, but I was running up to 127 mph on these tires this weekend (closed course) and it was completely stable.

Front/Rear:

View attachment 248706View attachment 248707
:pray:
 
Just my 2 cents here, I’m currently on my 3rd set of E-07’s (Dakar). Running them on a 2012 vstrom 650 bike has 40k miles. Absolutely love them! They were fantastic for the crap upstate ny,New England and Canada threw at me! I usually get around 7500-10k out of a drive tire and well past 12k out of a steer. Now I have to wait and see how well they will last here in Texas. Skip the standard version, sticky yes, but they didn’t last past 4500 miles.
248836

FYI in this pic that rear has Almost 5k miles.
 
No complaints here on the E07+ on my Scrambler...not as grippy on sand/gravel as my AX41s, but awesome all around tire!
 
"THE BEST TIRE for..." -- I can't think of a topic (other than "who has the best wife") that has such widely divergent opinions, especially over on AdvRIder. At the end of some of the AdvRider tire threads, they're almost ready to fight. Goodness!

I decided to try, and just mounted, the Motoz Tractionator GPS.

View attachment 231420

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Got an update for us? I'm eyeballing these to replace the stock tires on my Africa Twin when I wear down the stock rear.
 
Got an update for us? I'm eyeballing these to replace the stock tires on my Africa Twin when I wear down the stock rear.

I put a set of these on the tenere before my trip to Tuk in July. They lasted the whole trip and are still on the bike. I wouldn't take off on another long trip on em but they still have some thread left.

I was using the mitas but reviews on the new and improved version, +, say the millage isn't any where as good. The Moto z have a little more vibration than the mitas did but for a 50/50 tire that'll last 10,000 + it's my new go to tire, unless mitas brings back the original version. I'm not a tire guy per se but they lasted the whole trip, no flats and rain/mud on the Dempster and I never went down so that's good enough for me.
 
Which tire, which motor oil?

Dunlop claims 50/50, I kind of doubt it but a claim like that sets you up for Success along with the power of positive thinking.

Worth a try. Nice that the manufacturers are working harder for better tires
 
I put a set of these on the tenere before my trip to Tuk in July. They lasted the whole trip and are still on the bike. I wouldn't take off on another long trip on em but they still have some thread left.

I was using the mitas but reviews on the new and improved version, +, say the millage isn't any where as good. The Moto z have a little more vibration than the mitas did but for a 50/50 tire that'll last 10,000 + it's my new go to tire, unless mitas brings back the original version. I'm not a tire guy per se but they lasted the whole trip, no flats and rain/mud on the Dempster and I never went down so that's good enough for me.
Sounds like what I'm after. I was interested in the Mitas E07 as well, but only the + version is available for my rear size. The negative reviews for lifespan are a turn off for a tire that expensive. I'll buy Shinkos if short life is ok.
 
Which tire, which motor oil?

Dunlop claims 50/50, I kind of doubt it but a claim like that sets you up for Success along with the power of positive thinking.

Worth a try. Nice that the manufacturers are working harder for better tires
Might wanna check out this new Chapparl review on the Dunlop Trailmax. Guy seems to think it's pretty close to a 50/50.

 
I've ended up with a TKC80 front and a Motoz GPS rear. Just installed the rear tonight. It'll get it's first test in the morning. The TKC80 is pretty nice on the front. Hopefully it'll last. If it does, I may well keep on using it.
 
I've ended up with a TKC80 front and a Motoz GPS rear. Just installed the rear tonight. It'll get it's first test in the morning. The TKC80 is pretty nice on the front. Hopefully it'll last. If it does, I may well keep on using it.

I use the TKC 80 front on my GS. I generally get about 4-5K miles from them if I don't run them real hard on the pavement. They make a world of difference in how the bike handles off the pavement compared to any of the 50/50 tires. My current GS came with TKC 70s front and back. They were okay on basic dirt, but pretty squirrely in any kind of loose gravel or sand. They were terrifying in mud!

I finally broke down and ordered a Mitas E-07+ rear to replace my work out Shinko 805. I am barely able to get 2000 miles from the 805 rear and I get tired of having to change them so often. Hopefully, this tire will do as well off the pavement and last a bit longer.
 
I use the TKC 80 front on my GS. I generally get about 4-5K miles from them if I don't run them real hard on the pavement. They make a world of difference in how the bike handles off the pavement compared to any of the 50/50 tires. My current GS came with TKC 70s front and back. They were okay on basic dirt, but pretty squirrely in any kind of loose gravel or sand. They were terrifying in mud!

I finally broke down and ordered a Mitas E-07+ rear to replace my work out Shinko 805. I am barely able to get 2000 miles from the 805 rear and I get tired of having to change them so often. Hopefully, this tire will do as well off the pavement and last a bit longer.
I agree, 805 works pretty good but around 2000 it's lost the edge, and 2000 miles isn't very far on the street. Be curious to see how tour new one does.
 
Might wanna check out this new Chapparl review on the Dunlop Trailmax. Guy seems to think it's pretty close to a 50/50.

On one vendors site only 3 reviews but they were all positive, with one guy saying it's more of a 70/30 tire. Looking at photo that would be my thoughts. Seems to wear better than big block type tires. Run this on rear and TKC80 on front might work. It's a very expensive tire, close to 200.
 
I've ended up with a TKC80 front and a Motoz GPS rear. Just installed the rear tonight. It'll get it's first test in the morning. The TKC80 is pretty nice on the front. Hopefully it'll last. If it does, I may well keep on using it.
Looks like this tire is meant to be run in both directions, one more aggressive dirt? is that right and which direction did you go?
 
Looks like this tire is meant to be run in both directions, one more aggressive dirt? is that right and which direction did you go?
Yes, the Motoz GPS can be run both ways. I put it in in the 50/50 direction. It did good today. The center strip makes it light up easy on gravel when it's at street pressures like I was running. Good grip in the turns. Could get good straight line grip if aired down.
 
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Have read multiple reports of the GPS cracking and delaminating. All on the two larger adventure bikes sizes though not your AT size. Plus your AT is a few lbs less than a Tenere or a GSA and typically doesn't get loaded down as heavy either.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
 
Have read multiple reports of the GPS cracking and delaminating. All on the two larger adventure bikes sizes though not your AT size. Plus your AT is a few lbs less than a Tenere or a GSA and typically doesn't get loaded down as heavy either.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
I've read about that too, but never any details about the load carried, riding conditions, correct tire/rim size matching, or pressure used when that happened. Came across to me as bitching about tires having issues when misused/abused.

We'll see how mine holds up. A little cracking arrive the base of knobs is normal to me, but I always run tubes in my spoked wheels. No concern about losing air holding ability.
 
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