tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

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jeeptech1
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jeeptech1 »

With winter almost upon us and a solid riding season behind, its about time for new tires. My bike currently has a Dunlop 756(discontinued now, mx51 replaced it) on the back and a Dunlop up front(not sure what one). The 756 had worked pretty good for all the different stuff we ride out here in the great pnw, just curious what's better. I know there's no such thing as the perfect all around tire, but I need something that will last a good riding season or two for budgets sake. Be able to handle the rocks, speed, and pummie dirt of eastern Oregon,the slick clay or hard pack of Midwest oregon, the loamy dirt/mud of tsf, and of course the tree roots and rocks that litter all the aforementioned places. Ive been eye balling the irc ve33 and the Bridgestone 404 and the motoz enduro tires. Anyone run them? Any other tire suggestions? I've thought about a trials, just not sure how they do in our mud. My riding style is pretty easy on tires, I'm not all about wheel spin, but I'm not afraid to attack obstacles with whatever it takes to make it up either :supz: .
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Actionman
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Re: tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by Actionman »

Just dont get kenda trakmaster 2 tires, lol. I put em on front and rear and came on here singing praises to them. Two months later- I hate em. Theyre awful good on the highway though - but youll slide all over the trail if someone sneezes on it lol.
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adam728
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Re: tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by adam728 »

Maxis Desert IT.

Not great anywhere, but good enough everywhere, and lasts longer than anything else I've tried. Dunlop 756 was my favorite all arounder for a while, but when I quit racing and was buying tires again the Desert IT was #1. You get your moneys worth with the lifespan.

Trekmaster isn't bad on the rear, the front is just scary in my opinion. Rear has okn traction, pretty good life span, and is CHEAP!

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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by tirebiter »

I ride in pretty much the same conditions as you and find the MX51 rear works ok for most conditions, just don't go bigger than a 110.
The ve33 will spin in the wet, dry and everything between.
The Motoz Tractionator Enduro I/T is a good all around rear tire.
If your looking for something that will hook up in the mud, try an irc M5b, real big knobs.
I run the Pirelli Scorpion Pro on the front of all my bikes, works great all year long.
If I can't do it, I'm sure someone else can!
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Re: tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jerry malbeck »

Maxxis Desert IT gets my vote , Really like the front and the rear seems to hook up well . We ride Eastern Washington and the East side mountains as well as the mountains in Eastern oregon .
jeeptech1
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jeeptech1 »

I've seen some reviews of the m5b, definitely put it on the potentials list. If I just road eastern Oregon or had a tubliss and could run 3psi I'd get the dessert it, but neither is the case, I do like how long they last though! Any ideas on a front tire? A lot of guys run the bridgestone 403 with good results. My current one is a Dunlop 742. It worked ok, definitely had it wash on me, especially in the clay.
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Re: tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by bufftester »

The Desert IT is a good all-around. Especially like the stiffness coupled with low pressure gives decent hookup on anything other than hardpack. Run with the Tubliss setup I have read of guys running as low as 5 psi. Currently running a Bridgestone ED11...very stiff tire, seems to be wearing well, and allows me to run at 10-13 psi with no issues yet.
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Re: tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by adam728 »

bufftester wrote:Run with the Tubliss setup I have read of guys running as low as 5 psi.
Yes, the desert IT is very stiff. With a ultra heavy duty tube I'd run down to 8 psi on my old kdx with one. Even with a 19" rim on my yz I could run as low as 9 psi. As a fast B then a med/slow A racer in Arizona I still only ran 10-10.5 psi in the rocky stuff with it. Never a pinch flat, but a few cholla flats till I upped the slime amount.

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jeeptech1
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jeeptech1 »

With my current tires (742f/756) I run 10-13f/9-11r psi and have yet to get a flat with hd tubes and there has been many times where I could've swore I had just pinch flatened it. I'll even run as low as 5 psi in the slick clay for the rear(I'm just real careful with rocks/roots). so I might run the desserts at 8 if I get them. I'll definitely think about the dessert I/t. I'm really curious how the motoz work on a kdx. They look good but most reviews are on piggy 4t bikes.
jeeptech1
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jeeptech1 »

Figured I'd update. I bought a set of artrax se3 tires from Motosport.com. reviews seemed good and for only90 dollars for f&r I figured they are worth a try.
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by 6 Riders »

jeeptech1 wrote:Figured I'd update. I bought a set of artrax se3 tires from Motosport.com. reviews seemed good and for only90 dollars for f&r I figured they are worth a try.
Let us know how you like them! I'm going to put a set on my wifes bike for sure, maybe my Street ridden KDX (cheaper the better when wearing them out on pavement).
My current set of tires (Chen shin 755's) are very long lasting, but the front tire sucks, to much washing and it gets pushed through to easy. The rears are great, takes years to wear them out. I bought 3 rears 3 years ago, just put the 2nd one on the dirt bike and used the take off (60%) on the street bike. Still have one hanging on the wall. But with 2 KDX's and (probably) picking up a 125 for my son soon (Christmas present I think) I'm alway looking at cheap(ish) tires.
Cycleparts360.com sells some pretty cheap tires, has the same tread pattern as the MX 51, but made with real rubber, so traction should be a little better. I bought a set for the boys CR 85 and a set of MX 51's for the other boy's KX 65 when I was at the Desert 100 last year, I'll check out the wear difference after some hard riding. I can say that (the little bit) that I road the CR with those tires, the hook up was great, much better than w/the Michelins that here on it. The problem with Cycleparts is that there shipping is NUTS! I live 80 miles from them and the tires where cheaper than the shipping, so I'll only buy those if they are available at the Dez again this coming spring.
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jeeptech1
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jeeptech1 »

I'll post pics when I get them later this week. Not sure when ill get to ride them due to a baby in the house now, but ill post a review whenever I get to go(hopefully soon, I'm dying to go riding!).
jeeptech1
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by jeeptech1 »

ok. got the artrax tires and even got to go try them out!
the front tire looks awesome, I was impressed with it. it seems to be a little skinnier than my Dunlop front of the same size but not by much. it mounted up without any complications.

front se3 80-100-21
Image

the rear tire I was a little skeptical of, the knobs seemed short to me and it didn't look as aggressive as I had hoped. I had to order it in a 120/80-18 since they didn't have a 110/100 in the se3 tire. it seems narrower than a 120 and almost looks more like a 110 compared to the 100/100 I took off the bike. (heads up if you want a bigger tire for the rear, don't shop for a kdx on motosport.com, instead shop using an xr400. you get more tire size and rubber config. choices too.).

rear se3 120/90-18
Image

ride report:
it is pretty muddy around here so had to deal with mostly slick clay mud, some deeper loamy mud, rock strewn, root and log infested hill climbs, and clay hill climbs. in short they performed beyond my expectations! the front grips very well even in slick clay. the rear never left me spinning and helped me easily make the top of every thing. even in the slick stuff I could grab some throttle and it hooked up and let me loft the front. at one point I stopped and checked my pressures cuz it looked like they were low on pressure but they were still at 13/11 (f/r) so they flex well. after the ride they still are in good shape, no rounding, chunking, or tearing. so far good tires, we will see in the long term how they work but for now, well worth 90$!
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tire recommendations for the pacific northwest

Post by pumpguy »

For anyone that's interested or cares, these Artrax tires are not DOT labeled. The folks at MotoSport were not able to tell me if they are labeled for off road use only, but they suspect they are. MotoSport says they are the sole source for these tires.
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