I will be in need of new tires in the spring. My bike weighs approximately 400 lbs and tire size is 90/90-21 and 130/80-17. I am considering a Battllax AX41 on the front and a Mitas E-07 Dakar for the rear. I am looking for opinions on these tires in this combination or not. Currently I am running Heidenau K60's front; I am not impressed, it seems to wash out easily and the rear which has squared off. Thanks Rick
Rick. I have an AX41 on the front of my DR since late last summer. I like it. Doesn't wash out nearly as bad as the Kenda 270 that it replaced and seems to have good 50/50 manners. I plan to put one on the rear when its due.
Rick; What conditions are you trying to address? Mostly offroad? Not? For my needs, you know, I've been running Dunlop D606 on the rear on a series of bikes. Very pleased with on-road manners, durability, and capability off-road. Bruce
I too have been riding the KLR on Dunlop 606 front & back. I have been very happy with their performance and longevity. Michel
I am doing probably 50/50. I don't want to go to full knobbies because I do cruise at times but I want better grip off road than the k60's are giving me.
oh the tire question 50/50 not knobbies with cruising.. hmm the Mitas E-07 might be the best option. I don't know why you would mix and match. The Battllax AX41 are getting great reviews, but look like knobbies to me. The Motoz Tractionator Adventure might be another option, but definitely more aggressive than 50/50.
i had front and rear mitas e-07 (not the dakar one) on my 690 last year for 2-3 weeks... I loved them on paved road, very good on gravel and rocky road. It's okay on wet dirt. It's terrible on sand.
I hear you. Mixing tires though is not unusual and I have read quite a few reviews where people have used this combination. I was looking for input from our club. From those who ride where I ride. The AX41 is more of a knobby style but I want to be able to trust the front when off road. I can handle the rear screwing around a lot easier than the front. I realize that I will not get the same traction from my Sertao than I will from my KLX when I leave the pavement so I am just trying to find the best alternative option. I can accept it wearing out much faster as long as it works great off road. It appears to be a good reasonable choice with it's slightly softer compound. The E-07 dakar is not the best rated for traction in the muck though the on road behaviours are said to excell over many other tires and longevity is excellent. Going the full knobbie route leaves me a little hesitant when when carving roads at high speed in the wet or dry. Not that I have had a tire wash out under such duress in the past but but I would rather not experience it.
I love the tire discussions and will definitely come back to them once my set of spoke wheels is finally done.. From my experience for my G650gs (19" front), I agree with you that the K60s, especially the front is not great off road as it washes out. I am pleased with the Michelin Anakee Wild. The front holds much better off road and the rear provides enough traction even on the wet stuff. Road performance has been good for me, but they definitely wear out faster. I've also tried the Mitas-E09 which is amazing off road, but the front wears down really really fast and it also slides a lot on the road (it might be better for a 21"). For more dirt oriented, I will give the Motoz a try or the setup Chris Birch has with the E-13 front and E-09 on the back (he uses E-12, but only available on 18").
I have Motoz tractionator Enduro now. I really like them. Before I had Pirelli Scorpion FIM. I really liked them also but there is 10-12 mins I do sometimes on the 407 and on the area where the concrete is striated the front wheel was very very - i mean scary - unstable with the Scorpion. It is much more stable with Motoz. The Motoz are sooo loud on pavement... I barelly hear my bike at 70-80 km/h !
The Motoz Tractionator Rall Z is the knobbier version of the Adventure, which I will be trying this summer. I will report back here when I get them on.