new tires!

I'm surprised not to find more tire talk here. When I searched I expected to find some ongoing tire thread.
I found the Motoz threads and GT threads too.

Anyway, got some new tires and I like 'em. I need good all around performance and durability for around my place and in the forest nearby. I'm in the SE mtns, so wet and thick, not muddy, no sand, long, fast grass tracks, leafy, loamy trails, lots of trees, rough single track, some rock and lots of WFO fireroading.

Installed a Maxxis EN 90/90 front.



Nice tire, haven't got my forks quite dialed yet so can't be too critical. Worked great everywhere, even controllable in snow and slush and muddy, was great at high speed on the fireroads and grass tracks, gripped well in dry, hard, silty, wet, even muddy turns, gripped well on flat an off-camber turns, handled big rock and loose, medium rock well enough too. Only sketchy part was at speed on loose, rocky road where the front deflected and bounced too much, but I'm blaming that on the forks until I get the proper springs.



Looks like it's going to wear well, so pretty happy so far.

Also installed a new rear, Metzeler MC5 120/80.



Metzeler makes really good tires. MC5 front and MC4 rear is my long standing fav on the XR250 for around here.
This one did great everywhere but the snow and ice and muck where it tended to want to spin and go sideways. It's fantastic on the gravel and fire roads, grass tracks and in good dirt, handled the rocks well, brake slide, power slide, track the inside, very controllable and predictable except in the muck.
Gonna' try 10 psi instead of 12 next.

Overall pretty happy with this tire combo so far, if they wear well and it dries out around here I'll be very happy.

That should say it's not too muddy around here. Definitely some mud and especially now.

big fan of metzeler, ive run a few sets of the unicross. the front tire you are running kinda looks like the michelin enduro front tire, so im not surprised it works well.
i like the uni cross so much in the rear im afraid to try anything else anymore

They've been making that unicross since forever. Are they still made in Germany or Brazil? All the MC version Mezt tires I've gotten are made in Brazil.

The MC5 120/80-18 is @ 5.25" wide and 27.5" tall on a 2.50 rim.
The Maxxis EN 90/90-21 is precisely 90mm (@3.50") wide and @ 26.6 tall on a 1.60 rim.
30 miles of fast fireroad and 30 of varied woods and the leading edge is now worn off the Metz. Oh and it's reversable.
The Maxxis is nicely scrubbed in, but shows no real signs of wear. No tears or cracks or other nonsense with either tire.

glad to hear they are reversible and working well.
not sure about the country, pretty sure brazil. they have been the uni forever, was standard equipment on my 95, lol. they seem to wear quite a long time and never give me flats. work very well in mud, sand, rocks, grass, whatever, just keep about 8 psi or so and its golden. 10-12 in the front. the uni front isnt too bad either

'95? Back in '79 I was 14 and traded a '78 CR250R for a nearly new '78 Maico MC250. Like this one:
http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/maico_mc250.jpg and it had those tires. I got 2 more MC250s over the next 3 years and they had the same or similar tires. I don't remember them being called Unicross, but maybe they were. Good stuff, gripped well everywhere and wore like steel.

On my second set, this time with mousses in them. I figure a great bomb proof worry free arrangement for the next season. Metzeler has a couple of factories in Germany and one in Brazil. They have stated they make them to equal standards in all their factories from a post I read where Metzeler responded to an inquiry about country of origin.

I like the MC5 rear, have one mounted on one of my rear wheels in a 120/100. In the sand it yielded 65 foot roosts, but I completely destroyed it in the jagged rocks at the top of competition hill. That Maxxis front tire has a very common pattern, wish it came in a 100/110-21

the only thing that scared me about the mc5 was that it looked like it would maybe skate sideways abit..any problems with this? thinking of trying one on the 360.

Yes, it's not as bad as the AT81, but it will slide a little bit in the flat corners. I mainly use the newly designed MX52 now which is an amazing tire by the way. Unfortunately the 52 is only available in a 19" so it limits many riders.

Correct, I don't know why I was saying 120/80. One of the reasons I got it was because it's 120/100.

Tinkin you need to try the golden 523 rocky at least put one on Stacy bike for the Vikings National I use to run the Dunlop MX51 I still have 4 new ones BUT since the new 52 is only in a 19 I have been looking for something to replace it The 333work like the 51 but it is also a 19 for now they say. The 523 I tested was great might not last as long as a old Dunlop 51. Ty told me he tried one on his 630 and it wore quick but really a 630 will ware out just about anything You have them in stock try one and let us know what you think

I've got about 90 hard miles on this set now and still happy. Running the Metz @ 9psi, any less and it rolls in fast, hard turns. Got my rear sag much closer and rebound from 15 to 20 out and traction improved.

I've done 3 runs up a steep, rocky trail and was thinking about what you said. Tire works great in the rocks for me, but it's a little chewed in a few spots. Also, almost half of that 90 miles is blasting on the hard, rocky fireroads.


Now that the thaw is over and the trails have drained a little this tire is working great, still need to be careful with the throttle in sloppy turns.

Front Maxxis is still looking good and @ 10.5 psi works great everywhere.


Really surprised getting rear sag closer made the front right on, traction and action greatly improved. This tire is doing just what I had hoped, great on the fireroads and still able to hop logs and carve in the forest, wearing great too.
No chunks or cracks or complaints what so ever.

its a great thing when a plan comes together

Yup, you're right. I've found it's limits and it will skate under power at speed. It's very controllable though and actually kinda fun on the fireroads. Have to be careful with the throttle in the woods where it's no fun to get sideways. I'm still happy with it overall, works great otherwise and wearing well.
I'm thinking it would be great on a loamy track which is what it's designed for. It's slowing me down in the woods though, so thinking about next!
Have been planning to try an IRC VE33 anyway. My old fav on tire-eating XR350 I used to race.
Millville II is popular around here and also in 120/100-18, price is nice too.

more later

i just got a pirelli mt16 to try, well see if it replaces my favorite unicross tires. they are similiar but the mt16 is a lil nastier..

just got this today and mounted it up. pirelli mt16. 120/100-18. similar to the unicross, but the center knob is rectangular and all the knbs are huuuuge! pics do not do it justice. makes the chain look like a little 420!!

NICE i still dont know what im gona put on i do no that 25 y/o IRC is rock hard and will die but quick

Uni and Mt 16.

haha...thanks for that. I was wondering if the VE33 had been updated, I think it's more like 35 years. Like I said though it worked well for me on a fire breathing XR350. I think the MT16 is almost as old and the Unicross too.
Have you tried a Millville II? Also used to like IRC M5B on the XR350 and 250, but I know it won't last long on the fireroads.
Again, I'm looking for a practice tire that works in the slickery woods and still holds up to fast, rough stuff too.