My thoughts on the Pirelli DOT MT43 trails tires...

[Motosportz]

So I went all in and got a set of Pirelli trials tires. DOT and said to be very good fro street and dirt. have ridden with a buddy that runs the rear one off road and likes it about as much as a 803 but not quite. Anyway I have about 100 miles on these now and love them. Ridden sustained 60-70 MPH for 10+ miles at a time. Works great on the street. DSing gravel and 2 track, they are excellent, especially on gravel and rock. Super slick wet hard clay base with clay grease on top is slick, slick with any tire but these actually seem to work better than the knobs my buddy was running on his KTM 450. Overall i am VERY happy with these. Smooth and nice on the road, GREAT on gravel and dirt roads and very good in the mud / dirt single track. They do not like to be rolled over very far and the rear needs you to be nice on the throttle if trying to find traction but I would say these meet and exceed my expectations. Much better than the stock tires everywhere. Look to be holding up well too.

Little more open pattern than some trials tires...

 

[Motosportz]

Oh, i forgot i had vid from the day. this is VERY slick as is has been raining and snowing for months. Clay soup over hard clay. Think grease on glass. Steeper than the vid looks too, especially the hill at the end where i wait for buddy Rollie so i do not get cought behind him. He was running full knobs...

 

[jtemple]

I have nothing to add, except I love your new bike, and your trails rock.

 

[lankydoug]

What pressures were you running? How is the front in hard braking? I run the MT43 rear with tubliss at about 5-6 psi and the grip is great but the braking has to be done with finesse because if you lock it up it feels like a ski. The knobby on the front of mine gives me confidence when braking but I have never tried a trials tire on the front.

 

[Dirtdame]

Great video, but I would see about having some of those burned out light fixtures in parts of the woods changed out. Oh wait....what were we talking about....tires!

 

[ghte]

Interesting vid. I would have thought the tyre would have choked up with that clay goop.

 

[Motosportz]

the grip is great but the braking has to be done with finesse because if you lock it up it feels like a ski. The knobby on the front of mine gives me confidence when braking but I have never tried a trials tire on the front.

I am running 13 front and 10 rear as i am doing street at 60 plus for a bit. there is a some of the "don't lock it up or it will slide" feeling to the front as well. That said my buddy with the knob seemed to struggle more than i did especially with the front. Nothing short of a studded tire works on that clay slop.

 

[Motosportz]

These trails are going to be fun when it is dry...

 

[lankydoug]

Assuming my speedometer is correct I have run mine for short bursts up to 70mph on gravel roads and have no problems cruising at 50mph. The sidewall is stiff enough and with the Tubliss, I'm not sure a guy could tell when it was flat. Of course your bike weighs quite a bit more than a WR250 and has more torque. I encourage you to try the Tubliss with the MT43, you could give us a comparison for w or w/o a tube. I never ran a tube in mine and Tubliss recommends that you install the Tubliss on a new tire so the inner Tubliss bead lock will not have to try to seal across the dents left by the rim lock in a used tire.

 

[mrblah]

is there any way to sipe or cut knobs on the MT43 to improve braking? I run mine at 5psi with a nuetech, when it's dry hardpack I go up to 9-10psi

I've had a few strange crashes when that back locks up and turns into a ski

 

[lankydoug]

is there any way to sipe or cut knobs on the MT43 to improve braking? I run mine at 5psi with a nuetech, when it's dry hardpack I go up to 9-10psi

I've had a few strange crashes when that back locks up and turns into a ski

It can get spooky if you slide the rear MT43, I figured every up side has a down side and this is the only significant down side to this set up. I'm trying to learn a smoother riding style to take advantage of the up side.. overall I think it is a better way to go unless you're in bottomless mud or sand. Rear antilock brakes might be the hot ticket

 

[Dirtdame]

I have never used one on a trail bike before, but I have used trials tires on trials bikes before. This is the reason I am sort of hesitant to mount them up on an enduro model.

 

[Motosportz]

It can get spooky if you slide the rear MT43, I figured every up side has a down side and this is the only significant down side to this set up. I'm trying to learn a smoother riding style to take advantage of the up side.. overall I think it is a better way to go unless you're in bottomless mud or sand. Rear antilock brakes might be the hot ticket

I slide my back end all the time. You just have to come into the corner about 20% faster and hammer the brake harder, it will do it and predictably too.

 

[Motosportz]

I have never used one on a trail bike before, but I have used trials tires on trials bikes before. This is the reason I am sort of hesitant to mount them up on an enduro model.

If your going to mount them up for off road only get the Dunlop 803 rear and stick with a knob front. For DS get the MT43's front and rear. For your MT / Rock riding stuff these work great. Deep slick mud is where they are the worse but still work. Also work surprisingly well in Dez silt and sand. Real good street tire as well.

 

[BadMotoWeazal]

I've found that all trials tires sux at breaking/stopping (unless your riding on rocks), but it requires you to use & trust that front brake, it makes it easier to slide the rear into the turn & that tire will hook up when you get off the brakes. So in those Oh Chit situations, just get off the back brake for a moment & let it roll for a sec...then back on the brake...Or I've got my rear brake set up to be a little spongy so I really have to push it hard to get a full on lock up.
I ride a 2010 KTM XC-W 400 with a Washougal front & a new MT-43 on the rear...just came off the Dunny 803.

On another note, I'm really thinking about getting a LH rear brake & removing the clutch lever. I have an Auto-Clutch & ride with some pals that have the LHB on their bikes, they say they will never have another foot pedal again for the rear. Fast guys & they may be onto something.

 

[Dirtdame]

I have been thinking about the Shinko Trailpro radial. It's DOT too.

 

[Motosportz]

I have been thinking about the Shinko Trailpro radial. It's DOT too.

Have not seen or know anyone who has used that but cool it comes in a 19" for those looking for that.

 

[BadMotoWeazal]

Have not seen or know anyone who has used that but cool it comes in a 19" for those looking for that.

I have been thinking about the Shinko Trailpro radial. It's DOT too.

That is cool, a 19"....but looks like I can buy a Dunlop or Pirelli for the same price or less. Shinko's were always the "cheap" drag tire for the sportbike, but for those rollin' 19's in the woods... 2 thumbs up

 

[Motosportz]

...but looks like I can buy a Dunlop or Pirelli for the same price or less. Shinko's were always the "cheap" drag tire for the sportbike

That was my feeling as well but you never know till you try one.

 

[Dirtdame]

Shinko bought out Yokohama, and I used to really like Yokohama back in the 80s. I ran a lot of their knobbies on my motocross bikes and later in the early 90s I ran the 003 roadrace series on my FZR. Shinko hasn't lost any of the quality of the former manufacturer's product as near as I can tell.