new tires!

[NCSteve]

im liking the looks of that ve33...kinda looks like the irc version of the unicross or the pirelli mt16.

Yup and it's about from the same era originally. I'm surprised how light it feels, I wonder if they updated the compound. I ran the same size on an XR350 in the 90s and remember thinking the tire was heavy. Funny how huge the Metz looks, it is a big, tough tire. Can't wait to scrub in the new one and take it back in the woods

more later

 

[justintendo]

the metz are tough tires but perhaps thats why ive never had a flat running 8-12 psi in my rear tire?

 

[Cosmokenney]

I'm really liking my Battlecross X30 front tire in 90/100-21. It replaced a Golden Tyre GT216 90/90-21 that I thought was the best tire ever. But the side walls fell off the GT216 in about 30 hrs of riding. The Battlecross is $40 less, and every bit as good as a 216. It's what I'll be spending my money on from now on.

I also have the MotoZ mountain hybrid on the rear. It's a darn good tire -- though I'm a trials tire guy. The side knobs don't do as much as you'd think for making it less trials tire like, but it does help. It mostly breaks loose when I hit the gas on the 2T coming out of a corner, but it hooks back up real fast. Never scares me too much.

 

[NCSteve]

That's good news about the X30 front, thanks. I wish they made the X or Ms in 120-18 rear tires. From my tire research notes, Bridgestone was consistently one of the lightest tires, hi-tech compounds and high quality. The M203/403 in 90/100 look good too and the price is fair.

All the MotoZ tires look very good, look forward to trying them too. Glad you like the Hybrid.
Hello Steve,

Weights (KG) below.

TES 120/90-18 (Tractionator Enduro S/T) ECER75/DOT 5.90
TES 130/90-18 (Tractionator Enduro S/T) ECER75/DOT 6.25
TEI 120/90-18 (Tractionator Enduro I/T) ECER75/DOT 6.10
TEI 130/90-18 (Tractionator Enduro I/T) ECER75/DOT 6.45
TPS 120/90-18 (Terrapactor S/T) NHS 5.40
We don't have a Terrapactor 130/90-18.

Best Regards
Rick Atkinson
Motoz Pty Ltd
www.motoz.com.au
+(612) 9905 5155

The Enduro ST front in 90/100 looks very good.

 

[Cosmokenney]

FYI, when I went to buy my front tire, I was going to buy the Tractionator Enduro I/T. But my local MotoZ dealer was out. But he did have the Battlecross. Turns out, I'm glad he didn't have the MotoZ. Though I am still going to put a front Tractionator on my TE511 for dual sport.

 

[NCSteve]

Here it is mounted and ready to go

Tough tire, seems well made in Thailand, thick, tall sidewalls and a little bigger than 5.10 at @ 5 1/8" on my 2.15" rim.
Got an hour of riding in before the rain rolled in, mostly on the fire roads, couple nice grass tracks and a little ST. Tire hooked up great, no complaints at all. Will take it for a serious ride next chance I get.

 

[NCSteve]

Ok, 2 weeks and @ 10 hrs/150 mi later

Dimples are almost gone on the center knobs, no noticeable change or loss of traction. Surprised to see the braking side worn as much or more than the drive side. I guess I drag my rear brake I do have about 10 Oh Sh!t moments per hour though.
Overall, very happy with this tire, works every where, no surprises, very predictable and controllable, tracks really well through turns with great drive even leaned over, doesn't kick or bounce or do anything stupid...yet. It was fine down to 8 psi, but running 10 now because I found a new rock garden.
No chunks or other damage even though I rip on @ 15 mi of hard fire road every ride.

Up front the Maxxis EN hasn't changed or I'd post a new pic. Works great and wearing very well.

 

[Cosmokenney]

Ok, 2 weeks and @ 10 hrs/150 mi later
View attachment 55199
Dimples are almost gone on the center knobs, no noticeable change or loss of traction. Surprised to see the braking side worn as much or more than the drive side. I guess I drag my rear brake I do have about 10 Oh Sh!t moments per hour though.
Overall, very happy with this tire, works every where, no surprises, very predictable and controllable, tracks really well through turns with great drive even leaned over, doesn't kick or bounce or do anything stupid...yet. It was fine down to 8 psi, but running 10 now because I found a new rock garden.
No chunks or other damage even though I rip on @ 15 mi of hard fire road every ride.

Up front the Maxxis EN hasn't changed or I'd post a new pic. Works great and wearing very well.

Which tire is this?

 

[NCSteve]

Ooops, sorry. IRC VE33 5.10-18 on my '12 WR300

 

[Cosmokenney]

Ooops, sorry. IRC VE33 5.10-18 on my '12 WR300

Cool, turns out, I'm helping my riding buddy put a set of those on his bike this week. I tried to get him to put his GT 216 fatty and MotoZ mountain hybrid on, but he's saving them for the winter.

 

[XLEnduroMan]

I put a IRC VE33 5.10-18 on my 510 with stock gearing setup. The tire did OK but it's knobs were so tall when new with the stock chain length it chewed a big hole in the shock mud flap. Bummed me out big time. I don't want to replace the flap every tire so I will not be running the IRC on my 510 again.

 

[NCSteve]

I put a IRC VE33 5.10-18 on my 510 with stock gearing setup. The tire did OK but it's knobs were so tall when new with the stock chain length it chewed a big hole in the shock mud flap. Bummed me out big time. I don't want to replace the flap every tire so I will not be running the IRC on my 510 again.

Sorry to hear that and good to know. I'm running 13/46 gears, stock is 13/48, so I've got a little extra room I guess.

 

[NCSteve]

Update time: After @ 22 hours/300 miles I replaced the VE33 with a Millville II

Still looking and working well, but with noticeable loss of traction in wet woods. Really impressed how tough this tire is, no chunks or cracks or even serious cuts from rocks. Loss of traction was in straight up forward drive, was still good when leaned over and braking traction was still good.

Millville II 120/100-18 is a good looking tire for $68, I like the bridging btwn knobs, tall stiff sidewall, seems well made. This is mounted in the IT direction. It's a big, stiff tire, hardly any sidewall flex with @ 10psi.

Eight hours in and it seems to be wearing a little fast, no chunking or tearing. Traction is just ok, it's good on the fire roads and very good through turns, but forward drive is not near as good as the VE33 or MC5. I'm going to swap it to the ST direction to see if that helps. On the positive side, it requires me to be more mindful of body position and weight on the pegs

On the front the Maxxis EN is still very good after 45 hours/@650 miles. It's starting to look a little worn, but no noticeable loss of traction.


more later

 

[NCSteve]

Last update until I get back from 3 months of working away from home.

The Maxxis EN started to have a noticeable loss of traction in wet, flat corners at @ 55hrs/825miles. It still works fine everywhere else and other than starting to look worn it has no issues, no cracks, chunks, cuts, nothing. Considering how and where I ride I rate that as excellent and would buy another in a heart beat
The Millville II doesn't work for me and where I'm riding. Like I said above, forward drive was not good and just got worse, the 300 is just too much for this tire. I adapted to it, but feel like it slows me down considerably. At @ 15hrs traction got worse, still good through turns with careful throttle control, but no drive. Now at 22hrs/330 miles all I can say is it still holds air, also no chunks, rips or cuts. I ran it in IT direction the whole time, it wore fast and braking traction was poor too. It is a big, tough tire and the price is right. I ran as little as 8psi hoping for better traction and had no issues even in very rough and rocky conditions. Maybe it would work on a 4t

Will have fresh tires waiting when I get home, just not sure which yet. The EN front and VE33 rear combo worked really well, but want to try a few others still.
Also planning on a knobby knife to try carving on the old VE33 and MC5. I'll probably go for some race quality tires next just to figure out what works on this beast.

 

[ray_ray]

This is pretty specific testing NC ....

That Maxxis EN front looks pretty worn with the rounded knobs .... The IRC I run upfront will grip for me ok when worn that much unless I start trying to carry too much speed like I'm on a track or something and then, I have to do a little more work to keep it planted up there ... I might even slow down

Got a tire slicer here for cutting edges on tires ... Not really sure it is all it's cracked up to be for helping a tire ... It does seem to help me for a days ride if the tire looks like the IRC above with the rounded knobs ... I ride lots on worn tires and getting ~7% better traction from a worn out beast is pretty good sometimes ... Not worth every ones' elses' time though quite possibility.. Gotta watch about cutting the lug too deep into the base of the tire (causes the lug to rip off the tire) and cutting too much off that center lug seems to allow the entire lug to bend over too much and traction is lost.... So I it is just a small cut on top side of the knob for my tires...

 

[Jhunter]

My tires of choice in the Southeast US (Rocky, Hilly, Slippery, Nasty hard single track) Bridgestone M59 front, Pirelli MT43 trails on rear...

 

[ray_ray]

A knobby might be the best tire in its domain ... But put it in wet rocks, slippery roots, stuff like that and it might be the worst tire going ... It's a heaven and hell difference ..

 

[Jhunter]

How about the new MotoZ Mountain hybrid. My buddy is running this on a KTM200 and loves it. It does better in the mud but still handles the slipper rocks and tree roots like a regular trials tire.

 

[ray_ray]

Steve has done an excellent job here on his thread... I certainly hope it does not go the way of the old-cafe and turn into a salesman thing.

 

[DTX915]

My tires of choice in the Southeast US (Rocky, Hilly, Slippery, Nasty hard single track) Bridgestone M59 front, Pirelli MT43 trails on rear...

I run that combo works great in almost everything