• 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
     TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

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    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

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oh no! tire choice and size question

uk007

uk007

Husqvarna
C Class
TE449 Kazoo is on the way out, what are the options for an ALL-round "woods" tire that can handle 20-30% black-top use, I live in the North-east (NJ) where the terrain has lots of rocks?

Plus, as a newbie to all this off-road stuff (previously a sport-bike guy) how do you match the TE449 owners manual 140/80 x 18" requirement to anything that's good in mud and on single track..

....only tire I've found so far is the "Metzeler 6 Days Extreme" Rear Tire in 140/80 x 18"

PS. I don't care if it's a DOT approved tire or not
PS 2 Yes, I know tire choice is like Pizza, everyone has a favorite...

HELP!
 
I usually will go through two rears per year. One for the winter months of softer/muddier terrain and one for summer intermediate/hard terrain. Like you,
I ride mostly woods s/t. I'm always trying different things especially when it comes to an intermediate/hard terrain tire. In fact I just ordered a new rear
last night from Rocky Mountain that will hopefully carry me til next winter. I decided this time to try out the Pirelli MT16 110/100/18.
One of my favorite winter (soft terrain/mud) tires has been the IRC M5B. I usually go for the 130/80/18 for woods riding although it is also available in the
140/80/18. 130 is cheaper and more suitable for tight trails, imo. I've also used the Michelin S12 for soft/mud and liked it ok. The winter tire I'm replacing now
is a Kenda Southwick 2 which was ok but wore out pretty quick.
 
jerbear610 said:
I usually will go through two rears per year. One for the winter months of softer/muddier terrain and one for summer intermediate/hard terrain. Like you,
I ride mostly woods s/t. I'm always trying different things especially when it comes to an intermediate/hard terrain tire. In fact I just ordered a new rear
last night from Rocky Mountain that will hopefully carry me til next winter. I decided this time to try out the Pirelli MT16 110/100/18.
One of my favorite winter (soft terrain/mud) tires has been the IRC M5B. I usually go for the 130/80/18 for woods riding although it is also available in the
140/80/18. 130 is cheaper and more suitable for tight trails, imo. I've also used the Michelin S12 for soft/mud and liked it ok. The winter tire I'm replacing now
is a Kenda Southwick 2 which was ok but wore out pretty quick.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info... I went with the 130/80x18 IRC M5B Soft Terrain Tire this time .. I can always swap it out late spring/early summer for a harder terrain tire as you suggested.
RJ
 
uk007 said:
TE449 Kazoo is on the way out, what are the options for an ALL-round "woods" tire that can handle 20-30% black-top use, I live in the North-east (NJ) where the terrain has lots of rocks?

Plus, as a newbie to all this off-road stuff (previously a sport-bike guy) how do you match the TE449 owners manual 140/80 x 18" requirement to anything that's good in mud and on single track..

....only tire I've found so far is the "Metzeler 6 Days Extreme" Rear Tire in 140/80 x 18"

PS. I don't care if it's a DOT approved tire or not
PS 2 Yes, I know tire choice is like Pizza, everyone has a favorite...

HELP!
Click to expand...
Did you ever consider a trials tire? We ride the same terrain and a trials tire with a Tubliss system is a great alternative. I tried one last year for the first time and they work awesome in most of our gnarly types of terrain. I also hear they wear very well on pavement but I cant testify to that. Just a thought.
 
motocrossmr said:
Did you ever consider a trials tire? We ride the same terrain and a trials tire with a Tubliss system is a great alternative. I tried one last year for the first time and they work awesome in most of our gnarly types of terrain. I also hear they wear very well on pavement but I cant testify to that. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I thought about that, I figured (no experience to rely on here) that a Trials type tire would probably work well in the summer months, but for the spring I would be best off with something that would be good in the mud.. I went ahead and ordered an IRC M5B for now. Which Trials tire did you use?
 
I use a Dunlop MX71 in the rear and MX51 in the front. 90/100 on the front, 120 on the rear for better steering. This combo was the factory race teams choice last year and is tough enough to ride on the street and still handles everything from mud/sand to lava rock. A MT43 trials tire will be good for you once you have a little experience on the 449, they can be tricky in the sand and mud.
 
Tinken said:
I use a Dunlop MX71 in the rear and MX51 in the front. 90/100 on the front, 120 on the rear for better steering. This combo was the factory race teams choice last year and is tough enough to ride on the street and still handles everything from mud/sand to lava rock. A MT43 trials tire will be good for you once you have a little experience on the 449, they can be tricky in the sand and mud.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
Would you match the MT43 with a trials front or keep with the MX51?
RJ
 
Some people like the front trials tires(Kelly), but I don't. I would stick with my porcupine front.
 
Tinken is right. The MT43 is the one I use too. Worked well everywhere for me on the KTM but I lugged that thing everywhere. Does lack in the sand in comparison to a knobby. Our races will go from loose sand to rocky rooty woods within a few yards so not as much of an issue. I rode the 449 the other day with it on the rear and is was indeed difficult to control. However is was just above freezing and there was that nasty half inch of mud with frozen tundra underneath. I really dont know of any tire that hooks up great on that kind of terrain. I just swapped out to a used MX51 for a race tomorrow. I used my knobby knife to cut the tread a bit. Ordered a new tire but it wont be here in time. I would keep the MX51 up front but I never used a front trials before. Cant see them gripping well in loose soil and sand. I would think they would push too much?
 
I went back and added a new front to my tire order. I added a 90/100x21 Dunlop MX51 Geomax Intermediate Terrain Tire.
 
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