Tire size?

[shilo020]

I need some help choosing a rear tire size. My 2010 TE310 came with 140/80 18 karoos. The manual said 120/90 18. Next tires were Dunlop MX51 at 120/90. I needed DOT so went with Pirelli Scorpion Pro. The 120/90 looked small compared with the Dunlop so I put on a 140/80. I want to change to Pirelli Scorpion XCMH. These are offered in 120/100 and 140/80.

What is the effect of rear tire size and what is best for TE310?

 

[OlderHuskyRider]

I just used up a Pirelli XCMH 120/100 on the rear of my 450, I loved this tire, lasted about 800 miles (first pic below), should last longer on your 310, I do alot of stupid spinning....It IS a tall tire, see the pic below for what it looks like with other 120 width tires. If you can handle how tall it seems to be, like your chain should be pretty stretched so you have room for it up by your shock flap, this is a great tire. The more narrow the tire, the faster handling/turning the bike will be in the tight stuff. The Dunlop D606 120 rear would be a good choice as well and it's a little shorter than the Pirelli.

All of these tires are 120 widths, the number in green is the actual width of the carcass.
Michelin is an AC10, the Pirelli is the XCMH, the Metzler is the Unicross, and the Dunlop is the D606.

 

[Huskynoobee]

I'm right in the middle of deciding on a rear to replace the stocker. I've decided on a more narrow rear tire and 120 seems to be a good choice. Now it's do I go with a DOT tire or just go easy on the pavement with a "not for Highway use" tire? ARRRGHGHHHH!!

I recently got a... shall we say "written notice" that the trail I was having so much fun on was one of those that is sort of closed to vehicles. I say sort of because the Deputy Sherriffs On DR-Z400's seemed to think it was a grand trail to enjoy as well. They had the D606's and since I was literally going to pay for their time that using my tax payer owned public forest lands had earned me, I pumped them for info.

They said the Dunlops hook up pretty good and held up well considering they have a lot of extra of junk bolted on their bikes.
(they can go full code 3). They get a lot of miles out of them including quite a bit of blacktop time.

One of them really liked my 449 and was giving it full lookover (never so glad to have a stock pipe in my life by the way) and asking questions like a guy without a badge. I was gonna offer he take it for a spin until his partner wanted my autograph. There goes my tire money...

 

[shilo020]

Got DOT cause heard CA state park rangers were checking in the licensed vehicles only areas. My DOT Pirellis felt much more stable on road. Pretty good off road but not as good as the MX51. 1500 miles on them. 90% dirt. Thanks OHR. Interesting how much difference there is with same specs. Don't really want to go taller but will check if have room.

 

[Tinken]

CA rangers check in forestry area yes, and the BLM loves their little wooden dowel in the desert. The rangers carry a dB meter (96db max btw) and the BLM guys call it by ear.

I started using a 120 MX51 rear and a 90 MX71 front because they are good tires and that's what Ty had in his trailer... lol. The 120's turn a lot easier, but the 140's hook up a little better. I will be going to Motoz Enduro IT front and the Desert rear. The Motoz are DOT legal, are very aggressive and last a long long time. The IT Enduro rear is even more aggressive than the desert, is DOT, but has slightly less life.

http://www.motoz.com.au/

 

[CJBROWN]

A narrower tire will pull easier and turn easier. I ran a couple of 130 T63 on the 630, which probably aren't aggressive enough for a 310, but also tried a Scorpion Rally 140 and it was way to f'ing big. Sold it off with 15 test miles and went back the 130.

A 120 606 for a 310 would be plenty big. A MT43 also works really well on them if you do trailriding. Definitely not a mx type tire though. Also look at the Kenda trackmaster. Great offroad dot tire.

You just don't need a really big tire on a light bike. They are heavier for unspring weight and they don't grip any better than a smaller tire.

 

[ghte]

Mate do not over tyre a small displacement engine, a Dunlop Duomax 51 110x100, a Kenda Carlsbad 110x100 or a Bridgestone 404 110x 100 are all great tyres.
My point, apart from turning speed is that the bigger footprint takes a lot more poke to move and will make the bike seem less powerful.
PS the Aussie made Motoz are brilliant and long wearing. You can buy them in the US.

 

[shilo020]

Motoz tractionator enduro IT 110/100 or 120/90?

 

[Tinken]

Motoz tractionator enduro IT 110/100 or 120/90?

120, both of those tires have similar height/width ratios

 

[CJBROWN]

I would select the 110. A 100/100 would be even better.

Good source for them here, they have all the sizes and good prices: http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/Motoz_Tractionator_Enduro_I_T_DOT_Tires_p/motoz-enduroit-dot.htm

I have not ordered from them yet but they are local and are on my short list of online retailers. Motoz aren't found at all of the regular superstores, etc.

Also beware that those tires will vaporize on pavement.

For Calif riding I would select the Desert HT, especially if they'll see any road:
http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/Motoz_Tractionator_Desert_H_T_DOT_Tires_p/motoz-tracht-dot.htm

 

[Aaron8]

Almost cooked my Pirelli trials tire now. I'm going with a 110/100-18 Maxxcross Desert IT next.

Hmm... but maybe I'll try one of those MotoZ H/T's that CJBrown suggested instead. How does the wear on those compare to Desert IT's, CJ?

 

[CJBROWN]

I have never liked Maxxis tires. Isn't that a re-branded Cheng-shin? When I was a kid they were Cheng-$hit. LOL
My KTM came with them, they used to be the cheapest tire you could buy. They shredded in a couple of rides.

The motoz is a better tire and will wear longer than a Maxxis.

I got better life and traction out of a D952. My favorite for many years was D756, now discontinued. Replacement is MX51, I have not run one. Also Bridgestone ED series, the '03/04? Great tire. None of these are dot tires though, it's a different ballgame.

I rode GasGas 250 for many years, then KTM250 4T, so tried a lot of different tires. I always liked Dunlop the best, then Bridgestone. You can keep all the rest of 'em for a pure offroad tire. For desert racing the D39 is a good one, although it's heavy and very stiff. The D39 front is pure crap - I pull them off and throw in the trash. D756 front was stellar.

For dots, there's a lot of ways to go depending on where and how you ride, and what you ride. I have 2 dualsports and an adventure bike, so we get to try a lot of stuff out.

 

[Huskynoobee]

Well, I guess sometimes the easiest choice is the one that gets made for you...

For my B-Day, the better half gave me a D606 complete with mounting so I don't swear like a trucker spooning it on myself!

Looking forward to trying it out. I don't do much pavement, but I do need to do quite a few miles to get to some of the better USFS roads. Plus Ranger Prick can find someone else to ream.

 

[CJBROWN]

The 606 is the go-to tire for a dot knobby, great tire. They are not as good on road as others but work as good or better than anything else on dirt. I'm thinking you'll be real happy with it.

For a dualsport they tend to get real flat in the middle so leaning in curves gets to be abrupt. And they're loud, and they just shred on pavement. Still very popular on the TE630/610. I run a Michelin T63 on my 630, on my third one, they go almost 2K miles, and have a very nice profile so they go on the road really nicely. Compound is excellent for on and off, even wet tar. They provide plenty of grip offroad and they're very reasonable in cost. They're kind of a smallish looking tire, but performance is just so good with them I keep going back. For anyone that rides 50/50 they're definitely worth a try. About $70 at MCSS.

The MT21 is about the same price as a 606 but they are old technology, reported to not perform as well as a 606 anywhere. However the front is a favorite with many.

For a really aggressive front for 50/50 look at a Pirelli Scorpion Rally. About half worn at 3K on the 630 and then it got pretty cupped and fell squirelly on the road so I took it off. Nice tire though, would be a good dot knob for the front of a 310.

 

[DougW]

I run 110's on my 310. Anything larger then 120's for most tires are too much IMO. They can also eat up the mud guard. I'm now back to running 756 and mx51's since I really don't run pavement very much. I also went as wide on front as I could which has helped a lot especially in the sandy stuff.

I have been running kenda Parker's and while ik and dot tire I don't think I'd do them again.

Just remember that good tires for the larger bikes don't always make good tires for our light weight smaller bikes.

In all my days of riding I have had a tire check but have had sparky and noise checks.

Doug

 

[Huskynoobee]

Just a quick follow up. Got the 606 mounted and went for a 50 mile loop yesterday. I was impressed with the traction in everything from hard clay to soft sand. Then again I guess almost any tire could have better grip than the Karoo. It also felt good on the black top. Can't tell how out works on mud since it doesn't get rainy till next month at best. Even saw another TE yesterday.

 

[shilo020]

Just got Motoz Tractionator 80/100/21 and 110/100/18 mounted. Recommendations for air pressure?

 

[Motosportz]

Mate do not over tyre a small displacement engine, a Dunlop Duomax 51 110x100, a Kenda Carlsbad 110x100 or a Bridgestone 404 110x 100 are all great tyres.
My point, apart from turning speed is that the bigger footprint takes a lot more poke to move and will make the bike seem less powerful.
PS the Aussie made Motoz are brilliant and long wearing. You can buy them in the US.

yep

Just got Motoz Tractionator 80/100/21 and 110/100/18 mounted. Recommendations for air pressure?

10-12 psi front and 7-10 rear for single track woods. Up about 2-6 pounds open dez / faster stuff.

 

[shilo020]

Thank you all. I will report back how I like them.