Oregon Best trials tire?

[Hedo]

Well i think i have finally talked myself into getting an 18" rear and a trials tire for my woods modded Ktm 250sx.

Just wondering peoples experience on what one works best for the northwest conditions.

Thanks:thumbsup:

[FlyArmy]

I have used both the Michelin X-11 tube type and currently use a Dunlop 803 trials tire on my KTM 200. Honestly, I think they both perform really good in Pacific Northwest terrain. I feel the Dunlop is a little better if you need to ride on roads between trails. The Dunlop is also cheaper and either tire should give you 500-1000 miles of sweet riding.

[fitness2go]

I threw Dunlop 803 knobs after a couple of rides. MT 43 all the way.

[FlyArmy]

I have 500 miles on my Dunlop 803 and have not had any problems. The knobs are barely starting to round off. To each their own.

[MrBlahh]

mt43 is the best if your coming off a knobby

[fitness2go]

I just rode with Brandyn yesterday and he had the same experience with the 803 throwing knobbies. On the other hand, Joe rocks one and his knobbies are still attached.

[trailmeisterjoe]

I just rode with Brandyn yesterday and he had the same experience with the 803 throwing knobbies. On the other hand, Joe rocks one and his knobbies are still attached.

oh mine have thrown knobs as well.......but after 1500 miles or so i will start to lose a few and can still get a few hundred miles more out of the 803's . i have used the dunlops for 6? years and maybe 14,000 miles and only had one bad one. either way, any brand will be good for around here for most riders.

Joe

[MRBME]

I just rode with Brandyn yesterday and he had the same experience with the 803 throwing knobbies. On the other hand, Joe rocks one and his knobbies are still attached.

?

yep, mine did.... It lasted a a while, but not long enough... PS, every knob still attached is halfway ripped off...?

[Enduroguy]

I have to give a +1 for the MT43, that thing just keeps working.

[Rider 41]

I echo what Enduroguy said, I was a tried & true knobby fan all the way until I rode his 200 with the MT-43, now I have the 43 on my 300 and love it, even rode the Poker Run at the D-100 with it on 'cuz I was too lazy to spoon on a knobby had no problem with chunking and it hooked up great!

[Hurricane Harry]

For grip, any trials rider will tell you Michelin is the best. Run what you wish, they all work.

[Maltvick]

I haven`t run the Michelin. But the popular opinion is they are the best. So I`m inclined to believe that. I can tell you if you`re a throttle jockey you will tear the center knobs off a Dunlop. The Pirelli will hold up better to abuse and not loose knobs. It`s also DOT approved and not that expensive.

[motovita]

For grip, any trials rider will tell you Michelin is the best. Run what you wish, they all work.

True, but it must be the Michelin radial, not the tube type, bias ply version. And yes, the tubeless radial version works fine with a tube in it. I reccomend the Michelin 4.00R18 Trials specific tube.

[Ride]

Dunlop 803 on my dirt only bikes works great, no issues, but I never ride it on street or really even much hard pack. MT43 front and back on my TE511 and they work GREAT and are excellent on the street. The MT43 does not have the hookup a 803 does but is more robust and will not spit knobs even after lots of street miles. None radial. The 803 is much softer and grabs well but can and will toss knobs.

[Chuck.]

I have 803s on two bikes and a X-11 on another and the X11 provides the best traction but it is designed for light weight competition Trials motorcycles (very soft sidewalls). I've also ridden in wet clay using the 803 while two other bikes had X11s, they rode circles around me.

TTs provide great traction at low tire pressures but running low TP allows a lot of casing flex which probably leads to knob separation, and also to instability at speed. I've run as low as 4psi but for my riding mix 6-8psi seems to be a good compromise between traction and stability for dirt connector roads.

Another contributor to the increase traction is the radial construction used in some TTs compared to the bias ply construction used for knobby tires. Dunlop 803s and Michelin X-11s are radial, MT43s are not and Michelin also makes a bias ply TT.

[Old_Man_Time]

The Dunlop 803 and the Michelin X11 are true trials tires which is why they hook up better than the MT43. The MT43 holds up far better under any kind of terrain and abuse. The lugs do not crack and fall off like they do on a true trials tire when mounted on the larger 2 strokes or 4 strokes. The bigger bikes can spin a trials tire and they are not intended to be spun. Also high speeds heat up the center lugs and therefore weakening them so they fall off very quickly when the tire gets spun.

The difference is in the rubber compounds used on the MT43. It is designed from the ground up to be street legal and wear well on the street. It is a trials like tire rather than a trials tire. It hooks up better than most knobbies but not as well as a soft rubber true trials tire.

I have used almost all the different Brand Name trials tires for many years and love em. The only negative I have against trials tires is they raise the height of the bike by almost and inch or more. At 5' 8" I am vertically challenged and this at times takes away from the pluses of a trials tire. Also they are prone to get pinch flats in rocky terrain when run at low tire pressures. Putting out the extra bucks on the Ultra Heavy duty tubes will help but you must still keep the tire pressure up a bit.

[MRBME]

I have used almost all the different Brand Name trials tires for many years and love em. The only negative I have against trials tires is they raise the height of the bike by almost and inch or more. At 5' 8" I am vertically challenged and this at times takes away from the pluses of a trials tire. Also they are prone to get pinch flats in rocky terrain when run at low tire pressures. Putting out the extra bucks on the Ultra Heavy duty tubes will help but you must still keep the tire pressure up a bit.

Thats why my 200 seems so tall ?

[Super_Mario]

can and will toss knobs.

?

[Hedo]

I will be using mine strictly off road. Rocks, roots, and ruts is what it will see. I am not a throttle jockey, i am more of a finesse rider. i am seeing very little price difference where i am shopping between the 803 and the x-11 so i may go with an x-11 between those 2 but still have to look into the MT-43.

[Ride]

I will be using mine strictly off road. Rocks, roots, and ruts is what it will see. I am not a throttle jockey, i am more of a finesse rider. i am seeing very little price difference where i am shopping between the 803 and the x-11 so i may go with an x-11 between those 2 but still have to look into the MT-43.

Then go with the 803, EZ to find and less money than the Mich and works GREAT.