Trials tires

I have a T63 rear, Trailwing front right now. They need to be replaced and I'm thinking of going with some DOT Trials tires. Many dual sport guys are going this route. I'm just concerned about mud that occasionally encounter. Have any of you used them. Any feedback?

I'm on my second rear & although we don't have much mud here I have ridden in it & it was not a problem. Deep sand, it does fine once you get on a plane, not the best from a dead stop. Pavement is smooth & quiet.
In the rocks & hardpack it's awesome. I have not run a front & don't think I will.

I have them on my Beta Trials bike.  I have rim locks and run at 5 psi.  They stick like crazy.  Never had them in mud though.

I'm on my second rear MT43 and just mounted up a front MT43 and rode about 400 plus miles in the Ozark's at Moccasin Gap and really like the front. Worked we'll in the little mud I encountered, much better on the rocks, gravel and hard surfaced roads than the Scorpion Pro I was using before. I don't think I will return to knobbies on the front, certainly will stick with the MT43 rear.

The MT 43 Trails tires come in 275 front and 400 rear only. They don't make the exact size I need but it's close. Any issues with running these sizes? I'm assuming no. How many miles can I expect to get? Ill install a rim lock on the rear wheel while I'm at it.

Blackdog wrote:

The MT 43 Trails tires come in 275 front and 400 rear only.  They don't make the exact size I need but it's close.  Any issues with running these sizes?  I'm assuming no.  How many miles can I expect to get?  Ill install a rim lock on the rear wheel while I'm at it.

Only issues with the sizing is the rear . . . expect the rear of your bike to raise approx. 1" due to a much taller tire profile.  If you do the factory one inch lowering on Big Dogs site though, you arrive back at the stock seat height.

Can't help you on expected mileage.  I just mounted my first MT43/MT21 combo yesterday.  From what I have read, though, the MT43's run longer than knobbies.

I would install two rim locks on the rear for balancing issues.  I used the Motion Pro LiteLoc rim locks on the rear, mounted the tihe tire with the red dot on the side wall of the MT43 across from the valve stem and, on a static balancer, it is perfect.  No movement at all in any position I put it in.

I am running an MT21 on the front with no rimlock.  I am going to try the MT43 front next go round with two rim locks.

Trials tires don't work real well here in BC except in the summer - too much mud.... I've got the Scorpion XCMS front and rear on mine - awesome in the mud, but would wear out in no time on the street (and they aren't DOT).

We have the same issue with them on this coast too lol.

If you ride rocky areas they're great but we have alot of mud around here.

I tried one while racing an enduro a few years ago, I had to push the bike up the muddy grassy hills in the special test and slid down them out of control as the trials tire turned into a slick in that stuff. They do work very good in watery mud tho, any mud hole on the trail with water in it was no probem.

I use an MT-43 on my WR all over upstate NY. Ill air it down to about 10PSI for off road and never had a problem with mud, only going downhill.
I don’t have rim locks on my WR. IMO the bike just doesn’t have the torque to need them. Never had a problem but it wouldn’t hurt to have them.

I do have locks on my KTM’s and trials bikes. .

The tire spins on the rim when you hit the brakes not the gas, just saying it has nothing to do with how much hp you have.

Ive spun them on my KTM while getting on the gas.

Its posible but unlikely.

Think about how much faster you can slow down compared to how long it takes to speed up.

Because of the shock loads, clutching shifting, spinning the suddenly getting traction rear tires will slip at lower pressures without rim locks or rim screws like we used to run more from acceleration than braking.

Biglake wrote:

Its posible but unlikely.

Think about how much faster you can slow down compared to how long it takes to speed up.

Possible but unlikely? I’ve done it, a few times, when I was just testing out trials tires and didn’t want to spend the time putting on rimlocks .
Just going on what you posted you don’t seem to have all that much experience with a trials tire.
When you’re clutching it up from dead stop to get over an obstacle there is much more force on it then stopping. You try to spin a bike around with a trials tire on it like you do a knobby and it will shoot out from under you. On the other side of the coin a trials tire will pack up with crap rather quickly when jamming on the breaks and it will slide, no force.
A trials tire needs to be in motion to squeeze the crud out from between the lugs. That’s just how they work.

I beat the hell out of my WR without rimlocks and I’ve never spun a tire. If I ever do Ill just put a lock on but I don’t see it happening.

I ran a trials tire for a few hundered kms, they dont work well around here.

I have a hell of a time spinning my bike around with a mt 16 or m5b rear tire, the front tire just comes up lol.

I've found its the low presure that makes tires bite really good not the trials tread pattern, but thats a whole other can of worms.

If you ever hit the brakes hard on high traction dirt or the road you might change your mind lol.

Biglake wrote:

If you ever hit the brakes hard on high traction dirt or the road you might change your mind lol.

I think this may be why we have differing opinions on braking and acceleration.
I hardly ever touch my rear brake. I may tap it or light pressure here and there but never lock it up for any length. 90% of the time I use the front.

I've got MT43's front and rear on the WRR and like them. I run 20 psi for street, 15 psi for dual sport, and 10 psi or lower for trails. I do have rim locks and use a heavy duty tube. They stick really well on rocks and roots, even wet ones. I am really careful going through mud puddles, and haven't run into any deep mud lately. They work extremely well on gravel at the lower pressures. The only issue on the street is the front squirms a bit at the lower pressures.

Wear has been as good or better than any dualsport knobbie, and the traction is better. I may go back to a dirt knobbie front tire to gain some steering accuracy.

i'm drawn to the idea of the MT43's front and back. for you guys who have both ends in this tire, is the front also substantially taller like the rear tire? i've read one guy felt he had to change his fork set up due to the added height of the mt43 in back. seems extreme to me, but hey, i haven't tried one yet. i hear they are quite good on the road as well which is important to me as i like to commute on my bike. pure knobbies are just too shite on the road...

I'm running a Shinko 241 trials tire on the front and love it. I'm in the desert so I like the bite of a knobby on the rear (Maxxis Desert IT) and the 241 on the front - it loves hardpack and sand.

name wrote:

i'm drawn to the idea of the MT43's front and back. for you guys who have both ends in this tire, is the front also substantially taller like the rear tire?  i've read one guy felt he had to change his fork set up due to the added height of the mt43 in back. seems extreme to me, but hey, i haven't tried one yet. i hear they are quite good on the road as well which is important to me as i like to commute on my bike. pure knobbies are just too shite on the road...

Both the front and rear MT43's are taller than the OEM tires, the back more so.  I think I slid my fork tubes UP a bit though. Pretty sure the tire dimensions are on the Pirelli web site.

[quote="TKO"]

Blackdog wrote:

... I used the Motion Pro LiteLoc rim locks on the rear, mounted the tihe tire with the red dot on the side wall of the MT43 across from the valve stem and, on a static balancer, it is perfect.  No movement at all in any position I put it in . . .

Same here. Perfect balance on the rear with the same two rim locks and putting the red dot at the valve stem.

When I drill the front wheel for a second rim lock, I am going to do my best to replicate the same angle between the two rim locks on the rear and hope that things will balance as well up front.