New Tires

So my Michelin AC10s were getting pretty thin, and I wanted to try something new, so I bought some Michelin T63 in 120/80-18 and 90/90-21. I got the rear mounted up today. Fit is good and I think its going to be a great off-road tire and probably better on the street than the AC10s. The bad news is it weighs nearly 3 lbs more than the AC10 it replaced, which was about 10.5 lbs. This bad boy weighs in at just over 13 lbs. However based on my research, it weighs about the same as a comparable size Dunlop 606, which is pretty popular here. I haven't had a chance to road test yet as my bike is still in pieces waiting on my suspension to get back from Go Race, my clutch to get back from Revloc, my Safari Tank to arrive, and new handguards, mirrors etc to arrive from Highway Dirtbikes.


Rear tire mounted up

the factory fiitted rear bridgestone is going out soon, after 3500km, so I bought a Michelin Sirac, I'll loose some traction, but I hope they last more than 3500 km...

Oooh those things look like they'll be scary slippery! I've got just over 5000 miles on the 606's. The front one is about half wore so I can't complain about wear.

I ordered the T63 in the same size from motorcycle superstore. They said that it would ship in 2-3 days but it has been longer than that. Oh well. I am not in any rush as I still need to burn down the stockers a little more. I also ordered a Pirelli MT-16 front as I did not think the front T63 was aggressive enough. Time will tell if I like this combination.

sure they will slip, but since I do almost all gravel roads and some asphalt to get there, I'm not really worried about knobbies. For trails and enduro type riding I use the CRF . And saddly in this part of the world my choices were:
Michelin Sirac
Metzeler Enduro 3 (too soft)
Pirelli MT60
Pirelli MT40
Pirelli MT21 (too knobbie, guess it would last less than the bridgestones!)

And that's it, anyway if I don't like the traction I get from the Sirac, next time I'll try something different....

...best dual sport tire I found in 72K miles on that bike. I could rail on the street and it hooked up as well or better than TKC80s off-road.

In fact, I'd bought two sets ahead that are still in my garage after the Dakar was totaled five weeks ago. I plan to use the 90/90-21 fronts on the WR and sell the 130/80-17 rears as they will not fit the Yamaha. I'll be getting some 120/80-18 though.

I noticed that the tire size in the WR250R spec sheet call for an 80/100-21 front. Is there a downside to running the 90/90-21 instead? I haven't seen an 80/100-21 tire listed anywhere at the tire sources I use anyway.

David Haynes wrote:

...best dual sport tire I found in 72K miles on that bike. I could rail on the street and it hooked up as well or better than TKC80s off-road.

In fact, I'd bought two sets ahead that are still in my garage after the Dakar was totaled five weeks ago. I plan to use the 90/90-21 fronts on the WR and sell the 130/80-17 rears as they will not fit the Yamaha. I'll be getting some 120/80-18 though.

I noticed that the tire size in the WR250R spec sheet call for an 80/100-21 front. Is there a downside to running the 90/90-21 instead? I haven't seen an 80/100-21 tire listed anywhere at the tire sources I use anyway.

Good to know David, thanks. My only fault so far with these T63s is their weight. The 120/80-18 weighs ~13.2 lbs, which is 2.5 lbs heavier than the AC10 I just took off. I think they weigh very close to a comparable size Dunlop 606 and a lot of folks love that tire on this bike so hopefully the extra weight wont be noticeable to me.

A note on the front tire. Do not get the 80/90-21 as it is very narrow. I had one but returned it and got the 90/90-21. I hope it is close to the AC10s width that I just removed.

Machtig wrote:

David Haynes wrote:

...best dual sport tire I found in 72K miles on that bike. I could rail on the street and it hooked up as well or better than TKC80s off-road.

In fact, I'd bought two sets ahead that are still in my garage after the Dakar was totaled five weeks ago. I plan to use the 90/90-21 fronts on the WR and sell the 130/80-17 rears as they will not fit the Yamaha. I'll be getting some 120/80-18 though.

I noticed that the tire size in the WR250R spec sheet call for an 80/100-21 front. Is there a downside to running the 90/90-21 instead? I haven't seen an 80/100-21 tire listed anywhere at the tire sources I use anyway.

Good to know David, thanks. My only fault so far with these T63s is their weight. The 120/80-18 weighs ~13.2 lbs, which is 2.5 lbs heavier than the AC10 I just took off. I think they weigh very close to a comparable size Dunlop 606 and a lot of folks love that tire on this bike so hopefully the extra weight wont be noticeable to me.

A note on the front tire. Do not get the 80/90-21 as it is very narrow. I had one but returned it and got the 90/90-21. I hope it is close to the AC10s width that I just removed.

Good to know the 80/90-21 is too narrow. Side-by-side, the 90/90-21 seems very close to the stock front tire on the WR. Plus, I already have two brand new ones waiting to be mounted up.

The T63 rear tires come in a 120/80-18 and a 130/80-18. I wondering if the 130/80-18 would be too much for the WR's rim. Anybody run that size? Comments?

BTW, my experience with the D606 was that it was much noisier on the street than the T63. And the 606 was not nearly as sticky on the road - wet or dry - as the T63. It as slightly better in muddy conditions or deep sand, but the T63, for me, was the best compromise. Of course that's on a bike that weighs about 130-140 pounds more than the WR, so it could be comparing apples to oranges. But based on my experience with the Dakar I will give the T63s a try on this one.

Now I just need some decent riding weather to begin to wear out those stocker tires

David Haynes wrote:

Now I just need some decent riding weather to begin to wear out those stocker tires

I had exactly 0 miles on my stockers before I swapped them out. Get rid of those deathwings and mount up some proper tires

+10

David Haynes wrote:

...best dual sport tire I found in 72K miles on that bike. I could rail on the street and it hooked up as well or better than TKC80s off-road.

In fact, I'd bought two sets ahead that are still in my garage after the Dakar was totaled five weeks ago. I plan to use the 90/90-21 fronts on the WR and sell the 130/80-17 rears as they will not fit the Yamaha. I'll be getting some 120/80-18 though.

I noticed that the tire size in the WR250R spec sheet call for an 80/100-21 front. Is there a downside to running the 90/90-21 instead? I haven't seen an 80/100-21 tire listed anywhere at the tire sources I use anyway.

hmmm.. i might be interested in your 17's.. they should fit my x. I've been running mt21's & they've been great in the really technical stuff.. but i'm hoping to limit my exposure to that kind of riding. But when i do, sure enough i'll get in deep mud or sand & wish i had the knobs..

Got the 90/90-21 tire in today. It will be a good fit and it weighs ~5oz less than the stock deathwing. Good stuff.

Quote :

I've got just over 5000 miles on the 606's. The front one is about half wore so I can't complain about wear.

What's your riding style? Too soft on the gas, or those tires are that good? No tarmac at all? low speed on trails? Can't figure out how those knobbies last that much...

I'd say my riding style is aggressive. Put in 50/50 riding. They wear incredibly well on the pavement, and hook up on the dirt and mud. I'll do anywhere up to 50 mph on the trails when i can get it there, and always over that on the pavement, usually around 65-70, sometimes more if the speed allows it like on the highway. I was impressed with how they wear on the tarmac, to be honest. So was the tech at that Yammie dealer.

D606's louder than the T63s ? Wow... That's loud !

Greer said she was getting very good mileage on her T63s. Mine on my LC4-E (that I've been pretty easy on) have 900 miles on them and I'm guessing I'll get another 200 out of them. Perhaps they have different wear characteristics on the WR.

...but they are predictable and fairly good in hardpack, loose and desert sand. Never had an opportunity to use them in soft dirt.

Kenda Battle Rally's are on order for Katie. The girls is going to have to wear the TWs out first.

I can't say they're loud. Tibby's got the Kenda's on his and his are WAY louder than my 606's. I didn't find them really much louder than the stock TW's that came with the bike.

Shewolf: Are you sure that 50/50 isn't MUD and ALMOST MUD ? :)

5000 miles on any tire in multi use conditions is incredible.

If you can get that from those, and can get away with it, I'd get the Maxxis Desert ITs. There may be negative trades on the street (including legal) if that's a performance factor of the user.

My 450 will use them up in 2500 miles, but that's all hard use in desert hard pack, rock and sand.

Here is an older review, but the tires are the same.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/392/165/Motorcycle-Article/Maxxis-IT-Desert-Tires-Review.aspx

Edit: P.S. Are your buddies Kenda tires the Battle Rallys ?

No, I think his are the Trailmasters. Loud buzz they give. As for my 606's, I run them thru everything, mud, almost mud, hardpack, loose dirt, gravel, wet pavement, wet grass, cow shit, dog shit, rocks, sand, whatever is put in front of it I go thru and squeal. I looked at the Desert's but they've been clamping down around here with tires, and I don't want to have it parked, or worse, carted away.

Mmmh, so bad I can't get them here, maybe in Chile I can find those, they seem to be worth to find them.

SheWolf: How is it I can imagine you squeal in delight all the way from here ?

Pancho: We'll help ! ...or is there a ITAR regulation for dirt bike tires ?

The other thing I was going to say is I don't think you'd want an MT60 on your WR for a good overall tire.

I have one on my SuMo and while it's a very good street tire, and it wears well (I got 3K miles on my 625 that has rip the tire right off the wheel torque) it would be entirely sub-standard in general dirt conditions unless you were running hard-pack roads most all the time.

Hey, if it's got anything to do with mud I make all kinds of funny noises.

I got my tires in. I think that I am going to wait a little while and put them on before an upcoming rally.

I will have to put them on and try them out before I can post in the tire opinion thread.



T63 / MT16

I just got my T63 rear as well. A new front tire will have to wait until next winter probably. Excited to hear you folks' thoughts on the T63. I have good faith in it!

Finally got to try out the 606's today...for around here that's a record.

Man do they hook up in the dirt! Only rode a few miles on the pavement, and barely noticed a difference from the stockers. Didh't balance them and did not detect any vibes. I could hear a bit of tire howl over the wind/engine noise, but not enough to complain -- nothing like my Jeep w/mud terrains, now that's loud.

They are an awesome tire. We should hook up some time Paul. You can't be that far from me. You still haven't told me where you hide, naughty boy.