Mr. Metal's WRR

Well, I feel like I finally reached a point where my WRR is everything I wanted it to be. I just spent the past two days in the garage putting on new tubes, new tires, new sprocket and new chain, also disassembling and lubing the entire rear suspension. I put everything back together and here it is:










I think the only thing I would still like is Pivot Pegz, but otherwise the bike is more than ready to rip up some serious dirt.

Sweet looking bike. What tires are those?

Those are the new meats I just put on this weekend, Mitas C-16/C-17 Stoneaters: http://www.mitasmx.com/shop/index.php

I haven't tried them out yet, but they HAVE to be better than the stockers, and Ms. Wolf likes 'em, so

They certainly look nice. I'm happy with the D606 rear, but not so much the front. Let us know what you think of that front tire!

The front is tons better than the 606 front, imo. Your bike is badass, Metal.

I'm really curious... which has more of an effect on traction on Rocky Mt trails, air pressure or agressive knobbies? Ramz runs trials tires, not knobbies in the Rockies...AA rider. Are u dealing more with mud or rocky trails?

To me, it's a matter of both, actually. Pressure and the kind of tire you run. I ride in everything from mud to rocks to loose gravel, soil and sand. I found the 606 front to be squirmy in loose gravel. The StoneEater dug right in and held true in every kind of terrain I threw at it.

taoshum wrote:

I'm really curious... which has more of an effect on traction on Rocky Mt trails, air pressure or agressive knobbies? Ramz runs trials tires, not knobbies in the Rockies...AA rider. Are u dealing more with mud or rocky trails?

i ride a lot of the same trails Ramz does. air pressure is key. the trails out here vary from extremely loose pea gravel and soft dirt to round rocky terrian. Knobbies on the pea gravel are pretty much useless (it's like riding in sand). i have a buddy that can ride a lot of the same trails on his sumo with sportbike tires. the knobbies come into effect on the steep hill climbs or if you wanna carry more speed on the trails with confidence.

so ya.... the correct amount of air pressure is key. i'm running the Michelin T63 (50/50 tires) and i do fine on everything. just drop them down to 18psi on the trails and back up to 30psi for the street.

Look at my thread go!

Thank you for the complements, Ms. Wolf, I really appreciate them. I bought the tires on your advice, so you are to thank here as well.

The terrain around here is pretty much everything but desert sand, I would say. Highway turns to gravel and forest roads, turns to hard-packed ATV trails and single track, and finally to muddy hell in the middle of the woods. I think these Stoneaters should be able to handle all of that with ease. I haven't figured out what pressure to run them at yet. Probably 22/29 for the highway, dropped to maybe 18/22 for the rest? Not sure yet.

You know...I never ran that high on the tarmac. I was running 20 up front and 18 on the back. Maybe you'll have better luck with wear with it set that high.

Mr.Metal wrote:

Probably 22/29 for the highway, dropped to maybe 18/22 for the rest? Not sure yet.

why you plan on running such a difference in air pressure from your front to back? i usually only run 1 to 2 pounds difference from front to rear with more air pressure in the front tire. Typically on sportbikes you want more pressure in your front than in your rear. not too sure it's the same with dirt. but it seems as miss wolf is doing the same.

Yeah, that's how I ran my air on my 600. Not those numbers, but the front always had more air in it.

Because the WRR is butt-heavy?

Maybe I got the numbers reversed in my head... but aren't those the "factory" recommended PSI settings per the little sticker on the swing arm? I'll have to double-check when I get home.

I usually try to run a few PSI under the max OR at the factory recommended PSI (whichever fits for the given tire) when running strictly on pavement. Better wear is probably one of the benefits. In the dirt, though, that PSI is obviously way too high.

Mr. Metal is correct about the swing-arm sticker.

Something like 18F & 25R for the skinny kids
and 22F & 29R for the normal folk.

*sometimes running the rocks we do...a little higher is better.

Matty wrote:

taoshum wrote:

I'm really curious... which has more of an effect on traction on Rocky Mt trails, air pressure or agressive knobbies? Ramz runs trials tires, not knobbies in the Rockies...AA rider. Are u dealing more with mud or rocky trails?

i ride a lot of the same trails Ramz does. air pressure is key. the trails out here vary from extremely loose pea gravel and soft dirt to round rocky terrian. Knobbies on the pea gravel are pretty much useless (it's like riding in sand). i have a buddy that can ride a lot of the same trails on his sumo with sportbike tires. the knobbies come into effect on the steep hill climbs or if you wanna carry more speed on the trails with confidence.

so ya.... the correct amount of air pressure is key. i'm running the Michelin T63 (50/50 tires) and i do fine on everything. just drop them down to 18psi on the trails and back up to 30psi for the street.

Have you ever tried 12-15 off hiway? I used to have a Husky 430WR (long time ago) and ran Metzler's with the rear at 10 with rim locks and the front at 14 with rim locks. I'd get a pinched tube every now and then but the ride was so much better. Then I stopped riding off road for a while... now I have a new WRR and have been experimenting with pressure using the OEM tires. Even at 18 they feel stiff and slick but at 12 they are much stickier everywhere... and hold a line much better but these don't have rimlocks but with the small engine maybe it's ok?

My bike was out for the count since two weekends ago because I managed to strip one of the rear suspension bolts. Well, got a replacement from Yamaha, buttoned it up, and went for an easy but fun ride today. The 13/47 gearing is pretty awesome, though anything above 65mph on the highway now feels like a strain. In the dirt, though... what a blast! The same can be said for these Mitas tires. In the dirt they seem pretty awesome, but on the highway... yikes!

Anything above 50mph and the bike picks up concrete slits/ruts/whatever like woah. Instant wiggle and pucker factor. The knobbier the squirrlier, but I think that's expected. In any case, good ride, good times. A few pictures below.