so, i have had 5 different tires on my 990 in the last few months, 3 of them being 140's. best fit by far was the karoo 3. the tractionator was too square and the scorpion rally was fairly square (looks more like a paddle tire). i still have to put some mileage on the scorp, but the fit isn't impressive as of now. the karoo 3 has the right profile, and an aggressive compound, but it wears fairly quickly. the testing continues...
People were using the D908 and other 140-sized tires on the stock wheel long before KTM released the Baja.
I ran a Pirelli Rally rear on my 950 Adventure for the Colorado BDR. I couldn't see with that tire how a 150 would have fit b/c it's so wide. BTW, did not like the Rally rear. No side bite - it just slides. Great forward bite, but no side bite.
Really? Yes, I understand that, but you've missed my point... I believe KTM put the 140 Dunlop tire because their marketing department discovered consumers had been using 140 Dunlops and determined the tire would make the bike more attractive to consumers. That's marketing. Just like the graphics. Marketing. However, this was not a engineering decision. The 140 is not intended for a 4.25" rim, and it is my suspicion (that's right, not based on fact, pure conjecture on my part) the engineers who put a 4.25" rim on the ADV bike would disagree with the decision of the marketing department. The engineers would likely tell marketing that if they wanted to run a 140 Dunlop, they would have specified a narrower rim, just like the SE. Does that help?
Bummer, I just bought 2 140-18 Pirelli Scorpion Rallys! Cheap and on sale at Motorcyclesuperstore. Back years ago the d908 could be had from RockyMountainATV for under $100 so I bought a bunch of them and laced up an SE rear rim for my ADV. Huge disappointment when they priced them out of sight. One thing about the d908, it has great side bite, nothing I've run on the 950 hooks up as well, its so-so in mud and gives a really annoying tail wiggle in the sand though. Back east here, we have more pavement we have to ride to get to the good stuff, more mud when we're there. Hoping the Rally might work out ok for the riding I'm doing. Lots of gravel will make it not hooking up in the curves a real PIA.
Bingo! The 150 is a radial ROAD tire with a dual sport knob tread. Note the low and stiff short sidewall intended to be pushed through curves and not flex. The 140 is a dirt carcass with a narrow bead and massive fat sidewalls to give cushion, run lower pressures and protect the narrower rim with a DS knob tread. Totally different animals! I've run the 908 on both rims and its scary on the road either way. Functions best, way better, on the narrow rim. I have no idea what KTM didn't simply spec the Baja with an SE rear rim...because it would seem to me that its potentially a problem in the engineering but also liability since Dunlop doesn't spec the tires for such wide rims.
Wow. I found the opposite. I really like the Scorpion Rally. I must not be riding as hard as you do or something. I rode another 950 side by side. We swapped bikes for maybe a 20 mile loop. He had on the Continental TKCs mounted and I had the Scorpion Rally. His 950 would slide around a corner a lot easier than mine would. Mine pretty much just stayed planted around the corners (SR) and his would slide around (TKC). He commented on it too. It took way more effort to get the Scorpion Rally's to slide than it did the TKCs. This was on gravel and dirt/rocky roads.
makes sense. the tkc is not as aggressive a tread pattern, and will last longer as well. the scorp is a DOT race tire. i will post up my review after this weekend and about 500 miles (tire should be bald by then...).
Not sure if your "Really?" comment is sarcastic. When you said this: I took you at your word and I thought you meant that people are just now using a 140 size because KTM did it. I was just saying KTM 9x0 owners have been doing that for years. I agree that it's marketing, but it's not original. I also agree that the tire and wheel size should match the engineer's spec. When the Baja came out, one of my first thoughts was that KTM has validated mismatching tire size and wheel size. I think that's a mistake.
I have a little favor to ask. Can someone with a 140/80/18 measure the total diameter when mounted and new? I am figuring out wheel conversion for my versys and I need to know it wont rub into the swinarm for being too tall. Thanks.
The exact measurment will depend on the rim width. Based on the different sizes discussed in this thread, you might want to specify yours.
The 150 Rally fit on the 950/990 just fine. Remember they are 150/70 and the 140 is a 140/80 so roughly around the same size tyre. I really like 150/70 on the big Kato are great tyre - just not a real long life, especially if some pavement is required (they overheat on pavement really easily).
I don't really get it, the price of these bikes and I hear a lot of what a tire cost? I know it's a consideration if all else is equal, but I look for the best tire for the purpose I intend to use it for. But it does expensive, the way the beast chews up tires :loll Ok, I get it, but I don't know, whatever
I was worried about mounting a 140 Scorpion Rally to my stock rear rim, but ordered one for a trip I was taking anyway. Got the tire in the mail, put it in a corner of my garage and mounted it up the night before my trip. The next morning at the meet up point, my buddy notices that his Scorpion Rally has a very different tread pattern than mine. Turns out I was sent a 110/120 Scorp, and mounted it without even noticing. :eek1 I wasn't about to cancel the trip so we headed out anyway. Well, 2300 miles and 8 days later that tire performed beautifully on everything from highways to dry lake beds. I wouldn't do it intentionally, but I think alot of the issues with fitment/rim width are in our heads.
Glad it worked out for you. I DO think there is engineering involved, and I DO think tires are designed with specific rim widths and size limitations. So I DON'T think it's all in our heads. However, I also think people are using tires for off-label applications with good success, just like you did.
Terraflex? I tried it last year, it was pretty sketchy until the knobs were half worn off. After that, it behaved a lot nicer on the road. I took it through some severe mud and it didn't load up when everyone else did. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really plan to get into it deep with the bike. You may make enemies of anyone riding behind you also.
I agree that the tires are generally engineered for a particular size rim, and that will most likely work best. It's just after this experience I don't think I will worry about it quite as much as I used to. Just my opinion but sometimes good enough, is more than enough. AKAROB - That tyre just looks evil...love it.