Front tire choice

[Alleycatdad]

I'm interested in this question as well. When I ordered my new wheels from Woody I talked at some length to Zach about his preferences for a front tire on the big bike. I was thinking MT21 but he was pretty insistent that he'd had better luck with the Scorpion Pro.

I'm planning on spending the riding season this year making a front tire selection for the Alcan 5000 in 2014 so will probably end up trying both; the new wheelset in the basement is sporting the scorpion pro for now. Guess we'll see!

Steve

[GrenDesb]

I've tried the D606 and the MT21.

At first I liked the D606 but the MT21 is equal or better in every aspect.

The MT21 is much more stable and solid on the street.

[Grinderman]

O.k. I have riddent the 606 hard and the tkc hard. The 606 was a joke on the pavement and was o.k off road. The TKC was really good off road and on. I pushed that tire hard! For overall performance I was impressed with the TKC. The problem with the conti is the SOFT SIDEWALLS!!. If you ride really aggressively in the dirt this is not the tire for you. So I posed the same question as you awhile ago on this forum. Someone in Australia ( I always trust those guys regarding these bikes) suggested the Michelin Starcross HP4. I figured what the heck. I tried it and I welll never look back. Badass on the dirt, and I have pushed it fairly hard on the tarmac. Great tire with long wear life compared to the 606 and tkc. It is not street legal but I don't care.....

[YOGOI]

Originally Posted by Grinderman

O.k. I have riddent the 606 hard and the tkc hard. The 606 was a joke on the pavement and was o.k off road. The TKC was really good off road and on. I pushed that tire hard! For overall performance I was impressed with the TKC. The problem with the conti is the SOFT SIDEWALLS!!. If you ride really aggressively in the dirt this is not the tire for you. So I posed the same question as you awhile ago on this forum. Someone in Australia ( I always trust those guys regarding these bikes) suggested the Michelin Starcross HP4. I figured what the heck. I tried it and I welll never look back. Badass on the dirt, and I have pushed it fairly hard on the tarmac. Great tire with long wear life compared to the 606 and tkc. It is not street legal but I don't care.....

Interesting! I'll have to give that one a try. I'm always up for try'n something new, and I like the idea of a 90/100.
I had been running the Dunlop 739 FA, but now that it has been discontinued, and it seems every ones going to 90/90 sizes for true dirt tires, I wasn't sure what I was gonna do.

[kellymac530]

My issue with running the MT21 is it clearly says that it is for light to middleweight bikes...I am on a HUGE beast. Bigger and heavier than your 9x0 ADVs.

I would like a DOT tire, but on my 530 I have had great success with non DOT Dunlops like the 739 and 752. But I think they dropped both of those now for the new line, the Geomax MX31 and MX51.

No experience with the new tires there.

I am thinking of starting off with the matching Kenda Big Block front. Looks a bit tame for dirt, but you never know till you try it.

[SlowJoefromBako]

I like the tkc 80 front mefo rear. a half wore out 606 almost killed me. They want to high speed woble when they wear.

[ÖÖ.]

I have tried scorp, tkc80, T63 and Unicross.

On my "touring" wheels I like the Michelin T63 better than all the rest. On "not so touring" wheels I like the Metzler Unicross to be the best so far.

[KarimADV]

I did try the 908 front tire and can't say it's a good tyre, or better, it is a good tyre BUT it wont 'last long: it breaks the side knobs in a couple hundreds kilometers.

The TKC doesn't work in mud and slips on tarmac.

The Karoo is a good choice in both gravel roads and tarmac.

The Pirelli Skorpion Rally is my favourite option atm: it's my third one and it's great in both gravel and tarmac.

[FakeName]

Originally Posted by kellymac530

I would like a DOT tire,

Remember, AnzaBorregoPark requires DOT. And they do check. They ignore my lack of turn signals, but check the tires.

[DuctTape]

Ran the Pirelli Rally last year with the Mefo rear. Not impressed with the Mefo so I'm going with the Kenda big block this year but I'm never running a different front. Great feel, traction and price $75.99 fro the Pirelli Rally if you're into dirt.

[kellymac530]

Originally Posted by FakeName

Remember, AnzaBorregoPark requires DOT. And they do check. They ignore my lack of turn signals, but check the tires.

Hey Fakey, how ya been?
I have been checked for turnsignals, horn, SA {always} current regs and insurance and Class M1 license but never for DOT tires....yet. I am definately running a DOT on this big pig though.

How is SDAR doing?

[skipman]

Originally Posted by ÖÖ.

I have tried scorp, tkc80, T63 and Unicross.

On my "touring" wheels I like the Michelin T63 better than all the rest. On "not so touring" wheels I like the Metzler Unicross to be the best so far.

I agree..I like the mich. t63....good in dirt and surprised me on the street...

[SkiFly01]

Originally Posted by bigdave-gs

Never ran an E-09 myself but have heard from other inmates that it is very soft and doesn't get very good milage. I've heard the E-10 is a better highway milage tire that still has good enough knobbies for off road, but the cost difference in a Mitas and the TKC isn't justifiable to me.........

I may be a GSA rider but I have used the E-09 Dakar rear and got a good 8,000 miles out of it, and 2,500 of that was I-10 from FL to TX and back, at least 30% of its life was highway jaunts around FL. It is super loud above 60mph but wore down line nails and will take serious abuse in the dirt.

[kellymac530]

Sorry to bring this back up, but I have been looking at the often suggested Mich T63 but my big concern is they are only rated 54S so that is only 212lbs...I think my R1100 will weigh more than that on the front wheel...That concerns me. Any input

[kellymac530]

Wow, I read the chart I found wrong. it is 467 lbs..I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed...just A tool...