Jumping on the trials tire bandwagon

I mounted a Pirelli MT43 on the rear of TE250 this weekend and got a Dunlop 803 on the way for the front to give it a try. I have been reading all the trials tire threads on all the boards. On our last ride,
http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?t=868 , there was a section on the spanish mine trail that has a section of the sidehill single track that is composed of a single moss/lichen covered rock a couple of feet or so across sloped the same as the hill. Out of the 6 bikes that were on the ride that day, the 4 with trials rears made it across w/o issue. The 2 w/o, including me, had problems. As soon as the rear hits it it tends to wash out and go downhill. it has happened to me every time I have been on the trail. I still have the stock michelin on front with 1400 miles and had a michlin m12 on the rear with about 500 miles on it, both were greatly showing their age with mucho slipperyness on wet rocks on the creek bottoms.

I went with the MT43 because even though it doesn't have quite the traction of the radial 803's and ICR tr11's, its much better on the pavement, both in feel and longivity. One of the riders had an MT43 and keep it at 8 lbs all weekend with 4 sections over the three days of 20 miles of pavement out of 250 miles total or so of our dualsport ride.
The MT43 was hardly showing any wear, while the other's, 803's especially, were chunking knobs big time, while still showing most of the traction advantage of a trials tire over a knobby. The rider reported no funny business with the MT43 at speed up to 65 on the tight twisties that we rode between the trails. Not that I'll ever go that fast on the TE250. The way its geared I'm hitting 9600 (or 9800 can't remember which exactly) at GPS indicated 50 mph.

My next ride is going to be new years eve day and new years day at Brock Creek again for lots of single track. Its all slower single track, so I think the trials front will work well for the ride. I also have a new pirelli mt44 front, which is my favorite front knobbie for just about every type of terain that I ride. I ordered the mt43 and 44 before deciding to get the trials front to try for the new years ride. I'll be taking it down with me just in case. I am also somewhat expecting the front trials tire to not be the best for higher speed stuff that I'll be hitting for sure later in the spring, so I'll have the tire if needed.

Terry

I have the MT43 and love it, I did some snow riding (about 4-6" deep) last weekend and there were two out of seven of us with trials and we were the only ones who made it out without a problem.. That really surprised me considering I thought snow would be a fault but with the snow covered shale hills we had no problems when everyone else was pushing there bikes to the top...

You find someone who imports the MT43 front?

C

I've done some fairly extensive searches and have not found a US distributor for the Pirelli fronts... odd but true. There seem to be plenty of retailers in Ol' Blighty... but none in the US that I can turn up.

I used to ride trials competitively in the mid 80s thru early 90s... and I agree completely that the benefits of a front trials tire can be equal to those of a rear.
Can't ride a line if you can't pick a line.

C

Yes, the stock michelin comp enduro or what ever it is that the bike came from the factory with, that's the one I was doing the fct ride with recently. I was really noticing the lack of any edges on the knobs on damp and wet rocks.

I didn't even realize ther was an mt43 front. I'll have to think about it for the next one. I have ordered stuff from England before for my Yamaha GTS1000 that I used to have, the european's were the only ones making aftermarket stuff for thr GTS.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/tire-tyre-guide/Pirelli-MT43PROTrial.htm

http://www.intobikes.co.uk/products?detail=product&id=000949&sg=OR&st=mn&mn=0037&search=&rt=0

http://www.motocrossworld.com/site/scripts/product_browse.php?product_id=27924

A word of caution on the Dunlop D803 front, watch the sidewall above the "Dunlop" and "D803" logos. Mine cracked at about 700 miles at all the logos. I was not even close to using this tire for it's intended purpose and Dunlop still warrantied it.

I never got a flat or had any issues because of the cracks but the scary thing was you really couldn't see them with air in the tire. A friend spotted mine when the bike was tied down in the back of the truck just right with the logo down.





Later,

A very timely thread as I am in the market for a new rear and I thought I'd try a trial tire. Since my usual supplier (SW Moto) doesn't sell these, where's the best (i.e. cheapest) place to buy these ?

+1 for the MT43, I got mine through Rocky Mountain or MC Super Store, who ever was cheaper. I have run this tire on my 200exc, WR 250 Husky and even my 640LC4. IMO, the tall side wall is what makes it work so well, I run 12psi in nasty rocks and 8psi for most every thing else. The rim protector works well also. I run the radial tires (Dunlop - Mich) on the trials bike where the belong. I have ran my used radials on the 520exc I had, ok in the dirt, holly crap on the road, darn near melted the knobs off. The MT43 is far less $$$ than the radials (1/2 of a Mich) and the life is great. I have ran the 640 LC4 on the highway at 70+ for over an hour with no ill efects. I have a Dunlop trials on the front of the 200exc and a standard knob (Dunlop 743 I think) on the front of the WR 250 Husky. Each tire has its advantages, trials tire will wash out in any hard cornering, knob tire slips off slick roots and rocks where the trials tire does not. For future replacements, I will probably not replace the front with a trials tire, but rather a knob tire with as tall a sidewall as possible to allow for lower air and less pinch (90/90-21 with soft knobs would be great.
I just got my MotoZ yesterday (thanks Kelly), looking forward to see how they compare.

Check it out: TE610 mods - trails tires


Oops, forgot: Stuff - trials tires

This place will ship MT43 fronts to the US and might be willing to bundle up multiple ones at a time. I haven't got a shipping quote yet. They take paypal.
Terry

http://www.trialsuk.co.uk/html/page_028.html
http://www.trialsuk.co.uk/

Not bad... $46 for a front, plus what ever shipping.

£31.95 for the tire, £36.02 for 3-5 day shipping to Nebraska. £67.97 total. In US dollars that would be about 103.65 at the current paypal conversion rate. Not too much more than a x11 could be had for.
Terry

Looks as if you want to try a MT-43 you best order ASAP. The MT-43 is not listed on the Pirelli website anylonger. Rocky Mountain had them listed at a good price, no longer listed. Motorcycle Superstore still has them listed for $69.99.
Figures, when I find something that works and is afordable, it is no longer produced.
As to the trials front tire, if you ride 1st and 2nd gear slippy rocks and roots, then istall one. Other than those conditions (IMHO) the front trials tire has more cons than pros.

While we are kicking around the trials tire thread, has anyone used the "Vee Rubber" trials tire?
Was wondering what results anyone can report.