I've noticed "Colebatch" on ADV swears by the Desert Race. I'm leaning toward it or a IRC TR8 Rally for the front soon. .
I'm sure the Michy desert race is very good offroad, no question. I'm concerned with reports that on-road it's like "riding on ice." Surely it can't be any worse than the Scorpion Rally. I ran that one 3500 miles. It was about half worn, but I got the wobbles over 70 so I took it off. It worked exceedingly well offroad, and no problem on, even up to 95mph. Pretty much set it at 20-22lbs on and off. Never a flat, nada, nothin'. I was even considering the AC10 but it's really narrow. Not the best for the big thumper, great for a MX bike.
The AC 10 rear 120/??/18 is not narrow. I run that tire and I love it! that's an AC 10 on the left and an MT 21 on a CRF 230 L size 120/??/18
I have found the tread plenty deep enough and also do not want a tyre that has too long knobs as they flex on the road and can also heat up and then wear even quicker. They are also inevitably noisier and more squirrely on road too. As much of my riding involves some liaison between dirt this is important to me. I also ran a T63 tubeless on my HP2 at one stage no issue ... until common sense clicked in again and reverted to the more expensive a safer TKC80.
Hey, I hear ya BigDom. I would probably like the T63 just fine. I keep riding this thing like a bike dirtbike, but tires for that just make it that much worse on the road. I'm thinking I'll buy one of each, a rally and a '63, try the latter first. If it's bad I can toss it and go with the rally. Fortunately they're both pretty cheap. If it's good I can put the rally on our little WR250, it will be perfect for it. Like I say, I've done about 300 offroad miles with the Karoo2 and managed with it. It's not great, but it's not horrible either, and really good on road. The '63 has got to be better than that, simply for knob spacing. And I know the '63 is great on road. The TKC is too closely spaced though for what I want on the husky - I think that's a great tire for the front of my Tiger XC. The michy desert I'm thinking I would like real well offroad. And then I would curse it on the hiway. Dayammm, what a quandry. I can always try one of those next time. I was hoping Fast1 would come on here and rave about the desert, and sell me on it.
I believe I will end up with a pirelli 21 on mine athough I may try the Mitas to match the rear which has performed flawlessly.
I know this is a dated post, but wondering what you came up with? I have D606s on my dirt wheels, and Hiedy Scout on the rear-road wheel and having reservations about putting a TKC 80 on the front, although it seemed like a good mate for the Hiedy, when I bought it. I'd like a front that is just a touch more aggressive than the TKC. ?? Just wondering....
I have used a Pirelli MT-21 and Scorpion Rally with good results. I can get almost 3000 miles out of either of them if balanced.
Yeah, what John said. Just about anything is better than a tkc, it's the go-to tire for the big bikes that see a lot of road, but not the ideal dualsport tire. It's biggest downfall is the soft sidewall, they are susceptible to pinch flats if you air them down. I like to run 15-18lbs offroad, don't dare do that with a tkc. I did end up getting one of the michelin deserts and it's fantastic offroad, fairly stiff tire, very tall and wide spaced knobs, but still pretty similar to the Pirelli scorpion rally. I'm not sure about it for road yet, the short section I've done with it was aired down and it felt pretty squirelly. But then typically new tires feel like that anyway. So I'll update later on it. Fast1 says they're fine on road for him so I trust his word. I still like that scorp rally front. That has got to be the best damn front knobby out there. While the 606 is the perrenial favorite, there are issues with it cupping quite badly in a short time. I had over 3K on mine it was just starting to cup, looked about half worn, but felt squirelly on the road so I pulled it off. Probly wasn't the tire, and it could have gone quite a bit further. That tire just railed on and off road. I'm back to the T63 for the rear, third one now. It's probly not quite aggressive enough for some, certainly not as big of tire as the 606 or 21, but it goes really well on road while still providing plenty of traction off. And I don't get headshake or weaving with it so I'm sticking with them. I've had this bike up to 95 and its a little light on it's feet and shakes like a paint mixer, but certainly no problem. Normally I like to be able to make 75 on hiway sections.
BTW, a buddy got one of the T63 fronts for his DR650 on my suggestion. I was pretty disappointed in it, for my purposes it's way too mild of a tire. The knobs are half-height. It seems plenty durable though, and fine for his 50/50 riding, just definitely not an aggressive offroad tire. It's a spitting image of the Karoo II. I wouldn't recommend either one for any sand, mud, or softer terrain. Front end washout is to be expected. Both are excellent on road. Can't say about wear for any of them, but should be fine.
Thanks for the thoughts Guys. I like the 606s and MT21s too and run them on the dirt wheel set for this bike. What I'm looking for is a front to run with the Scout 60 rear for the road wheel set for this bike. The T63 is a tire that I haven't tried and with the short knobs might be a better mate for the Scout.
How 'bout a scout for the front too? They are a very good 50/50 tire. Just about anything will work on the rear. If you have a big trip in the dirt you could just change the front to a real knobby. The k60 rear should last a very long time.
I thought about it. For some reason I have it stuck in my head that a knobby type tire is better in gravel. But having said that, when I test rode a new TR650, which comes with tires very similar to Scouts, I couldn't believe how well it worked in all types of gravel. Very stable.
I just don't find it's worth changing the front. The K60 rear definitely goes on when there will be lots of pavement. I find the DOT Pirelli front knobbies just fine on the pavement and can be pushed pretty hard. Every time I have run a lesser front I have been instantly sorry. The Scorpion Rally has not been very susceptible to cupping on the pavement either. I know it's a mismatch of tires, but it works well.
D606 rear, Scorpion Rally front are my tires of choice. I did run a M43 rear last year, and really liked it off-road, but it wore fast on the slab. I believe it's a bit small for a 350# bike with a load and a 240# rider.
You guys seem to all agree that the Scorpion Rally is a good choice and I have never tried one. Sounds like somewhere in between a TKC80 and a MT21/D606 in off road performance? Fast gravel is good? Done at 3000 miles? I don't think tires need to be matched front and rear either. Trials rear-knobby front etc...
"Touch more aggressive than the TKC" sounds a lot like a D606 to me. I don't think that a T63 is any less aggressive than a D606, if anything I think it's probably more aggressive. FYI, the Michelin "computer generated photos" of the T63 make it look less aggressive than it really is.
This thread has became a front tire thread. Who started this?? I ran the t63 front on my 950adv a couple years back. It was quiet,wore well, but not near the knob of a 606/mt-21/scorp rally. I've ran the 3 latter and would rank offroad ability as t-63>tkc>mt-21>606>>> scorpion rally.They all have their positives and negatives though. The t63 had a better spaced knob than the tkc but man were the knobs short. The side ones in particular. Not trying to argue but I've seen and ran the above in fast rocky desert terrain.
Any more feedback on the mefo explorers/ heidenau rear tires. I'm enjoying the 50/50 use of this bike more vs. the pure dirtbike use and I'm tempted to try one of these on the rear. What size you ran too? Thanks!
