Mitas E-09 Dakar or Dualsport?

[Buckethead]

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Thanks for the offer Pete - The guy I spoke to didn't seem to be much of a Dirt guy. I will call Roland when he is back in tomorrow and see what the deal is.

 

[Buckethead]

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Hey-

I spoke to Roland today. It sounds like the deal is that they have difficulty getting Mitas from their supplier, but are working on sorting that out. He is hoping to continue to be able to stock them.

He happily ordered my tires, though the dualsport/Dakar debate was moot as the supplier only has the Dakar.

Lev- They do have one 18" in stock but is a really narrow one for smaller bikes.

Thanks all for the help,

Matthew

PS-Happy Birthday Pete!

 

[Bayner]

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There's a thread on ADV Rider right now about these tires also. They're going to be this year's hot seller for whoever can keep them in stock, that's for sure. I intend to try one out next go around.

 

[Buckethead]

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Bayner wrote:

There's a thread on ADV Rider right now about these tires also. They're going to be this year's hot seller for whoever can keep them in stock, that's for sure. I intend to try one out next go around.

I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the E-09 Dakar works out to be $60-something at Western's big sale if you buy two tires. If you are thinking of getting some this is a good time.

 

[Bugsinteeth]

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Hey Bucket,

FWIW,

I'm a little late on this one but I just noticed this thread. I might be opening a can of worms here. But:

I'm not a big fan of the E09 I have not used the "dakar" version, just the regular one.

In my experience they wear poorly and are crap in the dirt.

I would stick with the MT 21. Longer life (street or dirt) Better performance in the dirt for sure. I have been amazed at how well a DRZholds on the pavement equipped with MT21 F&R. E09 not so much + reduced wear + reduced dirt performance.

I recon the MT21 is mint for a true 50/50 dirt to street ratio.

I haven't tried it yet, butthe Michelin T-63 looks kinda tasty. Might satisfy your desire for aslightly more street biased shoe. They can be had statsidefor real cheap right now.

Ahaaaa...I just realized after typing my response, the last post on this was a month ago..... so how did the E09 work out?

sorry to add to the confusion,

Paul N.

 

[Buckethead]

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Hey Bugs-

Thanks for the comment. The internet seems to foster dogpiles, so opposing views are always appreciated.

I ended up picking up a couple of E09 rears (and another MT21 front) at Western's sale. At $60-something a tire I figure that I will give them a try and see how it goes. I am dragging a few more rides out of my MT21 rear before I switch though, so I haven't mounted them yet. I will post when I have some relevant comparison.

What pressures were you running in your MT21s?

The T63 does look interesting - I haven't seen that one before.

I guess I have some riding to do!

Cheers,
Matthew

 

[Bugsinteeth]

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Bucket,

Now we are getting into really subjective territory. Lots of different ideas on pressures here.

For me:

Street = 25 psi. or above

Dual Sport = 18- 25

Dirt slow speeds= 14- 17

Thatinsane hill your buddies made it up but you can't= 10 + rim locks

I'm not a fan of changing tires out in the field so generally I run quite high pressures. With speeds of 80kph and stony logging roads typical of DSBC type riding I will be around the 18-20 range. Baja =25 I will gladly sacrifice a bit of performance in exchange for reduced flats on the trail.

The pressure where I see a dramatic change in grip on the dirt is about 16 and below. But here you are starting to head into pinch flat and rim damage from baby head territory. I suspect these are the pressures at which dirt tires are actually designed to work their best.

Racer types will think these pressures are way too high but they are typically looking for maximum performance and won't let a few bent rims or pinch flats get in their way. They also don't have to ride to work on monday @100kph on square wheels.

If running below 18 I want to have rim locks.

Have Fun!

Paul N.

 

[Island Hopper]

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A while back three of us did a dayride, a typical 400 - 600 KM day mostly loose surface roads.... The one bike along with us {a DR 650} that was shod with a set of brand new MT- 21s to start the day nearly didn't make it home on his rear tire....

Half way through the ride we noticed that the knobs on his back tire were chunking apart and at the 3/4 point complete knobs were missing.... The tires on the other 2 bikes {Maxxis 6006 and Avon Gripster} showed no ill effects through the exact same conditions and speeds...

The front MT 21 ended the day in good shape but the rear went into the scrap bin...

This experience has me shying away from the MT 21 when looking for a longer lifespan rear tire for extended trips..... Maybe his was a defective example but then again I've never had any Pirrelli {I've ran 4} give me an excectional service life....

While the MT 21 is likely better for off road, it's pretty hard to beat the Mitas at less than $100 for an all around riding and adventure touring tire....

 

[Bugsinteeth]

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Hello Island Hopper,

Instead of binning that tire you should have taken it back to the place where you bought it.It was either defective or used improperly. I bet you would have got your money back or a new tire.

No DOT approved dual sport tire should chunk after 500 Km unless mounted on Joker's 950 with him at the controls. Or Ken W. from Penticton. I mean this asa compliment fellas.:clap:

A couple of winter's ago I rode a dr650 equipped with MT21's in Africa. 6 000 +Km as I recall. Very hot temperatures, sand, rocks, high speed gravel, pavement ect.Several of the bikes on this trip were equipped with these shoes. No reports of troubles. I did not baby this tire as it wasn't my bike! (I hope Jen isn't listening).The tire was pretty shagged at the end but stillservicable. In my books 6000 hard Km is pretty good service life for a dual sport tire.

Many other examples of MT 21 on my bikes have held up well both before and since this trip. E09 not so much.

Like Buckethead I'm chasing down something a little more streetable for my old XT600 without sacrificing much dirt performance. Not an easy asignment.

Over and out,

Paul N.