04klr
Well-known member
why not. after all this "blog" is all about things bald. like me.
without further adeiu the tire review (in order of use) that no-one asked for.
Tire #1 Pirelli Scorpion STR. the stock tire for a kTm 990. As sure as a knife at a gun fight this was a horrible tire choice, my bad. With softish sidewalls it was simply not up to properly supporting the loaded 990. With no luggage I suspect it would be a really great 50/50 tire and the front is everything the rear isn't when loaded, down right good. The tire not surprisingly wore out thankfully fast and revealed why the new to me bike was handling sooo poorly on the tarmac ride south. Really glad there wasn't any dirt on the way south as I'm sure that would've been no fun at all.
Ok. the Pirelli Scorpion may not have to take alll the blame.
at the on-line parts place where I had searched last night, yup they have a new tire for me, um, not!! somewhere they may have but not in the southwest store from Barstow they don't, tomorrow maybe but not today. put it all back together and ride to Chapparal. buggah.
#2 MotoZ tractionator GPS, Stiff, strong like bull, chunky with a cool directional tread pattern offering a dirt or a more dirt rotation choice. But. really expensive (unfortunately), it wore incredibly well and worked equally as well. The dirt tracks of Death Valley was a breeze on the tractionator and the twisty paved roads home were a gas. Really great all rounder (ha!) and lasted a long long time. darn good tire wish it wasn't so pricey
Yippee! for the mere price of a Canuck arm and leg a way way better tire has a new home.
a short time and some 10 thou km later the tractionator GPS can be found in Dawson City, here the farthest away tire in this heap o used tires.
#3 Anlas Capra, did it work well, yes everywhere. did it wear well, yes sort of. I think the heavy load really shortened its life. would it be purchased again, yes. and though not inexpensive, it's not near the MotoZ.
Here at the Arctic Circle we have Floyd sippin water and an Anlas on the rear of a 990.
#4- a welll used Mitas E-07 , mooched as the least bald used tire in the heap of tires in Dawson city as an emergency spare which would be installed to replace the Anlas that wasn't going to get me home. The used tire still lasted another almost 4k and worked well til it was, um,, bald.
the soon to be needed spare. Hung up in a tree to deprive the porcupines of some yummy rubber for dinner.
#5 Mitas E10 worked surprisingly well on the pavement and very well in the dirt which really saved by bacon up the Nahatlatch and behind Cornwall! but incredibly short lived with a life that in this case was measured in days, not even weeks. not likely to spoon one on again. Seemed to start wearing out right there in the garage after installation.
#6 Mitas E09 a good tire that's wearing pretty darn well. Definitely dirt oriented and can be quite entertaining on the pavement you'd be best keeping the road racer in you well at bay. A good value for a pretty much 50/50 tire.
And finally the E-09 which also may not have to shoulder all the blame here along Penask lk road. To note though, that the E09 lacks an extra row of "shoulder" knobs that the E10 has, might've helped here, ya never know..
The winner as best adventure tire would easily have to be the MotoZ but literally, at a price.
Pirelli, too soft for adventuring, though I'd bet is a great adventure tire sans luggage..
E10, fun, but tire changes every coupla weeks would suck.
Anlas really good all round performance and certainly a strong contender, but.
The Mitas E09 (available here in BC through Colin at MX1) with its reasonable life span (though not sure it'd be the choice for a long legged trip) and overall abilities has to top this heap of bald tires.
(As a note, the Anlas front tire is a darn good go-to choice for price longevity and most importantly performance).
Certainly not a crappy tire.
food for thought or fodder to ignore, your choice.
Those were the rear tires used up in 2019.
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