Me2, if not though, it's no huge loss. I was needing a rear shoe anyway, so I thought I'd just see what all the hype is about. If it sucks, I can always unload it to someone else. It seems everyone is looking for one.....
I installed the Dunlap last spring and it’s still on my 220. I to was skeptical.
Now I’m a believer. The rides around here are hard pack with lots of rocks and roots.
When wet you get a thin layer of very slick slime (don’t forget the wet roots and rocks). The traction is superior. A condition I noticed that the trials tire was lacking is stopping on wet grass. It seams
To lift up on top of the grass and slide WAY more than a knobby. I also noticed the side flex. There
Is a learning curve, so give it a couple of rides to brake it in, and for you to get adapted.
The trials tire just don’t look right, but it works great.
Thanks for the feedback JTH. I'm looking forward to trying the pirelli out. I also saw that Ron Ayers has a great deal on the dunlop. I may have to pick one of those up in the future. Maybe I can convince one of my buddies to try one so we can compare the two...
I got the new front and rear sprockets installed last night, I went with 12/48. I also fitted new oil seals in the water pump to solve my recent issues of water in the gearbox.
The tire should be here monday, but we planned a ride at brushy this sunday so trying out the new shoe will have to wait a couple weeks. I go on call next thursday for a week so there won't be any riding next weekend. :( At any rate, I'm excited to see what the gearing change does for me.
I was surprised today when I came home and fedex had left my order from motorcycle superstore. Scheduled delivery was monday. I love fedex!!
Initially looking at the tire I'm quite impressed. It looks much more aggressive than I had in mind, with tall knobs. The center of the tread patch is quite flexible, and you can smash it out flat with your hand very easily. The knobs are very soft compared to a knobby, although I read that they are not near as soft as the knobs on the x-11 or d803. I'm going to try and get it installed tomorrow and have it out on sunday. We're gonna freeze our nuts off, lol.
I have to throw just one more review out there. I'm still looking for a negative review, but havn't found one yet...
I ride both trials and trail, so maybe I can offer a little first hand info here. I don't think I'd ever want a knobby on my trials bike, even if it was legal. I simply don't think it would work well in sections, where there is almost NO dirt at all. A typical trials section is very tight turns over rocky/rooty terrain. Approach to obstacles such as logs and rock ledges is such that you have little or no running room. If there is actual dirt involved, it is usually steep off-camber, and/or covered with leaves. Spinning the rear to get it "hooked up" is not an option. And when it rains, the difficulties are compounded. So a trials tire must get its traction from zero speed and without any spin. The only way to do that is with a very large contact patch, and lots of soft knobs that wrap themselves around anything and everything. To achieve this, trials tires are designed to operate at 5 psi, and even lower depending on conditions. Pinch flats in the rear are not a concern on modern trials bikes because rear rim is tubeless. Vast majority of competitive trials riders in my area use either Michelin X-11 or Dunlop 803.
If you've ever been to a trials competition, you'll know that sections are connected by several miles of trail, and sometimes the trail itself can be as difficult as the sections. You will be surprised by how fast good trials riders fly on the trail. Compared to riding my KDX on those tough trails I am much faster on my trials bike. BTW, I do not consider myself a good rider in either trials or trail. So this prompted me to try a Dunlop 803 on my KDX, since we don't have any wide open fast trails in my area. 803 works pretty well in both dry and wet rocks and roots and hill climbs. I try to avoid deep mud, so I can't really give any valid info about deep mud performance. I should mention that when I tried running 10 psi I ended up with a pinch flat after 20 miles on a brutally rocky trail. Since then I installed a Bridgestone UHD tube, and I keep the pressure above 12. So far no more pinch flats. But I do wonder how much benefit I am losing by running at this "high" pressure.
8 of us pulled about 7 hrs at Brushy Mtn. today. What a trip! We had a great time. It was freezing cold and icy at the house, but when we got down there temps were mild and the ground was mostly dry. It was a perfect day for it!
Turn out was:
yz450f
yz250
arctic cat TRV 400
cr125
ktm200 exc
2 raptor 350's
and of course my lil' 2 hunny :D
I really don't know what to say about the MT43 trials tire. I was flying up long steep climbs that I've struggled with in the past without even working hard. Surface ranged from pine needles and leaves, roots, ruts, muddy spots, loose sandy and rocky soil, and hardpack clay. The tire seemed to excel in every area. The only problem I can find is having too much traction. There are times when I'd want to break the rear end loose to swing around a tight turn and just couldn't do it. I'll have to adjust my style a bit in some areas like cornering, but all in all it fit me and the KDX perfectly. It never got clogged with mud, and the control going over loose rocks, roots, and other obstacles was incredible. I ran it at 8lbs today, no problems with flats or the tire slipping on the rim. Just plain old fun!
I swapped with my buddies yz250 for a bit, and I wanted my KDX back real quick. He said the KDX with the MT43 on the back just made it too easy to ride. Compared to his YZ i'd have to agree. In about 20 minutes that thing gave me a workout I hadn't seen all day. I'd say it would have been much better with a rear tire. The knobby he's running has seen much better days.
At any rate, I'm definitely sold. I doubt I'll ever run anything else on the back. That was the fastest I've ever run down there, and it felt so smooth and sure-footed. Even on the little mx track I was impressed. It was super easy to wheelie out of the turns, and just good old fun all around.
Glad to hear that maybe we can swap for a minute at the ride in june and I can see how the tire feels I have the dunlap 756 rear and its a soft compound
Yep, so far I'm tickled pink. I expected loads of mud down there this past sunday, but it was pretty dry. The bike was stuck to the trail like glue. I'll be interested to see what happens in muddier conditions though.
I rode all last season on the MT43 after using just about every recommended knobby out there including the Pirelli MT16, Maxxis IT, IRC Vulanduro, etc. The MT43 really is unbelievable. You can still brake slide into corners (not as well as a knobby), and it hooks up in nearly every condition better than any knobby I have used.
I used it on my KDX220 and my brother did as well on his KDX220. We raced a handful of events last year ranging from very tight, steep, muddy, rooted woods enduros to open desert type terrain harescrambles. The MT43 worked will in all situations. We both ran a MSR heavy duty tube and 1 rimlock and neither of us had any issues with flats (700+miles).
The only time I longed to have a knobby was in some freshly groomed single track we rode last fall that was fairly deep loam. A knobby would have dug into that loam better, but the MT43 still worked well, just not as well as a knobby would have.
Just as a side note, I just ran a Michelin X-11 a couple of weeks ago to compare and it gets amazing grip, but it does not corner as well as the MT43 due to the soft compound. It feels like you have a flat all of the time.
Yeah I want to try an x-11 next, but with the mileage people are reporting on the MT43 I imagine it will be quite some time.
I went out weekend before last and rode in some snow, ice, and seriously deep mud. The only time I think a knobby would have served me better was on a couple hill climbs that seemed to be "bottomless" mud. I finally figured out the trick was just to put it a gear higher and torque up the hill spinning as little as possible. If I could do that I would cruise right up. My buddy with a brand new Mich starcross had just as much trouble as I did though, so I don't know that the knobby would have helped much in that situation.
On the ice and snow the MT43 was incredible. I could not believe the level of stability I felt. I have never been so confident in the slick stuff.
I can add some insight to the trials tyre debate. I ran the MT43 on my CR500 for the last 10 months. That’s 10 months of riding almost every weekend on the same tyre and I have got almost 1800 KMs out of it. The terrain I have covered in that time would range from deep mud to rocky terrain and everything in between. It has awesome grip and lasts forever. I can only imagine that if I have got 10 months out of mine on a CR500 a KDX will get just as good if not better range out of it.
There is no question that the MT43 has incredible traction and anyone who tries to tell you it doesn’t suit offroad trail riding obviously has never ridden with one in those conditions.
The first time I took it out was on a rally with 600 other riders and right after a week worth of heavy rain. Let me tell you they were all laughing at me before the ride and making comments like....."pfft that tyre won’t go well out here mate have you seen the mud...." or "....a trials tyre on a CR500??? Mate you do know we are not racing flat track out here don’t you....." But their helmets were hiding their shock and red faces as I cruised past them all on the slippery gnarly single track hills with the bike not slipping all over the place, it just drives you where you point it.
The only things I would make comment about is you have to be careful on downhill runs as when you lock a trials tyre it just sits up on the tyre and will slide real quick. You have to learn good rear brake control to keep the tyre rolling and hanging on. As stated in previous posts the tyre provides so much traction that it tends to make it harder to "steer with the rear" in corners as it tends to drive you into the corner. These things are just something that you have to get used to and I believe makes you a better rider.
I was running 8psi with a Bridgestone UHD tube and have never had a flat or a ding in the rim. I never slowed up for harsh terrain in fear of damaging the rim or getting a flat and am amazed that I have never had a problem.
The things I do miss about a knobby would be the fun of steering with the rear being easier and heaps of roost. The trials tyre throws a flat spray, or so I am told, not a huge rooster tail like the 500 would normally.
I have recently fitted my knobby wheel back to the bike while I wait for my MT43 to come into stock and I am loving roosting my riding buddies who have been poking fun at me for the lack of roost the 500 had.
The only things I would make comment about is you have to be careful on downhill runs as when you lock a trials tyre it just sits up on the tyre and will slide real quick. (Quote)
That was the biggest difference I noticed, it also allows you to slide the back into a tight turn with the rear wheel locked but you have to have it laying over to continue the slide with the throttle. MT43 on a 500 thats impressive.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.