tires

schlater903

PR Member
my 250 2 stroke eats tires like a hungry fat kid eats twinkies....fast....dunlop mx51's seem to hook up good but only last a ride or 2. back when u could get tires for $50 bucks a pop i didnt care so much...but now that u cant get a decent tire for under $80 im tryin to find somethin that will last longer. ive heard pirelli's are pretty good durability and traction wise but i dont know much about them......thinkin bout maybe trying a 120/90-19? pirelli? bridgestone? any suggestions?
 
i liked bridgestones but they wore fast for me. i used to get them real cheap so i did not care

ive been running kendas and had good luck. they held up pretty well on my 250 2 stroke.
 
We have tried many different tires. 450' like the 250 2 strokes seem to eat tires as well. We have had the best luck with the bridgestones holding up the longest. We run the 204 and 404, I think that is the correct number. It is the softer tire and the intermediate. I would really like to try the 604 on the hot hard packed summer days.
 
I run Maxxis for this reason. Affordable and last long. I think they hook up pretty well in most conditions. The a pita to change tho lol.
 
I run Maxxis for this reason. Affordable and last long. I think they hook up pretty well in most conditions. The a pita to change tho lol.

are any NOT a PITA to change? If so ill switch to those, lol. changing tires is my least faovirte thing, ever. im at the point now where id rather take it to a shop and pay somebody 20 bucks to do them
 
Here is my experience.....for motocross racing.

I used Dunlops for decades, along with a Maxxis here or there and even the old Bridgestone M22 for Amherst hardpack. Then when I bought my first RMZ450 I was surprised how great the feel was; it came stock with the Bridgeston 403/404 Intermediates. These are now my favorite tires. The feel of them is amazing - super predictable, if you push too hard they give a nice little slide when breaking loose that you can feel, they don't just instantly go away and leave you on the ground. And they work solid everywhere! I run these tires at all tracks I ride and am happy.

As far as wear, that is interesting. They look like they wear out fast, but they keep working awesome. On my 2007 RMZ450 I used the stock oem stones front and rear for almost 50 hours! The rear looked whupped out, but it still worked pretty good.

The other tire brand I have run a couple times on vintage bikes recently is Michelin. They work fine and have good feel but I still prefer the Stones. They visually last longer than many other brands as well but are expensive.
 
I ran a Pirelli on my 500 but it didnt last at all. I've also run Dunlops which were ok. The Michelin S-12 and M-12 I ran held up very well, I will try them again. Still have a Michelin M-12 front which is my favorite of all. The rear tire that lasted longest was an IRC M5 B, big knobs and plenty of traction everywhere. I'm wanting to try a Metzler MC 4 or 5 or a Continental, has anyone tried any of these yet?
 
I know this is an old post and all but I wanted to say that I got a Maxxis SI rear tire for my 500 and it absolutely rocks. I went riding last Sunday, the first ride on the tire and really liked how it performed. There was a mix of terrain from hard dirt to mud, ruts, rocks, and roots. I had good traction everywhere(especially going through the really deep, muddy turns that lead to a steep hill with no run at them), didnt slide out under hard braking, and apparently was biting into everything since it was throwing alot of roost. I would most definitely recommend this tire to anyone. Also, after cleaning all the mud off I saw that it didn't round off the edge very much, which on a 500 is easy to do. After I get more riding I can post more on the life of the tire, but so far so good.
 
I'm currently running a 120/80/19 rear, would I be better off with a 110/90/19? What are the differences? Thanks
 
110/90 is a little bit narrower. I think maybe the 110s are more for the smaller bikes, 250's and 125's but I like the narrower tire on my 500 because it seems to me the narrower tire digs more, gets better traction, that being said, I'm 300lbs so I usually get good traction everywhere.
 
125's run 100/80x19 typically and so do 250fs.

The 110/90 was originally run on 250 2-strokes but can also be run on 250f's if not super tacky conditions. Then as 450s became more popular the wider 120 became more prevalent. I myself run a 110/90 on my 450 as I prefer the slightly narrower tire on rutted tracks. The 120 will climb out of ruts more. 120s will be better in sand and mud due to the wider, lower profile footprint. I just run a 110 all the time now.
 
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