Best tires for desert
  • robert1839
    Posts: 2
    Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:07 am

    Best tires for desert

    by robert1839 » Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:40 am

    First and last paragraphs are the important ones. Just wanted to give as much detail as possible. Sorry for the long winded question in advance.

    I used to own a 2003 CRF230F when i lived in Washington. onwed that bike for 6 years and after 6 years the tires where getting close to needing replacement. Dad always told me id want more power like his 250 one day. I always told him i never felt like i needed more power than i had.

    Well i sold that bike to go to school finished school and living in AZ now. I decided its time to buy a new bike. I baught my first brand new bike. A 2020 CRF250F exsatly what i wanted and everyone i talked to said i should go for the 250 over the 230 for a list of reasons biggest of witch was the 250 is fuel injected. Or they said a 450 witch i thaught was insane and wayyyy too much power. So glad i got the 250. But i now have a constant struggle to put the power down. Not sure if its the bigger bike or the new terrain or what. The extra power the bike offers is totally worthless as i cant put it down. So i am admittedly frustrated. Missing the reliable power i could always put down on my 230 now fighting to put it down on the bigger bike i always said i didnt need.

    So i started to read about a different set of tires from the stock ones it came with. Im regularly riding on rocks and dirt trails with fine loose dirt and rocks. The rocks are chewing up my tire havent even owned the bike 6 months (19 hours of the hour meter) and the tire looks like my 230 tire after 6 years. Im sure this is a result of heavy throttle hand and constantly spinning the tire trying gain some traction. When i actually can put the power down the bike will pick up the front tire a bit witch id love to use to my advantage for if only that was something i could do when i want rather then when the dirt is right.

    Anyway long story short. Im frustrated that the extra power i never thaught i needed cant even be used. Im pretty sure its the new terrain im riding on whent from hard packed mud to loose dirt and rocks rather then the extra power just being too much. I have read that maxxi tires are good for this kind of terrain they are closer together "knobs" and grip well here. My worry is they wont work well on sand. I regularly have to ride on sand as there are a lot of washes out here and i have to take them or cross them everytime i go out. Ill sacrifice some sand capabilitys for more traction everywhere else around me but i still need to be able to do sand. Will the maxxi tires do this?
    Dose anyone have another tire they would recommend?
    Will the maxxi last longer?
  • Back2-2
    Posts: 1148
    Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:31 pm

    Re: Best tires for desert

    by Back2-2 » Tue Feb 11, 2020 12:07 pm

    First - sorry you ended up in AZ. I left AZ some time ago to get as far away as I could.
    Maxxis IT is the tires you want for AZ hard dry rock terrain. Mud is far and few days. 99% of your riding will be rocks, hard razor blade rocks. Sand washes are plentiful also. Anything works in the sand.
    Anything else will just get devoured. It is less of a traction reason as much as it is that they are the only tires that last in that terrain.
    Neil
    Black Hills of SD
    Life without Motorcycles would just be boring, really boring
    Honda 450X. Yamaha Tracer GT900. HD Fat Boy. Triumph Bonneville. Yamaha Majesty 400. Yamaha Grizzly. Yamaha Wolverine. Yamaha TW200
  • robert1839
    Posts: 2
    Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:07 am

    Re: Best tires for desert

    by robert1839 » Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:25 pm

    First - sorry you ended up in AZ. I left AZ some time ago to get as far away as I could.
    Maxxis IT is the tires you want for AZ hard dry rock terrain. Mud is far and few days. 99% of your riding will be rocks, hard razor blade rocks. Sand washes are plentiful also. Anything works in the sand.
    Anything else will just get devoured. It is less of a traction reason as much as it is that they are the only tires that last in that terrain.

    Thank you i appreciate the advice. Yea i stayed in AZ for a girl and we hope to move far away from AZ in a few years when shes done with school.

    Anyhow, will the maxxis IT have better traction as well as longer durability? If i need to buy new tires every 6 months thats fine as long as it grips well. As of right now i have no traction and no tire life. So I'm stuck with nothing good lol.
  • Back2-2
    Posts: 1148
    Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:31 pm

    Re: Best tires for desert

    by Back2-2 » Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:49 am

    Well it's a tough call to get both - great bite and great tire life. If you don't mind buying new tires every six months then I would say you can get a tire that will give you more traction. I used a set of Dunlop tires on my YZ250. I do not remember the model 603's?
    They have decent traction and lasted for quite a while. I don't like buying new tires and needed tires that hold up. The Maxxis are the only ones that would do that. Next time I will probably try something softer since I ride in differnent terrain now.
    I will add this one idea for you. On my trials bike I run Bridgestone trials tires. Trials tires are incredibly soft and have a grip that is unbelievable. There are guys that run them on dirt bikes and love the traction they give but at the expense of tire life. If you don't mind changing them every six months you may find that a good option. The traction they offer is unmatched that is guaranteed.
    I say give that a try if your first factor is traction.

    Good luck and go east young man, go east.
    Neil
    Black Hills of SD
    Life without Motorcycles would just be boring, really boring
    Honda 450X. Yamaha Tracer GT900. HD Fat Boy. Triumph Bonneville. Yamaha Majesty 400. Yamaha Grizzly. Yamaha Wolverine. Yamaha TW200
  • Back2-2
    Posts: 1148
    Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:31 pm

    Re: Best tires for desert

    by Back2-2 » Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:41 am

    I talked with a guy last night that bought one of my bikes when I moved. He is a trials tires guy on a YZ250 and KTM 300. He told me they work fantastic and that was the first thing he did with to bike he bought from me. He only runs the trials tires on the rear and a normal knobby on the front. He said that trials tires on the front are to soft with too much flex.He said he gets about 6 months out of a rear with riding one a week.

    Not sure that helps but thought I would share that with you.
    Neil
    Black Hills of SD
    Life without Motorcycles would just be boring, really boring
    Honda 450X. Yamaha Tracer GT900. HD Fat Boy. Triumph Bonneville. Yamaha Majesty 400. Yamaha Grizzly. Yamaha Wolverine. Yamaha TW200

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