The TKC 80 up front on a GS/GSA can't be beat (19' or 21"). They're just expensive and don't last as long. I agreed to try the C17 only because I was going to be doing seven long days of unfamiliar terrain in Baja and wanted to be sure I had as aggressive a dirt tire as I could get. The E09 Dakar will suffice off road too and have better on road manners than the C17 and still last you longer than the TKC 80. Not sure yet about tread life on the C17 as I only have 1400 miles on it right now. It looks pretty darn good still. I used the 21" TT which is bi-directional (doesn't matter how you mount it).
Eric, you railed those tires good and worked them super hard in baja. They looked pretty good after those 1400 miles when i saw them on the last day. My D908RR on the back of my 530 is lasting really well. Almost 2K miles of hard dirt and some street and still lots of tread left.
Any word on Mitas USA? I just purchased a Shinko 705 and 244 rear for early summer fun. Wanted E07s and E09s but I'm not paying to have them run across the border from Canada. Do we have a time frame on getting a U.S. distributor up and running?
Ouh,.. I care ... don´t worry . To avoid any misunderstandings in the future I´ll be thorough..... To say it with Arnie " I´ll be back ..."
I didn't say you didn't care. Just seems as tho the higher ups don't care. What does it take to become a distributor for Mitas? How many tires? A shipping container full? PM me if you like.
Uh oh...going to the dark side are you I hope you don't intend to go off road with the Heidis. They are hugely expensive and look the part but neither the front nor the back is very good once you leave pavement (worst performing tires I've ever in my life tried for the uses that the manufactures market them for). The Heidi front is less useful than even an Anakee front for dirt riding and the rear is like riding a slick in the mud, on snow, or on wet grass ---> 0 (that's zero) traction. For the premium price they charge for Heidis one would hope to at least get a tire that works as a "50/50" but alas they are way off the mark with that tire. For the money you will spend on a Heidi you could get just about any other tire on the market. I'd say stay as far away from Heidi as you can and just stick to tires that are designed to work for more than going to the cafe on the weekends. The version of the Heidi I'm referring to has what they call a stability strip down the center...what it actually does is provide a solid contact patch right where you wouldn't want one if you were riding off pavement. Useless tires if ever a useless tire was ever made. If you can fit up one of the Heidis that doesn't have that stability strip, then give it a shot. Otherwise, stay as far away from the Heidi K60 as possible if you plan to do any (ANY) off pavement riding. I'd pay the price to have the Mitas shipped in from Europe before ever touching another Heidi again...that's how terribly the heidis performed for me. Although ---> the Heidi made for a great off-road DRIFT tire...super easy to drift on...and at least in that regard they were a little bit fun as long as you were given wide berth to swing the ass end of the bike too and fro.
I have some questions about the Dakar vs standard version of the e-07. I understand that the Dakar version has a reinforced sidewall (and bead as well?). Obviously, this will result in a tire that is more resistant to sidewall damage in rough terrain, but will it affect other aspects of the tire's performance? Will the Dakar version wear longer than the standard version given basic gravel road and pavement use? Will it perform differently on the pavement? In off-tarmac terrain? Does it allow you to run lower tire pressures off road? Are there other differences in the tire's construction? (ie. different rubber compound, extra belts etc). Thanks
FYI: Here is the response I recieved from mx1 Canada via eMail on the differences in construction and handling of the Dakar vs standard versions. I was asking specifically about the e-07, but I'd imagine that this applies all the Dakar versions.
sounds like a standard front w/ dakar rear would be a great setup. or even better, using EO-10 Dakar front w/ EO-7 Dakar rear
I quit whining about the availabilty in the US & had them shipped from Canada to Fl....about to order another E07 Dakar. Love the tires & having a tire that lasts pays for itself. The E07 has been everything I wished for in a tire, especially the rear. I will get double the mileage that I got on the TKC80's....simple math tells me it's worth ordering from Canada.
Any thoughts on how the E07 compares to the TKC for grip? I'm rather fond of the E-09, but if I'm going to have to pay shipping from Canada and the foreign purchase fee on my credit card, a longer-lasting tire sounds mighty tempting.
and on that note E-10 Dakars too. No 21" in that yet though. He's thinking of getting them in (I'd like to try one). I was just there and picked up a E-09 Dakar. Couple of my friends have 'em and love 'em. BTW don't know if this was covered in this thread but Mitas measures their tires by casing, not knob width like most. That makes them wider than most. As Colin described it the E-09 140/80-17 is actually over 150 in knob width. The 150 E-10 looked huge :eek1 (it wasn't mounted). I haven't mounted mine yet but from what I've seen that's right. Does that sound right Daniel? Thanks, Dave
That's what I wanted to do (E-10 Dakar front w/ E-07 Dakar rear), but I ended up just going with the e-07 Dakar rear & I'll probably put a tkc80 up front (strom). I just really couldn't justify $30 extra dollars to try the e-10 Dakar over the tkc80, oth, if it lasted another few 1000 mi then it'd be a no brainer. BTW, mx1 Canada seems like a first rate outfit. Answered all eMails promptly, were good on the phone. Simply a pleasure to do business with. While the cost of shipping from BC is a little prohibitive, if you are looking for an aggressive tread with greater wear potential than a Big Block/tkc/Karoo in a 150/70-17, the E-07 seems to be a great choice and still came in cheaper (with shipping) than a Heidenau k60. I hope they find a US distributor soon, but in the mean time, I am quite pleased w/mx1 Canada.
I don't see any diffrence on pavement grip between the E07 versus the TKC80 . Off road the E07 has done real well. At 2500 miles my TKC80 rear was close to done...rode it till 3k &it was done. Fitted a E07 & now have 3500 miles & I guess about 1/3rd used. I hope to see 8k on this E07. The front tends to feel light at 90mph plus...I have yet to see anyone regret purchasing a E07. MX1 are great as mentioned!
Well, they didn't get my order shipped yesterday. So I changed my mind and decided to throw an e-10 Dakar in with my e-07 Dakar order!. Shipping came to $45 from BC to SLC, UT. It's likely a frivolous purchase, but the TKC is a known quantity & I wanted to see how the e-10 holds up. If I can get more than 10,000 miles (or more) out of each, I'll be psyched. I know that they harder compound may sacrifice some road performance, but I don't push it too hard on the tarmac. Anyways, I'll report back when I get em mounted! I hope the e-10 Dakar fits under my 2012 Strom front fender. I hear that the tkc80's are a tight fit already.:eek1
