I have been doing a bit checking on the problem with pricing on Mitas tires, and it seems that the problem might not always be the dealer. According to a guy who used to do them but no longer does, Mitas brought in a minimum $75- shipping cost for dealers, for up to four sets of tires. It was $25- a set , and that is in the list price. So no problem if you want to keep stock on the shelf, if you sell enough to order three sets at a time, or if your customer is happy to wait two or three weeks till you have an order for 3 sets. But a prick if someone wants a set reasonably quickly , and wants a price first - to cover himself the dealer has to include the full shipping cost in the quote. Which might explain the list plus $50- quotes from dealers with no stock. But not the plus $100- from the guy with stock-----.
Hey! Today I went to a mechanic to change the tyres, I reminded him several times to make sure of the direction of the tyre he managed to mess it up at the front tyre. I mounted a Mitas C17 up front and E09 on the rear. How can this affect tyre behaviour and life? Thanks for your help!
Surprised there's so many people after these at this time of the year (at least in the northern hemisphere). Mitas tyres don't seem to have a good reputation for wet, damp, clod weather riding.
Just rode the current, softer E07S right through a wet, by Oz standards winter, mainly on bumpy, slippery second rate, uncoated spray seal, and no problem with wet, or dry, grip. Best gripping tire I have had on the G/S. Full stop. And all that was on cold tires I ride with 28F/32 rear and even after a good thrashing the front is hardly warm, and the back just a little warmer. Nice even wear all the way round on the front too, no flat spot or scalloping. Heat makes little if any difference to the grip an road tires - no manufacturer has ever recommenced that you warm a road tire up before using it - but the wankerati confuse them with race tires which are designed to have prodigious grip at elevated tread temperatures. For a 60 km race distance, sometimes. The heat in race tires is generated mainly by deflection in the tread rubber itself, not by deflection in the sidewall, as too much heat in the sidewall destroys it, think gators from truck tires. If race tires go off at the end of a race it is not because they are overheated, it is because they are too cold, as the thinner rubber does not deflect enough to generate sufficient heat in the tread. But there are some poor misguided folk who run their road tires far to soft, to "get some heat into the tread" which doesn't actually need heat to work anyway, and damages the sidewall long before it warms the tread up. And then they complain about the tires.
Actually, I am sitting here with two rather painfull knee caps after chucking the F650 down the road, and feeling that description probably applies to me. Mostly my fault, of course. So, did I learn anything? Probably a little, but I knew most of it and just did it wrong. First, my new E07s have a lot more grip than old Pirelli Sport Demons of an indeterminate age, which the PO had fitted. Unless there is a recent reciept for tires and tubes I usually change them on a new bike as soon as possible - just why I didnt do it this time I cant explain, as the Demons are a horrid little tire and totally unsuited to the F650. I was actually on my way to Garage MCs to have a set of Annekey3 s fitted, and had probably let the Demons get too worn - I usually change at about 80% worn, but these were 98% on the front and 100% on the back. But the roads were dry and I was just going on a little meander to kill time until my fitting appointment-----. I was wearing partially lined kevlar jeans, with soft rubber pads in the knees. The soft rubber knee pads didnt seem to make much difference to the impact, and one jeans leg split at the sticheng at the top of the knee pad pouch, where the kevlar stopped, so I have a large graze on that knee. My elbows are fine the E marked hard elbow protectors worked perfectly, although the jacket is a write off. Ten years old anyway. Every other pair of bike trousers I own have hard E marked knee protectors-------. Elastoplast Spray Plaster is a good product, but it stings a bit on a small cut and is f--king agony on a large graze. I wouldnt buy part lined kevlar jeans, or even the ones with kevlar from the knee to the waist, and I wouldnt go without hard knee protectors. You would probably be just as well with a $20- pair of Rivers jeans and decent quality offroad style strap on knee and shin protectors. Remember too that an old, worn, pair of jeans will split eventually, so if you want protection dont wear them until they are worn out, no matter what type. So what happened to cause the fall? Just cruising down Hindmarsh Valley road, approaching the main Victor Harbour road junction. I applied the front brake brake with medium pressure and the front went down like it was on ice, and I was body surfing down the road on my chest. No squeal or skid marks, just the mark where the engine protector hit, hard. The road had just been re sealed , using the new system they are introducing which consists of one heavy layer of bitumen spray followed by a layer of uncoated 25 mm gravel, blinded in the same operation with 6 mm to dust stone. So the new surface was a mixture of 25mm uncoated stone and dust. The old Highways spec was two spray layers , each followed by a layer of bitumen coated chips, the first 14 /15 mm and the second of 6/7 mm, rolled into the first, although not all councils followed this spec. So how much was the old Sport Demon and how much the new surface I cant say, but I would tread this new surfacing with extreme caution. A car load of nice young ladies stopped and helped me back onto the bike, and I made my tire fitting appointment. One even lifted my bad leg over the saddle, much to the amusement of her friends. Makes a change. The Annekey3's felt great on the way home, a different class from the Demons. They have the feel of a quality tire, nice planted feel, good progressive turn in, and good road shock asorbtion. Havent tried them on gravel yet, or tested the ultimate grip, but as soon as my swollen knees go down a bit I will do a bit gravel. Hopefully without testing the ultimate grip.
Howdy, Forgive my ignorance but is there a new compound e07 on the market? The mitas website had no new listings last time I checked yet I'm reading if softer, more grippy tyres? Bring them on! Are they the dakars? I was under the impression the dakar (yellow stripe) was even tougher than before.. Cheers Tomo
Mitas softened the compound a while ago in an effort to alleviate the cracking that occurred around the tread; they still crack but not to the same extent. There is an E07 Dakar rear made for the big chookies but it is not sold in Oz. I'm just about to replace the E07s on my R100GS, 20,000Km on the front, 13,000Km rear and flattened out. They still stick like shit to a blanket.
umm, how do you find the E07 front on loose gravel or sand ? looking at a new front tyre soon, and i like the E07 i hav on the back
In May 2014 I'll be riding 5700km across Australia- Airlie Beach to Freemantle- with no tyre changes. My choices so far are: Dunlop D606 (not keen on them), Pirelli MT-21 (enjoy the rear, but not sure about the life span- supposedly it will make it)....... But I'd like an opinion of using the Mitas E09 rear with C-17 front. (don't bother mentioning the E09 front- not enough dirt traction for my liking.... the rears are predictable) I've no doubt the E09 rear will make the distance on the 400, but what about the C17? I ran C21's in the Aus Safari & know that they wouldn't make it.
OK on loose dirt, but I don't ride very fast; don't know about sand. Davorallyfan took his R80 G/S PD up near Cape York to the last OCR with an E07 on the back, but had a knobbie on the front (MT21?) and did alright. I have it on good authority that E07 rear and Continental TKC80 front on airhead beemers and DR650's etc is a well regarded combination for RTW travel.
Mitas make the TKC for Continential, and also sell it under their own brand, a bit cheaper than the Conti. I find the a new E07 front fine on loose gravel, but like gsd4me I dont go that fast either. Grip seems to fall away quickly as it wears, unlike the back which seems to wear and grip forever
I knew of the T644, but never looked at it as an option....it looks much more aggressive in the flesh. What do you have it on, and how does it feel? Have you tried the T644 rear? How do they wear/feel? Would this possibly be a better option than the E09 rear on the DRZ 400?
F650dakar, I like it on the dakar, gives advance notice when your playing beyond your capability felt better when traveling out west than the MT21 I have on there at the moment. But the dakar is a lump of a bike so comparisons to a DRZ may be pointless Not tried rears as I've always matched it with the E07, always worth a shot though
I have a C02 rear that has 4000klms on it, reckon its easily got another 2000klms left on it. 50\50 dirt\ blacktop. Bit slippery on wet blacktop but other than its been excellent. XR650R