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Tires for Alaska Trip

13K views 39 replies 21 participants last post by  nvr2old 
#1 ·
I would like to set this up as a poll...after considerable research, I still have not decided between Dunlop Trailmax Mission, Motoz Tractionator or Anakee Adventure. Wish list includes longevity, handling in rain, handling in twisties, handling off pavement. All come in at about $330 per set (let me know if you found them cheaper).
 
#2 ·
still have not decided between Dunlop Trailmax Mission, Motoz Tractionator or Anakee Adventure. Wish list includes longevity, handling in rain, handling in twisties, handling off pavement.
I can't recommend the Heidenau K60 Scouts enough. Great grip on and off pavement, great longevity. Just my $0.02.
 
#3 ·
Yup ...seconded for the Scouts. Rock stable on gravel and long lived on pavement. I think you will find they are very popular for Alaska runs to avoid needing a tire change mid trip.

Mitas 07s should be on the list too...not quite as long wearing but a bit better on wet pavement.
Apparently there was a change in the tire recently so my info may be dated.
 
#6 ·
I've been reading the reports of the new incarnation for the Mitas E07+ tire that replaced the one sized for the V-Strom (and my Super Tenere), and it sounds like they've compromised the extreme longevity that used to be possible with the original E07. It doesn't appear to have lost any of its handling characteristics, but the longevity seems like it's now in the 5000 mile range, rather than the 9000+ that was pretty common with the old version. I got over 9000 on an old version E07 that I had on my Yamaha, and I probably changed it before I had to. Still sounds like a great all around tire, but maybe no longer one to count on for an Alaska trip without a tire change.

I'm planning another Colorado/Utah trip for next year, and I think it's going to be a set of K60's this time.
 
#10 ·
Yup that is the tire to get, I have had a few PM's with the OP and told him to pull the trigger on those. My buddy Steve has run all the tires mentioned on his 1200GS, and nothing has impressed him "overall" like the current Motoz he has been running currently.
 
#8 ·
I just got a set of Tractionators from a guy that mounted them in Alaska but the bike pooped out after a few miles. I mounted the rear but haven't had a chance to try riding on it.
The Tractionators look really macho and ready for the worst to be thrown at them.
I know the 805 Shinko improved the feel of the Wee in the twisties. I'm hoping the Tractionator has the same handling.
 
#9 ·
Yes I can confirm the now poor longevity of the Mitas E07 plus, mine was done at 10,000 kms (6000) miles. Prior to that with the original E07 I could get close to 20,000 kms. I am thinking Motoz Tractionator rear and probably stay with Michelin Anakee Wild front.
 
#12 ·
Doing a poll is almost useless as tire performance is so subjective and too many variables like riding style, total weight, HP, throttle, breaking, riding surfaces, air temperatures, tire pressures etc all play into wear and performance.

It stands to reason a hard long lasting compound with an open tread pattern will not stick like a high performance rain tire but tires are always a compromise.

Out of all the tires you picked they all the ability to get you there as do many other tires but asking for longevity, handling in rain, handling in twisties, handling off pavement and cost is going to be a tall order. Maybe if you prioritize the "wish list" that will also help narrow down the choices?
 
#14 ·
That is pretty much the priority of my wish list: 1) Longevity 2) Rain 3) Twisties 4)Off pavement

Not concerned with cost or road noise for this set of tires.
 
#13 ·
One thing to know on the Mitas EO7 + rear is that once over 5k miles it really squares off. After that it will go another 2-3k miles. So if you are running pavement on the way home it will get you there.

My Dakar + rear lasted 8 k miles and it was done even though the cords were not showing yet.
 
#15 ·
#20 ·
No ABS on my machine...
 
#16 ·
A couple of buddies went from Pennsylvania to Prudhoe Bay AK the summer of 2018. Buddy said the gravel roads were generally good. Sometimes rutted but mostly hardpack. The big problem areas he said where they were adding additional stone to the roads. They simply tilt the dump bed and drive forward. Stones can be 2" or 10" deep as they don't grade them they let the sunquient vehicles spread them about.

We also ran into this in Labrador where they dumped truck after truck of stones (miles worth) and were work on grading the stones. Its and a$$ puckering situation when you are going 65 mph down hardpack then all of a sudden you are floating in a bed of stones a foot deep. It they don't use modified gravel (gravel with dirt combined so it'll compact) they use straight gravel so it like riding in really big grain sand. Sit back on the seat, open the throttle and let the front wheel plane over the gravel works great until to hut a rut. That when the real fun begins.

Good luck in your tire quest.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I've ridden the GPS motoZ in the rain for about three days of 8hr riding. Never had issue with my front, it was actually the best riding 50/50 rated ( I'd put them at a 70/30 maybe 60/40 myself) front tire I've ever had. As said by others your can't get long wear and great rain performance so my expectations are definitely lower in the rain but at that time I didn't have abs and I would ride according to conditions. Can't remember ever locking that front tire or sliding it on the road at any time.

Sold that bike to a buddy two years ago almost three now when he got it I had put 3500-4k on them he's put at least 2k on it and I serviced it a month ago and it still has 8/32 of rear tire.
 
#18 ·
Dunlop Trailmax Mission Tires

My priorities are very similar to @BumbleV's. I started a thread, Dunlop Trailmax Mission Tires recently and I'm kinda jonesing them still. They are marketed as a 50/50 tire and online "first ride" reviews seem favorable as far as dry pavement manners and gravel/hardpack offroad. My riding, to be on the slightly optimistic side of honest is probably ~70/30. None of the reviews I've come across has had them long enough to get an impression of wet pavement, mud or longevity; they all are waiting for a set to test long term. My close second is the MItas e07+, but I also want to explore the Moto Z's further. My OEM Battlax's gave me decent wear, 8,000mi/12,800km but weren't all that terrific off pavement.
I guess my ideal tire would be a 50,000 mi. racing rain tire with some sort of Bluetooth-activated knobby deployment and priced at $200 a set. :grin2:
 
#19 ·
I used K60's for my trip to Tuktoyaktuk. Had a lot of rain with no issues, never broke lose on the pavement. Had 400 miles of ran on the first day, 300 on the second, rain almost everyday.
Had over 200 miles of rain on the Dempster Highway.
The full trip was 7800 miles and the front tire looked like it could do the trip again and the rear looked like a little car tire but I was able to use it for the rest of the year.

If I was going to do the trip again I would use the K60's, if I was going to change tires in Whitehorse I would have the E07+ Dakar's installed.

Use a car tire in Alaska? I have done that. :smile2:

 
#22 ·
I had Anakee Wild front / rear on my trip up there. Poor longevity, the rear was toast when I got home, but were good tires. They did not handle sand as well as E07 and were squirrelly on metal grid bridges which are frequent up there. The E07 Dakar were much better across the board.

The Wild Front still has life in it though, I kept it.

I would likely not mix radial (wild) tires with bias-ply, so that is something to consider.
 
#24 ·
Took Michelin 20 minutes and 4 representatives to tell me all their tires are made overseas (read China)...
 
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#25 ·
Hmmm, that's odd. There is a BIG Michelin plant about 20 kms or so away from me that has been making car and truck tires for about 25-30 years for the North American market. They are in the process of expanding it to a HUGE plant (bought the neighbouring airport for the space) to make a new tech truck trailer tire specifically for North America. I don't live in China...
 
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#26 ·
Yep, I think I spoke with a couple morons.
 
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#27 ·
Lots of Michelin motorcycle tires are made in Spain ...

Sent from my SM-T720 using Tapatalk
 
#29 ·
On my KLR, the Heidenau K60 Scouts were my favourite tires. But I’m not sure that I would put them on my Vee. On the KLR they were great off-road or off pavement but on pavement they were okay. Wet pavement was terrible. Put it on something with 2-1/2 tomes the horsepower and you will have to be pretty cautious on wet pavement.
 
#31 ·
I live, work, and commute by my Wee in rainy Vancouver. I can tell you that, perhaps because of the extra weight vs. the KLR, K60s are great on wet pavement.

I'm also a cautious rider in the wet, that might help too. Still, wet pavement? These tires eat it up, even now when it's colder.
 
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#30 ·
I would put a MotoZ Tractionator GPS rear, and a Continental TKC-80 up front. Runner up for a rear would be a Mitas E-07+ Dakar, and front would be a Shinko 804.

I had a friend who ran through a tractionator front extremely quickly, and the tire had a lot of issues with hunting in grooves, gravel, and sand. He swapped for a TKC-80 front mid trip and said it was like night and day better both on and off road. The E-07 front is ok, gets great mileage, but I think any chevron pattern front tire is lacking in offroad performance (Tractionator also has a chevron ish front pattern). I presently have an E-07 on the front of my bike and will run it until it is dead, and then swap for a TKC-80.
 
#37 ·
Just to update. The Mitas E-07 Standard (original high mileage) is now available in US. I rode that tire to Alaska and back from Michigan in 2017. They had just under 12,000 miles when I sold the bike. I swore I'd never buy a different tire. They were great, but they discontinued them before I could get a set for my Vee.

KorKoro
 
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