[Neilb75]

I bought the Trailmax Missions for my 2012 V-Strom 650, and just put them on a few weeks ago and I really like them so far! I actually bought them based on Kyle Bradshaw's reviews at Chaparral Motorsports.

I have put at least 80 miles on them of mixed dry street, rough street, and loose gravel with hills, and they handle nicely. They do have a slight hum on the street, but you really have to be actively listening for it to hear it over the wind noise and engine noise. Much less noise than the Avon Trailriders I had on my old Honda CB500X. Grooves are definitely deeper and a hair wider than the Shinko 705s, which my brother-in-law has on his Versys 650.

No issues in the gravel and they grip great on the dry pavement. Never showed any signs of losing grip, and actual managed to accidentally drag my peg once in a tight turn. Low speed maneuvers are easy and the tire profile is as the reviews say, neutral and round. Can't yet speak to mileage (obviously).

I have not noticed a difference between the radial ply tires that came on the bike from the factory and these, which yes, just as the Dunlop Representative stated, are bias ply/bias belted. The front tire is bias ply, the rear is bias belted.

All in all, I highly recommend these tires as they are some of the best dual purpose tires I have used.

Did you notice any difference in power on your 650? They are heavy tires relative to other 50/50 tires...I have read that some people feel they noticed a power difference, other not...just wondering if you noticed a difference...?

 

[CodeSlow]

Did you notice any difference in power on your 650? They are heavy tires relative to other 50/50 tires...I have read that some people feel they noticed a power difference, other not...just wondering if you noticed a difference...?

Honestly, no, I have not noticed a difference in power with the tires. This is both riding solo and two-up. I would imagine that most of that weight would be felt in the suspension trying to keep the heavier tires in check since the they are unsprung weight. Even so, I do not feel a difference in the suspension either. In order to be able to tell the difference, I would need to compare side by side with another V-Strom with different tires installed.

 

[Robert the Pilgrim]

Oops.

I bought the Trailmax Missions for my 2012 V-Strom 650,

I was wondering how they were doing. [question about weight deleted]
So, aside from a slight hum, pretty good on the street?
I'm hoping to do some fairly serious off road, but I gotta get there first.

 

[CodeSlow]

Oops.

I was wondering how they were doing. [question about weight deleted]
So, aside from a slight hum, pretty good on the street?
I'm hoping to do some fairly serious off road, but I gotta get there first.

They have been doing good! They are great on the street. Actually dragged my peg feeler by accident for the first time. They are really stable, no vibrations, and the hum is barely noticeable. I didn't notice it until around my 3rd time out.

They are actually pretty quick to lean in. It took me by surprise at first, but now I have gotten used to it. I wonder if the tire profile is just different from what I was used to with Avon Trailriders on my old Honda CB500X.

I really do like them still! I primarily ride on the street, but I blame the Midwest and Chicagoland landscape for that more than anything. I would really like to take these into more technical terrain.

 

[CodeSlow]

Also, just to add, I think the Avon Trailriders were noiser tires and they are way more street biased.

 

[River650]

I have a set in my WEEE and love them in all terrain and I like to get off road once in a while I have no complaints. They are not a knobby they do get a little swirly in the sloppy mud other than that they are a great tire I don’t like the sloppy mud anyway. I have 6,500 miles and should have no trouble getting 10,000 or at least real close. I commute so they have seen lots of pavement.

 

[Motorpsychology]

Unscientific Update
I've now put 2000mi/3200km on my Dunlop Trailmax Missions, front and rear. So far, I like them better than the OEM Battlax's that my D'Elle came with. On paper, they are among the heaviest tires, but there is a lot of rubber on these, and my analog butt-o-meter doesn't detect any loss of power. They have a slight hum on pavement, but it is not noticeable usually, only when you are listening for it.
I'm a 50-50 rider: 50% asphalt, 50% concrete and some gravel and minimum maintenance roads thrown in. Out of the 2000 miles, so far I estimate ~12% was on unpaved roads; no single or two track trails and I did not air down. The tires are very predictable on gravel up to 1.5"/38mm diameter, even on downhill curves, and shallow stream crossings. I stopped and debated whether to walk it through a 100ft stream, but decided to stand up and throttle through. Arrow straight! There was 2 more such crossings on this particular road and I traversed the same way: stand up and throttle through.
In dry sand, not so good. For my experience level, I had my hands full trying to keep on a line and upright. I had to stop at one point to refocus and rest my pucker muscle. The Trailmax's have some well designed side lugs that bite into sand with minimal deeper digging. I took off from a standing start in soft, dry sand that was over my tire valves and she powered right out in Traction Control setting 1. Next time (?) I'll try airing down. I just got a neat little battery air pump to try out. But until then, I'm putting this 4.2 mile stretch of road on my GPS's avoid list! Back on the tarmac, they are a great tire. Very predictable right to the edge of the tread. Incidental pebbles in the apex or tar snakes upset them hardly at all.
I haven't had them in the rain yet, but from what I've experienced so far I would be very surprised if they were at all disappointing.
Kyle Bradshaw's review is spot on, IMO. Exactly what I expected.

 

[DesertBike]

OK - maybe I am not going crazy then - or at least auditory hallucinations are not one of the symptoms.

I put a new Dunlop Trailmax Mission on the front recently. From day one, I've been hearing some kind of noise from the front when I go 30-40 mph, as I often do in city riding. At higher speeds, wind noise covers it up. Could it be the new tire?

Or did I mess something up, in putting the front wheel back on? I haven't had any unusual resistance, weird bumps, burning smells, etc. and checked all the torque settings carefully, but maybe it's worth going over again.

I've yet to put 1000 miles on the new donut, but am already thinking about matching it with its rear cousin. My Dakar E-07+ is pushing past 10k miles, and almost out of the "yellow" zone on the tread depth gage.

I don't ride that much dirt, so maybe it's silly to pay for a 50/50 tire.

 

[tenny80]

I've got about 3500km on mine, I find them to be a fairly loud tire IF you compare them to 80% tires, compared to say think Shink 805 50/50 tire these are a VERY quiet tire. The only real issue i've had with them is mud on the ATV trails. The side lugs make these things handle awesome on loose gravel! they really dig in!

 

[Motorpsychology]

OK - maybe I am not going crazy then - or at least auditory hallucinations are not one of the symptoms.

I put a new Dunlop Trailmax Mission on the front recently. From day one, I've been hearing some kind of noise from the front when I go 30-40 mph, as I often do in city riding. At higher speeds, wind noise covers it up. Could it be the new tire?

Or did I mess something up, in putting the front wheel back on? I haven't had any unusual resistance, weird bumps, burning smells, etc. and checked all the torque settings carefully, but maybe it's worth going over again.

I've yet to put 1000 miles on the new donut, but am already thinking about matching it with its rear cousin. My Dakar E-07+ is pushing past 10k miles, and almost out of the "yellow" zone on the tread depth gage.

I don't ride that much dirt, so maybe it's silly to pay for a 50/50 tire.

For me, I always match the front and rear tire brands and models. I think overall optimum tire performance is achieved with a set that has tread profile and compound that are engineered to work together. Assuming the front is still serviceable, I will replace the rear with another Trailmax if I choose to stay with these. But I will change both if going to a different brand or model,

 

[Barnaby’sDad]

OK - maybe I am not going crazy then - or at least auditory hallucinations are not one of the symptoms.

I put a new Dunlop Trailmax Mission on the front recently. From day one, I've been hearing some kind of noise from the front when I go 30-40 mph, as I often do in city riding. At higher speeds, wind noise covers it up. Could it be the new tire?

Or did I mess something up, in putting the front wheel back on? I haven't had any unusual resistance, weird bumps, burning smells, etc. and checked all the torque settings carefully, but maybe it's worth going over again.

I've yet to put 1000 miles on the new donut, but am already thinking about matching it with its rear cousin. My Dakar E-07+ is pushing past 10k miles, and almost out of the "yellow" zone on the tread depth gage.

I don't ride that much dirt, so maybe it's silly to pay for a 50/50 tire.

Same here. It starts around 30 MPH or so and seems to peak (volume wise) around 45-50 MPH. I have to wear earplugs even around town now. I raised the front fender, which I think helped a tad bit, but the noise is still there for the most part.

My guess is that the noise is par for the course for an off-road oriented tire. It reminds me of when I switched from standard passenger tires to BFG A/T on a Jeep years ago.

 

[DesertBike]

Matching tires would be nice, but front and rear rarely have the courtesy to wear out at the same time. I'm not willing to dismount a tire that still has tread life.

I didn't have any noticeable noise with my Heidenau K60 Scout front. Go figure.

 

[Barnaby’sDad]

Matching tires would be nice, but front and rear rarely have the courtesy to wear out at the same time. I'm not willing to dismount a tire that still has tread life.

I didn't have any noticeable noise with my Heidenau K60 Scout front. Go figure.

Same here. I will run this set, replace the rear (when the time comes) with another of the same, and re-evaluate after that if I want to stay with them long term.

I got to screw around in some gravel this past weekend. Night and day difference from the stock BW’s.

 

[DesertBike]

I did about 17 miles of forest road with the Trailmax yesterday. It was a well-maintained road, so I probably would have been fine on street tires, but it was nice to have the extra grip available if needed.

 

[Mumbles]

Any comparisons between the 80/20 Shinko 705s and 50/50 Dunlop Trailmasters? Running 705s now and pondering their eventual replacements. I'm probably a 70/30 rider now but see the shift toward more forest service gravel in the future.

 

[Barnaby’sDad]

I ran Shinko 705’s on my last motorcycle. I think the biggest difference between the two is going to be the noise put off by the Trailmax Mission.

I’ve got a few hundred miles on mine so far, with two 200+ mile days. All around riding manners wise, I think they’re great. They handle well, they’re fine in the rain, the tread pattern is a beast (they look great)...and they ride great in dirt and gravel.

If it wasn’t for the sound that comes with an aggressive tread design...where these tires are concerned...you might think that you’re just running around on an 80/20.

I’ve seen people call these 80/20 tires...I’m not sure what they’re smoking. Sure...you could use these as pretty much a dedicated street tire like I’m doing, but there are better tires for someone with 80%+ street usage.

The sound and price are really the only downsides, in my opinion. As far as the price goes...If the rear lasts as long as people are saying, then I think they’re worth it just from a longevity standpoint (vs. Shinko 804/805).

The only other tires that I gave serious consideration to at the end of my selection process were the Shinko 705 (based on previous experience) and the Shinko 804/805. Once I was dead set on a more aggressive tread design and I wrapped my head around just how crappy the rear tread life is for the 805...I was set on the Trailmax Mission.

 

[DesertBike]

It's been too long since I had 705s to compare how they ride.

I'm not going back to Shinkos anytime soon because they simply don't last long enough in the rear.

 

[branthopolis]

Just had a set of Trailmax Missions installed on my '15 Vee2 this morning... Just came back from a 30ish mile local scrub-in loop and thought I'd share my initial 2 cents.. The previous tires were Pirelli Angel GT's (Street-oriented sport-touring tires). Wow. This is a chonky tire... The extra weight is immediately noticable when at speed and requires more input/force at the bars to initiate a turn. After a few miles, this was already pretty much not a factor as I quickly adjusted to it... There is definitely more noise (than the Angel GT's) and a distinct whining/howling noise from maybe 45-60mph. Not loud, but definitely there.. You might not even notice it with earplugs in... I expected to feel a noticeable increase in vibes, but that just didn't happen... I'm sure it had to increase a little bit just due to the difference between the tires, but it wasn't noticeable.. Took the same amount of weight to balance as the previous tires.. Weights just had to be relocated slightly on the wheels... I'm happy with them so far and look forward to venturing out a little bit more often from the blacktop... That is a US Dime (1.75cm across) inbetween the treadblocks for reference..

 

[River650]

11,700 miles and still picking up rocks. I love these tires. I’m planning to order my second set this weekend should be over 12,000 by then 😬🏍

 

[DesertBike]

Seems I'm likely to get a good 10k out of a Trailmax Mission rear - sounds like a plan.

The center tread on the Mitas Dakar E-07+ is getting a bit thin. She's made it comfortably past 10k miles though so I can't complain.