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I went from Bridgestone Battlax A41 to Motoz Tractionator GPS

6K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  JonathanAU 
#1 ·
Hi guys.
My bike has new shoes.
I had the original Bridgestone Battlax A41 for almost 14000km.

Great tyres on the road, very quite, responsive, nice grip in wet or dry. I commute most of the time. Let's say 4/5 days a week and I go out camping or ride for fun about 1 or 2 times a month. So the 90/10 makes sense to me.
Great tyres on the road for sure.
Off road, they behave as expected for a 90/10 (the 10% off road does it good)
I have ride those tyres in sand, dirt, clay, gravel and rocks up to the point where they have no more traction to give on a rocky hill and I went backwards (and my skills are not that high either)
There were many moments when I feel as the front wheel was floating over the terrain instead of making it though, that gives a very vague feeling of direction as the you don't have control over the direction of the bike when you want to turn or wanting to avoid a water canal or anything off roading. That is the lack of grip off road of the 90/10.
The traction control start affecting as soon as you loose grip in the rear tyre , and that happened a lot to me as well.
That being said, I was going at 70 km/h in unsealed roads in a straight line... no problems.

Mileage wise, they last for long km on the road. Mine had over 13800km and I reckon I could have made 18000 km - 20000 km as long as I stay on the road (not much off road once those treads are lower)

Would I recommend them: YES. But be aware of the limits when going off road

This is how they look like yesterday, when they were replaced by a 50/50 Motoz Tractionator GPS
284596


NOW about the Motoz Tractionator GPS
Lucky me, I already rode a V-strom 650 with the Motoz for 3 days on road and off road. Even when I found them noisy on the road and I was not used to the vibration of the knobs in the front tyre, I fell in love when I hitted the dirt. Having that feeling of grip on a wet and slippery corner was magic to me. Tons more of traction when doing anything that otherwise would have make me go slower and more cautelous with the Battlax.
I feel like cutting butter with a hot knife in comparison.
I was not looking to the next obstacle / slippery bit on the road anymore. I was looking ahead and around. I was more relaxed and I was going faster too.
So despite my eco-friendly/money-wise side telling me "you still have 5000km on the old tyres" don't waste them, I went and change them to the Motoz.
As a bonus, I asked for the L shaped valves, for easy access when checking the pressure.
Even my wife is happy for it. WINNING BIG TIME

284597

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#2 ·
Those Motoz GPS tires are my favorite now. I have a set on my wife's BMW F650 GS that have 10,000 miles on them. They are seriously squared off, but still have a bit to go before getting to the wear bars. She used to hate gravel and sand, now she tolerates it. I'm looking forward to getting a set on my vstrom.
 
#3 ·
So despite my eco-friendly/money-wise side telling me "you still have 5000km on the old tyres" don't waste them
This is me all over!

I have a '20 Wee and I am going on a few ADV rides around Yosemite in June/July. I've only put 5,000 miles on the bike since I bought it in May last year and there is still a lot of tread left on the OEM tires. So now I have to ride almost every weekend so I can put some more wear on the tires and justify getting Dunlop Trailmax Missions (although I'm still considering Mitas E-07 and Tractionators).
 
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#7 ·
This is me all over!

I have a '20 Wee and I am going on a few ADV rides around Yosemite in June/July. I've only put 5,000 miles on the bike since I bought it in May last year and there is still a lot of tread left on the OEM tires. So now I have to ride almost every weekend so I can put some more wear on the tires and justify getting Dunlop Trailmax Missions (although I'm still considering Mitas E-07 and Tractionators).
well, it's time to do all the commuting , shop trips, and random trips in the bike .. some burnout may help too ;)
 
#6 ·
Nice beefy looking tread!

As I looked over the specs, I see they have good/high silica content for better performance on ice/snow. Also improve durability.

I hope I never have to ride on ice.....but if I do, these would help.
I doubt I will have that snow problem in Australia hahaha
There a few mountains that get snow in winter though.
 
#5 ·
Never heard of the Motoz, until now - looks like a great tire for exploring off tarmac.

Until you experience it, changing tires has the biggest effect on how your bike feels when riding on certain terrain. My experience arc shadows the original poster's comments about how the original tires are a bit sketchy on the marbles - for its basically a street tire with slightly wider rain grooves. I ran Shinko 705 series tires for a number of years, and they do provide a noticeable increase in off-road grip, within reason as it's not a full 50/50 knobby. I can't recall if it was my 2nd or 3rd set, but when it was time to replace, I decided I couldn't take the road-hum, especially when they wear down, it really got unbearable on longer rides if I didn't have my earplugs inserted. I'm currently on Metzeler Tourance NEXT tires, and they're so incredibly quiet it feels like I'm riding a totally different bike after being on the semi-knobby 705's for so long. The handling of my vstrom is greatly improved - the bike holds a line thru any corner with no corrections needed along the way - very sure footed. The biggest surprise is off road, at least when it's not that loose. The supple sidewall of this tire allows it to grip far better than it has any right to - it's way better than the original Bridgestones, way better in this regard. I'd totally get these again, but the urge to try something new is always there - that's the fun of tires that I never tire of!
 
#8 ·
The MotoZ are lumpy and noisy on the road but the stick pretty well and are good when braking. I hope I get the mileage as suggested by some. The Shinko's they replaced were gone at 5K mikes. I think the 805 Shikos are smoother on the pavement and feel better in the twisties.
They do look the ADV part for sure.
 
#9 ·
I bought my 2012 650 with near-new Tractionators on them. I reckon they're pretty good for a dual-purpose tyre, good grip on the hard top and traction on the dirt.
The main issue for me is (what I believe) the front tyre causing the handlebars to oscillate at crawling speed - such as on approach to the traffic lights.
Until such time as I can compare them against more road-biased hoops, this is just my expectation - but the front tread does feel scalloped.
I'm keen to hear if you (or anyone) has the same experience with the MT's once they have a few kays/miles under their belt.
In a perfect world, the finance fairies might grant my wish of a set of spoked wheels for the dual purpose tyres and some road tyres for the stock mags. :cool:
D
 
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