I'm new to Dirt Bikes and know nothing about tires and would appreciate some input. I have an 05 WR250F that is Green Plated so it will be only used for Off Road. I plan on riding the Ganny so I need something that will work well in the sand, I also plan on riding in Muskoka, not sure what the trails will be like there but I expect some rock. Although I avoid mud like the plague, I keep coming across ares that are unavoidable. Thanks,
Thank you for your reply, it seem the Trakmasters II 760 have a lot of positive reviews and will be a good fit for my needs. There were a couple reviews that mentioned a bit if a weird handling from the front in sandy conditions. Is this a case of too many opinions on the internet or is there a better choice for the front that will mix well with the Trakmasters rear?
I wouldn't bother with the Trackmaster on the front. It doesn't work well in sand or loose stuff. For value for the money, Personally, I'd go with Motoz tractionator ST, or Terrapactor ST for front and rear. They work well for pretty much everywhere in Ontario, are affordable and last a long time. I currently have a set on my bike that I installed about 100 hours ago and they still grip very well. Make sure you install heavy duty tubes.
I'll second the suggestion for the Motoz brand. I switched from Kenda and Pirelli a couples years ago and have never looked back.
Where are you guys buying these tires? I was just about to grab some Trakmasters, but am willing to try these out. Thanks.
Trackmaster -1 Motoz +1 I have had both. Have tractionator IT on my 250F and their great. Put a brand new tractionator ST on my 2T bike last September and broke my wrist after 5 minutes.
Trakmaster is THE budget choice. There are plenty of quality tires, but I have yet to find a tire that is as good in so many circumstances as the TM's for the price. I used Motoz for one season. I loved them at first, but found that the harder I pushed, the scarier they got. They did wear well, but at the expense of traction.
It seems in your case it may depend on which version of the Motoz's you had and where you were using them....I find the ST Terrapactors and Tractionators grip like velcro in the Ganny, SC and elsewhere. Also seemed Ok at Calabogie. I don't know how you were getting decent performance out of a front trackmaster. They are universally despised......
My memory isn't very good, so I had to search to find out which ones I had. They were Tractionater IT's. I also found this, posted last year. I remember now, I liked the rear, hated the front. I know some people don't like the TM front, and that's why I never bought one, but since I got one thrown in on a bike deal last year, I decided to try it and I'm very happy with it. I wouldn't put one on my race bike though.
The Tractionator ITs dont work as well in most Ontario conditions, especially not the X-circuits and Desert versions. The STs do; Loam, sandy loam, sand - ie most Southwestern Ontario loam farmland, Norfolk-Simcoe-Durham-Northumberland counties, Limerick, Larose. Also good in mud. They seem to work decently on dry rock and can tolerate wet rock to get you by.
According to Motoz, the IT was the only tire that suited the terrain I ride on in Norfolk. Essentially a 50/50 hard/soft tire. I found that the front didn't work particularly well anywhere. The rear was actually quite good, from memory, but I've moved on to a Dunlop rear, and Pirelli front for racing, and the TM's for my KLX. The TM front is funny, because I think about half the people that have tried it really like it, while the other half really hate it.
The IT front is an odd tire (I had two of them) as it will track across rutted ground like nobodys business. It does reasonably well in a bunch of conditions. It will do loam fine and hard pack, but when things get soft and loose, or muddy the side knobs tend to fill up allowing the tire to slide a bit. The ST's are are head an shoulders above it for the conditions I described..
I am one of those guys that like the TrakMaster front tire. I have used them on my KLR and my DRZ400. It took me a while to warm up to it at first, but I found it quite predictable after some usage. I also like the price! It is important to note that I am not an aggressive rider. That may make a difference.
