Any one had used Michelin Tires DOT in our BRP's?

Hello guys,
I was looking for new tires DOT to my BR and found this on ebay, any one had used them before? is it good buy for 86 and free shipping? let me know please.

Thanks,

IBM

Do you have an ebay link to the tires...there are so many out there. But in general I run non-DOT tires like the Desert IT and what have you. Although I have a MT43 that is next to go on and that is a DOT trials tire :-)

No I don't have the link just go to e bay and search for it it should come out.

Modette,
try this link and let me know please.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260634810073&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_500wt_945

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Michelin-AC10DOT-Off-Rd-110-100-18-Rear-Motorcycle-Tire-/250691753994?_trksid=p4506.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D190330640226055729#ht_597wt_938

There are only 2 left

IBM

modette wrote:Do you have an ebay link to the tires...there are so many out there. But in general I run non-DOT tires like the Desert IT and what have you. Although I have a MT43 that is next to go on and that is a DOT trials tire :-)

Well I ordered them, I will get them next week, is it hard to install them without the proper tools? I don't have a tire changer, Do you need a bike tire changer or can I use my friends car tire changer?
Please let me know.

Here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFhqQxuxj8k&feature=related

Get some decent levers

Ahhh I hope you did not order it for $86...Amazon its $65.04

It $68.88 at Chaparral - Free two day shipping with $149 ordered...just order a few tires.
http://motorcycle.chaparral-racing.com/search?w=Michelin%20AC10

$67.44 here
http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIRES/Michelin/Michelin-AC10.htm

Shut ! I did order them last night! nobody make a comment when I sent out the thread, oh well nothing I can do now it's too late!

modette wrote:Ahhh I hope you did not order it for $86...Amazon its $65.04

It $68.88 at Chaparral - Free two day shipping with $149 ordered...just order a few tires.
http://motorcycle.chaparral-racing.com/search?w=Michelin%20AC10

$67.44 here
http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIRES/Michelin/Michelin-AC10.htm

bikerman wrote:Shut ! I did order them last night! nobody make a comment when I sent out the thread, oh well nothing I can do now it's too late!

I don't live on the forum...LOL Yeah $86 sounded high when I read that...Most I paid for a rear tire has been like $65. Most for a front has been $45.

I have Michelin AC-10 on my bike and they are soft, they keep up decently on dirt, but if you touch asphalt they don't last, next tyre I am buying is the pirelli MT21
Jabonet

That's not a good news!, well I guess I will have to wear them down fast so i can get a new ones next season! LOL.

Thanks for the info.

IBM

jabonet wrote:I have Michelin AC-10 on my bike and they are soft, they keep up decently on dirt, but if you touch asphalt they don't last, next tyre I am buying is the pirelli MT21
Jabonet

BM,

the Maxxis Desert IT 120/100-18 rear is DOT & has a good rep on the other forum. Looks a pure knobbly, no signs of being a DS-design actually.
Cheap too, it is said to last, allegedly hooks up well, I've got one leaning against the wall here, will try it out.
Got the Maxxis 6006 (I think?) 90/90-21 Dual Sport as front (also leaning only, not fitted yet), very cheap even, dunno the rep (?) but looks good enough to me, quite nice knobblies (for a DS-tyre) in fact.

Thanks BuRP, Just one question on the bike now I notice that the size of the rear tire is 130/80-18 and the manuals call for 110/100-18 what is the dif? does it matter if they are dif on those numbers? I did order what the manual calls for it (110/100-18).

BM

BuRP wrote:BM,

the Maxxis Desert IT 120/100-18 rear is DOT & has a good rep on the other forum. Looks a pure knobbly, no signs of being a DS-design actually.
Cheap too, it is said to last, allegedly hooks up well, I've got one leaning against the wall here, will try it out.
Got the Maxxis 6006 (I think?) 90/90-21 Dual Sport as front (also leaning only, not fitted yet), very cheap even, dunno the rep (?) but looks good enough to me, quite nice knobblies (for a DS-tyre) in fact.

BuRP wrote:BM,

the Maxxis Desert IT 120/100-18 rear is DOT & has a good rep on the other forum. Looks a pure knobbly, no signs of being a DS-design actually.
Cheap too, it is said to last, allegedly hooks up well, I've got one leaning against the wall here, will try it out.
Got the Maxxis 6006 (I think?) 90/90-21 Dual Sport as front (also leaning only, not fitted yet), very cheap even, dunno the rep (?) but looks good enough to me, quite nice knobblies (for a DS-tyre) in fact.

Unless you get a different Desert IT from Maxxis it is NOT DOT approved for road use. NOT DOT APPROVED
Specs listed here at this major US site, also I have one on the bike now and it says 'Off Road Use' on the sidewall.

http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Product.jsp?skuId=642972&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse

Modette,

I genuinely thought that tyre was an on-road, will check tonight. But anyway, I can't be bothered, and the local police here would not even know what 'DOT' means Besides, any tyre which lasts on a Pig is good enough to ride on tar with, just don't expect it to last if you continuously hammer it (no knobbly will last then).

BM,

tyre-sizes work following, take a 100/90-18 as an example.
First number, 100, is the width, in mm, so this one is 100mm wide.
Second number is the aspect-ratio, cars call this 'low profile'. This number, 90, indicates the tyre is 90% of the width high, so 90% x 100mm = 90mm high.
The last number, 18, indicates it is a tyre for an 18" rim, it is the rim-diameter in inches.

Allegedly (forum-knowledge) a 150-wide tyre will fit. I've measured the swingarm and it probably will fit too, but it is pushing the limit, especially so when the wheel sits forward in the chain-adjusters.
A 130 will fit easily though. But a 130/100 will automatically mean a larger-diameter tyre/circumference (which will affect your gearing, pls note), and this is why they tend to come in /90 or /80 height, as said a percentage of the width - making the wider tyres relationally lower whilst being wider, so as to reduce the circumference in an attempt to not affect the gearing too much (compared to a narrower tyre, and H prescribes the 110 as you said).
Nothing wrong with a bit wider tyre, more surface area means less pressure >> good for mud, sand etc.

I got the 120/100-18, so a bit 'higher' than a 110/100 (bigger by 1cm/radius, 2cm/diameter > a bit higher geared) - and this 'higher' tyre will thus give a bit more comfort, possibly even more grip on rock and ledges, because this tyre can 'balloon' a bit more. Take this even further and I could reduce the tyre-pressure a bit more, with the same risk of a 'snake-bite' puncture (dual holes in the tube there where the rim squeezes it on an rock-edge/ledge).
However, all this is more theory than practice, I like a bit wider as I think it will help finding a bit more grip.

This weekend I saw a 150/80-18 tyre, a monster of a thing - said to fit the Pig but I won't risk that (I'm afraid it will eat the white plastic flap). But hey, try it if you like?

Thanks but I already order as the manual says. I will wait and see how is the riding before and after, I think the gear ratio feels like it need a 6th gear since you feel it is a lot of power and the engine is looking for more gear, how do you fix this feeling? changing the sprocket and playing around on trail and error? anybody has different sprocket than original?

BM,

No worries, rear tyres don't last very long, Pigs eat them, you'll have plenty of opportunities to choose new/different ones.
Yeah, changing sprockets to suit is the only way to change gearing, never mind that a very different rear tyre-size may help here.
I run 15/49 F/B respectively, which is a touch longer than 'standard' gearing, 14/48 I believe. Still, you're not the only one to "miss" another gear, 6 would have been nice.
The front sprocket is available in 13, 14, 15 and I've heard even 16 tooth versions, and at the back I think I've seen as large as 51 teeth, so you can calculate what you want. The rear, standard, comes in aluminium, a fine choice.... for when you are racing & someone else pays. Lightest, and shortest-lived too! Steel rear sprockets last a LOT longer, an awful lot in fact, and good one's weigh only a bit more than an aluminium one. Supersprox is the name I think, US-made, I've got one on the rear - looks very nice too.
Be cautious though with the 13F, that shortens the gearing a bit much, too much for some. And mind, some case-protectors (dunno what you run?) will not allow bigger than what they're made for, which means you'd have to buy a matching one. Oh, don't run without a case saver eh? A new set of crankcases is quite costly.

And, in the hope I'm preaching to the converted-long-ago already, never ever run a clip-type masterlink on the Pig! Just get a swage-type link (a permanent link, you'll have trouble to distinguish it from all other links)- for which you need a special tool to fit, the DID chain-tool is a good choice here.


Edit: Modette, correct, it ain't a legal roadworthy tyre - too bad, I'm luckily in a position to adopt a mentality of 'tell someone who cares' as nobody checks such here. But I hear you guys are no so lucky...

LOL I always run Clip type...never a problem in 12K+ miles. Buy extra clips, and change it once a year if your that worried (check that there is not much free play with the clip, extra links run $2-$4), its what I do. how a chain works is there is no side force on the walls of a chain, its all in the length of the chain. A clip is no weaker then a press on link. In fact just to get the sidewall onto the chain I have to use a press as its just that tight, even if the clip fell off, chances are slim the sidewall of the chain would fall off; well maybe if your beating against rocks and stumps, but not in normal riding manor. Last clip on chain, I had to still use a Dremel to cut the chain off, those side plates don't move. I run a DID (I think its an O chain might be an X).

Oh I have never met a cop in the USA that checks tires, so I don't run DOT. I ride right by the with my headlight off (no need to have it on when I am just running up to the mountains and be on dirt in 5-8 miles), with obviously knobbie looking tires...they don't care. USFS workers, they too do not care. Now I have heard in Moab people on a few of the touristy routes being hassled but again most cops don't know or care. Heck I run the Tubliss system on the street and that is sold as off-road only...LOL

As for sprockets JT make some nice ones. Its what I ran on the FZ1...its hardened steel and they are very cheap...considering. I think the rear was $27, and the front like $16. Not sure if they ship overseas, or you can find someone there that cares them...here is the companies site: http://www.jtsprockets.com use the online catalog to get the part number then use Google to search.

Well, if you need a press to put the sideplate on then that's close to swaging. I still won't run it though, a swaged link cannot come off.
That Tubeliss system is interesting - what's the main reason why you've got it? Running very low pressures, or being able to 'tubeless-fix' (with a plug) punctures? Also, how long does it last - renew with a rear tyre, every umpteenth one or never?

BuRP wrote:Well, if you need a press to put the sideplate on then that's close to swaging. I still won't run it though, a swaged link cannot come off.
That Tubeliss system is interesting - what's the main reason why you've got it? Running very low pressures, or being able to 'tubeless-fix' (with a plug) punctures? Also, how long does it last - renew with a rear tyre, every umpteenth one or never?

Seeing as no odometer, cable broke so I have not kept track of miles anymore. I would guess I have 15K on the bikes Tubliss system. I got it because its cheaper in the long run then buying heavy duty tubes at $30 a piece and replacing them every few tires (I'm anal like that) seeing as tubes are not meant to stay in till they go flat, although I know riders tend to do just that. I never wanted to change a tire on a trail...tell you the truth I would ride it home flat. I don't need to worry about pinch flats although I run the front at 15-20 psi and the rear at 20-25 psi. I laugh at the guys airing down, I can not be bothered and I go over the same stuff they do *shrug* If I know I am trailering out to trails or an event I will run the 14 psi Honda recommends. I noticed the tires wear funny and quicker at the lower psi's...makes sense. So at 20psi I get good even tire wear.

When I change a tire, I clean the inner red lining and rim...I have not yet replaced the high pressure tube in the system. I was thinking of doing that next year just to be on the safe side seeing as they are like $6 for a new one, $12 total for a front and rear...not expensive at all...and I'll be good for another 25K miles (I figure I'll have another 10K if not more on the bike by the end of this season....so not bad, and we have lots of rocky terrain here.

Also I do carry a normal flat repair tool with those long sticky black strips to plug a hole...also a bicycle hand pump to re-inflate the main tire chamber. I have yet needed it. Did hear about how one guy got a sidewall puncture/slice and had to remove the Tubliss on the trail to put in a tube is a pain in the ass. Getting the red liner out is very hard. Its unlikely a Desert IT will get a slice in the sidewall those things are beefy...now the MT43 I plan to run...I wonder about that tire.

But if that happens your suppose to be able to run the tire totally flat...so worst case I putz home, or to the brother in laws house. At this point I got my moneys worth out of the Tubliss system so if it goes from riding on a total flat...no big deal. Just need to drop another $89 to get a new one.

Yeah, rocky stuff if what I'll ride a lot too. The ability to run low pressures, for surprisingly more traction, is the attractive bit I must say. Don't really worry about the rear but hate flats at the front, and those tyres are not nearly as beefy as the rear but they take more of a hammering. Therefore I normally, in rocks at least, keep the pressure up, same like you do. Got mousses in the KDX, they last me a long time, but obviously cannot be deflated for sand. Zero flats but costly, Tubeliss may be the way to go for the Pig.
"Difficult to get off" - does that mean changing tyres is a pain too? Put it this way, you put new tyres on yourself or have that done?
(My internet's too slow to watch the various videos, I tried to - did you have to drill a 3rd hole in the rims?)

Yes a third hole is needed, not a big deal to drill.

No I change my own tires, I own a Professional No-Mar tire changer....LOL Cost me $1,400 but was well worth it especially when I had a street bike and needed to change the rear 3-4 times a year (dealers wanted a 2 week wait here)...not to mention I have posted ads on craigslist and changed others tires for a small fee (made $400 so far...I've been slacking there in doing those lately)...I also have the XR's rims balanced too as a I have a balancer from No-Mar. Balancing them makes a big difference. Got to offset the rim locks.

As for actually changing the tires its a whole different process. To install you spread the sidewalls apart and push the rim down into the tire. Then you take the tire irons and pull the bead over the rim (onto the rim). This can be very hard on tires like the Desert IT with very stiff sidewalls...I know sit in a chair and take my feet and push the sidewall out going around the tire on both sides to make it so their is more room and an easier time to slip that rim in. That is the hard part, its actually easy to get the rim out...you just work the bead off with the tire irons on both sides then grab the rim and yank it out sideways.

The one thing you want to be careful with is putting the tire iron into the tire and make sure you don't grab the red inner liner. So that part you just have to pay attention to what the tire iron/spoon is grabbing.