Tires???

[McBiggity]

Need some help. Have my first dirt bike- 94 Wr250. It needs new tires.
I will be doing the Stimilon Motocross thing, but that is all I intend on doing for track/racing. Will spend most of my time in the trails and such.

What do you guys suggest?

[TheIglu]

Pirelli MT16's.

[seth399]

horrible for southwick, but a tire made for hard pack should last longer. If you get a sand tire with big long knobs and ride it in the woods/rocks and all that it will end up chunking off knobs

[R7]

This is one of those questions where 10 people will answer, and you'll get 10 different answers.

The first two sets on my KTM were Bridgstone M402mx, which I liked a lot. Good side bite and the knobs were spaced perfectly for self cleaning in the mud.
The set on the bike now are Dunlops, 756 front and 739 rear. So far I'm happy with these...and they are wearing like iron. The only complaint I have at my low skill level is the rear doesn't have as much side bite as the Bridgestone...though that could be I'm just on the throttle a bit more this season

[netra709]

IRC M5B rear, michelin s12 front. Both work well in the soft stuff and still hold up on use on hard packed/ rocky trails. Tim

[KB]

Get a set of pirelli's and get a rear trials tire you will LOVE it I promise you!!!

KB

[rbrais]

I go with the Dunlop 952 Front and 756 Rear. They are good for soft terrain, but aren't bad for the majority of conditions, either.

Being your first bike/ more of a beginner skill level, tire choice is not as critical, but those Dunlops have worked well for me at all race tracks and are decent in the woods as well.

[x2468]

i like the maxxis IT rear and maxxis SI front for a mixture of everything and rocks. or the Maxxis SI rear and front if conditions are a little softer like sand/mud. both tires are cheap, last a loooong time, and provide good traction.

[csmutty]

Michelin S12...can't beat them in the woods.

[Paul_E_D]

S12s are a nightmare in the rocks IMO. I am just trying out a set of Kenda Millevilles. Sticky front regular rear. I liked them a lot at Crowhill today, which is sandy and the knobs have reinforcement which means they shouldn't chunk in the rocks. I'm not doing much woods riding these days, though, so it will be a while before I can report on that.

[csmutty]

S12s are a nightmare in the rocks IMO. I am just trying out a set of Kenda Millevilles. Sticky front regular rear. I liked them a lot at Crowhill today, which is sandy and the knobs have reinforcement which means they shouldn't chunk in the rocks. I'm not doing much woods riding these days, though, so it will be a while before I can report on that.

I have found that the Millevilles although cheap, chunk worse than the S12. If you are using them for mx only then you should be fine, but in the rocks they like to shed.

[typeone]

after all my research... i ended up just going with Pirelli Scorpion MXMS (soft -> mid) again. they've worked really well in all sorts of conditions for 2 seasons now. i'd like to give their other models a try too, e.g. MXS for Southwick.

for harder pack terrain, the MXMH (mid -> hard) got good reviews from MXA. BikeBandit has great pricing.

[McBiggity]

Ok, I now have the tires. After sweating, swearing and 8 beers, I got the old tires off.
Now, I'll be damned if I can get these new ones on.
I left them out in the sun all day, used some soapy water, and I can't get them on.
Any tips? I really, don't want to pay someone to do this.

[seth399]

sorry I don't have any great tips but after just taking my front off I realized a 3rd tire lever would be great...it sucks with even 2 good levers...argh

[R7]

It's hard to explain the tricks without typing a huge 10 page post, but once youlearn it, it's not all that bad. I've got it down to only skinning 1 knuckle per finger where I used to skin all the knuckles, and then some

As Seth said, 3 tire irons are almost a must!
You want to get the entire rim/wheel inside the tire (sounds like a pain but it's easy), then work the bead onto the rim one side at a time.
I use a little baby powder for the tube and put a ever so slight amount of air in it. Windex on the tire itself has worked great for me as well.

[BMFR6]

Ok, I now have the tires. After sweating, swearing and 8 beers, I got the old tires off.
Now, I'll be damned if I can get these new ones on.
I left them out in the sun all day, used some soapy water, and I can't get them on.
Any tips? I really, don't want to pay someone to do this.

8 beers???? damn, according to the text i got, you were doing this at about 5:30 this morning, very impressive! just playing.

3 irons, windex, band-aids and beer and they will go on fairly easy. if you are around thgis weekend we can take care of it.

[McBiggity]

will see you tomorrow Mark, I only have two irons though

[BMFR6]

will see you tomorrow Mark, I only have two irons though

thats all right, the last one i did with screwdrivers.

[JustInMass]

I use 3 irons and lots of soapy water.
SOAP is huge.
Take small bites along the way.
Sometimes it's worth doing it yourself - other times it's not even close to worth it.

[richw]

Make sure the bead opposite is in the center of the rim

Yes talc on tube also put a little air in the tube so it has a shape and will scoot away rather than get pinched

Use spray lube wd-40 when you take off the old ones. Off only but makes then slip right off.
Use only enough soap water with enough soap to make a continuous wetting

I am down in Baltic so if your really stuck PM me

[McBiggity]

We managed to get them on, well Mark did. Along with some nice blood on my rims now!

[BMFR6]

lol. i can't help it, i'm a bleeder!

[KB]

There is a post on the interweb that sums it up.

I know someone posted it on here.

KB