The Dunlop 952 is almost the exact same as the trackmaster2's only its not dot. It looks like more people who switch to non-dot tires go for ones that are "desert" or hard pack tires.

 

I really like the Kenda Track Master II rear tire which is DOT. It does a good job in everything I've had it in from sand, hard clay, loose dirt, and eastern woods. I'm not a big fan of the front, though.

I currently have on a Dunlop 606 rear but I am going to pull that tire off long before it is worn out and give it away. I've used it for a month or two and I'm just not that happy with it. It's not all bad though, it worked fine for my ride at Uwharrie NF which is mostly rock and steep rocky climbs / descents. Where I don't like it is when you lay the bike over in a turn and are on the throttle - it will give way unpredictably and without warning and has put me on my rear once and almost so at least a half dozen other times to the point where I am now very timid in going into a turn like that. Just touch the throttle while over on the side a bit and the back end steps out with little control and no warning.

The TM-II is not like that at all. When stepping out it gives you plenty of warning and breaks away gradually and under control so you can power out of a fast turn and steer with the rear wheel. The D-606 is unpredictable in that situation, at least in my experience on the terrain we ride which is eastern woods, single track, with some grassy and sandy areas.

I should mention that this is for flat turns. No problem with bermed corners.

Right now, though, I have a brand new Pirelli MT-16 for the rear and a Pirelli Scorpion Pro for the front. I haven't tried either one, but I am going to put them on this weekend or next in preparation for a ride at the Hatfield McCoy trail system in WV in a few weeks where I want some fresh rubber. I've heard really good things about this combination from a number of folks.

The Scorpion Pro front is DOT approved but the MT-16 is not. I'm expecting the MT-16 to wear fairly quickly, but I'm anxious to try it out, just looking at the tread pattern and feeling the softness of the rubber, I think it's going to hook up great, especially in our eastern woods/single track we have here.

The Scorpion Pro front has those diagonal side ***** that don't flex much and help track well in corners. The MT-16 is for soft to intermediate terrain, supposed to hook up very well for woods off-road, slick roots and rocks. You hear a lot of good things about this combo from the guys doing hare scrambles and gncc races.

 

i bought Michelin AC-10s for the front and back about 3 weeks ago from Rocky Mountain, to replace the stock Dunlop 603s, and I love the performance improvement from them, especially in sand and in twisty turns!

Dave

 

The problem I have is the terrain I ride is varied. Anything after spring is mostly hardpack and quite a few rocks in the mountains. I also hit some tracks by the Delaware river that are all river sand/silt and some soft kinda sand stuff in the coal regions.

In the spring around here things are pretty soft and what ever tires I put on now are going to probably be on for the spring.

Whats up witht the Pirreli sizing? is a 90/90 the same as a 80/100?

And while were on the tire subject, what exactly is "loamy".

If Finger Mullet would stop buying up all the Trackmasters form Rocky Mountain, I would have had one mounted by now and wouldn't have his problem.

 

Loam is just loose soil.

Regarding sizing, the rear is 120/80 rear and the front is 90/90 for my MT-16 and Scorp Pro that I'm about to put on. This is a metric sizing and the first number is the width in mm and the 2nd number is the height as a percentage of the width. So 120/80 is 120 mm wide and the height is 80% of that. It's an approximation. Some manufacturers adhere pretty while others not so much.

 

loam is that beautiful dark rich loose soil that roosts perfectly from your back tire as it hooks up and launches you out of a turn!! Sometimes found on golf courses

 

Pine plantations and woods = loam.

 

Sounds good, now I just need to find a couple of golf courses to rip around in.