Just got back from a 20 mile ride that covered pretty much all conditions-with the exception of snow and ice. The milage was split up about 8 miles road, 12 miles dirt, rock, sand, and mud. First thing you notice is the seat hight has increased by at least 1/2 inch-much deeper tread than my worn out stockers. Once moving down the road you will notice that these tires stick! They grab every groove and line in the pavement-makes for a "squirrly" feeling ride. When it comes time to turn-it's time to get out the muscle. There is no gently pushing on the handlebar to round a corner-you must make the bike turn. Once in the turn, they go directly where you point them. Corners requiring sharp lean will get you onto the side *****, making for an "interesting" ride. Summing up road ability- they feel like an off road tire. I think that they will be fine once I get used to them, and get them broke in a little bit.

Now where they shine! Sand, dirt, rocks, mud, and crud! I would venture to say they work *almost* as well as the Dunlop S12's on my KTM. I've never been a very solid sand rider, so when I first ventured into the stuff, I still felt very uncomfortable-until I realized that these are not the tires of old. Once I trusted the tire to do it's thing, they were awesome. I flew down sand trails that were terrifying with the Dunlops. Let them do their job, and they will instill confidence in your sand riding capabilities. Ditto for all riding conditions. They are very good off road tires. The rear hooks up so well that you must try HARD to break it loose. I think these tires would suck on a stock bike though-they dig and stick so well that power is a MUST to move them. I've done all the performance mods that are in this forum, including the 13 tooth CS, but I think that I may even take it a step further and get the 45 tooth rear sprocket. A little more "down low" grunt will definitely help. Well, enough rambling..here's some pics..

AWE..I love making "fresh tracks"..


before me...


the back side of the mound before riding over it..


after me..sorry guys..I didn't jump it..


fun little mud hole..was actually well over a foot deep in the middle


DEEJ's worst nightmare..come to the DARK SIDE DEEJ!


the tires handle all this muck very well..


this whole area was the local quad/dirt bike "MECCA" about 10 years ago..then they started industrializing it..2 weeks ago I took my Jeep up these hillclimbs and after you make the top, there is about 10 feet and then you fall 40 feet into a rock/sand pit..glad I knew it was there!




That's all for now folks!

 

That looks like fun!

 

Nice report konacoiler. You mentioned you've done all the performance mods - are you including the 300cc upgrade?

BTW, I've found that the TrackMaster II's, like your Excella's, dig in much better and have much more grip, so much so that the bike wheelies up even easier than when my Kenda 270's were on. That depends on the surface of course, but the Track Masters dig in great in my yard , where the K270's not as good. I still like the K270 and will probably put it back on at some point and get a few more thousand miles out of it , but for my purposes and riding, I think I like the Track Master better. The tread on the Track Master's and your Excella's is similar, so I would expect similar performance.



Edit: remove broken images

 

Post a pic of the tire on the bike if you could, I have not seen them before. Are they deaper tread and more agressive around the sides than the stockers? or what.

Just saw yours nobrakes, look pretty beafy.

 

Brian,

From you photos, the Track Masters appear to be non directional - is this correct?

If so, that's a definite bonus! As the front of the ***** will wear first, you can trun the tyre around about half way through its life and get fresh, square edges on the front of your tread again. Bonus! The Michelin AC-10 that I'm planing on getting also had this ability, and actually has wear markers to let you know when you should turn it around.

For some reason I can't see the pictures of the Excella's (just see little grey squares where the photos should be), but are these non directional as well?

Drof

 

The Trak Master's appear to be non-direction, yes. I think the Excella's are too, based on the photos. They tread is very similar. Where the Trak Master's have the center ***** as 3 followed by 2 followed again by 3, and so on, the Excellas have 2, followed by 1 wide (but not as wide as 2), followed by 2 again, and repeats. I hope that makes sense. Otherwise, the pattern is pretty much the same.

 

Don't know why you can't see the pics..The Excellas are directional.

I have another post with the pics on the bike. I think it says "Excellas are on"..or something like that..

 

[sm=oopssign.gif] All but that one, Nobrakes. Rode another 20 miles today..what a difference in road manners between the stockers/Excellas. If you've ever ridden a motorcycle over a bridge with steel deck grating-that's what these tires feel like going down the road.

 

Take me riding next time I come down there and I promise I will come to the dark side, or close to it.

 

[sm=wtf.gif] DEEJ might come to the dark side??!! LOL..You're on Deej..and remember..there are WITNESSES...