Tires not yet tried on big Adventure off tarmac biased rigs?

Think I have an idea for the pusher tire, and the sidecar tire.  Still trying to figure out a front tire that will balance with the rear and sidecar.

Pusher - Tusk 2Track.  Cheap to try.  Reviews show it as long lasting, good on wet and dry tarmac, excellent off road. Fairly quiet for a knobby (helpful since the monkey sits beside it). This tire has a super stiff carcass, and a great load rating.  Reviews on big horse power bikes don't show any cupping or tearing of the knobs.  Downsides are the hardness of the rubber and carcass transmit impacts to the chassis, and it is purported to be very difficult to mount.

Sidecar:  Battlax AX41.  Reviews (and personal experience on a lighter Adventure bike) show this tire to be compliant with a softer sidewall and tread compound.  So should help improve the ride for the monkey.  Great traction on/off road, and very good in the wet/dry tarmac.  Might even wear out before the next century.  Comes in a 100/90 -19 and accepts a tube where needed.

Front tire:  Possibly the Trailmax Raid.  Kind of spendy for an experiment though.  Concerned about cupping.  Also concerned about how it will balance with the 2Track and AX41 on gravel and slick mud.  If it doesn't have the "moxy" of the 2Track and AX41, the rig may not turn too well on loose surfaces.   So still thinking on that. 

Ideas and thoughts on a "New Gen" adventure tire we haven't yet tried are sincerely appreciated.  🍻 

Edit to add  This tire is currently only available in an 18" rear.  Not compatible with the R1100 GS rear wheel ****

Tusk 2Track info:

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/tires-and-wheels/tusk-2track-adventure-tire-rear-p

FWIW  I put on a big block pusher tire for a Death Valley trip and it slipped sideways often enough that I got rid of it before it wore out.  Dangerous on a side hill.  E-07 was good for traction but worn out by 4k miles.

FWIW  I put on a big block pusher tire for a Death Valley trip and it slipped sideways often enough that I got rid of it before it wore out.  Dangerous on a side hill.  E-07 was good for traction but worn out by 4k miles.

Posted by: @metalcarver

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FWIW  I put on a big block pusher tire for a Death Valley trip and it slipped sideways often enough that I got rid of it before it wore out.  Dangerous on a side hill.  E-07 was good for traction but worn out by 4k miles.

I can see that happening pretty easy.  If the blocks don't have an off set between the center and the side, there is nothing to hold the dirt in place.  I raced with a semi-paddle tire once.  Just once.  lol  It was great for straight line traction, but off cambers, and when leaning the bike it was pretty sketchy.

Edit to add  Tusk 2Track not available in size for R1100 GS.  Will use the Motoz GPS tire on the pusher **

Leaning towards the Motoz GPS steer position, Tusk 2Track pusher, and AX41 (front) sidecar position, for a combination to test ($435 plus tax).  If it works, it is an inexpensive option.  If it doesn't, I'm not replacing an expensive tire(s).  Maybe next would be to try a full Motoz GPS combo ($555 plus tax), followed up with a Trail Max Raid combo ($646 plus tax).   Of all these tires the ones I'm most excited about trying is the AX41 on the sidecar, and Trailmax raid on the front. 

Hoping to be able to do the Flint Hills rally, followed up with the trail of the Corps of Discovery (Nebraska to Oregon Coast), and then some off road between Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah.  That will be another long trip, and "hopefully" lots of off road opportunity.  The goal would be to hit the driveway with the tires worn out.  😎 

Flawed research above. 🙄   Tusk 2Track is currently only available in an 18" rear.  So I will go with the Motoz Tractionator GPS pairing for the bike with a Battlax AX41 for the sidecar. Will get started on this next month. 

Thanks to Dana, and my buddy who bought Dana's old Ural I got to keep the extra spare wheel which is a 19".  this wheel has been "super laced" by Woodies Wheel Works.  It will be well up to the task at hand.   😎 

Motoz GPS tires on a BMW R1100 GS with Dnepr sidecar.

What a difference 10 months makes.  Ended up running the Motoz GPS front and rear, with the Bridgestone AX41 on the sidecar.  Currently the rear has just at 4,000 miles.  Of which only about 400 is dirt road miles with another 100 aggressive riding on Jeep/ATV trails.   Front tire has approximately 4,200 miles (had to recalculate odometer readings to account for approximate 10% error).

My subjective opinion based on a case study of one.  I would buy them again, if I planned on doing a lot of technical, aggressive off road.

     Off road I am pretty impressed.  They were confident on rocky off camber trails.  The rear had great bite, and the front held firm over off camber rutted rocky trails. Threshold braking front and rear was strong and consistent with ABS off.  The front was good but not great in deep gravel/sand.  Overall the rig felt confidence inspiring.  On road, the front tire traction was pretty decent.  Threshold braking during emergency maneuvering with ABS off was communicative and consistent.  In comparison to the Shinko E705, the Motoz performed better all around by a substantial margin (subjectively 30% better).  On road the rear felt just adequate. Except during a very heavy downpour, where the rear tire did an amazing job of maintaining traction.  In concert with the Bridgestone AX41 mounted on the sidecar, it was very easy to push the rear around.  Powerslides to both sides were almost as easy on the street as in the dirt.   Overall, on a rig that sees a majority of off road work, it would be a fine choice.  On road, there were times at threshold braking with ABS on that the rear was a bit sketchy during emergency maneuvering.  Part of that is also due to the AX41 sidecar tire.  A more "street oriented" choice of sidecar tire would help with overall rear stability.

Motoz GPS Front Pros:

• Great wear characteristics (longevity and lack of cupping)
• Good off road traction on rocks and rutted trails
• Good on road tracking
• Good fuel mileage
• Pretty quiet
• Long wearing
• Amazing traction in heavy downpours
• Smooth on and off road

Motoz GPS Front Cons:

• Just adequate traction in deep gravel
• Very sensitive to tire pressure when it comes to steering wobble at low speeds

Tire wear is flat across the center with just a bit more wear on the left side.  Front tire will remain on the rig.

Motoz GPS Rear Pros (run in the off road orientation):

• Great off road performance no matter the conditions
• Bi-directional mounting
• Quiet and smooth running on road
• Comfortable ride
• Fairly ambivalent to tire pressure
• Good fuel mileage
• Good wear characteristics (could be turned around and run for another thousand plus miles)
• No chunking, tearing, or exaggerated edge wear (Off road was very aggressive riding with a lot of half buried sharp rocks)

Motoz GPS Rear Cons (run in the off road orientation)

• Minimal side traction on the road
• Wore to the sidecar side more than expected (As Drone @ned noted in another thread this is most likely due to more aggressive left hand turns)

The rear tire will be kept for a spare.

Next up on the "Tire test" fun. 

Tusk 2Track for the rear. https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/tires-and-wheels/tusk-2track-adventure-tire-rear-p

It now comes in the proper R1100 GS size. 🤩  Just waiting on the temps and sun to come out, to aid in mounting (probably next week).

Brown unmarked box of goodness: 😎 

This tire is incredibly inexpensive, and with a stash of RM cash (thanks to playing the SMX RM Fantasy game), delivered price was just under $94. 🤩    Of Note I am a fan of Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, but have no affiliation.  They just have treated me great over the past seven years.

Tusk 2Track, install and balance:

It was more work to get the Motoz GPS off the rim, than it was to install this tire. The tire also seated on the bead very quickly at just under 35psi, with the valve core still in the stem.
Big shout out to the best helpers in the Universe:

• The Sun which gets the tire nice hot and pliable.
• WD40. When something is supposed to move and doesn't WD40 is my friend.

Balancing went well, requiring 2.25 oz to make up for the wheel and tire assembly. This specific tire has a yellow dot to align with the valve stem. It went on fairly close. lol

Tomorrow (weather permitting) it will get scrubbed in, and maybe some initial on road impressions. Will wait to get some mileage on the tire before commenting about off road performance. Any brand new knobby is going to perform fine off road.
This is definitely a "knobby's kind of knobby tire" 18/32" knob depth, in a mix between rows that have a slight scoop, and rows that are straight across.

Mounts up very round. Will see how long that lasts.

Just a few small updates after the first fairly short ride (about 12 miles total) on the Tusk 2Track rear tire.
Did about a mile on this oil rig graveled road to scrub in the tire. The weight of the oil tankers creates a really nice crown, that allows for scrubbing a bit further down from the tire's crown. You can see the trail back and forth over the crown with a bit of slippage. That is from acceleration and deceleration on both sides to catch leading and trailing edges best as possible.

Just for fun I did a couple of pretty broad power slides, and was able to crab the bike a good 100-ish feet, before the engine ran out of rpm/power.
Screwed up and didn't get the picture, it was a pretty cool looking trail. Ought to keep the oil tanker drivers guessing. lol

I did get a picture of the contact area after about six miles to the gas station on pavement, and it is a bit wider than I expected. This is at 35 psi cold (probably about 38 psi running pressure).

Sound from the tire reminds me of a 35" mud tire. More wooshy-howl than low pitched roar. Not obnoxious, but definitely there over the wind noise. Will probably change as the knobs wear.
Just like I mentioned shortly after installing the Motoz GPS, the back end feels a bit "loosey-goosey" compared to a street focused tire.
So will leave this alone unless something significant occurs, until there is a good amount of wear and experience to report.

Happy trails!

7,000 miles later the Battlax AX41 installed on the sidecar is worn out.  

700 miles:

7,000 miles:

 This tire has been from Utah to Tennessee, to North Dakota.  No flats along the way, even when run at fairly low pressure off road.  Has also been seriously abused off road.  My opinionated and subjective view points:

Pros (listed favorite to bad humor): 

• Super smooth and comfortable ride (ran at 32 psi). 
• Pretty quiet for an aggressive off road type tire.
• Great off road traction, and kept me from sliding off the trail on off-camber & rutted trails.
• Knobs never tore our gouged over sharp rocks embedded in the trail.
• 7,000 miles, with lots of power sliding on and off tarmac.
• Aggressive "Monster Mudder" looks.  Each time I went into the garage I wanted to dawn the Extreme Sport Announcer's voice, and shout; Sunday! Sunday!, Sunday!... Be Therrrrrrre!  

Cons (Listed least favorite to really bad attempt at humor):

• Very limited traction on the street.
• side & head winds made a more significant difference in pull at the handlebars compared to the Block-K it replaced.
• Shorter sidewall than the Block K made it look small in the fender well.  
• A sidecar tire that only lasts 7,000 miles?  What is this world coming to?  

Conclusion:  For a more road biased rig this, in my highly subjective and opinionated viewpoint, is not the tire to choose.  Even a rig that sees a lot of fire roads, this tire is too sketchy on the street to be useful.  I think there are much better choices.   In the extreme off road this tire worked very well, and saved my bacon more than once.  My buddy who rode Monkey was super happy with the ride though, and even at low pressures it never pinch flatted or flat spotted the rim over some serious boulders.   If I had an off road specific sidecar rig that wasn't going to see mud, it could be a good choice. 

Most likely replacement will be a Duro HF307 in a 4.00x19.  I'm moving away from the more extreme trails, to easier Jeep/ATV trails and fire roads.

Hmmmmm.......

My Bridgestone BT-46 sidecar tire, a 140/70-18 now has more than 15,000 miles on it, and still looks new, as in almost no wear.

Posted by: @miles-ladue

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Hmmmmm.......

My Bridgestone BT-46 sidecar tire, a 140/70-18 now has more than 15,000 miles on it, and still looks new, as in almost no wear.

Yeah, but does it make you want to yell Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! in your Monster Truck announcer voice each time you go in the garage? 😉 

Since the old 18" Block K is still mounted on the Dnepr wheel, I'm going to put it on while figuring out what the next tire will be.  I'm mostly interested to see if a more square tire on the sidecar will help increase lateral traction that is lost running big knobby tires (like the current Tusk 2Track that is on the pusher). 

Posted by: @scott-h

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Posted by: @miles-ladue

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Hmmmmm.......

My Bridgestone BT-46 sidecar tire, a 140/70-18 now has more than 15,000 miles on it, and still looks new, as in almost no wear.

Yeah, but does it make you want to yell Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! in your Monster Truck announcer voice each time you go in the garage? 😉 

You are right, Scott, as usual.

I look at the tire on my sidecar, and it makes me want to yell Someday ! Someday ! Someday ! I will have to replace that tire....but not before Scott tries all the other tires in the World.