Fe550e Rear Tiressssssssssssssss

I've got a Dunlop 956 on the back of my 400 and really like it. It seems to grip everywhere including pavement. The low price and long wear are plusses.

IRC M5B 140/80-18. The only way to fly with the 550!!! 8O

The Maxxis IT is ok, but it is one heavy tire. I prefer a Pirelli MT 32. It's a great all around tire, although it is rated as soft terrain. I think the new MXMS Pirelli is close to the old MT 32 as well.

We used to race with Maxxis and found that the rears are really squirrelly. The Desert IT is a 6 ply tire does not flex really well and took some getting used to. Additionally, they chunk, meaning that the knobs rip off in chunks. I've used 739 A/Ts forever and on smaller bikes, the 606. Dunlops just hold up. I do like the Maxxis IT front tires, they are great. The 942 is supposed to be the replacement for the 739 but I keep finding them at the local dealer for 65 bucks. I may try a 942 on the next change but right now the 606 on the rear just doesn't wear out.

Hey Bigbob
I now have 285+hours on the 550 and have been through a lot of tires
Pirelli mt-18 wore out real quick
Dunlop 739 952 606 also didn't last for squat
IRC ve33 lasted longer
Kings 9661 Dot lasted pretty good, and there cheap and dot
Dunlop 756"s also wear to quick on the rear.
For a knobby I will always go with the Maxxis IT in the rear. They last and ther're cheap.
However I have been running a Dunlop D803 TRIALS tire and absolutely love it. I can out climb any knobby on just about anything. I will not be going back to a knobby except for BAJA and high speed Desert stuff. I can't believe how well the 803 climbs, grips.
Bear in mind that I am a cheap bastard and like to spin the tire alot.
Pass the chilli
cheeseberger

The Dunlop 756 was always my favorite.I tried a Maxxis IT and found it worked ok but didn't last me any longer than a 756.I have a Kenda Millville on right now and this will be my next tire as well.I find it outperforms and outlasts the 756 and IT in terrain ranging from hardpack shale to gooey clay.I still like the 756 front though.I found the IT front skated on hardpack but have yet to try the millville front.

what size rear tires are you guys using, 140 rear as the original tires or narrower?

have heard various comments regarding this. some say going to 120 rear make the bike handle better

iceberg said:

what size rear tires are you guys using, 140 rear as the original tires or narrower?

have heard various comments regarding this. some say going to 120 rear make the bike handle better

Click to expand...

This is where it gets a bit confusing. A 140 size in a FIM approved (euro ) knobby is the equivalent of a regular knobby in the 120 size. So comparing those two sizes, they are going to be close to the same width. If you wanted to go a bit narrower, you would want a 110/100 in a regular knobby. I have noticed all the FIM approved 13mm knob tires are sized at 140/80, regardless of brand.

I prefer a narrower rear tire myself, although it depends on the bike size and personal preference. It just seems like the bike steers easier, but that's probably just in my head.

I highly recommend (not) the Michelin AC10, it has no forward bite, no breaking bite and doesn't stay under you in a corner. On the up side it lasts forever and there for prolongs the suffering, but it does protect the rim well. JMTC

I've never used the AC10 but your description sounds like the Michelin M12 8O .What gets me is somewhere along the line somebody is supposed to test these things before they go into production-A tire like this should never be allowed on the market.So BB,how do you like the IRC?Oh,FWIW,I use a 110.

BB,

I have tried several different tire combo's over the years and have found the following:

IRC M5B; tall knobs big spacing, hard compound a mud or soft terrain tire it chunks. Not the cheapest. Works good in the soft stuff.

Kenda Unadilla now millville I believe; medium knobs, medium compound. Two directional tire, mount it one way for intermediate, and the other for soft. good price works adequately.

Dunlop 739 AT; stiff carcass to avoid pinch flats at high speed, a tough tire. BUT, it doesn't work good,iit doesn't last very long. AND, it's expensive.

Dunlop 752, now the 952; The old 752 is what I had settled on, it was a lower profile tire but it worked really, really good. It was more of a soft terrain tire, but, it worked good in the rocks too, and didn't chunck too badly. I have yet to try the 952.

Pirrelli MT 18 Heavy Duty; The MT 18's come in two flavors, regular and heavy duty. I have always run the heavy duty version. I have been running these tires exclusively for the last 5 years. They work great, and last a long time. Niether the front or rear chunks in hard terrain and they work good in the soft terrain as well. I run the 4mm bridgestone tubes with slime @ 10 psi in the rear and 15 psi up front. The main thing I really notice about these tires is that they don't seem to go "off" like the others do. Meaing their performance doesn't degrade radically when the knobs start to get rounded off.

FYI: The first number in the tire size is the width, the second number in the tire size is a percentage of the width as it relates to the sidewall height. And of course the 3rd number is the rim size. So a 140/80 tire as a width of 140 mm and side wall height of 112mm. Where as a 120/100 has width of 120mm and a side wall height of 120mm.

The lower the sidewall height the less flex it's going to have, and be more stable. But, will be more prone to pinch flats.

Hi guys, While I have yet to try the IRC tire, there have many a good thing said about it here and other places. Normally I choose a Dunlop 756, a spendy tire that doesn't really last all that long, It is kind of an intermediat/soft terrain tire that holds up well in the rocks. As for the Michelin, I like to joke about my inner tubes being allergic to Michelins, and they go flat when ever I put them inside one. Some day when this AC10 wears out (2012 or so), I will experiment with another, I am liking Dales recomendation with the Pirrelli! Thanks for all the info.

I did forget to mention that I tried a mich in the past. It was a S-12, and probably is one of the best rear tires I have ever used in the desert. The front S-12 sucked, the knobs roll over on anything harder than loam or sand.

The main problem with the mich is it is very expensive, even at the good bro deal price that I get at my local shop it was still a little over $ 80. I get the pirrell's for about $65 each.

The MT 18's are DOT legal as well. Best of luck!

Hey Bob,
That's the same front/rear combo I ran on the "Bus", on the 355 I use the 120 M5b with the mt83 scorpion pro front. They work exellent together.
Good choice!