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Michelin Desert rear tire

pollo

pollo

Joined Jun 2008
1K Posts | 98+
Simi Valley Ca.
Has anyone tried the 140/80/18 Michelin Desert rear tire? I know this is one of the most expensive tires and have heard some reviews. I just bought an S12 for 67 bucks and Deserts are at least 115.00 or more. Is it worth it? Or is it for those marathon desert rides?
Pollo
 
Yep, I did, and yes these tires are really good in the Paris / Dakar type of situation. They will last up to 5000 km's on gravel / rocky / tarmac underground. They don't like mud too much. I think if you are looking for real sand tires, there should be better ones. The s12 is a really good cross country tire for sandy undergrounds. For rally tires the Desert is great, together with the Maxxis IT desert. Here in Europe the Desert is street legal, the s12 is not...
 
I have been using Michelin Desert and Metzeler Karoo for couple of years on my FE550, they last about 1300 km's on rocky/gravel racing conditions if you ride an average speed of 80km/h.
Pirelli have a very good and affordable Cross Country tire called MT18 Heavy duty.

Regards,
 
vbenedic, how did the Karoo tyres perform? i thought that they would be too much of a big bike touring / dual sport tyre?

Azza.
 
awilksch said:
vbenedic, how did the Karoo tyres perform? i thought that they would be too much of a big bike touring / dual sport tyre?

Azza.
Click to expand...


It performs as good as Michelin, even the price are close.
 
It performs as good as Michelin, even the price are close.
Click to expand...
Is that the 140/80/18, and do you have it on that 06 550? Looks long lasting and durable. How is it in the soft stuff though? And which performs better in soft terain, Desert or Karoo?
 
I just did my last ride on the Michelin Baja rear. It has now been discontinued and no longer available because of lack of sales. I couldn't care less though because although it did last , was good on hard pack and didn't chunk, it spun in sand and soft dirt. Especially after a few hundred miles on it. It had a weird lean angle to it also with those triangle shaped side knobs. The S12 is the next victim. I just hope it doesn't chunk because I ride all stuff. I also have a Pirelli Scorpion Pro. I tried one before. It came stock on my bike. It doesn't chunk, but probably isn't as aggresive. And it wears fast.
 
IRC 140/80/18

Best rear tyre, that ***** all over the S12 is an IRC 140/80/18, thats what I run on sand and pumice and a bit of gravel road.
Lasts well and does it ever hook up!
The knobs are 17MM long when new and really big, they dont break and they give you drive where the S12 just does FA
not a soft mud tyre though unless you are a balls out expert rider and even then......
Everything else awesome!
in New Zealand they cost $175 NZD, but last me a year and 50 hours or more hard riding, (when the knobs are at 12 / 14mm -same as S12 I replace)
Worth a try, eats bridgestone, Metzler and michelin.
Japanese silicone rubber!
 
pollo said:
I just did my last ride on the Michelin Baja rear. It has now been discontinued and no longer available because of lack of sales. I couldn't care less though because although it did last , was good on hard pack and didn't chunk, it spun in sand and soft dirt. Especially after a few hundred miles on it. It had a weird lean angle to it also with those triangle shaped side knobs. The S12 is the next victim. I just hope it doesn't chunk because I ride all stuff. I also have a Pirelli Scorpion Pro. I tried one before. It came stock on my bike. It doesn't chunk, but probably isn't as aggresive. And it wears fast.
Click to expand...

Pollo,
Michelin moved their S12 production to Thailand (from Spain) and tire quality has suffered. They wear fast and just don't hook up like the old ones from Spain.

For a good tire that works in all conditions and lasts a long time, try the Pirelli Mxxtra in the 120/100-18 size. This is the same width as Michelin's 140 size tire in the S12 model. Michelin measures their tires differently so their 140 series is the same as other manufacturers 120 size.

It lasts way longer than the Michelin and performs better too.
 
I'll never put a 120/100/18 on my 650. Even if the S-12 140 is similar to 120 . I've put 130/90/18 but others might want to put them skinnier tall tires on there. After burning up this scorpion pro 140 im going with the IRC M5B 140/80/18. The size recomended for my bike. Why don't you put a 80/100 /21 tire up front to go with it that xtra ? Might as well.
Pollo
 
pollo said:
I'll never put a 120/100/18 on my 650. Even if the S-12 140 is similar to 120 . I've put 130/90/18 but others might want to put them skinnier tall tires on there. After burning up this scorpion pro 140 im going with the IRC M5B 140/80/18. The size recomended for my bike. Why don't you put a 80/100 /21 tire up front to go with it that xtra ? Might as well.
Pollo
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Dude, it's the SAME WIDTH TIRE as Michelin's 140. It's the SAME PHYSICAL SIZE as Michelin's 140/80-18. Just trying to be helpful. I know what I'm talking about, and it would work just fine on your bike. The Pirelli will hold up better than the S12, believe me. The IRC M5B is a gigantic, heavy tire. If you are after maximum width, then you found it. It is a wider tire than what came stock on your Husaberg , even though the size looks to be the same

The Scopion Pro you refer to is a "Euro" knobby, which restricts the knob height to 13mm. So of course you burned through it on your 650. The same tire lasted all of about 300 miles on my 550. All the DOT Euro knobbies like the Scopion Pro are sized as 140/80-18, regardless of the manufacturer. They are the same size as a real 17mm knobby in a 120/100.
 
Unless youve ridden a 650 you may not realize what this bike does to tires. I even tried the 150 size Teraflex. The biggest , heaviest tire That tire weighs 19 pounds and even though I didn't like it as much for dual sport my bike had no problem spinning that tire and even creating a little chunk. I could climb almost anything with the hook up on that tire. I got no problem trying the M5B. I have a bridgestone 120/80/19 on my 450 and can see how the width looks. Now tell me why Pirelli scorpion 140 is the same as 120 when Pirelli mx xtra 120 is th same. Same company. Have you noticed the width between the swingarm of the bergs? And have you noticed the size of the rear wheel and the hubs compared to a motocross bike. The bergs werent designed for a 120. Maybe you will tell me that the Metzeler 6 days extreem 140/80/18 that came on the Bergs as well as the KTM 530 in 08 are 120s also
Pollo
 
pollo said:
Unless youve ridden a 650 you may not realize what this bike does to tires. I even tried the 150 size Teraflex. The biggest , heaviest tire That tire weighs 19 pounds and even though I didn't like it as much for dual sport my bike had no problem spinning that tire and even creating a little chunk. I could climb almost anything with the hook up on that tire. I got no problem trying the M5B. I have a bridgestone 120/80/19 on my 450 and can see how the width looks. Now tell me why Pirelli scorpion 140 is the same as 120 when Pirelli mx xtra 120 is th same. Same company. Have you noticed the width between the swingarm of the bergs? And have you noticed the size of the rear wheel and the hubs compared to a motocross bike. The bergs werent designed for a 120. Maybe you will tell me that the Metzeler 6 days extreem 140/80/18 that came on the Bergs as well as the KTM 530 in 08 are 120s also
Pollo
Click to expand...

Good luck on your tire quest, Mr Pollo.
 
Try the M-12 . Lasts a bit longert than a S12 . does not come in the 140 but the way each manufacturer sizes their tires is not the way it used to be. I dont find the width to be a factor but then again I dont have a big 650. The other thing you may think about is learning throttle control and not spinning the rear as much. Sounds cool and looks cool but when its spinin you aint goin forward :twisted:

I have found the S12 front M12 rear a great combination for the high dez and also single track in the trees of the Sierra. They still work pretty well when worn and M12 dont chunk too bad
 
I will second the M12. The only downside is that it's not DOT approved, if thats a concern.
 
Thanks guys. And I diidn't mean to rag on you so much john. Must be part of my nature :D Anyway, Haven't tried the M12 as yet on the tire quest but every time I try a different one I get and clear idea and comparison with the others. I got em sized up as to which I like the best so far. The S12 was the best hookup and didn't wear to terribly fast and didn't chunk to much. Maybe the 140 is the same as a 120 John but it sure looked bigger than the Pirelli 140 side by side besides having taller knob hieght. So then I wonder how the Pirelli mx xtra 120 would measure up to the scorpion 140. The scorpion is a meager tire with those short DOT knobs.
Pollo
 
Just wondering that if the S12 140 is the same as 120 then the M12 130 is the same as a 110? And so on down. Michelin has 120s and that would mean they could possibly be 100s?. I don't think Ive seen 100's even on motocross bikes.
 
pollo said:
Just wondering that if the S12 140 is the same as 120 then the M12 130 is the same as a 110? And so on down. Michelin has 120s and that would mean they could possibly be 100s?. I don't think Ive seen 100's even on motocross bikes.
Click to expand...

You would have to go back to the 125 two stroke days, before the 250F's took over, to find any 100 section tires that came stock on dirt bikes. But, they did.

On Michelin's sizing--for a while the North American distributor was putting 120/100 stickers on the sidewalls of the 140/80 S12's and M12's. Yes, the 130 Michelins = everyone else's 110's.

Back in the middle 90's, we had a couple of National Enduros here in Lubbock. Two years in a row I was on the same row as Randy Hawkins, who ended up winning I think 7 National Enduro titles.

Anyway, Hawkins was a long-time Pirelli sponsored rider. He always used the old school M16 rears. They are still made today. I have the 120/100/18 on my Berg right now. It is a big honkin' tire, that hooks up good everywhere. It is not a good pure mud or pure sand tire, but is a dang good intermediate tire.

If I knew how to post a pic, I'd show you the M16 mounted. It is 650-worthy for sure. Try that IRC M5B. It has huge knobs and is pretty wide as well. It is definitely more of a soft terrain tire than an intermediate tire, though.
 
Your not the first one that has told me that. I heard about michelin before but must have forgot. Now I have a Michelin Desert front that is supposed to be a 90/90/21. Those Michy people!!!. This makes me want to put the real scorpion 90/90/21 back on. It was a good front but wore fast. IRC 130/80/18 is also an option and who knows, maybe I will end up trying the M16 since I liked the fake numbered S12.
Pollo
 
So I measured the scorpion pro 140/80/18 and sure enough it's fake!! Not a conventional size. It's measured like the michies to the outside of the knobs. My Bridgestone is measured as all the others. to the knob, but not to the complete outside. Does anyone know now whether the scorpion pro front 90/90/21 is actually a 80/100/21? Or is it just the rear that comes out to be a 120?
Pollo miffed :?
 

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