EXR Tires and Tire Pressures

[craigunger]

Hi there, i am doing mostly street riding on my Altra EXR, two questions:

1)Should i consider changing my tires and if so which tires should i choose?

2)What tire pressure should i be running on my stock tires..
Thanks!
Craig

 

[Philip]

Running off-road tires on asphalt is not going to keep them or you happy, no matter what the tire pressure is.

Without looking too long, I would either go with these tires for 80% road and 20% offroad:
Continental Motorcycle Tires ContiTrailAttack 3

Or with these tires for 100% road:
Continental Motorcycle Tires ContiRoadAttack 3

 

[craigunger]

Thanks what size front and back do you recommend- same as stock?

 

[Redwolf]

As close as practical, especially the rear, or your speedo will be less accurate

 

[Philip]

Thanks what size front and back do you recommend- same as stock?

You only have one size choice for the front in the ContiTrailAttack 3. For the rear I would go with 150/70-R18 because the stock SM rear tire is also 150mm wide, but you should also be able to run 160/60 in the ContiRoadAttack tires.

 

[TCMB371]

I'm running Kenda Trakmaster II K760 Front and Rear on my EXR. They are a street legal 10/90 offroad tire that hold up OK on the asphalt while providing decent traction offroad. They do have a bit of droning noise on the road. If you like to take the dirty route to your destination like I do, it's definitely worth it!

I rip my EXR on vet style motocross tracks sometimes and have no problem with traction. The K760 performs decently well compared to the Bridgestone BattleCross X30's (motocross tires) i run on my MXR.

As for tire pressure, if i'm doing a lot of street riding i'll pump the tires up to 25-30 psi. If i'm doing a mix, i'll lower it down to 15psi. If i'm doing slow/tight/technical riding, i'll drop them down to 10-12psi. I did install a rim lock on the rear tire because the tire was sliding on the bead without it.

 

[craigunger]

I'm running Kenda Trakmaster II K760 Front and Rear on my EXR. They are a street legal 10/90 offroad tire that hold up OK on the asphalt while providing decent traction offroad. They do have a bit of droning noise on the road. If you like to take the dirty route to your destination like I do, it's definitely worth it!

I rip my EXR on vet style motocross tracks sometimes and have no problem with traction. The K760 performs decently well compared to the Bridgestone BattleCross X30's (motocross tires) i run on my MXR.

As for tire pressure, if i'm doing a lot of street riding i'll pump the tires up to 25-30 psi. If i'm doing a mix, i'll lower it down to 15psi. If i'm doing slow/tight/technical riding, i'll drop them down to 10-12psi. I did install a rim lock on the rear tire because the tire was sliding on the bead without it.

This is great feedback thanks TCMB371!

 

[leeo45]

My preferred all around dual sport tire is still the Pirelli MT21. I have these on my rally bike and my KTM 640 Adventure. I put a smaller size (used) set on my EXR and they worked well. 120/80 x 18 on the back and 90/90 x 21 on the front. Reasonably good and very predictable road grip and good offroad traction everywhere except slimy, deep mud.

Pirelli MT21 Dual Sport Tires

I put a set of these for my EXR when I'm commuting and not riding technical off-road trails.

Shinko 700 Dual Sport Tires

They are a 60/40 onroad / offroad tire and work surprisingly well on the ALTA, especially on the pavement. They wear well and they are quite inexpensive which is a good thing for a dualsport tire you are using on pavement. Either of the 18 inch sizes will work on the rear and there is only one 21 inch option for the front. I use the 4.60 x 18 in back. These are relatively big and heavy tires (as are the MT21s) and I feel the 130 is a little wider than these bikes need or can use. The narrower tire maintains the quick handling you have with the stock tire.

There is other more street oriented, soft compound rubber if you're really only riding on the pavement. Then again, if you are only riding on pavement you might want to think about a set of 17 inch wheels.

 

[leeo45]

You only have one size choice for the front in the ContiTrailAttack 3. For the rear I would go with 150/70-R18 because the stock SM rear tire is also 150mm wide, but you should also be able to run 160/60 in the ContiRoadAttack tires.

Not intending to be contrary, however I don't think a 150 will work well with the stock EXR rim width. The rear rim on the SM is probably a 4.50 x 17 and is made for the wide tire. If you can get 150 mounted, the stock dirt wheel will pinch it in so far that you probably can't use more than half the tread. IMO it's just adding unsprung, rotating weight.

On 17 inch wheels, a 160 x 17 will clear the swingarm and will fit on a 4.50 or 5.00 rim. Depending on the specific tire it may or may not rub on the chain guard. However, in my experience a 150 or a 140 suits this bike better than a wider tire, even in SM racing trim. And you don't have any clearance issues.

 

[craigunger]

Not intending to be contrary, however I don't think a 150 will work well with the stock EXR rim width. The rear rim on the SM is probably a 4.50 x 17 and is made for the wide tire. If you can get 150 mounted, the stock dirt wheel will pinch it in so far that you probably can't use more than half the tread. IMO it's just adding unsprung, rotating weight.

On 17 inch wheels, a 160 x 17 will clear the swingarm and will fit on a 4.50 or 5.00 rim. Depending on the specific tire it may or may not rub on the chain guard. However, in my experience a 150 or a 140 suits this bike better than a wider tire, even in SM racing trim. And you don't have any clearance issues.

Thanks Leeo, what road tire do you recommend if i am doing mostly pavement?

 

[schwankl]

Depends on how often you off-road - if its daily then ya: go with a dot knobby like the k760 or metzeler 6days worked good for me.

If you are off-road weekend or in-frequent, get another wheel set for on-road. The alta/warp9 SM 17/17 (exr/mxr just put on a 260mm front rotor and they swap out in 5min) are much better for road than any knobby will ever be.

I do about 60/40 road/trail daily, and don't use the sm setup most the year. I have tried a few popular dot and non-dot knobbies, pressure and width seem to be the ride and efficiency factors. I got 6k mi between my 2 altas - If you ride hard on the streets can quickly eat up off-road tires. I usually ride them down to 1mm and have rim locks in both.

important: balancing - make them a smooth ride at speed - I used these:
14 Pack Motorcycle Reusable Brass Wheel Spoke Balance Weights Refill Kits USA 909982793354 | eBay
and
Tusk Motorcycle Wheel Balancing and Truing Stand

 

[privateer703]

I will +1 the shinko 700's. I swapped these on my KLX to commute on when my Vic was down. They feel great on the road and so long as your not in heavy mud they work pretty well on the trails.

 

[leeo45]

Thanks Leeo, what road tire do you recommend if i am doing mostly pavement?

I hesitate to recommend any tires that I haven't personally used and seeing your comment of "mostly pavement" versus exclusively pavement, the tire I have had great success with is the Pirelli MT90. It has a street tire profile, yet has a lot more tread than a pure street tire. You could probably consider it a 70/30 or 80/20 on/off tire. Unless it is really cold they do great on the street and will corner almost as well as a good (non-race) street tire. I typically got at least 6,000 miles out of the rear when commuting 80 miles each day year round on a dual sport bike. Unfortunately, it is WAAAAY more expensive than the Shinko for the same size tires.

Pirelli MT90 AT Dual Sport Tire

When I expect to be on a pavement-only ride I usually don't take a dual sport bike, but when I do it is on 17s pretending to be a SM.

Regarding street tires, I am a fan of Michelins and have Pilot Road 4s on my VFR800. I think they now have a PR5 but it wasn't available at my last tire change. I have Michelin Anakee 3s on my large adventure bike because my mileage is 80%+ long distance trips on pavement. I do tend to go anywhere the squiggly lines on the map take me and they have done well offroad on everything but mud and deep sand. I suppose it is questionable whether I needed to be riding in deep sand in the Mojave Desert with a fully loaded BMW 1200Adv anyway. I don't think Michelin makes any of these street tires in sizes that fit an ALTA.

I was doing OK until a Jeep came through the brush blocking the only open path and I had to slow way down and go off the trail.

 

[Oded]

My favorites for dual sport are the Pirelli MT43. These are hybrid trial tires DOT approved.
Very smooth on the road and capable off road.
They also last surprisingly long time.

 

[Philip]

I was doing OK until a Jeep came through the brush blocking the only open path and I had to slow way down and go off the trail.

View attachment 3714

This reminds me a long-running thread on AdvRider.com. It is dedicated solely to pictures of tipped over adventure motorcycles. I have my old KTM 1190R pictured on its side on a slope of a mountain. A tip over on a 700 lbs bike is a big event. Folks usually take a breather, wait for friends, and sometimes have a beer before trying to right these behemoths, LOL!

 

[leeo45]

This reminds me a long-running thread on AdvRider.com. It is dedicated solely to pictures of tipped over adventure motorcycles. I have my old KTM 1190R pictured on its side on a slope of a mountain. A tip over on a 700 lbs bike is a big event. Folks usually take a breather, wait for friends, and sometimes have a beer before trying to right these behemoths, LOL!

Yes, I'm afraid this little tipover took me about an hour to undo. I unloaded the duffle bags and picked the bike up, but I couldn't get the bike moving in the sand (....keeping this thread somewhat on topic since we're discussing how differnt tires work in various conditions). The rear tire just dug a hole. I had to tip the bike back on its side and drag it out of the new hole. Then remove all three cases and walk the cases and the duffle bags about 100 yards back to firmer ground, then ride the bike out and reload everything. I am pretty sure I am getting too old for that kind of adventure foolishness.