Long Lasting Good Tires

I've had good luck with Kenda tires. Had the same experience with Dunlop. Good tire but wore fast. I've heard good things about Gibson, but haven't tried them myself.

What sort of terrain are you riding?

Starcross 5 medium rear and soft front.

If you are competitive, and racing, good traction and long lasting is an oxymoron.

Just bought a set of medium Starcross 5's for my Kawi 450.
My buddy loves his. And the Michelin's I've had in the past held up better than anything else. So I'm expecting the same with these.

This. I bought a second hand bike that had this set up. I couldn't believe how long they lasted. Haven't bought anything else since.

I use a Michelin soft rear and a Dunlop front. The Michelin will outlast 3 Dunlop rears and work just as well IMO.. I do feel the Dunlop front is just a tad better and last almost as long as a Michelin front.

Michelin's and enduro Metzeler next topic

While normally I’d agree, the Michelin Starcross 5’s seem to buck that trend. They last an amazingly long time and have very good grip. I especially noticed the edge grip of the medium rear is probably the best I’ve seen.

Cheng Shin.

Always had luck with Michelin tires.

another vote for Michelin starcross. very happy with mx traction and wear this year.

Starcross 5 medium works as good as the Dunlop mx3s, and lasts much longer. The dunlops always chunk it seems. The starcross 5 soft wore quickly for me, but I was using it in mixed terrain so I wasn't surprised.

If you want long lasting, buy a Maxxis Desert IT. I've never seen a tire last longer. I've been told the traction isn't that good, but it will for sure last

This right here. The Maxxis Desert IT is by far one of the longest lasting tires out there. Compound is hard of course so as noted not always the best traction. Easy to run low air pressure though for additional traction as the sidewalls are so stiff. Only time I have ever noticed a real lack in traction really is on wet slippery rock though. In all fairness can't really complain about wet rock traction when discussing a hard compound desert tire all things considered. Its like complaining a soft compound wet/mud/rock tire wears out fast when ridden in the desert.

I'm running the starcross 5! And I feel like they don't last as long as the 3 did. But still pretty decent.

Another vote for the Desert IT's for longevity (though they're terrible on install and removal due to super stiff sidewalls) and also a vote for the Pirelli Extra-X's: https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/motorcycle/all-tyres/sheet/scorpion…

Starcross 5 (med).. Get around it.

I've always had good luck with pirelli mx extras. Good grip and good life.

Have a MX52 rear on my 450, only has 5 hours on it. However, it's used on blue groove and ripped watered, waiting to be blue groove, and the tire shows zero wear so far. Hooks like crazy in both, really happy with it.

I'm tired of seeing tire threads where people post vague time frames of how long tires last without any data or proof to back up their claims.

I currently run a Bridgestone Battlecross X40 (hard terrain) rear on my 450 here in SoCal. I used to exclusively run Dunlop MX3S's but was getting tired of changing tires every 10 hours because they wear so damn fast.

I run an hour meter on my bike and document every part change i do, so i know exactly how much time is on every part.

Here is my X40 rear after 21.1 hours of use (I literally just took this photo). Front of the bike is to the left.


Here is my previous Dunlop MX3S rear that had 12.7 hours on it. Front of the bike would be to the right.Note how rounded off the leading edge (right) of the tire is.


Here are more pics of my X40 rear. You can still see the center castle blocks.



I will admit that the Dunlop MX3S has a little better grip when brand new, but its short lived because after a few hours the traction falls off a cliff. The Bridgestone has nearly the same traction and wears so much better in a much linear, predictable fashion. I have nearly double the use out of it and the blocks look better.

Dunlops are $173 for the pair for a 450.
Bridgestones are $155 for the pair for a 450.

I've seen the prices on the Bridgestones as long as $135 for a pair, and they last way longer.

That all having been said, I'll likely go with the X30 rear (intermediate terrain) for my next tire, which should last even longer.

Solid vote for Bridgestone Battlecross X40 for the rear, Battlecross X30 for the front for me. I can get +40 hours of hard riding in desert and hard pack tracks here in AZ on this set up. These are great tires. An X30 rear would work for east coast tracks I would expect. But Bridgestone Battlecross tires are a great value.

I'm another Bridgestone fan. I installed a set prior to my first race this year in March, and while I haven't kept track of the hours, I'm easily going to finish my racing season on the same set this year. No chunking, good, predictable traction on a variety of surfaces...I'm a very satisfied Bridgestone customer.

RIP the Bridgestone M403/M404 combo; greatest tires ever made.