Mitas E-09 Reviews

If I could give these an overall 4.5, I would.  On a scale of 1-5, 5 being highest and ratings being against similar knobs rather than some ridiculous comparison to sport/track tires:  

Traction on-road - 4

Traction off-road - 5

Life - 4

Price - 4

Ease of install - 3

Ease of procurement - 3

Ability to roost people - 4.5
 

Keep in mind, my review is for an 05 R1200GS running a standard E-09 front in 110/80-19 and a Dakar E-09 rear in 150/70-17.  I have run these at full pressure (38F, 40R) for a thousand high-speed miles on the interstate (tragic yes, but I had to get home fast), and I've run them at 30/30psi on the LABV ride across both sand, large rocks, and pavement.  They've seen mud and sand, but they've also torn through sharp rocks at speed.  They have performed brilliantly.  In WA state, I spend a lot of time on wet tarmac getting to/from work or the trail, and the traction is in a category far beyond what I left behind in my wretched Heidenau K60 Scouts.  Even on brand new knobs, they stick better and feel more planted on the road.  

These tires have performed so well, that I went out and purchased a new set before I'd even completely worn out the first.  Conti's TKC-80 seems to be the gold standard for comparison, but I've been so impressed with these Mitas E-09, I'll probably never bother to compare.   

I used the E-09 Dakar for my last big adventure ride. What I noticed right away was the traction off-road is so much better than any tire I've tried. The rear tire has excellent wear on and off-road, the front tire is soft and wore done quicker than the rear but the traction was also phenomenal.

Major issue with big adventure bikes, the front tire cannot hold up in rocky sections. Within 20 minutes of our ride I hit a rock funny and blew the side wall out and part of the tread, it was a lucky hit and punctured between the knobs. I think the GS is just to heavy for these tires.

I will most definitely buy the rear again, the traction is hands down the best on the market, but the front needs to have some thicker rubber. Like a karoo 3 for instance.

I have been using mitas e09 for more than 30.000 kms overall, and used tkc80, karoo , Karoo T, MFC Stone Master, Heidi K60, Mitas e10... whatever... so far the e09 Dakar are the best knobby tyre you can use on the GSA.

It has long life, it is cheap (at least here in europe) and it bites the ground like nothing else. On the pavement it is not a great tyre, although to have troubles you have to drive really fast, which makes no sense for a knobby tyre, right? If you mosty ride offroad or you have 2 sets of rims (on/offroad) this is the best choice. If you want to use them on and offroad equally, then I would rather choose TKC80 because of it's better on road performance.

I like the 09 Dakar for the rear as well, I've had 2 and I'm sure I'll go back. I haven't tried the Mitas on the front yet but I'm sure it'll be in the near future. For me, I loved the performance of the tire on and off-road. Off road it bites well and feels great. On road going through the switchbacks, I've never felt like it'd slide out but I'm not sure if that's the tire gripping or the traction control helping me out... When home from the blacktop twisties, scuff marks were all the way out on the side knobbies with no more room to lean so it does hold well in corners. It's pretty noisy but it's a knobby and you need to expect that. It give 4 stars because wish I could get more mileage out of it but I'm not kind to the throttle, so that could be most my fault.

Went out for a short ride to try the Mitas E09 Dakar rear tire. Nothing but positive to say about it. Tire offers higher degree of traction in both drive and stopping. Leaned over grip on faster sections is better than you would think just by looking at the shoulder of this tire. I hope to see them in a 170/60 17 size soon. The 150 rear leaves the bead of the rim well exposed.