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Dunlop Trailmax Mission - Long Term Test


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I’m a tire snob and a tire whore.. let’s start there..

 

 

 

2nd, I have a tendency to ride faster than one probably should on a loaded out ADV bike, especially on the street. I am not throttle conscious as it pertains to “save the tires”, I subscribe to the “fun meter” way of thinking and the meter is generally set on 11.. I am a tire ruin’er put simply..

 

TKC 80’s lasted less than 1000 miles on my bike on the AZ BDR, Kenda Big Blocks 1200mi in and around Death Valley, Pirelli MT 90’s 3400mi on a pavement assault of Northern and Central California, Motoz Adventures I can typically get 1800-2000 miles out of..

 

3rd disclaimer.. I received a set of Dunlop’s new Trailmax Mission tires at no cost to test and review thanks to Eric Hall, XLADV and Dunlop.. that said I have zero obligation to report anything here on these tires but reality..

 

So.. on to the tires.. I am 2000 miles in this far.. just got home from their first trip. 7 days in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. 90% scenic backwoods pavement, 10% mountain fire roads. Think, Teton pass, yellowstone, beartooth pass, dead indian pass, going to the sun road, lolo pass, bitterroot valley.. etc etc..

 

My setup was this for record. 2016 Africa Twin CRF1000L. Leo Vince full system and DynoJet Power Vision 3 Remapped ECU. The bike makes a bit more hp & tq than stock. Total weight with rider comes in right at 900lbs.. bike weighs 550lbs wet, luggage and accessories come in at 110lbs, I weigh 210 and wear 30lbs of gear.. pressures set at 38lb rear, 30lbs front.

 

So.. to recap Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires. 2000mi of scenic twisties, open hwy and fire roads, 900lb bike with rider, 100hp on tap, giving it the goat...

 

Install. Tires feel a bit heavier duty in the carcass than all other 50/50 tires I’ve ran. Carcass is more Motoz ADV than Pirelli MT90. Rear was a challenging self install even with a tire stand, proper tools and copious lube. Proof this tire is built to last. Front and rear both balanced with just 1/4oz. of weight with the light spot dot aligned with the valve stem. The least I have ever seen. Looks wise I think they look smashing..

 

First impression. My first miles on these tires was a pre trip shakedown run out of Vegas to the Hoover dam and back. I noted two important details.. #1 this is the first tire I’ve spooned on my Africa Twin that induces zero head shake oscillation at 90+mph.. anyone that rides an Africa Twin at the upper need of the speed spectrum knows what I’m talking about. This tire is planted.. period, no ifs ands or buts, up through 120mph where the Africa Twin says enough already. #2 noise.. or lack thereof. Asphalt, seal coat, smooth concrete, grooved concrete, none produced any detectable road noise. Turn in is predictable and linear. They feel slightly heavier than Pirelli MT90’s in rotating mass but that’s a just barely feel and not a hindrance in my opinion.

 

Off to see the wizard. We trailered to Idaho Falls from Vegas, as our launch point for the ride North. Days 1-3 were all high speed mountain passes and backroads through Jackson Hole, The Tetons, Yellowstone and Cody, Wyoming. We did a bit of dirt two track to camp on night 1 that included a steep and totally blown out hill climb that was about a mile in length. There were rocks, dust silt, holes, gravel and hard pan. This was my first foray with the Trailmax Mission’s off road. I was very very pleased in their performance.. I found them to be lacking nothing. Forward drive was great, the front provided ample feel and the rear broke loose on command when desired but remained highly controllable with throttle input. I was able to step out the rear on the exit of dirt corners predictably, the rear did not show signs of high side danger power slide slide hookup when pushed, even when throttle was chipped mid-drift. Pavement manners were absolutely brilliant.. I pushed and pushed and pushed these tires on the road. Loading the front hard mid apex at speed by chopping the throttle, upsetting the chassis at lean angle.. the front never seemed to care. It was as reliable as a tire could be. 100hp and 75lb ft of tq isn’t a lot but with traction control off (I always ride with it off) but, its enough to spin up a rear on the pavement once a tire is heat soaked and pushed with irresponsible corner throttle control in the case of most tires. Especially when you are transferring the weight of 900lbs through the corner. I tried diligently on multiple road services to break the rear out of corners. Simulating even the most panicked mid corner squid moves I could muster.. I was never able to break the rear on any non dirt road surface, it was totally un fowl able.

 

Wear. One issue I’ve always found true with tires on my ADV bike is that they don’t go the distance. I am generally a rear tire per trip guy and front tire per 2 trips.. heavily loaded and flogged adv bikes are really hard to keep tires under. These tires showed very little signs of wear 1000 miles in, despite my attempts to bludgeon and beat them mercilessly.

 

Dirt. On this 2000 mile trip we road approx 200 miles of dirt. Each section was a mountain pass two track road of hard pan, gravel, river crossings, open faced imbedded rock and dusty dirt highways. I pushed and pushed and pushed these tires. The rear I found to be incredible in its performance off road, despite its non-aggressive appearance. It performs off road as good as many much more aggressive looking tires I have flogged. The front was near equally impressive, although I was able to find its limits off road, unlike the rear. There were just two instances I was able to break the front off road. The first was on old backroad ranchy two track. My line to keep was filled with a mixture of sand and dust silt ahead a top hard pan. Loose sand and silt is always a difficult proposition on big bikes, this was no different. Maintain speed, add throttle when you hit it and power through.. the front hunted for center. The second incidence of this was again on hard pan with heavy dust silt atop the hard pan.. aka dirt road black ice. Mid corner throttle chop loading the front tire I was able to tuck the front, it would immediately re-track once throttle was re-applied and weight was rebalanced on the chassis. Would a more aggressive front have done the same? From my experience a more aggressive front such as a tkc80, Kenda Big Block, or Motoz dirt variant would have held out a little longer before letting go, but probably not much longer. Personally those little tucks when ham fisted in the tight conditions off road I am more than happy to accept, in exchange for all of the other times and places these tires outshine the competition in the 50/50 tire segment.

 

2000 miles in I couldn’t be happier with their performance. Their wear is barely showing and the wear that is occurring is very linear across the tread on both front and rear.

 

This weekend I will put another 1000 miles on them in the Sierra’s at High Sierra Rally. I will continue to report back on their performance until they are toast.

 

2000 miles in I give them 4.5 stars. They are to date the best well rounded do it all tires I’ve ran on a big bike. I have a feeling that opinion isn’t going to change. But we shall find out.

 

[mention]Jmackie411 [/mention]

 

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