amx . how to choose the right tire

Choosing the right tire

What is the best tire to put on your bike?

When you first start out in MX many times we're more concerned with riding techniques like jumping and turning than we are with bike setup. But many areas of bike setup will affect how we are able to control the motorcycle, none more important than your tires. To prove this, just get off a bike with new tires and get on your buddy's '89 KDX 200 - the one with the original rear knobby and try blasting through those sandy berms or rail one of those hard packed corners. No dice.

But new tires aren't enough - you need the right tire for the right conditions. There hasn't been a lot of writing on this lately, so I thought I'd let you all know what I ran last year on our local tracks in Atlantic Canada.

First off, I received a generous sponsorship from Michelin this year which saw me running their tires at each event. I'll present the tires I used, and show what the equivalent would be in Dunlop and Bridgestone. There's a full description of each manufacturers tires at the bottom.

Here's how it went:

TRACK	MICHELIN	DUNLOP	BRIDGE- STONE	RATIONALE
Kingston, NS	S12	D752 or D755	M25/26	Kingston is a full-on sand track and as such, the best tire choices will be ones with high profile knobs and a firm rubber compound. However, the Michelin sand tires use a soft compound normally associated with hard pack tires. I was skeptical at first, but the S12's stick like glue to the sand. They aren't so good if the ground firms up, but if it's pure sand you're talking, these are great.
Riverglade, NB	MS2	D756 (some people use the D752)	M57/58	Riverglade generally starts out the day being quite soft, but the track hardens up as the day wears on. So even though they've been dumping sand all over the track, I stick with the intermediate tire. If it weren't for the sand I go all the way to a hard pack tire.
Fox Hollow, NB	MS2	D756	M57/58	Fox Hollow is a real mix with hard pack, loamy dirt, sand and even pea gravel! It's a weird place, but for sure the best choice is an intermediate tire like the MS2.
Fredericton (Burtt's Corner), NB	MS2 or S12	D756 or D752	M57/58	Although Burtt's Corner has some sandy sections, the main area of the track is dominated by a mix of clay and sand making an intermediate to soft tire a good choice.
Meteghan, NS	MH2	D739 or D756	M22/23	Meteghan has a lot of silt which sort of sits on top of the hard packed clay underneath. As the day wears on the track gets harder and harder, making an intermediate or hard pack tire a good bet. Watch out for the berms at the end of the day though, they're really soft and silty.
Troy, NS	MH2	D739 or D756	M22/23	Lots of shale, clay and rock at Troy so a hard pack tire is what you want. Like Meteghan though, it gets silty and soft in places so watch for that. Remember to run slightly higher than normal air pressures at hard packed tracks - your tubes are likely to last longer.

MICHELIN
	S12 Soft terrain, good for: Kingston
	MS2 Medium terrain, good for: Fox Hollow, Riverglade, Meteghan, Burtt's Corner and Pleasant Valley
	MH2 Hard pack, good for Riverglade in really dry conditions, Meteghan and Troy Cape Breton

DUNLOP
	D752/755 Soft terrain
	D756 Intermediate to Soft terrain
	D739 Hard pack

BRIDGESTONE
	M25/26 The M25 front tire deserves special mention because it's a killer tire for tracks like Southwick, MA (pure, bottomless sand). You could also use it for Kingston, but sometimes the clay on their jumps is quite firm and this tire is not suited for any kind of hard surfaces.
	M57/58 Intermediate terrain
	M22/23 Hard pack