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Gear Review – Motoz Tractionator Desert H/T tyres

It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of the Motoz Tractionator Adventure tyres for a long time now. Since I first tried them back in 2015 I was super impressed with how they lasted and their predictable grip. The Desert H/T has been available in a few different sizes to suit enduro and mid-capacity adventure bikes but Rick from Motoz has built this tyre in a couple of new sizes as a built of a special project. You see Rick has been bitten by the adventure bug too and recently got himself a KTM 1190R.

Rick from Motoz occasionally sends me some new tyres to test out. With our TransTerra Arnhem Land ride coming up he sent me a new version of the Desert H/T to try out in a 150/70-18 size to suit the big KTM 1290 Super Adventure R. When I first laid my eyes on this chunk of rubber I christened it the “Desert Shredder”. With the open tread pattern almost paddle like the knobs look huge!

First Impressions

When we first left Darwin we had about 60km of bitumen transport before we hit the dirt. Even before leaving Darwin I tested out the KTM v-twin power vs Motoz grip equation on bitumen and quickly realised that the 1290 still has plenty of excess power on tap. Black lines and flying bitumen stones were testament to that!

The first dirt track we encountered was hard packed gravel and a few patches of sand. At first I wasn’t impressed. On the bitumen the bike had a bit of a shimmy above 100kph. On loose gravel I felt like I didn’t have as much predictable edge grip as my favourite tyre, the Tractonator Adventure. That said I was riding sweep and taking it pretty easy. I wasn’t blown away at first.   The front tyre I was running was a Tractionator Adventure and I’ve certainly noticed with them in the past they take some kilometres to bed in. And so it was with this Desert H/T. As the trip continued I got more chances to really test this tyre and I became more impressed as I continued to push the tyre.  

On the 4th day of our trip I was leading the group through a fast flowing fun section on hard packed gravel roads through cattle stations. This was my first really good test of the grip levels and I was impressed. Pulling 4th and 5th gear power slides through corners was comfortable and predictable. I started getting comfortable with cracking the throttle early to get the tyre drifting and then holding the slide from corner to corner. This is where I really enjoy riding!   It also surprised me a few times launching out of corners on tight twin in 2nd gear where the front would launch in the air.

Grip On Bitumen

Maintaining traction with knobby tyres on bitumen with 160HP being produced by the KTM’s 1290cc v-twin is a hard ask. With traction control left off the grunt of the big KTM is hard to contain. The front tyre lifts off the deck in the first 4 gears. Likewise, powering out of corners in 1st or 2nd gear easily left strips of black liquorice on the ground. In fact I’m pretty sure I saw a black line laid behind me as I overtook a road train in 5th gear.

So, exceeding the limits of traction on tar is not a problem. And I felt comfortable doing it. That, to me, is a sign that this tyre does work on bitumen. There was no sudden snaps or slips sideways. Just predictable feedback from my inputs.   I think one of the features that really helps here is that a “Soft” compound has been used in the brew for this tyre. Whereas the Tractionator Adventure uses a Hard compound.   Obviously this tyre is not aimed at bitumen riding but you need to know it’s not going melt on a long bitumen transport or spit you off and the first sign of a set of twisties. None of that here.

Long Term Impressions

“Long term” is a relative  term when you’ve got 160 horsepower of Austrian v-twin grunt and wide open desert roads at your disposal! Definitely what surprised me the most about this tyre was how it lasted.

When Rick first told me he was making this tyre to suit the big bikes I thought “It’ll give awesome grip….for about 1 day!” I honestly didn’t expect this tyre to last long on a big bore bike. Why? A good friend of mine Chris had one on his KTM 690 last year for our ride through the Kimberley and it was toast after about 2,500km. Fitting the same pattern tyre to a bike putting out over double the horsepower surely can’t end well?  

Truth is. It exceeded my expectations greatly. I fitted it to my 1290R with 0km on the odometer and ran it for 11 days straight in the Northern Territory covering just shy of 4,000km – 3,960km. This riding was done on a mix of bitumen highways with a legal speed limit of 130kph,  fast gravel roads with big rocks, rock infested twin track and some sandy sections. To put this in perspective I regularly used to get 4,500km out of the Tractionator Adventure on the back of a KTM 1190R.

In comparison the couple of times I used the stock Continental TKC80 I got 1,400 and 1,700km out of them. That is a massive difference and I was surprised to get the life out of the soft compound Desert H/T.   At the end of this run the tyre still has knobs, especially on the sides, and I could push it for another 500km if I had to.   It should be noted too that the temperatures during our ride were between 32-38 degrees celsius every day. If a tyre was ever going to have a melt down this trip should have done it.

That’s 4,000km on and off-road on a bike with 160HP that I was running with traction control off in hot conditions on rocky terrain with lots of power slides going on. Good result in my book!

Other Notes

Noise. It is a noisy tyre. It tends to howl on the bitumen but I definitely noticed a reduction in noise when I put the tyre pressures back up higher to “road” pressures.   One surface I didn’t get to try it on was wet bitumen. I have in past though tried the Motoz Adventure in the same soft compound and I was blown away by how well it gripped on wet bitumen. TBA on this.

Matching Front

Motoz has also matched up the “Desert Shredder” rear with a new 21″ front tyre to suit the big bikes. The 90/90-21 size is tubeless to suit big bikes and the tread pattern is better suited to the loads that can exerted by heavier bikes under hard braking and cornering. It’s always one thing I’m a bit dubious of when I see riders on big-bore adventure bikes using motocross tyres that aren’t speed rated up to 160kph at least.

I’ve not tested this front tyre yet but will report back shortly!

Where Do You Get ’em?

Be careful when ordering or talking about Motoz tyres because I hear a lot of riders calling them “Tractionators”. Reality is Tractionator is the name that Motoz give to many tyres in their range and simply serves to identify the tyres with the tougher carcass. Also with the front tyre there are two 21″ sizes available:

90/90-21 – in tubeless for big bore 800cc plus adventure bikes

You can order direct online with Motoz or many motorcycle dealers can order them in for you.

Summary

This thing rocks on big adventure bikes! It surprised the hell out of me how long it lasted. It bites in nicely on loose surfaces and really excels in straight line drive and braking. There is every chance I will be running this tyre most of the time I head out into the outback now I like it that much!    

*Full disclosure – Motoz tyres sponsor Maschine by providing tyres for us to use on our bikes. This came about because I was so damn impressed the first time I used them. I have tried all the leading brands of adventure tyres so I know how Motoz compare to other brands. In my book Motoz offer best value for money and performance in adventure bike tyres.

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