Motoz Desert H/T 90/100-21 fits Tenere 700

[Goldentaco]

I've been having trouble finding 90/90-21's in aggressive tread patterns so I decided to mount a Motoz Desert H/T 90/100-21 Tube type. It fits the rim well as it’s made for smaller width rims than their Tubless variants. Got it for about a $100

Tire fits well with no clearance issues. It rolls smooth and so far it’s good in the twisties. It’ll take some more miles to get confident with it.

Turn in is about the same as a 90/90 Rallz Tube Type and it lays over predictably and doesn’t fall into the corner at all. It doesn’t tract rain grooves but does have a slight shimmy on road gouges. It’s stable on freeway with grooves into a headwind up to about 85. Front starts to feel really light there. Rallz front felt more stable in all conditions. I'll see how it does as the miles add up.

Can’t wait to get it into the dirt. It looks like a saw blade.

 

 

This is it next to my clapped out Rallz with 4000 miles on it.

 

J

 

[TimeMachine]

Another option is the Shinko 216mx 90/100x21 or it's little brother the Shinko 216mx 90/90x21. I have tried both and think I prefer the 90/100. These Shinkos are the same design as the Goldentyre GT216aa (fatty is 90/100).

You might find this comparison interesting. The 90/100 and the 90/90 are the same weight. The 90/100 is 2% larger in diameter making your speedo a little more accurate (and odometer less accurate), and has a softer sidewall.

When I first bought my T7 I had the Motoz Desert HT 90/100 fitted as you have. I found at certain lean angles it got unsettled. I much prefer the Shinko.

[Goldentaco]

On 9/10/2021 at 8:12 PM, TimeMachine said:

Another option is the Shinko 216mx 90/100x21 or it's little brother the Shinko 216mx 90/90x21. I have tried both and think I prefer the 90/100. These Shinkos are the same design as the Goldentyre GT216aa (fatty is 90/100).

You might find this comparison interesting. The 90/100 and the 90/90 are the same weight. The 90/100 is 2% larger in diameter making your speedo a little more accurate (and odometer less accurate), and has a softer sidewall.

When I first bought my T7 I had the Motoz Desert HT 90/100 fitted as you have. I found at certain lean angles it got unsettled. I much prefer the Shinko.

Thanks for the recommendation.  I've put 350 miles on it so far and I absolutely love it in the dirt.  It has tons of grip.  Entering corners hot and grabbing both brakes, the front rarely activates ABS while the rear is breaking traction.  In deep silt, it holds a line well and steering is very predictable in loose gravel.  Leaned over in a turn, it just grips. I think is't a bit better than the Rallz.  I can't wait to try it in more Desert terrain in the Eastern Sierra .  We were on hard-pack with gravel top so tractions was probably good anyway.  On road it was skittish for the first 100-150 miles.  At 200 miles, it was stable at 75+ freeway speeds and I got it up to 93 with no wobbles.  I didn't notice any issues with lean angle as you mentioned but it would be less stable on overpasses with water grooves leaned over in a curve.  

 

So did you run it through its lifespan?  How do they two compare in longevity?  

 

J

[TimeMachine]

4 hours ago, Goldentaco said:

Thanks for the recommendation.  I've put 350 miles on it so far and I absolutely love it in the dirt.  It has tons of grip.  Entering corners hot and grabbing both brakes, the front rarely activates ABS while the rear is breaking traction.  In deep silt, it holds a line well and steering is very predictable in loose gravel.  Leaned over in a turn, it just grips. I think is't a bit better than the Rallz.  I can't wait to try it in more Desert terrain in the Eastern Sierra .  We were on hard-pack with gravel top so tractions was probably good anyway.  On road it was skittish for the first 100-150 miles.  At 200 miles, it was stable at 75+ freeway speeds and I got it up to 93 with no wobbles.  I didn't notice any issues with lean angle as you mentioned but it would be less stable on overpasses with water grooves leaned over in a curve.  

 

So did you run it through its lifespan?  How do they two compare in longevity?  

 

J

I got better mileage from the HT (5-6000klms from memory) than I do from the Shinko (2-3000 klms). I also didn't get to try the HT in sand, which I think it would be good at.

[AZJW]

@Goldentaco Aren't you also running a 150/70-18 rear MotoZ Desert H/T in tubeless?  You might have already discussed your experiences with that rear, but I couldn't locate it.  With the MotoZ line getting so far backordered, I'm thinking of that rear instead of another RallZ if available sooner. Thanks for any feedback. 

[Goldentaco]

2 hours ago, AZJW said:

@Goldentaco Aren't you also running a 150/70-18 rear MotoZ Desert H/T in tubeless?  You might have already discussed your experiences with that rear, but I couldn't locate it.  With the MotoZ line getting so far backordered, I'm thinking of that rear instead of another RallZ if available sooner. Thanks for any feedback. 

I was.  I got about 5900 miles out of it.  Could have ridden more but as that tire squares off, the side lugs aren't strong enough on their own to keep this bike stable in a corner.  For a month I was chasing some wallowing when leaned over in a hard corner and going over uneven asphalt.  I thought it was the suspension...turns out it wasn't.

 

AS far as I can figure, with the center section squared off in a corner you increase pressure on the side lugs and release pressure on the center section.  This translated into a wallowing feeling when the suspension would cycle while leaned over in a corner.  This is unfortunate as the tire still had plenty of bite in deep sand and loose decomposed granite.  I could have done another 1000 miles on this tire.  Disclaimer: You can tell from the tire that I don't ride them hard offroad.  I don't powerslide on the regular or roost them frequently.  I try to ride like a sane person and maintain traction often in a higher gear than a hooligan would.

 

I've since replaced it with a RallZ TL (in our stock size the 150 rear only comes in TL).  I noticed a few things during this swap.

-The Desert H/T is a heavy tire.  It weighs more than the Rallz.  I didn't get weights of just the tires, but the Desert H/T on the rim with 5900 miles on it weighed 1lb more than the Rallz tire brand new on the rim.

 

7mm tread left

 

-The Desert H/T is a stiff tire.  I didn't mount these myself but the ride comfort of the new Rallz tire was noticeably cushier.  Rallz feels smoother on all road surfaces and offroad at street pressures ( usually start 30psi cold both F and R)

 

-The Desert H/T is louder than the Rallz.

-The Desert H/T has better grip in loose surfaces and is a tad harder to spin up in a turn.  

 

I haven't ridden in sandy desert terrain yet like East Side of Sierra /Mono Lake area so I can't make a full comparison just yet but in deep silty climbs the other weekend at Cow Mtn, I had no lack of drive from the Rallz.  

 

Saving more comments for after some deep sand, if the Rallz doesn't disrupt the handling in corners when it's squared off like the H/T and can provide me enough traction everywhere, it may be a preferable choice as an all arounder.  But if I'm slapping tires on for a BDR out West, I may opt for the H/T as it's a monster in finding traction in loose stuff.  But realistically I think the differences are not going to be as night and day as the tread profile might indicate.

 

J

Edited September 16, 2021 by Goldentaco

[Goldentaco]

50 minutes ago, AZJW said:

@Goldentaco Aren't you also running a 150/70-18 rear MotoZ Desert H/T in tubeless?  You might have already discussed your experiences with that rear, but I couldn't locate it.  With the MotoZ line getting so far backordered, I'm thinking of that rear instead of another RallZ if available sooner. Thanks for any feedback. 

...and for the short answer. 

 

IF you can only find the H/T get it.  Just be aware if it begins to wallow, it's probably the tire profile wearing down.  My Rallz feels great and wallowing disappeared after mounting it.

 

J

[AZJW]

@Goldentaco Great feedback,  just what I was looking for, thanks.   The RallZ is still my go to rear, but if unavailable,  will then will decide between the Desert H/T or the Tractionator Adventure.  

 

Re: your comment "sandy desert terrain yet like East Side of Sierra /Mono Lake area" I know of what you speak. I ended up on my ass on my poorly ( rear biased) loaded Mosko R40 Beta, just north of Mono lake. I was running a Tractionator Enduro I/T rear that did the job admirably, but the poor Fatty 216 up front was just skimming the ground, so steering was mainly by throttle.  Judging from my experience with the RallZ in somewhat similar terrain, unless you're really hammering the throttle,  thinking you may notice fairly similar characteristics to the Desert H/T.

[Goldentaco]

25 minutes ago, AZJW said:

@Goldentaco Great feedback,  just what I was looking for, thanks.   The RallZ is still my go to rear, but if unavailable,  will then will decide between the Desert H/T or the Tractionator Adventure.  

 

Re: your comment "sandy desert terrain yet like East Side of Sierra /Mono Lake area" I know of what you speak. I ended up on my ass on my poorly ( rear biased) loaded Mosko R40 Beta, just north of Mono lake. I was running a Tractionator Enduro I/T rear that did the job admirably, but the poor Fatty 216 up front was just skimming the ground, so steering was mainly by throttle.  Judging from my experience with the RallZ in somewhat similar terrain, unless you're really hammering the throttle,  thinking you may notice fairly similar characteristics to the Desert H/T.

That's what I expect at normal speeds.  It's where one would turn around in deep sand or starting out with a loaded bike where the tire digs and then crawls out of the hole.    I like to camp on the East side of Mono down some sandy Jeep two track.  A couple spots just turning around were sketchy with bike loaded but the H/T crawled out no problem.  It's not common.

 

J