Choosing The Correct Racing Tire

Choosing the right motocross tires in today can be quite a challenge. There used to be one hot setup that every motocross racer used from the late 80's all the way into the early 2000's. This tire choice consisted of Reiken radial front tires that were specifically grooved for motocross use and the rear tire of choice were turf tamers grooved for motocross racing. This has been the norm in the motocross world due to the lack of contribution from tire manufactures. Around 2003 that all changed when ITP introduced the holeshot tire. This tire changed the tire choice world forever by providing a race ready tire right from the manufacture. No grooving was required and the tire was formulated with high end rubber compounds to produce a tire that had really good bite and also had really good wear characteristics.

As the demand for a more race proven tire's increased ITP re formulated the holeshot tire several times to create the holeshot xc and holeshot mx tires. Each tire was specifically designed for either xc racing or mx racing. The xc tire being more robust with a thicker sidewall and had tighter knob spacing to increase surface area for the rougher xc courses. The mx tire has wider spaced knobs for improved bite on the loamy motocross tracks, but also has enough flex to hook up on hard pack track conditions as well. From here both tires evolved more and more to cater toward the racer. The mxr tire was introduced and preformed well on harder pack tracks. Shortly after that they introduced the mxr4 tire which was made to handle the torque of the modern four stroke engine. ITP has come along way since the original holeshot tire was manufactured. They now have an massive tire choice that caters towards any type of riders' style and preferences.

Soon other tire manufactures caught onto the trend and started to produce their own motocross tire. Kenda introduced the klaw tire. The rear tire of this design was reversible so that the rider could run them one way for mild to hard pack tracks and run them the other way for loamy and soft track conditions. Maxxis also had good tires but in my opinion they catered more towards the xc world as there mx tire was not the most top performing tire on the market. My personal choice in tire combination was kend klaw front tires, they had a great tread pattern good traction and they lasted a long time. I ran BKT x-drive tires in the rear. These tires were inexpensive and hooked up very well. The rear end of my quad was always sticking and they got the power to the ground right now.

There are now many choices when it comes to choosing the best motocross tire for you. It can be hard to settle on a particular brand or tread pattern. The only way to know which one to get is to experiment with them all. If your buddy has different tires than you can ask him how he likes them and ask him if you can take a spin on his quad to test them out. When you are at your next race ask around in the pits and see what the faster riders are running see what they say about them. Finally the next time you are at a national see what the pros are running. Most of them are great to talk to if you catch them at the right time. The best time to ask about their tire selection would be in the morning a few hours before the first moto, this way you will be sure not to disturb their concentration on the race.