Mitas Rally Star E-12 and E-13 Tires Review

[MotoNews]

Published in: Gear

Do the Mitas Rally Star Tires Make You Ride like Chris Birch?

After watching Chris Birch throw around a KTM 1290 Super Adventure R like a trials bike, it got me wondering how in the world he gets much traction to the rear wheel. Once I learned his preferred tire of choice is the Mitas Rally Star E-12 and E-13, I was eager to try a set on my KTM 1290 Super Adventure R.

Mitas describes the Rally Star as a true off-road adventure tire for the toughest rally conditions. Upon visual inspection, it would be hard to disagree, as the front tire looks very similar to a dirt bike tire. The rear, while not as aggressive as some dirt-bike tires out there, has a much more aggressive look than any adventure tire I’ve tried.

With the tires in hand, I stopped by 2 Wheeled Rider headquarters where Mario installed them with ease using a No-Mar tire changer. The effortless install allowed me to quickly get back on the road and hit some West Virginia back roads. Headed west toward Boyer Farm, I patched together a route of dirt, gravel and some unavoidable pavement. The first test was the winding country paved roads, where I started scrubbing in the tires, quickly building confidence to push them into the corners. I was quite shocked by how they gripped the road with such little movement of the aggressive-looking knobbies. Road noise was ever-so-slightly increased, but quickly drowned out by the cracking of the throttle from every turn (all while grinning ear to ear).

Soon, the pavement ran out and I was onto twisty gravel roads. After the better-than-expected performance on-road, I hit the gravel with confidence. The first thing I noticed was how much more speed I could carry into a turn. The beefy knobbies on the front gripped well, even on the loose gravel. Upon hitting deep fresh gravel, the bike tracked straight with very little movement from side to side.

Finally, I had arrived for the ultimate test, Boyer Farm, which boasts 12 miles of single track. Fresh rain from the day before had me starting on a muddy grass track. The front tracked fairly well, but I was struggling with power to the rear wheel and finding traction. I knew these tires had more to give, so I headed back to camp to air down. After that was done, I immediately felt a difference in grip on the muddy grass track and became increasingly more comfortable lap after lap.

Next it was time to take these tires onto the single track, a place I hadn’t yet felt comfortable enough to go on with this big bike. But here’s where these tires shined. I quickly forgot I was on a large displacement adventure machine as I weaved through the trees, leaning the bike into corners and throttling hard across the rocks to the next turn. The bike stuck to the berms and exploded away, tracking straight with little-to-no wheel spin while hooking up tremendously across the loose rocks of West Virginia. 

After 200 miles of paved roads, gravel and trails the tires impressed in all areas, and with no appreciable wear.

While I was hoping I’d magically transform into Chris Birch with a simple tire swap, in reality I wasn’t able to do all those amazing maneuvers. What I was able to do was push myself and the KTM beyond what I thought I was capable of along with realizing that trails aren’t just for dirt-bikes. The Mitas Rally Star tires have opened up a whole new world for riding on my adventure bike. The possibilities are limited only by my riding skills. Here’s to new adventures!

Mitas-Tires.com

MSRP: Front: $150 | Rear: $250

PROS:

• Great on off-road trails especially the rocks
• Front tire hooks up excellent even in muddy turns
• Vastly expands where you can go with a large ADV bike
• Easy tire change

CONS:

• Pavement will eat up the tire fast
• U.S. availability
• Extremely limited tire sizes

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