Steve from Wee Waa, NSW wanted to let us know about his experience with the E-09 Dakar on his BMW GS650F Dakar. He writes:

I just completed a 7000km trip from north NSW to Alice Springs and back, riding on E09 Dakars front and rear. 40% tar 60% dirt, all high speed. I would highly recommend these tyres and will use them again on the next trip. Rear tyre is worn out but front tyre would do the trip again. I did the same trip last year and had to change tyres in Alice to get home.

Thanks for the positive feedback Steve!

In late August two doctors headed off to circumnavigate Australia on BMW G650X Enduro bikes, to raise money for SCKOPING - a network established to support the needs of children with parents with mental illness by giving them adventure holidays throughout the year.

Dr Christopher Lilley is a Consultant Psychiatrist who specialises in the treatment of children and adolescents and practices from the Child and Youth Mental Health Service in Maroochydore. Dr Franco Ambrosio specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers at Skin Alert Clinic, Minyama.

18,000km, 10 weeks, 4 states, 1 puncture (fixed 3 times!!!), 1 warped brake disk, a few days of electrical problems, 2 sets of tyres, chains, sprockets, 1 sand storm in the desert, 1 day of rain, 2 sore rear ends, many amazing sights, and 1700 photos later, the doctors returned with high praise for the MItas tyres that carried them safely on their way:

Both Franco and I were amazed by the Mitas E-07 tyres and had considered them as the tyre for our trip after long and hard searching of the internet forums and from recommendation by Dave at AussieBiker. True to form they outlasted many tyres we have previously used, with my rear tyre covering 11000km before being changed. The second set you provided are still roadworthy after a further 7000km on our return from Perth to Queensland.

Our trip covered both sealed and unsealed roads, including the Savannah Way, Gibb River Road, Great Central Road, Oodnadatta Track and Birdsville Tracks. This provided many varied surfaces, from bitumen to sand, gravel to hard-pack. The tyres were tough and reassuring, struggling only in very loose sand. If they lost grip then the slip was progressive and easy to control.

Throughout the whole trip we only suffered one puncture and that was caused by a pinch. Considering the sharp gravel and gibbers that we hit, this in itself is a huge testament to the strength and reliability of the tyres.

In all we were so pleased with our choice that we believe that the Mitas E-07 is the best tyre currently available for Australian adventure riding.

More: www.lwdu.blogspot.com

Trelleborg motorcycle tyres have been made by Mitas under licence for a number of years. As of April 2010, the licensing agreement ends, and the Trelleborg name will exit the motorcycle tyre market.

As of April 1st 2010, Mitas will continue to produce a selected range of the tyres, but will incorporate them into the Mitas brand with the marking 'Sport Xtreme'. The tyre itself will remain unchanged, but the Trelleborg pattern names will disappear, and an 'X' prefix will be added to the tread pattern number, so for example the former Trelleborg Supermaster T-946 will become the Mitas Sport Xtreme XT-946.

Sweden's Motosport magazine has tested eight rear motocross tyres from Dunlop, Kenda, Maxxis, Metzeler, Michelin, Mitas, Pirelli and Viking. The test was carried out by test rider Michael Schwartz in Norrköping on the Kråkvilan motocross course. All rear tyres were tested on the same day with the same air pressure. The tyres were submitted to the same treatment over half an hour, starting on smooth and gravel surfaces. The test included acceleration, braking and shifting according to a repeated pattern.

Schwartz found the performance of the Mitas and Kenda tyres to be the best of the group, but that the Mitas was the hardest wearing while the Kenda had the shortest lifespan in the test. With the Mitas he found:

full control from the first to the last minute. Excellent balance in all test sections – starting, braking, shifting, acceleration. No major wear despite the tough test conditions. The hardest-wearing tyre in the test. The easiest of the tyres to remove, even though it was slightly difficult at the start.

This tyre is suitable for both hard and smooth surfaces. Mitas has always achieved both good balance and excellent durability. The tyre can easily be reversed if one side is worn.

More: view pdf (283kb)

MITAS has launched several new products at the MOTOCYKL 2009 Fair in Prague. First, there are the new C-10 and C-11 “Speedy Croc” motocross tyres, which are intended for recreational riding on soft to medium-hard terrain. The tyres exhibit superb guidance and grip in a range of conditions.

Another Mitas innovation is the Multi-Element Mousse – “MEM”. It is a lightweight elastomeric material replacing the classical inner tube. It has been developed especially for off-road races in motocross, enduro, and off-road rally.

Colin Cooper of Kiwi Rider magazine tries out the Mitas E-09:

Preceding this year’s ‘Most Excellent’ Capital Coast Adventure, Vege advised that I would be trying out a new pair of Mitas E09 tyres. And of course one look at them had me all stressed out.

“Yeah but I gotta cover a lotta kms to get there Vege and these look more aggressive – will they grip on the seal? Blah, blah, blah” – yep, resisting change again. But I did as I was told, and wish to report a welcome discovery – 3,500km of tarseal, and not even half worn on the rear. That is a surprisingly better wear rate than expected for a more open knobby tyre. Seal grip is satisfactory (but cautious) in the wet, and surprisingly capable in the dry. I had expected some drop in grip from such an aggressive off-road oriented tyre, but no way did I imagine I would get more than 1,000km out of it. The front does take a hammering if there’s lots of heavy braking – but that’s the same on any knob though. But what about grip off-road you ask?

I’m glad you asked. In fact I’d have to say that wear rate aside the foremost feature of the Mitas tyres is their outstanding dirt and mud traction securing confidence in wrestling the 240kg ‘don’t-drop-me-or-I’ll-smash-my-fairings’ Cagiva. So Vege, I concede I am resistant to change, but now I am enjoying an extremely versatile set of tyres suiting an adventure ride with flexibility of whatever terrain may be encountered over the course of its next trip.

More: view pdf (162kb)

Mitas announces plans to launch 5 new tyres under the Mitas banner. Previously produced for another major 'premium' tyre brand, the Mitas E-10 will be available in the following big bike sizes:

110/80-19 E-10 59H TL Front
90/90-21 E-10 54H TL Front
150/70-17 E-10 69H TL Rear
140/80-17 E-10 69H TL Rear
140/80-18 E-10S 70H TL Rear