IRC Battle Rally Dualsport tires

[dirt dame 561]

I have used the Pirelli MT 21 DS tires, I have used the Michelin AC10s, Bridgestone EDs, and I have used the Dunlop 908 front and the 606 rear tires on my plated bikes. None of them really did as much as I'd have liked them to. The MT 21s worked pretty good in the dirt, but felt unsure on pavement and also didn't last too long. The AC10s were great in soft dirt, sand and mud and even in some snow, horrible on rocky or dry, hard stuff and pretty miserable on pavement, although they tended to hold up fairly well. In spite of their knobby design, the Bridgestones never worked very well in the dirt, but were very nice street tires. The first set of 908 front and 606 rear mix that I ran felt good in the dirt and on the pavement and lasted a long time....but the second set felt horrible on the dirt, as though the tires always had about 80 pounds of air in them. The tires skittered, slipped and bounced all over the place. Perhaps Dunlop had updated the carcasses on them to better assist in stability of heavy adventure bikes, but for whatever reason the second set stunk.

So, I was looking for another option, one that would be good in the dirt and still handle tarmac chores with ease, and hopefully last a reasonable amount of time and mileage. Enter the IRC Battle Rally.

I used to use tires from this smaller Japanese company back in the 80s on all my enduro and desert bikes. Back then IRC (and to a certain extent Yokohama) enjoyed a cult following among cross country racers and trail riders who were looking for a good tough tire that performed well and didn't cost an arm and a leg, because at that time the only other tires that were inexpensive were Cheng Shins....and they didn't exactly perform very well.

So I decided to try a set of the Battle Rally tires on my smallest plated bike (the KDX200), which had run a set of MT 21s through their life cycle. My first test ride was out at McCain Valley.

The bike and the Battle Rally tires were subjected to 30 miles of sandy, muddy and rocky singletrack yesterday, and I must say the tires performed rather nicely.

First of all, the carcasses of the tires absorbed rocky and sharp edged obstacles in a very cushy manner without excess flex. There was minimum deflect too. I ran the front tire at 11 psi and the rear tire at 13 psi. Second, the compound and tread design worked great on hard pack, hard pack with loose sand and over rocks, both large and small. They stuck pretty good to wet rocks as well. The jury is out on sand. I ride lousy in sand and haven't found a magic tire that will save me from my own deficiencies there. And the DS tires that seem to excel in sand don't seem work anywhere else for me. Suffice to say that I didn't have any unusually bad handling experiences in the sand. I didn't take the bike on any pavement yet, but I'm pretty sure that the tread design will be a very smooth and stable ride on the street.

After my ride was over, I took a look at the tires and there wasn't any visible signs of wear on them yet. That would be a good sign. I can't wait to see how they will do in the long run.

"After" shot.

Based on what I have experienced so far, I am pretty excited about these tires, and will probably try a set on my TE450 which is sporting a (mostly worn out) pair of Dunlops, which will never grace any of my bikes again.

[Zenosan 2]

Thanks for the feedback Mimi. But I couldn't find the tire size for a 17" rear wheel.

[dirt dame 561]

Thanks for the feedback Mimi. But I couldn't find the tire size for a 17" rear wheel.

Maybe they don't make a dualsport tire for it, but they still make an enduro tire for it.

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&priceRange=allPrices&navTitle=Tires+and+Wheels&webTypeId=139&webCatId=8&brandId=133&prodFamilyId=1335

That is the very model that I ran on my 1984 XR200R.

[dirt dame 561]

Thanks for the feedback Mimi. But I couldn't find the tire size for a 17" rear wheel.

Maybe they don't make a dualsport tire for it, but they still make an enduro tire for it.

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&priceRange=allPrices&navTitle=Tires+and+Wheels&webTypeId=139&webCatId=8&brandId=133&prodFamilyId=1335

That is the very model that I ran on my 1984 XR200R.

And for dualsport (more pavement oriented), IRC actually does still make the GP110.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/14987/ITEM/IRC-GP-110-Dual-Sport-Rear-Tire.aspx

[dirt dame 561]

I put a pair of these IRC Battle Rally tires on my TE450 just before the 2012 Desert Dash. I am pleased to report that they work great on a 450cc trail bike. Very smooth and quiet on the pavement, the best tire I have used yet in sand on the TE (although this didn't make me like sand any better). I think I have found my favorite DOT knobby now.

[paulmbowers 236]

I think I have found my favorite DOT knobby now.

Thanks for the check-in. I've been pouring over tire selection lately, and while still tempted by the MT43, I'm hesitant after my last experience. I may have a pavement-heavy DS ride coming up and was looking for a solution. Maybe I'll give these a try.

[Lotrat 0]

So how these tires holding up? How many miles? What's your long term opinion?

[dirt dame 561]

So how these tires holding up? How many miles? What's your long term opinion?

I like the tires a lot. They hold up as well as can be expected. Not the longest mileage, but not he shortest mileage either. What I like best about them is the mixture of surfaces that they work well on. So smooth on pavement, and yet good in rocks, sand and hard pack. I will probably buy them again.

[Lotrat 0]

I just burned through 50% of the my new K270 rear tire in 900 miles. Looking for my next rear tire already. Any guess on how long yours made it?

[dirt dame 561]

I just burned through 50% of the my new K270 rear tire in 900 miles. Looking for my next rear tire already. Any guess on how long yours made it?

No, the set on the 450 hasn't been on more than 500 miles, although the last session with rocks kind of burned off the edges of the knobs a bit. The 200 doesn't have an odometer, but the bike has gotten a lot of use since May of 2011. I still have over half the knob height left on the rear tire. I tussled with a bunch of boulders on my ride yesterday though. I would think that you could get over 1000 miles out of the rear Battle Rally. I'll certainly get more mileage on the 200 than I will on the 450.