HotRod82 2 Posted December 21, 2011 I am sooooo tired of DOT tires. I've tried both Pirelli and Dunlop, heavy duty tubes, tubeless, slime, running 20 plus pounds of air, nothing is working. Mellow trail riding is not a problem but crank the throttle up and bang another flat. ( OK to be honest 2 of the above mentioned flats nothing would have helped) I've been riding forever, and went YEARS and THOUSANDS of miles including 2 full SCORE seasons of prerunning and not one flat. I make the switch to DOT tires and nothing but misery. So my question is...HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN CHECKED FOR DOT's?? I have never been checked....EVER. (ok rant over) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted December 21, 2011 First, let me comiserate with you about the breakdown devil. Soon, nobody will want to ride with you. I've always run DOT tires, and have been checked at least three times, all in the Anza Borrego State Park. The last time, two members of our group were not in compliance, and were warned not to go into the park. Of all the breakdowns I've had, none have been for flat tires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted December 21, 2011 I have been checked for DOT tires in Anza Borrego State park. Not out on the highway. If you are doing something else that gets you stopped on the highway and the officer is in a grumpy mood, he could site you for tires or anything else he finds that is out of compliance. I don't get many flats, but seemed to have gotten an equal amount between DOT or offhighway only. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted December 21, 2011 First, let me comiserate with you about the breakdown devil. Soon, nobody will want to ride with you. I've always run DOT tires, and have been checked at least three times, all in the Anza Borrego State Park. The last time, two members of our group were not in compliance, and were warned not to go into the park. Of all the breakdowns I've had, none have been for flat tires. This seems to be the most common DOT check, Anza Borrego. I find it disgusting we are paying park rangers to check knobbies on dirtbikes but that is another rant all together. I rarely ride on tarmac so CHP likely will not be an issue. As far as breakdowns go, I have never in my 30 plus years of riding been stranded. I am a maintenance nazi and keep my bikes really fresh. I'm thinking the solution may be run non-DOT and dual register my bike so I cannot be cited unless I'm on the street or on a "plated" road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted December 21, 2011 I am a maintenance nazi and keep my bikes really fresh. I'm thinking the solution may be run non-DOT and dual register my bike so I cannot be cited unless I'm on the street or on a "plated" road. I can tell you, you've been lucky. I'm also tight with maintenence, but still have had a few parts failures, some major. Once the bike is plated, there's no upside to green sticker. You can't ride in ABNP on a green sticker alone, and the green sticker areas allow licensed bikes without equipment check. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 516 Posted December 21, 2011 I've been running DOT tires for years and don't ride gingerly...and rarely, I mean RARELY ever get flats on ANY of my bikes, including the big ADV bikes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 412 Posted December 21, 2011 Another check in. been running/racing (Nat H&H,enduros etc) FIM comp tires for years (DOT legal) at 10-13psi. Michelin UHD tubes + slime (not always slimed but now yes). Knock on wood no flats. PS never run MX tires (Dunlop 756s at the time) on a dirt road type higher speed Baja (StTomas to StQuintin) ride even at 18psi, 3 flats in 1 day.........funny but it sucked!! we were supposed to be the emergency sat phone chase crew,,,,we ended up waaaay behind the main body, and were the joke of the ride. Next day ride back my ride partner who laughed at me the day before got 3 flats on the way back.........true story, karma is real? you tell me. (sorry for the off topic) added insurance Check all your spokes for proper tightness. Make sure you have a good rim band/tape. Check your rim locks to be sure they are fresh and not chewed up with anything sharp. Also have you changed tires? or really checked them well for cactus spines? Do the rag rub on the inside of the tire to check for protruding things. I do that and a good visual with needle nose pliers in hand to pluck spines. They will stay in the tire unnoticed until they bust through and puncture the tubes. From the post you are not a novice at this, best of luck. OR if sticking to offroad only you could go with Michelin Mousses Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crawdaddy 96 Posted December 21, 2011 I don't think DOT is a "Flat" factor.....if anything I'd imagine you'd be LESS prone to flats on DOT tires. I have DOT approved MT43s front and back on the WR......no flats for first ~10K plus miles and only a couple thereafter..... The 300XCW has a MT 43 on the rear and a Dunlop 745 up front.....those were on it when I bought it......I just picked up a rear DOT compliant Pirelli XCMH for goofing around in the sand dunes over at Superstition.....the 745 front is basically new and I don't intend to replace it until I burn it up.....if a ranger wants to look at my tires I'll just show'em the rear MT43 and/or XCMH depending on set up.... The CRF230 has off road tires front and rear (same tires that were on it when I bought it).....I'll probably throw an MT43 rear and a XCMH front on that bike when I get around to replacing the current set on the bike..... Bottom line: I think it's wise to buy DOT tires when your current set of off road tires are toasted ....some DOT tires, like Pirelli MT43s/XCMH, are plenty good enough for dual sport usage.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted December 21, 2011 Make an Offering to the Tire Goddess, Tirena. The alter is located at Vista del Malpai. She prefers one shot of Tequila over each shoulder. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted December 21, 2011 I've been known to get a flat or two- a few were pinch flats, some rim lock issues, and a couple of spoke through rim tape issues... and I rarely run DOT tires riding off road- since my switch to DOT MT43s, I have zero flats... I attribute that to a higher sidewall, therefore no pinch flats replaced the rim tape with a double helping of duct tape, and swap it out with every tire change... good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted December 22, 2011 Thanks for all the opinions....the real kicker here is the only thing that has really changed is I switched from an XR650 to a KTM 525. I did run a couple of sets of Dunlop DOTs on the XR with no flats however the 2 sets only equated to about 1000 miles. I switch to the KTM, run both Dunlop and Pirelli (multiple sets) and nothing but flats. I began to seriously look at compression dampening thinking perhaps that was the issue but nothing has worked there either. I do ride the ktm a little differently but is that the reason behind the flats? Maybe I need to ride red again and the flats will stop! Bowers - Technically speaking a plated bike becomes illegal if you remove the DOT tires (or even just the mirror) even if you are in a "green sticker area" . The sign posted in Pine Valley even states "street legal vehicles must have ALL required equipment" Completely lame I know, but this is the world we live in. Another upside to dual registration is I can ditch the mirror and dualsport rear fender set up with all the lights etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PbdBlue 46 Posted December 22, 2011 replaced the rim tape with a double helping of duct tape, and swap it out with every tire change... good luck I hate rubber rim strips. I used to use duct tape as well and it worked ok but then I switched to a couple of layers of 20 mil pipe wrap tape. It's sort of like thermonuclear electrical tape ( http://www.pascospecialty.com/catalog/PASCO_CATALOG_E.pdf ). I have been doing that for probably 5 years and it's worked out well but recently I switched to Motion Pro Armor Strips ( http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/category/armor_rim_strips/ ). Quick and easy to apply. Only a couple of rides on them so the jury's still out but so far so good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted December 22, 2011 replaced the rim tape with a double helping of duct tape, and swap it out with every tire change... good luck I hate rubber rim strips. I used to use duct tape as well and it worked ok but then I switched to a couple of layers of 20 mil pipe wrap tape. It's sort of like thermonuclear electrical tape ( http://www.pascospecialty.com/catalog/PASCO_CATALOG_E.pdf ). I have been doing that for probably 5 years and it's worked out well but recently I switched to Motion Pro Armor Strips ( http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/category/armor_rim_strips/ ). Quick and easy to apply. Only a couple of rides on them so the jury's still out but so far so good. I too have used the pipe wrap on the wheels. This, along with a good dose of baby powder and the tubes stay new looking for literally years. I'm kinda at a loss.....something with my riding style combined with the KTM. Weird. I'm going back to the Bridgestone 6 ply..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
