Michelin Starcross 5 Hard review. Not a good one.

[turbo dan]

Will be riding today on the motoz. The tire sure looks like business. Much wider for being the same size. More, beefier knobs. I suspect this one will hold up well. 

This is the Starcross 5 Hard, Dunlop MX52 and Motoz Tractionator Desert H/T left to right.

Edited June 11, 2017 by turbo dan

[turbo dan]

Ended up going three rides on the Michelin before I took it off.  That was enough.

[mlatour]

Looking forward to you impressions of the MotoZ, (not 100% familiar with them, which model is it ?)

I hesitated on buying that brand before going to the 'tried and true' Maxxis IT's on my CRF250X.

Can't complain on the IT's though, (Desert front / regular rear) as they've proven very good for my usage.

Edited June 11, 2017 by mlatour

[turbo dan]

Motoz Tractionator Desert H/T. As far as I could find it was the only DOT approved 19" tire that is designed for hard, dry terrain.

[turbo dan]

I like the Tractionator.  Was running it at 25 psi because I hate pinch flats and it worked great.  It does show wear after the first ride but I wasn't taking it easy like I was on the Michelin.  I wanted to see how it held up so I didn't hold back.  Best thing about it is how well it hooks up with the tire lit up and the bike leaned over.  Example being a hardpacked banked corner.  The tire resists oversteer better than anything else I have tried. 

Another characteristic I like is the consistency in traction over various surfaces.  It doesn't hook up too hard on soft/intermediate surfaces and it maintains good traction on hardpack.  I found it to work very well in some of the sandy berms out here with slick hard packed spots in them where the sand has been blown out. 

I did have a hell of a time getting the beads fully seated.  They just plain wouldn't seat with 60 psi in there even with lube, so I aired down to 25 and went riding.  After about 20 minutes of hard riding the beads finally settled into place.  In terms of wear it still isn't as durable as the K270 but it did very well relative to the current Dunlop Geomax and Michelin offerings.  If I wasn't riding on what is essentially dirty concrete I don't think it would have worn at all. 

I'll have to put some more time on it before I order a stack of them.  Its the best general intermediate/hard dry desert terrain tire I've found yet but I'm still not convinced about durability.

[Into the sunset]

Hey TDan do run your tires at 25 psi all the time? Is it possible that the higher pressure is causing the early wear?

 

[turbo dan]

9 hours ago, Dklassen said:

Hey TDan do run your tires at 25 psi all the time? Is it possible that the higher pressure is causing the early wear?

 

No sir.  Usually run 15-17.  Exception being my dual sport KDX which is run at 25-30 and still works great off road.  I recently bit a hole in a tube at 17 psi so I decided I'd go a little higher still.

There is no hooking up a 250 two stroke on dry hardpack.  Wheelspin is inevitable. 

[The Agitator]

Heres my old Starcross5 HARD that I put on last June and rode the living crap out of until November (about 25 engine hours) from 4ish to 12ish PSI in a wide variety of terrain BUT granted it was not always on hard/rocky stuff but there is a far bit of this where I ride.

As you can see and funny enough on the backside a bit of chunking and a small tear on a couple of knobs but if I did not go 18" i might be tempted to flip this and get some more hours out of it.

As I mentioned I most likely will not buy these again BUT (and a lot of this depends on terrain and riding style) IMO I did not run into the issues Turbo ran into and just wanted to add another opinion

 

[mlatour]

For a Hard terrain tire that design sure has a lot of open space down the center row of knobs,

spaced out even more than many 'Intermediate' tires.

(meaning it should still do ok in soft stuff despite out of it's intended usage)

Edited June 13, 2017 by mlatour

[turbo dan]

That was my experience with it.  Works well initially but gets tore up on hardpack.  After a bit of time on the tire it was getting unpredictable and very slick on hard terrain.  Had the rear end shoot out on me a few times trying to get on the power coming out of a corner.  Would be good for about one moto at race pace.

I'm happy to sacrifice a little bit of straight line traction for a longer wearing tire.  I don't race anymore so pulling holeshots down a loose/loamy start is of zero importance.

[kx450f06]

Will be riding today on the motoz. The tire sure looks like business. Much wider for being the same size. More, beefier knobs. I suspect this one will hold up well. 




This is the Starcross 5 Hard, Dunlop MX52 and Motoz Tractionator Desert H/T left to right.

Hey turbo do you have any more feedback on the motoz tire. Was thinking of getting one for my next tire. But wanted to see how it held up.

Sent from my XT1585 using ThumperTalk mobile app

[turbo dan]

The Motoz held up well but I ended up ordering up the 18" rear and running a K270.  Between those two the K270 is holding up slightly better but the Motoz is no slouch.  Best hardpack tire you can get in the 19" size in my opinion.

[kx450f06]

Ok thanks I think I will go with the motoz. I have a friend that has a 18" rear he was also looking for a tire. who makes the k270?

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[turbo dan]

That is a Kenda.  I tried it originally in a dual sport application and was amazed how well it works on dirt.  Lasts a long time too, though not as long on my KX250 as it does on my KDX200.

[CR250_182]

I ran the starcross5 soft set at the spring creek amateur day, then down at Meadow Valley which is a very different track dirt wise, and I think the tire performed great at both

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using ThumperTalk mobile app

[mlatour]

Has anyone ever ran the previous Starcross 3 series mid-soft MS3 and switched over to the new Starcross 5 'Soft' ?

 

Some online tire reviews have mentioned improved feel and traction from the new front,

but wondering if the average MX rider can really notice the change.

The new thread pattern is very similar to the S12XC which I wasn't too fond of (felt mushy / like it always rolled over)

perhaps the 'Soft' has a harder rubber compound.

[turbo dan]

Longer term update on the tractionator.  My K270 equipped 18" wheel wasn't holding air so I slapped the 19" and tractionator back on.  After riding the K270 for an extended period of time, I will say that the Motoz works better in corners.  The Kenda is good, no complaints, but the rounder profile of the Motoz hooks up better when you are flat tracking it.  The K270 has a more square profile which makes a bigger contact patch when straight up and at a slight lean but when you get to the shoulders it rolls over quite quickly.  Only way you're getting to the edge knobs is during a low side.

The Kenda is still better on wear but not as much as I had hoped.  With the power and torque of the 250 it is wearing about twice as fast as it does on my KDX.  There seems to be nothing that holds up to that much braap on hard, dry surfaces.

[LukeYZ426F]

Why haven't you tried the AT81?

[turbo dan]

For the same reason I haven't tried the D606.  Both are only available in the 18" size and I just recently picked up the 18" rear wheel.  Looking at the tire I don't expect much from it.  Lot of fairly small knobs with too much space between them to be a really good hardpack tire.  The D606 looks better.  If I try one of the other it's going to be the 606. 

Once the K270 wears out I will consider trying the Dunlop.  I just hate it when I spend the money on a different tire and it ends up sucking.  I can spend $50 on a Kenda and I know I'm getting a long lasting and good performing tire.  The Motoz is a good option as well but its about twice the price.

[LukeYZ426F]

5 hours ago, turbo dan said:

For the same reason I haven't tried the D606.  Both are only available in the 18" size and I just recently picked up the 18" rear wheel.  Looking at the tire I don't expect much from it.  Lot of fairly small knobs with too much space between them to be a really good hardpack tire.  The D606 looks better.  If I try one of the other it's going to be the 606. 

Once the K270 wears out I will consider trying the Dunlop.  I just hate it when I spend the money on a different tire and it ends up sucking.  I can spend $50 on a Kenda and I know I'm getting a long lasting and good performing tire.  The Motoz is a good option as well but its about twice the price.

 

 

I just took a AT81 reinforced carcass off the rear of my ktm. It worked so well in hardpack that it was actually annoying sometimes because it wouldn't spin.. maybe give it a go and see if you like it. 

 

Im currently trying out different tires. Just mounted some goldentyres last night.