Mitas E-09 tyre – 0/5 stars CANNOT recommend.

Background: I was given a brand new Mitas E-09 tyre, for free to review, by the South African distributor for use on our overland trip through South East Asia on a Honda Africa Twin. We are two-up and fully loaded. I think that the Continental TKC80 is the best tyre I have ever used and Avon Distansia is the worst tyre. (I tell you this so you know my style preferences). The Mitas E-09 is closer to the Michelin Desert tyre than the TKC80 we have used through the majority of our trip though Africa. We used the Michelin Desert from Ghana though to Namibia.

I have to say that we went for the more aggressive Mitas E-09 as we did not know what the road conditions in South East Asia were going to be like. Well in Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, the roads are rather good to excellent. The dirt roads that we did take were hard packed red earth, but we did not take many as we were travelling in the wet season so many roads are in very bad shape. In total, we did less the 200k on dirt. This means for this trip, the Mitas E-09 profile was too aggressive.

My initial feelings towards the Mitas E-09 was that it was one of that hardest tyres to rim that I have put on. The wall thickness and stiffness made it hard to do without a machine (although I did eventually manage). FYI, I have done Bajas, Michelin Deserts, Anakee, Pirelli Scorpion, Continental TKC80s, as well as a few others. I also had a very difficult time seating and balancing it.

During the first 120k, the tyre felt washy on dry roads, but I eventually got used to it. At any speed above 75kph it sung like a bitch, getting worst until 100kph when the pitch changes to a less ear-piercing wail. My pillion reports that it was the nosiest tyre we have had. This however is the same as many similar tyres such as the Baja or Desert (the best). On dirt it gave a very confident grip, and even fully loaded I felt as if I was in good control at reasonable speeds. In fact, I would say it was one of the better dual sport tyres off road.

On road it was not great, but surprisingly it was not excessively vibey as many of these tyres can be. However, it never lost the washy or floaty feel around corners at speeds above 60kph. In the wet, the Mitas E-09 was not quite as bad as the Avon Distansia but it was not good, e.g. speeds had to be well below 50kph to keep traction (this was in the monsoon rains that we were experiencing). In the smaller rains, it was still necessary to keep speed below 65kph to maintain control.

I also noted that at above 100kph the bike would seem to surge, I checked out all bearings, fuel and timing and could not find the cause. I had a feeling that it was tyre-related but could not prove it. When I eventually changed the tyre, I found it was not perfectly round and assume the surging at speed was caused by this, as the replacement tyre has no such problems.

I was extremely impressed with the rate of wear that the tyre was going though. We were well into 4500k - 95% of that was two-up fully loaded on paved roads at speeds between 80-110kph and there was approximately 80% of the tread left. At that rate, I believe we would have got over 10,000k out of the tyre. I normally get 6-8000k from a TKC80. At this stage, the Mitas E-09 tyre was doing well and I was impressed with it.

At 4675 kilometres, we were riding from the Cambodian coast to the capital city when the rear tyre went flat. The previous day we had done about 70k of dirt riding (hard packed red earth), and several stretches of 2-5k of dirt roads (road works) that day. We had gone a total of about 150k that day. I pulled over to find the problem/fix it when I noticed that there were 10 (up to 2.5cm long) splits along the seam in the centre of the tyre (where it was joined during manufacturing). The tyre was literally splitting in half. There was no other cause of the flat. If this had happened at speed it would have caused us to go down. The manufacturing quality was poor and it is a risk to use this tyre. I would rather have a tyre wears out quickly than one that splits and could explode suddenly but still has plenty of tread on it. The tyre was now useless and we were forced to find a replacement at a premium cost (and it took two days to find).

I have since read (on the net) that several other people have had quality issues with Mitas E-07 and E-08 tyres, but cannot verify or vouch for this.

Breakdown out of 5 (5 is best):
Cost: N/A (it was free)
Wear: 5 (4675k still had ~80% tread)
Road Noise 2 (Desert gets a 3)
Road Grip 2.5 (Washy in the dry and not good in the wet)
Dirt grip 4.5 (not true dirt tyre but close)
Stopping distance 2 (no real emergency stops preformed but lots of fast stops)
Cornering 2.5 (65kph in the dry is not great)
Build Quality 0 (Seam split and uneven build)

Overall rating 0 The seam splitting overrides any (all) advantages that it may have had. The risk of catastrophic failure is too high.

Bottom line, I was initially impressed with the Mitas E-09 despite it being too aggressive for the conditions we were riding in (this was of course our choice, not the tyres’ fault). However, the poor manufacturing quality simply means that it self-destructed before wearing out. I have over 30yrs of riding experience (dirt and road) and I have never had a tyre split down the seam like this. I cannot recommend the Mitas E-09, and would warn anyone to think carefully about any Mitas product if the quality control is the same for all models. Even as a pure dirt tyre, I would be wary. I for one will not be giving Mitas a second chance.

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2000 Africa Twin
http://two-up-ona-twin.blogspot.com

Not so good, though knobblies will always be noisy on tarmac. The TCK is probably quieter as its made with a softer compound than the Mitas. Just for comparison, I used a E-07 rear on my DR650 which lasted really well, I felt I could have got most of the way from Oz to the UK on it but I was riding solo.

It was good in the (dry) dirt but on some of the twisty tarmac SE Asia roads, it felt a little slippery on the corners (but that could have been how my bike was loaded, ie quite high - and the crud that's generally to be found on these roads) however that's the accepted trade off for having a hard wearing tyre which will last a long time. The E-07 suited me as I wanted a long lasting tyre as I knew getting replacements would be tricky. Softer/stickier tyres will obviously wear more quickly.

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BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

The Mitas/Trellborg/Barum is an old Soviet block company, built to last, not so much for performance.

Perhaps the E-09 knobby is too aggressive on a A.T for road use?
Could be you went with the wrong tire for that bike/load? Curious ... since you're doing a review ... you might want to list WHAT SIZE tire you used?
Many owners go one size up or down. (EG: my DR650 calls for a 120/17 but many run the more common 130 sections ... both sizes work fine)

I don't agree with your opinion on the Avon Distanzia ... having run several front and rears on several bikes on long trips. The Distanzia is certainly not an off road tire but is great on pavement in ALL conditions. I've run two on my DR650, got 9,500 miles out of the last one. I went off road with it loaded, but had a TKC on the front and ran 18 PSI on the Distanzia rear. Not so bad. Also ran two sets on my Vstroms in aggressive road work. They don't last as long as a Tourance but not bad ... used to be a bit cheaper (in the USA).

Most reports suggest the Mitas are good, long lasting off road dual sport tires ... but most are using them on Thumpers, no? Not big, fully loaded, heavy twins ridden two up. I really think you picked the wrong tire. I doubt it's rated for the A.T. ... could be why it split down the midddle? Exceeded its capacity?

You never mentioned what pressures you tried on this tire. Pressure are critical. I would not totally PAN a tire based on one failure. Many have used this tire with success.
BTW, I'm sure the Mitas distributor would have replaced that tire with a new one (free) .... you need only show up with it at a dealer. (easier said than done, I know)

sorry fellows, my experience
tires are a big problem, everyone have is own meaning,
I by myself
like the mitas 09 for raff terrain, good grip and lasting min. 10000 km,
little noisy on paved roads and only be carefull on wet roads in curves,
but every nobby tire has the same ?
I used it on my BMW r 100gs and now the KLR 650,
but I used the Mitas 07 too,more for gravel roads and track in OZ and NZ,
both lasting very long, and are easy to bring on and off the rim with my short tire mounts,
I try all the tires since the 1979, the tkc 80 is expensiv and last not long, simmilar profil to Mitas 09,last long and cheap, same riding condition,
the bmw r 100 with tubeless rims ,no problems to put and remove change the tire im warm condition,I feel bad that i can't buy them all over the world,
I like them and recommend it very high, for me the best tires in the world for a longtime trialbike traveller,
keep always your mirrows up,and the tires down
FRED KLEIN


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Trelleborg made tires in Sweden for more then 100 years. In 2000 Mitas started to make them on license, but I think they will stop this year. I have been told that the production equipment was moved from Sweden to Czech.
Trelleborg is the absolute best tire for riding in snow and is used by most Scandinavian winter-riders and the army.
Mitas was started as a subsidiary of Michelin in the early 1930s. They have made tires for Michelin, Continental and Barum.

My Michelin T63 is produced at one of the three enormous Czech Mitas-plants.
If you take a look at the Mitas-products you will find a lot of high performance products.

LikLiene Fred says (hi Fred how's things? See you are/have finally left NZ!) everyone has a different opinion about tyres. It sounded like you had a faulty tyre. As they are still mostly hand-made, there is always the chance of a bad one. Personally I love the E-07s I run on my GS. Long life, and I can still beat most of the sports bike boys on the Akaroa GP (local joke).

Cheers bloke

Nigel in NZ

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I've been through two and a bit sets on the outfit and have nothing but praise for the Mitas brand. These aren't the extreme knobblies mind.

Andy

hey Nigel
nice to hear from you, hope the tire running well, also the dogs, you know?
thanks for the visit from the stadium in chCH.

I'm still in Whangarei,until to the end of Oktober or beginning of November, but the klr already left after 32.000km in NZ riding the country to Southamerica,Chile
You 'll fined all over my mitas rubber spread on the tracks and roads from the 07s in NZ on your way, and in the crate to valparaiso i put one set new Mitas E 07 in, and I will take on E09 in the airplane with me, thats how much I like them,
I think they are not avaible in South- North-America
keep the mirrows up, and greetings to your family,
Fred


-------------------------------------------------------------------------I published my first book in NZ, but sorry only in german langage, Nigel you can't read it,

Buch meiner Reise
Ungebremst um die Welt und kein Ende in Sicht
ISBN 978-3-86870-240-8
14,95 Euro Laden oder per PN bei mir
10,-Euro incl. Versand, verguenst. Autorenexemplar
266 Seiten

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I have been driving Mitas E-07 for the last 2 years. They feel a bit slippery on wet tarmac, otherwise I think it is a good value tire for allround use. Havent tried out the E-09, but I will have this review in the back off my mind if I ever need a more "offroad" kind off tire.

I struggle to understand why you're dissing the tyres. After all you made a wrong choice about the type of tyre needed, spend ages on road which is highly likely to make it overheat and delaminate and then whine when it happens.


Reckon you should stick to tourances next time!

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I fitted a Mitas E-09 to the rear of my HPN for the first time recently.
Within the first 230km every third knob was torn of. The speed was between 140 km/h and 150 km/h on the tarmac with some hard acceleration from the very powerful Mahle motor.
It is hard to say but I think the acceleration was mostly to blame for the damage.
After I noticed the damage I took it easy on the tar, speeds not over 110 km/h and no hard acceleration, but was riding the dirt as I normally would with Michelin Deserts. (rest of the trip was mostly dirt.)
We travel some very hardcore rocky tracks with tire pressure at 0.6 Bar for traction on some of the steep ascents and decents.
This video will give some idea; YouTube - CABC 2010.m4v

The Mitas did fine for the rest of the trip with excellent traction, cornering and wear life. (no more knobs were broken of.)
To sum up, this tire should not be fitted to powerful, large dual sport bikes and or be used on tarmac but they will perform well in tough off road conditions on bikes up to 650cc capacity, same as the Michelin T63.

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I cannot agree with this review. I installed the Mitas E-09 on my BMW F800GS over 8000 kms ago. I have had no issues with the tire whatsoever and ride on twisty mountain paved roads at up to 140km/h and consistently at 120 km/h in rainy and dry conditions. I have also taken it on thousands of kms of dirt including steep sharp rocky mountain roads, loose gravel, shale and mud. I have been extremely impressed with the tire and would buy it again. Note: I have not had the opportunity to ride on deep sand and cannot comment on traction here.

Hi,

*****
Background: I was given a brand new Mitas E-09 tyre, for free to review, by the South African distributor for use on our overland trip through South East Asia on a Honda Africa Twin. [...] I think that the Continental TKC80 is the best tyre I have ever used and Avon Distansia is the worst tyre.
*****


First i think its a greatgesture from mitas to offer a free tire, I bought a brand new Mitas E07 tire in southafrica a few months ago to ride all the way back to europa. I think its the best tire you can get. It lasted all the way from Europa through africa to capetown and the other one lasted all the way back.

I dont like the TC80 because they onely last 5000 km insted of 25000 like the E07. I also use this tire while riding fast on the road and will never use another tire again on my transalp

Regards from germany, Tobi
Lone way up...eine etwas andere Afrikareise *live*

hi
how long is long life , i was thinking of trying e07's on my r1100gs
thanks
shannon

We ran E09s front and rear on our DR650s through Africa last year. I am not the type who rides hard so can't comment on the "performance" side of them. But ours stayed attached to the wheels, worked on sand, dirt and tarmac without noticeable problems and lasted 16,000km.

I was pretty happy with them.

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