Michelin Desert or T63 on the rear?
 

Are the Deserts are really so great to pay for them double price of T63?

What are the advantages of Deserts against T63?



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Pawel Kanik
TT600R
Poland

Hi,

In my opinion (having travelled with both Desert and T63 in Nort- and West Africa) the main advantage op the Desert is that its almost indestructable. I only once had a flat tire with a desert. After noumerous flats (ussualy at noon with no shade) with other tires, that was the main reason to change to Deserts. With that the other pro is that they last a bit longer than T63's.
A couple a reasons for NOT taking Deserts: they are a bit more expensive, not very good on wet surfaces and the may not fit on the bike (swingarm) because they are very big.

Whatever you choose do take heavy duty tubes, they are worth their price!

Peter

Hi -
Simple reason - punctures. I used MT21s in Algeria recently and had a load of hassle with punctures, and the tyre had rips in the side of the carcass big enough to pass a tyre lever through. My friends had Deaserts - they had no problems. Worth the extra money for off-road use.

Hi - in agreement with the previous chaps, I'd certainly consider Deserts.

In a recent trip to Algeria (on a fairly heavily loaded XR650L), I used a front Desert and a rear T63. The reason for the 63 was that I thought it would:

a - give me less fitment problems (which maybe it did)
b - be less stiff and so easier to change
c - be better on wet roads (t63s are poorish on wet tar, but deserts are even worse)

During the trip, I hit some fairly big rocks at speed (the desert's full of em you know.. :-)) and the carcass of the T63 started to break up - eventually the belting started to rub the tube - causing a flat, which started to damage the side wall... and so on. Before I knew it, I was limping home and had had over 20 punctures.

In retrospect I'd therefore fit a desert rear. So what if it's stiff - you probably wont have to take it off as much. Also, if you are carrying a decent payload, your back tyre needs all the help it can get, IMHO.

cheers,

Andy

I've done two Sahara/NW Africa trips (both several thousand km) and used Deserts both times. The only punctures I had were caused by a big nail and by a spoke going through my botched rim tape.

Changing tire or tube is not more difficult with a Desert than with any other tire.
If you take a Desert with you to put on later (southern Morocco or so) be sure to try it on the rim to see if it fits the bike and doesn't hit the exhaust or swingarm. Desert are bigger then other tire of the size specifications. (But you ussualy can use a saw to make it fit :-)

Hi All,

Heading down to Maroc in August, can anyone recommend a tyre dealer in Spain (southern) where I can buy deserts at a reasonable price?

hmmm... And what about Pirelli MT21. Chris says in Sahara Overland that this is good alternative for Dez.

Thank you for all your replies. Yoe guys are really helpfull.

Greetings

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Pawel Kanik
TT600R
Poland

i would say deserts certainly much better than pirelli's; maybe not so for performance but for wear. pirelli's wear at double the desert's speed!!
on latest trip (ghana-algiers) we were very impressed with MEFO tyres (stone / sand masters) here's a link to various other types/brands including the mefo's (german made)

what if I actually would give you the link!http://www.mefo.de/rkat/index.htm

having used a Desert for 8000+km fully laden (same trip as Neil, same bike as Andy Bee), I'm busy burning up a 140/80 MT21 at a scarey rate. I'm going to have to see about replacing it after maybe 5000km. ie the MT21 is "too" soft, but it grips wet tar a whole lot better than the desert.
as for fitment, all tyres have a tolerance so some will go on a rim and others won't. contrary to Peter's happy experience, check you can get the sonofabitch on the rim before the sun gets too high in the sky. Martin simply wasn't heavy enough to get his second one on! big boots and all.
Rich

And use car type tire levers!
Talking about the sun... be sure the tire is as hot as you can get it, makes live much more easy. I once had my 'practice round' with a Desert in a cold garage in december, and ended up taking the tire inside the house to warm it up. Putting it on the rim was much easier after that.

Peter