MOTOZ Tyres Review – EatMyDirt – 2007

Reviewed by Shane Corney
shane@eatmydirt.com.au

MOTOZ are Australia’s newest entrant to the dirt bike tyre market. Not only are they majorly sexy, but are possibly the best value performance parts available. Forget Ti exhausts, suspension work, and a flashy decal kit – the
Tractionator is here. Australian conditions are harsh, perhaps the most harsh and varied on the planet. So the old choice of soft, intermediate or hard terrain tyres is useless, especially on the Australian east coast where terrain can change through all extremes and back again in a few hundred metres.
The Motoz commitment to their product is evident as soon as the www.Motoz.com.au homepage appears. The information available will give you a virtual doctorate in dirt bike design and selection. Rather than follow in the shadow of their marketplace competitor, they have revolutionised dirt bike tyre design.
The range of tyres available for selection is huge, and a little daunting at first. At the heart of each tyre though, is the unique concept called “Terrapactor®” (terrain compactor). Rather than propel terra firma from the rear of the bike, losing traction in the process, it uses the tread block design and placement to help compact, compress or wedge the terrain.
The idea is that this creates extra traction, drive and lift. This unique concept coupled with the use of superior rubber quality works to lessen the impact on the terrain and provide extra traction. Low impact dirt bike tyres – the greenies wouldn’t believe it!
Motoz tyres use natural rubber, pretty much unheard of these days, outside of the race specific compound tyres.
This coupled with a heavy duty case construction, double side walls, and vertical reinforcement sections make for a serious dirt bike tyre.
Ok, now you have done Motoz design subject 101, let’s get to the nitty gritty. Do the claims hold up in the dirt? Certainly the Fink Desert Race competitors thought so, 10% of them had Motoz hoops. That is big for a relatively new industry participant. There are also reported claims of the A4DE being completed without a tyre change – that’s huge.
Through some amazing work by Phelpsy, and good old Aussie Post (the first courier took them half way round Australia – and then back to EMD headquarters!), I got the hoops just hours before departure for the Watagans Trail Bike Rally. Fitted with a Tractionator 90/90-21 up front, and a Tractionator Enduro 140/80-18 at the rear, my Husaberg looked sexier than Angeline Jolie in Gone in Sixty Seconds.
It looked too hot to get dirty!

Testing was conducted over two weekends and approximately 310 km of the most varied terrain that Australia’s East coast can offer – Watagans Trail Bike Rally, and Batemans Bay Apex Rally. Through sand, loam, rocky firetrail, ledges, mud, logs, pine forest, and tight single trail, each and every participant will atest to the tyre tearing terrain involved. And there is not one torn lug on either tyre, and absolute minimal wear. With sunny Corner in September, I think I may still have usable tyres this time next year!
To give the low down on these Jurassic sounding rubber rings it is best to discuss them separately. As with all the Motoz range, they are individual tyres – and deserve their own little space of EMD web space – Tractionator bytes!!

TRACTIONATOR® 90/90-21
If you have a long ride ahead, and you know the conditions will be rough, Tractionator® is the right choice. Tractionator® is designed to handle harder terrain, especially hard trails, desert sand with hard pack variations and fast rocky conditions. Its unique patented tread design handles off camber sections to help climb out of ruts and hard braking at extreme lean angles. It is built very tough for desert race or multi day enduro tyre.
At both rallies, the terrain varied at every turn, but was largely more soft and loose single trail, than hard packed and rocky – the terrain that this tyre was designed for. This did mean a little unpredictability in the slippery sections, and wet logs and roots.

I would love to have had the aggressively named Tracula tyre fitted up front, as I believe for the wet conditions it may have been a better tyre selection for the conditions. It is designed for more bite in natural terrain, grass tracks, loose sandy and muddy conditions. But who expected the floods experienced by the hunter region in NSW preceding the Watagans rally. Certainly not the captain of the marooned Pasha Bulka.

TRACTIONATOR® ENDURO 140/80-18
If the terrain is varied with a lot of tight single trails and likely to be wet, loose and varied through all extremes, Tractionator® Enduro is a wise choice. Excels on steep hill climbs and tight twisting single trails where the bike needs to change direction quickly. It is sure footed on rocky steep declines and heavy braking situations. The rear uses unique patented outer block angles that work to wedge with the terrain, creating drive and lift over obstacles and rutted out rocky hill climbs. Tractionator® Enduro gives superior grip for late braking and tight cornering.

This tyre works that well that at first it is a little disconcerting; such is the nature of the superglue like grip. You come to expect to slide and drift, especially when accelerating out of flat fire trail corners. These things just bite in and take off. My mate Rob actually commented on how much quicker I was in the open sections. Where he was sliding and struggling to gain grip, I was powering off into the distance. Trust me, that is not a normal scenario.
Due to the big time rear grip, it can tend to “push” the front, giving it a skittery, or loose feeling as mentioned previously. The solution to this is to soften the compression adjustment of the forks. That is a testament to the tyre, not a criticism.
Tight single trail can be tackled with confidence. With conventional tread patterns you come to expect the rear to skip and slide in rutted sections. The Tractionator Enduro gives a different experience to cornering also. Where you expect the rear to slide into a corner, it keeps biting and therefore driving. This means that a different approach is required, otherwise like me, you will run wide, akin to understeer. Once you realise this phenomomen exists, you will adjust and love the experience.
Motoz is on a winner with these tyres. In addition to the riding performance, they are also extremely long lasting, meaning excellent value for money. For your nearest stockist visit Motoz. Try the difference a top quality will make to your riding.

Original PDF From EatMyDirt