Mousses

[Mike54]

I used to use Pirelli mousses which were a bit cheaper than Michelins. I could never change them though...so redbikejohn used to do that for me (thumbs) .

Pirelli dont make mousses anymore i m afraid.

Mick the pirelli rally is a good tyre, not cheap though. good fit with a michelin M16

[micksea]

after a lot of reading on the internet I had more or less settled on a Pirelli scorpion rally front tyre and a michellin desert rear tyre.my wheels are a 1.6 front rim and a 2.5 rear rim.thanks for your advice mike,its much appreciated.

[halfpint]

cant wait till the road sections co2 sliding with that mich dessert.you are going all rally raid on us !!

[micksea]

cant wait till the road sections co2 sliding with that mich dessert.you are going all rally raid on us !!

less stuff to carry (thumbs)

[Tim Cullis]

I think Tim uses them on a KTM 690, he said he has used his mousses in two sets of tyres now so that equals to about 9000 miles and still going strong, his max speed on the road is no more than 60 mph and with only doing trails in morocco and some road work it sounds as though he is not over heating them, only thing I would say is don't leave the bike on it's side stand too long in the garage as you will get flat spots, I have paddock stands that I put the bike on for long periods

I'm reaching the end of life of my second set of mousses on three sets of tyres. On my last Moroccan trip I took the long ferry to Nador, rough seas with people throwing up so bike was well strapped down. When I got off it was like riding a bike with square tyres as the mousses were so compressed. Very disconcerting, but OK after 10km or so.

On the recommendation of Mike54 I'm using Michelin Bib mousses with Michelin Desert tyres. I find them slightly softer than normal pressure tubed tyres but I'm after puncture resistance rather than an extended footprint so very happy with 'pressure'. I use lots of lube when fitting and don't touch them thereafter. Michelin recommends not to use tyre locks. Mousses are of course a lot more expensive than inner tubes so a set of Michelin mousses plus tyres is getting on for £500.

The 690 is based in rural Spain and my major problem is fitting the mousses and tyres onto the rims. I have a '3 minute Rabaconda' machine which for me is more like 3 hours (Rabaconda admit the Michelin combination is difficult to fit). The nearest KTM dealer charged the earth and screwed up the installation. Any fitting tips welcome...

I'm about to buy another set of mousses and tyres, so I would appreciate any thoughts as to whether I should switch to an alternative mousse/tyre combination.

[Mike54]

Tim, tips wise - leave the tyres in the sun for a few hours, mousses in the shade.

When you use the rabaconda, the critical bit which makes life easy is to ensure that the bead of the tyre opposite the section you're levering on is inside the rim of the wheel and not popped on to the rim - if it is its almost impossible to mount. So use the rabaconda lever to push down that side to ensure it doesnt pop on to the rim until you're ready ie when the last bit has been levered over.

Also "BIB up" spray is very helpful for the beads

[Tim Cullis]

Attacking with gusto but not much skill

Hi Mike, I was hoping you would see my post.

The bead/rim placing might be what I'm doing wrong. Having read up on Bib-up spray I can see how that would help. And I might get some valves so I can give a blast with a compressor to aid seating.

I'm currently looking at ordering Michelin mousses—M16 (21-in) front and M02 (18-in) rear—plus Michelin Desert tyres. Are there any alternative bib/tyre combinations you would suggest I look at?

Edit: Just found a video showing the installation of what looks like my current setup



Tim

[herman]

Same set up I use Tim and it is a struggle even with loads of lube but then I struggle with an E07. Last time I copped out and got AL Ranger to fit them as he is not too far away from me and always good for a chat.

[Mikekitts81]

Iam surprised a lot of people still go with mouses now I thought a lot of people went with balls now ... mouses are good but I think personally balls are better yes maybe a bit more pricey but I'd say better ...

[Mikekitts81]

Better in hard enduros than atvs but they do them for all