Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

http://www.adbmag.com.au JANUARY 2018 | 219

FACTORYRIDE/READERSRIDE/HERITAGE/ACTION/OAS/BUYERSGUIDE

VERDICT

Findingatyrethatsuitsyour

riding style can be frustrating

because it can be an expensive

exercise. But once you find one

you’re comfortable with and

cantrust(thatismost

important) I suggest sticking

with them, which is what I have

done. Pirelli is a reputable

brandandtheScorpionXC

provides excellent grip while

easily surpassing the 30-hour

mark, depending on how many

burn outs you do!

ML

GET IT HERE

BILL

$119 rear, $95 front

BROWSER

linkint.com.au

BLOWER

(07) 3382 5000

I’VE USED PIRELLIScorpion

XCsonalmostevery

long-termtestbikeI’vehad

for one good reason, they

provide the best combination

of grip and longevity.

Onceyoufindatyreyou’re

comfortable with, it’s hard to

move onto anything else

because the most important

aspect of riding dirtbikes is

finding grip.

JustaskDeanFerrisand

EganMastin.Deanuses

factoryDunloptyres,

unobtanium for us

commoners, and Egan uses

off-the-shelf tyres.

AccordingtoEgan’s

mechanic,Craig,Mastin

doesn’tfeelthebenefitofthe

factoryrubberandhasstuck

withthestockoptionsfora

while,butFerriscannotride

without his factory Dunlops.

ThisyearIwasafteralittle

morelongevitythannormal

soIoptedforamid-softon

thefrontandamid-hardon

the rear.

Theresultwassimilargrip,

butmuchbetterlife.

WE RATE 

GRIPThe XC is derived from

the MX range so the carcass is

relatively soft compared with

most off-road tyres.

TheXCstandsforcross-

countrysotheknobpatternis

designed to get grip on

surfaces such as rocks and

tree roots. The knobs are

quite malleable, especially the

mid-softonthefront,sothey

bite and contort with the

surface perfectly.

DURABILITYUnless you ride

aChristiniAWDbike,youwill

rarely wear out the front tyre

as quickly as the rear, so that

is why I opted for the soft

frontandhardrear.Igot

about 30 hours out of these

tyres and all they needed was

to be turned over and they

were good to go.

With a mid-hard on the rear

and a mid-soft on the front

the wear rates are similar and

you will be replacing them at

around the same time.

FITTING The tyre wall is

strong enough to maintain its

integrity but soft enough to

make fi tting easy. Sure the MX

front option is easier to fi t, but

it’s only marginal.

WE DON’T RATE 

PRICE There isn’t much I

don’t like about these tyres.

If I had to pick one sticking

point (pun intended) it would

be the price.

They’re still an affordable

product but there are tyres

coming out of China for a little

less, although you may

sacrifi ce performance.

Mitch Lees

PIRELLI SCORPION XC TYRES

Used &

Abused

This photo was taken after about

15-20 hours of ride time

The sidewall knobs made sure t

he KTM got great traction

The carcass may be from the MX range but

the knob pattern is unique to the XC