Dunlop AT81RC

[desertgasser300]

Heard a lot of hype about this tire and decided to give it a go. First impressions, it looks very beefy and stout in person. The rc is the reinforced carcass for desert riding and the center strip of knobs on the tire are softer then the rest. I purchased the 110\90x18. From the pics you can see it has a very low profile. I run a tubliss in the rear which is a HUGE advantage and a neccsescity for this tire. Getting it on the rim was an effort because of the stiff sidewalls.

First ride I ran it with 9psi. It was very unpredictable in corners but hooked up well when going straight. Rocky, loose climbs were no problem for this tire. Even climbing up granite slabs it did very well. Sandy washes were no match for this tread pattern. My concern was still in corners. It was recommended to me to run this tire at 0 to 3 psi. I am now running i t at 3psi and the cornering is much better. It is more predictable to ride now. It will hook up quite well in flat turns and it will break loose on command with just a blip of the throttle. The pics below show this tire as of now with 18 hours on it. This tire has lasted the longest for me in the rocky desert I ride in.

 

[thumperflipper]

I like the idea of a softer middle compound and low profile... currently I'm running the Dunlop Desert AT 739 (very stiff sidewall and very hard tread) at 0 psi with tubliss and am very happy, won't change a thing. OK, maybe sharpen the edges and sipe the tread with the tread doctor "sniper" head as the tire wears. Don't think I'll ever go back to a trials tire. But now I might try your tire next, thx for posting

More info on the AT81RC:

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tire-catalog/off-road-adventure/off-road-desert-trials/

 

[desertgasser300]

I like the idea of a softer middle compound and low profile... currently I'm running the Dunlop Desert AT 739 (very stiff sidewall and very hard tread) at 0 psi with tubliss and am very happy, won't change a thing. OK, maybe sharpen the edges and sipe the tread with the tread doctor "sniper" head as the tire wears. Don't think I'll ever go back to a trials tire. But now I might try your tire next, thx for posting

More info on the AT81RC:

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tire-catalog/off-road-adventure/off-road-desert-trials/

I ran a trials tire for a long time and really liked them, but as my skills improved and I started riding a bit faster I really had no confidence in turns leaned over. I also was starting to get a little braver, faster downhill and really hated the trials lack of stopping power.

But what was the real clincher was when Tayler Roberts trainer said my bike looked "gay" with the trials tire. That did it! Got me thinking about why I buy tires. And I decided it was for performance and not how long they last......ok, ok they have to last for more then a ride.......?

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[desertgasser300]

The first AT81 tire lasted about 33hrs. Just stuck a new one on. This time I am trying the 120/90x18. It is super beefy looking. Will give a ride report Wednesday after a day of some single track and fast desert straights.




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[desertgasser300]

O.k. I said I would give a report after my ride......

Here it is after a 3 hour 52 mile ride. The set up is Tubliss with the pressure @ 3psi. The ride was typical desert for here, rocky, loose soil with a lot of sandy washes thrown in. The 120 has an obviously much larger footprint then the 110 I ran before. This tire has the same carcass an soft center knobs as the previous tire. Ok, enough pleasantries.....this MF'r flat out hooks up! From the first blip of the throttle in second gear the bike lurched forward and threw the front tire up nearly vertical....to my panicked amazement, I was not expecting that! The tire through any turn, flat, bermed and off-camber, it stuck to the ground like Velcro. Even in some of the washes we have a few 2-3 foot step ups that require a bit of momentum to get up them clean. This tire I could idle up to them blip the throttle and be up and over no problem. The tire inspires alot of confidence. It has become my tire of choice, except for the fact that Dunlop has now had a near 10% price increase on tires and has passed it on to the dealers who in turn pass it on to the consumer. That now puts this tire $4.00 shy of $100, which is a bit much considering I put on a new rear every month and a half. Unfortunate Dunlop has done this, but whatta ya do!!!


I also installed one of these inexpensive Sedona tires on the front.

This is the 887 in an intermediate compound in a 80/100x21. For $50 figured it was worth a try. Installing it was a PITA due to the stiff sidewalls. Started the day with 11psi. At that psi I could feel the tire being really busy and deflecting quite a bit. Ended up @ 6psi. Surprisingly this tire did very well. The bike went where ever I pointed it and never broke a line all day. As you can see it shows very little wear. I'm curious as to how long the tire will last and hold it's performance? I'll be back on here when it is time to change it out and give a longevity report.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Hi there, kind of strange for a first post. More strange as I don't own a Gas Gas. But I did want to give my feedback on the AT81RC on both my KTM300 and Beta 520RS.

I want to mirror Desertgasser 300 feedback on the tire. On my 300 I'm running the low profile one as well. I have about 20 hours on this one as you see it here.



I'm running the AT81 both front and rear on my 300. I had 3 lbs in the and left the valve core loose on accident. The guy who I let ride it was running it 6 lbs front and 0 lbs rear! To top it all off, he is a pro level rider and told me it was the best tire setup he had ever ridden. We were doing a mixture of nasty, rocky single track and fast fire roads. I'm shocked he did not peel all the knobs off!

Now on the the Beta. I'm a "C" rider at best and was just plugging along at mellow trail pace. I have the 110/100 AT81 Desert in the rear 3 lbs and a 908 Rally Raid in the front with 6 lbs.







Holy cow! What a E-Ticket ride! I have tried every tire "fad" under the sun including the trials tire. Nothing compares to this setup with the Tubliss system. I crawled up everything I tried. No drama on steep downhills either. great traction and I can corner with much more confidence than before.

After I wear out the low profile on on my 300, I too will be getting the "big daddy" 120/90 18 AT81 desert for it.

 

[celler]

I tried a 120/90 AT81 (Non Desert) on my recent trip to Colorado-7 PSI. The first day of riding I thought it worked quite well. Trail was moist and good traction overall. As the week went on, it dried out. I had it step out quickly a few times. Just did not seem to like the dry ground. On day 4 I ended up getting a pinch flat and put on my spare MT 43 trials tire. The trials tire was much better everywhere. Today I rode on some hard Missouri clay with rocks. Again it was just average. MT 16 is much better. I guess I should of gave the desert RC a try but it needs to be a lot better to replace the MT 16. The MT 16 just seems to have a lot wider range. The AT 81 did wear very well.

 

[TheLetterJ]

I just mounted up a 120/90 AT81RC after 2 years of exclusively running MT43's on my 300. I know I'm going to give up some traction in the rocks, and likely a bit of small bump compliance... I'm just hoping that the benefits in cornering/braking/acceleration in loose stuff outweighs that. I'll update here after I get some miles on it.

P.s.: I thought the trials tires looked funny at first (they still kinda do) But this tire looks odd on the back of my bike now! It reminds me of the 150/90 Teraflex I ran on my 690 a few years ago.

 

[Fred1956]

Just a note on the AT81 series of tire prices-Dunlop is running some promotions on them, you can get a $10 per tire rebate (up to $40) from Dunlop on your purchase. My distrubutor is also running a promo and I have them on sale for $75 per tire (in my shop) makes them pretty good priced for a while. I'm not big enough to offer free freight but the rebate helps clear the freight as well as some left over on multiple tire purchases (i.e. 4 tires from AR to TN were $25 freight)

 

[Darkside]

when you guys run such low air pressure with the tubliss do you have issues with bent rims?

 

[desertgasser300]

when you guys run such low air pressure with the tubliss do you have issues with bent rims?

I haven't yet..... (knock on wood)! The inner bladder or tube helps cushion the blow against the rocks when hit straight on.

 

[gasser]

Much greater rim protection (even at very low pressure) than running a heavy duty tube. I bent both rims on my new gasser (in 2007) within the first couple months running standard tubes. After changing to tubliss in that bike and later my 2011 gasser I've never dented a rim again. I always run less that 10# pressure in front and my rear is usually 6 or less. On my 300 the rear was probably 0-4 pounds more often than not.

 

[earlystock]

I just tried it this weekend with a tubliss at 3 psi for a race in very diverse terrain with everything from deep silt that I buried the bike past the pegs in, to clay mud with rocks, roots, and lots of tree crossings and steep hills. I have to say that I was very pleased with it except for braking. Seemed strange because never had any problem with wet roots and steep climbs finding traction, but trying to brake was a nightmare. Going down some of the hills got a little sketchy because even touching the brake would make the rear skid and slide out, had to rely on the front to do almost all the braking even on the flat. Maybe the rubber is too stiff to bite into the hard pack. I am going to try sipping and if that don't work then I am going to a different tire because if i ever lose my front brake lever I don't think I could be comfortable finishing the race.