From my posts on ADVrider in a couple of installments because I mounted the rear a few hundred miles before the front.
Well I only have one of them to test so far, but I will give some impressions because they are good. On the rear of the VFRX DCT is a 150/70/17 Dunlop Mission Trail tire and the front still has a half worn Avon Trek Rider in place. I rode from Gig Harbor, WA down to Goldendale, WA yesterday via I5 then I84 along the gorge crossing at Biggs and up the hill for gas then planned out a route throught the Goodnoe Hills area seeking both paved and dirt minor roads. It was wet pavement for the first 220 miles then dried up at Hood River for about 200 miles in the east until a fully wet ride west and north again in the afternoon to return home. I rode lots of straight and twisty pavement both wet and dry, plus about 55 miles of thin to deep gravel and some rocky and simple dirt unimproved roads that were mild two track in places. I hit no real mud or sand so can't talk about that.
The Mission Trail looks to me like a Shinko 705, but with deeper grooves, slightly wider grooves, and a few more of them at more varied angles. On the pavement it handles well, makes no noise, leans into corners like a road tire, and sticks to wet pavement very well with very little response to tar snakes. My front Avon Trek rider has good wet riding manners, but the Dunlop is better.
On thin gravel and dirt, and tire feels great and has good traction both for cornering and changing speeds but the braking was just a tad less powerful feeling than other 50/50 tires such as the E07, 805, or TKC80. Still has good and predictable braking, but less bite than those others which was not surprising. It has great cornering grip and felt closer to the others while biting around a corner.
In deeper gravel where its piled up in areas, or in deeper softer dirt sections, it also felt good, with the only difference being stability above 50mph. On a slightly more aggressive tire on this bike, I can ride gravel/dirt up to 80+mph and the bike still feels stable, but with the mission on the back, it was starting a rear sway as I passed 55. That is fine with me as I don't really need to ride soft surfaces that fast (hard to resist at times).
Comparing it to the Shinko 705, I would say off pavement, the mission feels half way between that tire and an E07, but with better road manners than either. It is shaping up to be a very good tire for this bike, especially if it lasts longer than the Trekriders I have been riding and loving. I will put a mission front on the bike soon, and check back in after some time with both. I am guessing the Trek Riders may have a bit more control in the dirt, but the missions may last longer, and both feel great for sport touring duty.
Dirt road examples from yesterday,
https://photos.app.goo.gl/A8ZvQUrVrdvNuXTs6https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZnxcVMgbae7gRjwS8https://photos.app.goo.gl/efWsV9mQ6L3jbjva7https://photos.app.goo.gl/aELN8Z3PLtDLqSkCAhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/NSegRwSEqfhBkY778Greg
Second chapter after mounting the front tire and covering a few hundred miles including about 60 miles of mixed wet/dry off pavement in the Willapa Hills of Washington State.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FM7ymA8Gyicvd32Z8I have the front mounted now and started with stock pressure which felt fine on pavement but too firm on dirt so I dropped to about 30 which felt better. The front feel on paved surfaces wet and dry is really good, similar to a sport touring tire and thanks to more rain in the morning, I can confirm the wet grip on these missions is really a notch better than I am used to, after the Trekriders and E07s. They felt very good on gravel both small and large, deep and shallow, very good in the dirt and even stable on shallow mud covered road sections. Really impressed and if these wear longer than the Trekriders (about 5k miles rear), I see no reason not to buy them again.
Greg
