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  #1  
Unread 06-18-2013, 10:10 PM
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Default Sedona MX887 IT Dirt Bike Tire Review

I just have to comment on the Sedona MX887 IT (Intermediate Terrain) tires that you can buy for cheaper then any other dirt bike tire out there. They have a nice looking tread on them and it makes you wonder, "how bad can they be?". Then answer it pretty bad! Just remember in most all situations in life - you get what you pay for and sometimes less. If you just cruise around slowly or you are selling your dirt bike and want to put some fresh tires on it to make it look good then I believe the Sedona is a good cheap tires to get you by. But if safety, longevity of the tire or performance is a concern, you should look for a different tire. There are other brands like Dunlop that sell a slightly more expensive tire that will work much better than the Sedona brand tire. The extra 20 or 30 to upgrade to a better tire is a small price to pay for your wasted time and possibly a painful accident from the lack of grip that these tires provide while turning or braking.

If the safety factor isn't enough to scare you then the durability of the product should surely steer you in another direction. I took some pictures today that you will be interested in looking at. First here is the bike that I used. This Suzuki RMZ-250 came with a fresh set of Sedona tires that were used for one ride - the last 2 minute ride before the owner sold me the bike. I immediately stripped the Suzuki for powder coating and to freshen up the valves and inspect the cylinder. Here is what the bike looked like when I finished the work on it before even riding it.




Notice that only the rear center lugs are the only lugs that aren't completely sharp like from the factory.

Last edited by Smithers; 06-18-2013 at 11:23 PM.
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Unread 06-18-2013, 10:21 PM
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Since I have neighbors and I try to be nice I took the bike out to the local riding area to adjust the carb for the first time since owning the bike. It was really out of adjustment so I rode it back and forth 15 times trying 2 different jets and adjusting the fuel screw a little. Of course this didn't do anything to the tire but I could feel that the rear would not hook up well at all unless I was fully upright. The bike was a handful because the suspension was completely out of whack. There was something wrong with the front forks and the back was too stiff as well. More on that later.

Fast forward a month. I found and installed some stock springs and correctly set the oil level in the forks and set the compression and rebound back to stock. I took some more preload out of the back end and the bike was finally balanced. Lastly I installed a flex-adjust fuel adjustment screw so I could make on the fly adjustments. Time for a test ride!

Those fresh knobs sure look nice when they are new don't they?

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Unread 06-18-2013, 10:42 PM
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Just for reference here is a tire review on the Sedona tires done by the guys at Motocross Action. Their review hits home with my experience.

I took the bike out to Pozo CA with a friend of mine for a quick afternoon ride. With just me and him out there I would have time to make some adjustments and push the bike up to a good pace and put some time on the new suspension and adjust the carb as well. I rode the bike around the camping area making a couple adjustments to the forks to allow the front to be more compliant for the trail type riding we do. I was looking for more traction in the hard pack conditions without airing down anymore. The rear was stepping out already while making adjustments at camp but I just assumed it was the normal hard pack ground and dry conditions. It was more than then.

The knobs feel somewhat soft to the touch compared to other tires so you would think that you would have some grip somewhere but I just couldn't get good feedback from the tires enough to inspire confidence. I agree with Motocross Action when they said, "We thought that the soft rubber would make the Sedona better on hard terrain, but the tall knobs tend to roll over." I would scrape along side a boulder or drop down onto some rocks and the knobs would just slide right down the surface like they were bending and just scrubbing the corners off the edges... or breaking off. : / In my pictures you can see stress cracks at the base of every knob. The rubber just simply bends too much in my opinion, leading to the rubber splitting and leading to tearing. Of course this might be because of the faster pace I was riding at. Maybe if you just rode on more compliant dirt and you don't ride so fast they would last a lot longer?

All I know is I finally get this bike back in adjustment after the make-over and it's just tearing the knobs right off the tire carcass. While I'm skipping over fire trails and dropping down some rocky hill sides I'm being very vigilant with my feet being careful to throw my boots out in the blink of an eye in order to stay upright. The RMZ-250 is sure a very fast handling motocross bike but the skittish tires are really keeping my adrenaline peaked. I would square up to a tall fire road climb and give it the juice only to have the back end just swing wildly to one side. I made it a practice to make sure my butt was down on the seat to stabilize when I would whack open the throttle but this soon started beating up my kidneys. I had to ride in normal position but this really kept the rear tire from hooking up.
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Unread 06-18-2013, 10:48 PM
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And forget about the rock climbing ability of these tires. Even descending long rocky slopes I was super stressed out with the Sedona treads. The front end was so dodgy that I just gave up using the front brake so much. I would rather keep the tire rolling to hold a line instead of dragging the front brake and risk the front end wiping out without any warning. Luckily I know the trails well so I knew when I really needed to slow down and when I could just roll freely down the trail in 3 or 4th gear skipping over the loose rocks. I'm really looking forward to a new set of Dunlops that actually restore the ability to control the bike during harsh braking and under power. The Sedona tires were only controllable coasting or rolling around giving it half throttle. If you run these tires don't upset them too much and take it easy on them in general or they will bite you.

I have read online that owners of Sedona tires have had good luck airing them down more then usual? This means 10psi or maybe a little less under normal cruising conditions and you should be fine. But I can't ride that slow and I'm not going to risk my rim being bent, sorry. Run a reputable tire like the Dunlop Geomax and you can slam them all day long and they will be much safer both in terms of wiping out less and I have never had a flat while beating on the Geomax on a couple different bikes.

Last edited by Smithers; 06-18-2013 at 10:52 PM.
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Unread 06-18-2013, 11:09 PM
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What more can I say? How about turning... I just cannot lean the RMZ250 over and nail the gas for a good launch out of a corner no matter what. The front pushes over berms and the rear tire just hooks up under braking but then slides out as I apply the throttle. It's insanity. I remember braking hard for a corner only to find myself holding on for dear life. The front wheel over shoots the berm and goes on the left side of a big rock while the back end actually holds the line and goes to the right of the big rock. I was amazed that I just side swiped right over that rock sideways and actually pulled it off. Those darn tires aren't one bit predictable and you won't be able control the bike under breaking while setting up to hit a berm or a trail entrance or anything.

The woop sections - Like I said I just got my kidneys pounded like I needed to back off the compression of the rear shock and/or the tires weren't soaking up any bumps like the Dunlops on my other dirt bikes. Maybe I'm just not used to a 19" rear wheel? I'll adjust the rear shock some more and see if the bike doesn't behave then.

Here are a couple pictures of the front tire with the Sedona tires that I rode on two times so far. My left front fork was leaking the first time I took the bike out to tune the carb. The oil dumped all over the front brake so I'm getting maybe 30% of the bikes normal braking power. Maybe this is why I still have all the knobs on the front. I thought the bike actually tracked OK in the front - just not while on the front brake!

Knobs aren't looking too bad. You can see one about to break off and I'm sure all the others are on the verge of doing the same. Too bad the compound is too soft.





I was hitting the rocky trails pretty hard and jumping down off some hillsides so I was surprised to see I almost had 2 more inches of travel to spare which was surprising considering I thought the ride was not so hard. I can soften the front compression another two clicks before I would worry about bottoming out.

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Unread 06-18-2013, 11:13 PM
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Now here is for the shocker. I didn't expect this much damage at all. It sure made me laugh while I was unloading the bike thought. And another point is that I am more comfortable turning on the right side than the left. So for me to be pulling knobs off the left is odd.



Talk about shredded!

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Unread 06-18-2013, 11:17 PM
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I even have a couple of the knobs missing from the MIDDLE of the tire as well. I'll get a shot of that tomorrow. But for now you can just see some serious damage. The conditions were dry, hard and slippery so why would the tire be tearing apart? I don't get it. Maybe I got tires from a bad batch? Oh and just so you know this was the first real hour or riding I ever put on this bike so far. I barely used half of a tank of fuel and the RMZ doesn't hold much!!



I didn't drop or crash the bike for the whole hour of speeding around Pozo. There was no one else out there riding so I was able to get the bike up to a quick pace without fear or meeting up with anyone coming the other way. I don't think I would have ridden the bike at that pace on those tires knowing that there could be traffic coming the other way. I don't trust the Sedona tires to stop me that quick without the risk of sliding right off the trail. So here is the bike after the ride. I had some close calls and lucky run-offs that is for sure. All I did was adjust some suspension settings, fuel screw and go roll around in the dust for a little while.


Last edited by Smithers; 06-18-2013 at 11:29 PM.
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Unread 06-24-2013, 08:33 AM
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And for people reading this wondering what the next best cheap tire is. Well it's anything but this one. I would rather go looking through dumpsters and old tire piles to find a take off for $5 rather than waste the time on a new Sedona. There are tons of people out there that only want to ride on a sharp new tire so you can find take offs from your local shop. Give them your phone number and have them call you when they get one in that looks good - and of course take em your wheel and give em $20 for putting it on or something. It will last a lot longer and be much safer to ride on than an unpredictable, falling apart Sedona. Trust me.

And here are some other tips to help you get the most life out of your dirt bike tires. This is a good article on tires from Motocross Action I found that throws out some good tips. Keep your eyes out on the web for new tires during promotions or packages that the tire manufacture's might be putting on. Craigslist is a good spot to look but might waste some of your time. You just gotta keep your eyes open and not be so picky when looking for a good deal. My neighbor found a perfectly new rear expensive tire at a rummage sale for $5 one weekend. I guess someone donated it for the church's fund raiser. You just gotta keep your eyes open I guess. My local shop Paso Robles Polaris will put on any Dunlop Geomax rear tire for $85 out the door. Figure a Sedona costs $50 plus tax and THEN you pay for mounting... it's crazy to try and save $20 or $25 at the most for something that you know you will regret.

Just spending 30 seconds online looking around I found: Dunlop D745 Intermediate - Hard Terrain MX Tires 120/80-19 Rear for just $75 and spend another $25 you will probably get it shipped free. This was from Competition Accessories which works really hard to sell their products online. That tire will absolutely destroy a Sedona in any situation or comparison.

I've heard of discontinued tires selling for $25 as retailers have to move them out of their inventory. Another thing about finding cheap tires is it's kinda fun trying out new compounds, brands and tread patterns. Just steer clear of the Sedona.
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