Dunlop says the rear MX14 rear tire—which
was developed and tested by MXGP riders, AMA
Pros and "elite" amateur racers—is designed for
"soft-terrain applications and to excel in extreme
sand and mud conditions." Dunlop's overall goal
with this tire is to "increase straight-line drive
without sacrificing cornering performance" and
give the rider "a more well-rounded option."
Well, we can't argue. We got our first taste of
the MX14 when Dunlop introduced it to the me-
dia at Glen Helen Raceway and were immediate-
ly impressed. The track was ripped extra deep
to create a softer environment for the scoop tire,
and it performed just like the Dunlop folks said
it would, if not better. On this day, our MX14 was
teamed up with Dunlop's MX33 front.
With the MX14's knob height increased by 18
percent, the overall grip was noticeable in the
deep loam. Fins behind the scoops aid in driv-
ing the bike forward while also being malleable
in harder portions of the track. It's for these
reasons why Tomac chose to run the MX14 at
Spring Creek because it obviously works well
in the soft while still offering good traction on
more intermediate surfaces. He wanted the
"scoop" for Spring Creek's long and loamy start
and felt it would work well enough for the rest of
the track's harder-packed surface. He proved
IN
THE
WIND
P64
The MX14 is available in many sizes.
the MX14 works well in both soft
and intermediate conditions. The
same could not be said for the
previous MX12.
The MX12 was sometimes criti-
cized for being too much of a sand
tire for most MX tracks and didn't
provide the traction needed when
the surface dried out and got
harder, so the MX12 wasn't the tire
of choice for tracks with varying
conditions. The MX14, however, is,
from what we can tell so far, much
more versatile than the previous
MX12.
The MX14 is available in eight
sizes (from 10-inch to 19-inch) with
an MSRP range of $60-$174.
CN
