ADV Pulse

NEWSLETTER
Get ADV Pulse delivered by email
Sign up for ADV Pulse Weekly

Newsletter

Get ADV Pulse delivered by email
Sign up for ADV Pulse Weekly

Connect With Us

Follow On Facebook:

ADV NewsMotoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

We see if the 80/20 rubber both performs and goes the distance.

Published on 03.15.2022

Choosing an adventure bike tire is tough because it’s like trying to decide on a single meal you’re going to have every day for dinner for the next several months. Unless you’ve got a spare set of wheels or are super enthusiastic about tire changes, mixing up your choice of rubber each day isn’t the norm. Where adventure motorcycles sometimes appear confused about whether they want to be dirt bikes or street bikes, adventure motorcycles tires can sometimes have an even bigger identity crisis. So, you’ve got to find one you get along with.

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review
Motoz markets the Tractionator RallZ as the most aggressive off-road rubber in their adventure tire lineup.

Motoz is a comparatively recent entry into the motorcycle tire manufacturer club. The Australian company was established in 2006 with a focus on off-road and adventure tires. When the company’s Tractionator Adventure tire was released, it was one of the more aggressive adventure tires out there. The Tractionator RallZ is an update that pushes an already aggressive tire further towards the off-road end of the spectrum, while still maintaining reasonable road manners. They are marketed as 80/20 (dirt/street) tires and feature a hybrid compound with silica, designed to perform in a wide variety of conditions with improved grip on mud or wet roads.

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

The bike for this test was a KTM 390 Adventure, which arguably made the RallZ look even more gnarly. The 110/80-19 up front and 130/80-17 rear had an unusually wide appearance on the small bike compared to how a 90/90-21 looks on a big-twin. Fortunately, the tire seemed to behave off-road much in the same way you’d expect from its appearance – you can judge this book by its cover to a degree. 

How They Performed

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

ADVERTISEMENT

In the Dirt: “Tractor” is the first word that comes to mind, looking at the fat front. “Concern” is the word that comes to mind when staring at the pile of luggage strapped to those smaller wheels and the sand dunes up ahead. While a 19” wheel won’t track as well as a 21” in sandy conditions, the RallZ’s wide footprint and knobby-focused tread seemed to overcome that. Chunky lugs in the rear do an awesome job of pushing the bike forward in a controlled manner, and again help with overcoming the performance characteristics of smaller wheels off-road.

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

While cornering mannerisms off-road were good, they were also a bit unusual. The feel of the tire in a straight line versus on edge is different. Not that there was some complete personality swap that turned it into a different tire when on edge versus in a straight line, but it felt less uniform when compared to a less aggressive Continental TKC 80, and even less so when compared to the TKC 70 which comes on the 390 as the stock tire. 

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

Using the TKC 80 to compare, in an off-road setting the RallZ has more overall grip, but the TKC 80 feels smoother and more predictable transitioning through turns. You might drift a bit more with the Continental where the Motoz bites the trail and follows the terrain more accurately. Caveat, much of this trait likely has to do with the fact these were smaller and wider hoops than I’d typically ride, and the fatter, flatter profile changes the way the tire transitions from edge to edge.

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

The tread arrangement has good mud-shedding characteristics so murky sections of trail were easily navigated. In hardpack dirt and rocky conditions the hybrid silica compound had excellent grip for how stiff the carcass seemed to be. 

On the Street: Pavement was a concern based purely on appearance, and I had a first impression that long highway miles would burn these things up in short order. Fortunately, as the final tread measurements would reveal, that didn’t happen. Another unexpected find, I presumed these would be really loud tires. They’re not the most quiet tread out there, but definitely not the loudest. (I just rode what seems to be the loudest motorcycle tire made, but that reveal will probably be saved for a future review). 

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

When the tarmac gets wet, the silica compound provided decent grip for how tough this rubber is. Other than skipping over tar snakes, hard cornering on the RallZ was more effective than expected from the aggressive knobby appearance. While not as sure-footed on the pavement as a TKC 80 or TKC 70, the RallZ doesn’t walk out of corners as much as the 80/20 dirt/street appearance would indicate. Stopping power and acceleration grip was entirely adequate.

Tire Longevity: Multiple tests through California, Utah, and Arizona put a total of 2,766 miles on this set, with terrain ranging from rocks, hardpack dirt, deep sand, twisty pavement, and long-haul highway runs. Overall percentage of asphalt/dirt riding was around 60/40. The initial tread measurements for the tires when new were 9.3mm front and 14mm rear. After riding nearly 2,800 miles, the tread depth was down to 7.9mm in front and 4.9mm in the rear.

Assuming the tires are worn out with 1mm of tread depth left and a constant rate of wear, that would mean the front still has 74% of it’s tread left and the rear has 28%. Tires generally burn up much of their tread in the first part of their lifespan though. Personal preferences dictate when one changes tires but doing the math, this rear RallZ could conceivably last another thousand miles. That puts it well within the longevity range of a TKC 80 ridden under similar conditions.

Who Are They For?

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

Given the KTM 390 Adventure is a “light off-road” adventure bike, in general I’d say the Tractionator RallZ wouldn’t be the first tire choice for the type of riding this bike would typically see. That said, because of the gnarly and high-mileage nature of the terrain in this test it’s easily a candidate for my go-to tire, should I do more stuff on the small-bore adventure bike in the future. When the going got really steep, the additional grip on braking and accelerating was confidence inspiring. When things turned sandy, you knew the bike would have no problem getting through it, even if the rider might struggle.

Our Verdict

Motoz Tractionator RallZ Dual Sport Tire Review

At around $380 for the 19”/17” pair used in this test, the RallZ is among the upper end of the price range for adventure tires, but not that far north of TKC 80 money. For those riders wanting confidence inspiring rubber to venture into the gnar, with enough road matters to get you there and back comfortably, Motoz’s Tractionator RallZ is worth a look.

What We Liked

  • Exceptional off-road grip.
  • Unexpectedly long tire life for an aggressive knobby-style adventure tire.
  • Surprisingly good road manners for an 80/20 (dirt/street) tire.

What Could Be Improved

  • A bit on the pricey side.

Tractionator RallZ Specs

ON-ROAD/OFF-ROAD RATING: 20/80
CONSTRUCTION: Hybrid compound with Silica; Tube-Type and Tubeless
PRICE: $119-$279

Tractionator RallZ Sizes

Front
90/90-21, 110/80B19, 120/70B19

Rear
130/80-17, 120/90-18, 140/80-18, 150/70B17, 170/60B17, 150/70B18

Shopping Options

Rocky Mountain ATV/MCPacific Powersports

Photography by Ely Woody, Stephen Gregory, Jon Beck and Rob Dabney

Author: Jon Beck

Jon Beck is fulfilling a dream of never figuring out what to be when he grows up. Racing mountain bikes, competitive surfing, and touring as a musician are somehow part of what led Jon to travel through over 40 countries so far as an adventure motorcycle photographer, journalist, and guide. From precision riding for cameras in Hollywood, to refilling a fountain pen for travel stories, Jon brings a rare blend of experience to the table. While he seems happiest when lost in a desert someplace, deadlines are met most of the time.

Author: Jon Beck
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Stories

Related Stories

Notify me of new posts via email

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

9 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Michael T Costello
Michael T Costello
March 16, 2022 3:03 pm

These are very noisy tires and terrible in the mud. Other then that they are good tires.

Charles
Charles
March 21, 2022 1:08 pm

Just completed 6,300 km’s on my first set of Tractionator RallZ fitted to my 790R & completely agree with your findings…In my opinion the Tractionator RallZ are great value for the money & performances well even in the Australian high country in tuff conditions & give you confidence with the correct tyre pressure you want be dealing with punches due to poor tyre construction methods..

Chris
Chris
March 21, 2022 1:17 pm

Jon – I have a BMW G310 GS – so a lighter adventure bike. Would you recommend the Motoz tires or a TKC 80 which is what I currently run?

Jon Beck
Jon Beck
March 21, 2022 1:46 pm
Reply to  Chris

Both good choices – really depends on the type of riding you do. This test was ideal to answer your question in that the tires were mounted to a KTM 390 and I’ve ridden the 310GS as well. IMO, “light adventure bikes” generally don’t see the type of riding meriting such aggressive rubber, however, the terrain in this test made the RallZ a great choice. The “Who Are They For” section above provides a little detail.

Dave
Dave
April 5, 2022 12:16 pm

Why would you use a 390 to test adventure tires? Irrelevant bike for testing much of anything when most adventure bikes are 700 to 1250 cc.

RBSride365
RBSride365
April 5, 2022 1:37 pm

I’d love to see a long term review of these tires on a more “full sized” adventure bike. I have run these on my 18 Africa Twin AS and was very happy with there performance both on and off road. They are SUPER loud on the highway. The rubber compound actually has much better grip in the wet than the Tractionator Adventure version. In my experience on a 150 width rear I was able to milk 5k miles out of the rear but my findings with the front were opposite of yours and the size you ran. I could have gone through two fronts for one rear and I don’t consider myself heavy on the front break. That said, if you’ve got dirt to ride on your large adventure then this is your tire. Immense amount of traction paired with a bomb proof casing design and acceptable road manners might make this tire worth running all the time. I will buy it again. My go to pairing is usually a Tractionator Rear with a TKC 80 front just for the better mileage (both fuel and tire life) but the Rallz are at the top of the list when serious off road adventures are on the menu.

Ken
Ken
May 27, 2022 6:07 am

I really don’t know why everyone is promoting these as great..my experience with these are much different . poor wear, noisy, inconsistent grip on dirt roads and tarmac. fronts cup and creates a speed wobble over 75 mph on tarmac. not confident inspiring at all. but hey.. I also didn’t like the Heidenau K60 Scout Tires everyone bragged about..

Erik Nash
Erik Nash
June 10, 2022 2:07 pm
Reply to  Ken

What pressures are people running for 170/17 rear and 120/19 front? I ran my Rally STRs at 36 rear 34 front for everything. This tire says 35 max so I’m thinking I need to make a shift for pressures.

Keith Sparks
Keith Sparks
November 3, 2022 11:26 am

I LOVED all 3 sets of MOTOZ tires I’ve tried.
The latest set was the rallz on my 2022 KTM 890.
Similar to your review here, they behaved wonderfully, and is possibly the best traction I’ve had on an adventure bike in the dirt.
But have you tested bead retention on a tubeless wheel?
At very low to zero pressure, you can unseat the bead by hand. That means the safety bead isn’t being engaged properly. The beads on all 3 sets did this, and had very slow leaks.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use them with a tube, but for tubeless, my confidence is very low.

ADVERTISEMENT

Watch: 2024 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro Tested

For 2024, Triumph's dirt-focused Tiger 900 — the Rally Pro — has received...

My First Time Riding Enduro, How Hard Could It Be?

Nestled between the Sierra Nevada and Inyo Mountains of California lies a l...

REV'IT! Tornado 4 Mesh Adventure Jacket

REV’IT! Launches Two New Mesh ADV Suits For Warmer Days Ahead

The thaw is on in North America, and before we know it we’ll be tearing up th...