This review is written based on the experience of a 5-week trip along the roads of Norway. Together with Ola-the-pillon and three Kriega bags, we made our single-cylinder Tenere work her socks off. She served us tirelessly with Mitas E-07+ tires.
Versatility without Compromise when Traveling
Off-road journeys require knobby tires, but when you go on a long journey, half the knobby may disappear before you reach your destination. Mitas has designed tires specifically for travelers who want to go far in a variety of conditions.
When planning a 5-week trip around Norway, I knew that I’d like to visit as many unknown places as possible, away from the asphalt. On-road tires were not an option at all. Even if the vast majority of the time is spent on black, I wanted to be sure of stable riding on unpaved roads.
I chose Mitas E-07+ tires which are designed for 60% on-road and 40% off-road. Rain, sun, asphalt, stones. The weather conditions were changing as quickly as the ground under the motorcycle. And choosing these tires turned out to be a bull’s eye.
The Basic and the Powerful Dakar Version
The E-07+ model is available in standard and Dakar versions. The latter one has a much harder compound, ensuring longer life, and is almost impossible to pierce. If by some miracle, you manage to puncture it, it’s still so hard that you can easily ride to the nearest workshop without any risk of bending the rim. However, you must know that removing such a tire with spoons only, without a machine, may also be impossible.
The standard version, as it is made of a softer mixture, is better suited for wet asphalt, so this option was perfect for me for over a month’s Norwegian expedition.
Asphalt
Just take a look at this tire’s profile and you immediately know that cornering and tight maneuvers are a lot of fun. An aggressive profile allows smooth folding in turns, and the shape of the tread ensures smooth driving. Contrary to some enduro tires, we won’t experience steering wheel bumps here
On Wet
Scandinavian weather spoiled us with its wet aura. We drove carefully and the tires held up very well. I have already used tires from several manufacturers, but I’m not into writing badly about products, so I’ll summarize briefly that in the case of the XT660 motorcycle, I did not have a better tire for wet conditions.
The pattern on the tire is designed to efficiently discharge both water and mud.
Gravel
Loose pebbles are probably the coolest surface to ride and have fun on adventure motorcycles. The E-07+ tread was doing very well in these conditions.
Stones
Sometimes, to fulfill your dreams of an overnight stay on the top of a mountain, at 3°C, you have to leave the asphalt and ride almost unattended roads, which are very rocky and dangerous. That’s when traction is crucial. Aggressive treads are necessary to control the motorcycle in these conditions. Mitas E-07+ proved to be perfect in such conditions.
Mud
Unless facing extreme conditions, the E-07+ performs very well in muddy conditions. Grip problems only appear in deep ruts. But no wonder. In such conditions, even the knobby can sometimes fail us. The E-07+ tread pattern deserves praise, as it cleans quite quickly and regains traction.
Sand
Occasional sandy stretches on the path do not pose problems to the tires. However, you should be careful on corners and in deep sand. Sandy hills can be very difficult or even impossible to ride.
Summary
If there is a tire that is perfect for long trips, in my opinion, it is the Mitas E-07+ and it owes it to its versatility. It’s not perfect in all conditions but is good in all of them. And by “good” I mean really good.
Off-road-wise, it won’t replace a good knobby tire such as E-13 or E-09, but it will allow you to comfortably ride off-road with a great grip. On asphalt, it will not replace the performance of a tire like Terra Force-R, but it won’t be missing much.
Very long service life is another advantage that makes the E-07+ an ideal tire for long journeys into the unknown.
I am convinced that I will use this model for my next adventures.
Facebook
Instagram
Youtube
Pingback: Mitas E-13 Rally Star – AdvAnywhere
Nice and extensive review. Not having had the offroad experience you had, but having driven with these tires for a year now, i cannot agree with your observations regarding driving on wet asphalt. On short: the Mitas rear tire is utter crap, as it slides all over the place when braking and the traction control is working overtime when accelerating out of corners. Never had a tire this bad on wet roads.
Hi Vranc,
I didn’t have this problem but probably I drive too safely during the rain 😀
I fitted the E07+ on my Yamaha super tenere in May 2023 and rode to Croatia.A 3595 miles round trip ride over 14 days.I did not experience any loss of grip with the pegs scraping around The Dolomites in Italy in the dry.and never had any loss of grip in the wet either.However these tyres are noisy and vibrate.When I was braking with the rear brake the vibration was awful coming from the caliper to foot brake.I was glad to get home and replace them with Metzeler tourance.No noise.no vibration.If you use your bike 50% off road fit these tyres.If your only going off road occasionally and on the Autostrada/Motorways regular forget it.These tyres are more a 70% off road.30% road.I would never fit them ever again.
Pingback: Turkey 2022 - Chapter I – AdvAnywhere
I agree with Vrank, the E07+ is horrible on wet tar, traction control is constantly cutting power due to lack of grip.
Hi Andrew. Thank you for your comment. What bike do you ride? Motorcycle weight and geometry might make the difference but I didn’t experience a lack of grip unlike Karoo 3 or Pirelli STR. Of all dual-bike 50/50 tires, these were my favorite.
I have them on a Tiger 900, even though they are not great in the wet, I just replaced the rear with another E07+, because they excel in all other conditions.
I ride a DR 650 here in Australia. Usually I have a RallZ front and E09 rear. Perfect for what I do. About 6 months ago I changed the rear over to tubeless but unfortunately the E09 is not tubeless ready so I had fitted an E07. I havefound that it does not like any sort of wet or mud and is definitely unhappy in sand. Since discovered that the Heidenau Ranger is tubeless ready and reads very well so I will change over
Hi Niels,
My good friend also ride with RallZ and it performs great. But the price and availability in my country is somewhat off-putting.
Heidenau Ranger looks nice, I would give it a try.
Mitas TRAIL-XT+ replaces E-09, it might be a good time to check it.
Just grabbed a set of standard E-07+ for my Africa Twin Adventure Sports. I’m in America and doing a BDR soon and thought I’d try these out. So far, so good but haven’t really pushed hard yet with just 500 miles on them. Thanks for your review as this is what tipped me over into getting these verses the Motoz Tractionator Adventure tires. Take care!
Hi Scott, thank you for your comment. I’m so jealous about doing BDR! Motoz Tractionator Adventure is also a very good tire but sometimes it’s hard to get these in Europe, and the price is high. I felt safe on Mitas E-07+ tires during my travels and I hope you will have the same experience. Safe ride!
Hello my Friend,
Nice review thanks! I‘ve the same Motorcycle and the same Helmet, and in the future the same Tire. 🙂
Keep on going and wish u the best 🙏🏼
Thank you Norman! Bro soul! Ride safe 🙂
Really undecided between these and the new dunlop raid 🙁 nice review!
Mitas also have new tires now, E-07+ is upgraded.
Try both! 😀
I have been riding around the world two up for the past 5 years always with a 50/50 tyre. After hearing so much good feedback on the Mitas 07 + I decided to give it a go. It was great on dry tarmac, wet also but I tend to drive very cautiously. The minute I went on a wet dirt road I was slipping and sliding all over the place. It was one of those red / clay roads in Africa which can be very slippery. I immediately regretted my choice. I think you need to be a very confident rider to enjoy these in mud. But they certainly don’t fill me with confidence for my journey from Rwanda to Kenya in rainy season which I have purchased them for. I suspect we’ll be sticking to tar roads as much as we can 😬
Thank you for getting back to me. I completely agree, navigating through muddy terrain can be quite challenging! Here in Poland, where my rides often take me, dealing with clay surfaces feels almost insurmountable. Regardless of the tire selection, achieving traction on clay seems futile. I imagine your experiences might be similar. With regular mud, the situation improves slightly as the tires can self-clean more effectively. From what I’ve gathered, comparing notes with friends, the E-07 tires handle this type of mud relatively well. However, when it comes to clay, everyone seems to struggle, regardless of their tire choice. In conditions of wet mud, I find that riding with caution is key, and it tends to be more manageable.