Mitas can trace its roots back to 1933, when Michelin began producing tyres in Czechoslovakia. The Mitas name appeared in 1947 and was formed by combining Michelin with Veritas, another local rubber manufacturer.
Today, Mitas is part of Yokohama TWS and produces tyres for everything from everyday road bikes to adventure, enduro, motocross, speedway and flat track racing. However, it’s their adventure and off-road tyres for which the company is best known. Mitas tyres have built a particularly loyal following among riders travelling long distances or taking large adventure bikes properly off road.
That reputation has also led to Mitas becoming an original equipment supplier to KTM. The original E-07 was fitted to the KTM 690 Enduro R, the TERRA FORCE-R to the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S and the ENDURO TRAIL+ has subsequently appeared on the KTM 890 Adventure R, 390 Adventure R and 125 Enduro R.
You might notice that Mitas use capital letters for all of their tyre names. We’re just copying their style but apologies in advance IF YOU THINK WE’RE SHOUTING.
Our Mitas Motorcycle Tyre Range
We have a motorcycle tyre fitting workshop in London and stock a carefully selected range of Mitas motorcycle tyres, with a particular focus on their adventure, road and specialist competition tyres.
We stock all the popular sizes ready to fit, and if we don’t have what you need on the shelf, we can usually order it in for next-day fitting or have it delivered anywhere in the UK. Just give us a call on 0207 205 2205 to discuss what you need.
Mitas motorcycle tyres by type
We’ve listed Mitas’s motorcycle tyre range by common application and picked the most popular tyre for each category. We’ve also listed the other tyres worth considering in that sector.
Adventure
Mitas ENDURO TRAIL+
The Mitas Adventure bike tyre range is a bit confusing but essentially it goes like this, from Road to Off-Road bias: TERRA FORCE-R → ADV 2 → Trail+ → Trail → XT → XT+ → Rally.
Mitas has a remarkably complete adventure range, so the right choice largely comes down to how much time you genuinely spend off road.
The TERRA FORCE-R is the most road-biased option, intended for riders who spend nearly all their time on tarmac but occasionally venture onto gravel tracks. It’s Mitas’s alternative to tyres such as the Michelin Anakee Road, Metzeler Tourance Next 2 or Pirelli Scorpion Trail III.
Next comes the newer ENDURO TRAIL-ADV 2, designed around a 70% road and 30% off-road split. It has a more open tread than the TERRA FORCE-R and is a strong option for riders who want proper gravel and light-trail ability without giving away too much road comfort or wet-weather performance.
The original E-07, now called the ENDURO TRAIL, is a genuine 50/50 adventure tyre. Its slightly flatter profile and greater tread depth make it particularly well suited to high-mileage overland travel, despite the more aggressive-looking blocks of the road-biased ENDURO TRAIL+.
For more demanding off-road use, the ENDURO TRAIL-XT is approximately 30% road and 70% off road, while the more aggressive ENDURO TRAIL-XT+ is around 20% road and 80% off road.
The XT+ is the one to choose for mud, rough tracks and proper off-road adventures, although it naturally gives away some refinement and grip on wet tarmac. A
t the far end of the range is the ENDURO TRAIL-RALLY. This is a competition-derived rally-raid tyre built for high-speed off-road riding rather than everyday adventure touring. It’s available with different front patterns for soft-to-medium and medium-to-hard terrain.
Sport Touring
Mitas TOURING FORCE
The TOURING FORCE is Mitas’s principal sport touring tyre and the best choice for riders who want mileage, wet-weather performance and stability without making their bike feel heavy or slow steering.
It uses a multi-compound construction, with a more durable centre section for motorway and commuting mileage and grippier shoulders for cornering. Its high silica content also makes it a sensible year-round option for British conditions.
It’s suitable for everything from middleweight commuters and sports tourers to larger, more heavily loaded touring bikes.
Other tyres in this category: The newer TOURING FORCE-SP is a lighter and sportier variation designed primarily for middleweight sports touring and naked bikes. It offers quicker steering and stronger cornering performance, but the standard TOURING FORCE remains the more obvious choice for heavier bikes, touring with luggage and riders prioritising mileage.
The TERRA FORCE-R is also worth considering if you ride an adventure-style bike in 19 or 21-inch front sizes but spend almost all your time on tarmac.
Fast Road / Sport
Mitas SPORT FORCE+ EV
The SPORT FORCE+ EV is Mitas’s current flagship road-going sports tyre. It warms up quickly, offers strong grip at higher lean angles and remains stable during prolonged, harder use.
It’s a particularly good-value choice for sports and naked bike riders who want more performance than a touring tyre without moving to a dedicated trackday compound. There is enough wet-weather ability for everyday riding, although its priority is dry grip and sporty handling rather than maximum mileage.
It can also cope with occasional trackday use, particularly in novice and intermediate groups, making it a useful road-and-track crossover tyre.
Other tyres in this category: The original SPORT FORCE+ remains a very capable and generally lower-cost road tyre. It warms up quickly, offers predictable handling and has more than enough grip for most everyday sports and naked bikes.
The principal difference is that the SPORT FORCE+ EV is intended to retain its performance better during prolonged, more intense riding. If you regularly ride hard, use a powerful bike or occasionally venture onto track, the EV is worth choosing. For ordinary road riding, the standard SPORT FORCE+ remains excellent value.
Mitas also produces the SPORT FORCE+ RS, its dedicated road-legal trackday tyre. The RS uses a much softer racing compound, is designed to work at around 80°C and Mitas recommends using tyre warmers. It isn’t an everyday road tyre and is not currently part of our regular stocked range.
Small-Capacity Sport
Mitas MC-50
The MC-50 is Mitas’s sports tyre for 125s, lightweight motorcycles and older small-capacity bikes using narrower wheels. It has a sporty tread pattern, warms up quickly and is available in useful sizes that the larger SPORT FORCE tyres simply don’t cover.
It’s important not to confuse the standard MC-50 with the former MC-50 Soft and Super Soft racing versions. Those specialist compounds have been discontinued, with the SPORT FORCE+ RS now filling the equivalent racing role, but the ordinary road-going MC-50 remains part of the current Mitas range.
The MC-50 is a particularly useful option for bikes using combinations such as a 100/80-17 front with a 130/70-17 rear. It also comes in several less common 17, 18 and 19-inch sizes used by older lightweight motorcycles.
Other tyres in this category: The newer STREET FORCE is the more modern everyday road option where a suitable matching pair is available, with greater emphasis on wet-weather performance and predictable year-round riding. However, it doesn’t reproduce the MC-50’s full range of small-bike sizes, so the MC-50 remains the more useful choice for many 125s and older lightweight motorcycles.
The SPORT FORCE+ RS is available in 110/70-17 and 140/70-17 sizes, but it’s a much more specialised tyre. Those sizes suit proper lightweight sports and racing bikes rather than the everyday 125s for which the MC-50 is generally intended.
Small-Capacity / All-Road
Mitas MC-32
The MC-32 is an unusual tyre aimed at smaller motorcycles that need to cope with a mixture of paved roads, dirt tracks and poor weather.
Its chunky M+S tread pattern makes it suitable for older trail bikes, lightweight commuters and utility bikes that are ridden on surfaces where a conventional road tyre can struggle. It isn’t a high-performance adventure tyre, but it’s a practical and durable option in smaller sizes where modern adventure tyres are often unavailable.
The MC-32 is popular in the 100/80-17 front and 130/70-17 rear combination, giving owners of smaller motorcycles a genuine all-road alternative to conventional road tyres.
Other tyres in this category: Mitas also produces the MC-32 Winter, using a cold-weather compound and additional tread sipes. That version is designed for genuinely cold or snowy conditions and is more relevant in northern European markets than for most UK riders.
For a bike that remains entirely on tarmac, the MC-50 or newer STREET FORCE will normally provide better road handling. If you regularly ride dirt tracks, muddy lanes or poor rural roads, the MC-32 starts to make much more sense.
Classic / Retro
Mitas H-06
The H-06 is the standout tyre in Mitas’s classic motorcycle range. Available in a wide selection of imperial sizes for classic and vintage bikes, it combines a properly traditional tread pattern with a modern compound. That makes it a good choice for restorations where appearance matters but the bike is still going to be ridden regularly.
Its reinforced carcass and relatively deep tread also make it a durable, competitively priced option for older motorcycles using narrow, traditional tyre sizes.
Other tyres in this category: The Mitas H-03 and H-04 cover a selection of older and smaller classic fitments, but the H-06 is the most versatile choice and the pattern most riders are likely to recognise.
For classic trail bikes, the E-05 is the more appropriate option. It has a traditional block tread and suits older dual-purpose motorcycles where a modern radial adventure tyre would look out of place or simply isn’t available in the correct size.
Classic Trail
Mitas E-05
The E-05 is designed for classic trail and dual-purpose motorcycles. It has a traditional block-pattern appearance and is intended to work across tarmac, gravel and light off-road terrain.
It won’t match a modern ENDURO TRAIL tyre for high-speed road handling or serious off-road grip, but that isn’t really its job. The E-05 is primarily about providing a suitable, durable tyre in the narrower sizes used by older trail bikes while retaining the bike’s period-correct appearance.
Other tyres in this category: The Mitas E-06 performs a similar role with a different traditional trail pattern. For a newer or more powerful adventure bike, move up to the TERRA FORCE-R, ENDURO TRAIL-ADV 2 or ENDURO TRAIL+ instead.
Flat Track
Mitas FLAT TRACK
Mitas is one of relatively few manufacturers producing proper competition flat track tyres. The FLAT TRACK range is designed to provide predictable breakaway, controllable slides and consistent drive on oval dirt tracks.
Different compounds are available to suit different track surfaces and conditions, so these aren’t tyres that should be selected purely by size. If you’re unsure which version you need, speak to us before ordering.
Although some versions may be road legal, these are specialist competition tyres and shouldn’t be treated as normal road or retro tyres simply because the tread pattern looks appealing.
