Mitas/Sava MC25 Bogart review

I'll cut to the chase - these are awful. Awful. If you ever might find yourself riding in the wet, even the damp, do not get these as you might die. I've never known anything like it. Read on for more, should you wish..

At a mileage that seemed far too low, the original fitment Dunlop TT900 on the rear of the Z250SL was worn out. Ebay was scoured for a replacement, the cheaper and more interesting the better - you may have noticed I like to try out the less premium products on offer! Up came a pair of Mitas MC25 Bogarts, barely used, for a mere £55 delivered - bought! Mitas don't have much of a name in the world of road tyres but they have been around forever in the off road market, and are well regarded. A few years ago they bought a rival firm called "Sava" who did have a good reputation in the world of road tyres for small bikes, their MC7 was particularly popular for a while. Now was my chance to try this particular Slovenian delight! But first I have to remove the rear wheel from a bike that doesn't have a centre stand, what a joke..

Is it really that hard to fit a centre stand, Kawasaki? And the rest of you lot making bikes. Look at this, you think this is acceptable? Anyway.. After a while faffing with the rear caliper on its carrier that has to locate on the rear axle and a stub on the inside of the swingarm at the same time (difficult..) I had a tyre that looked like this.

I've never seen a tyre so.. Pointy? I started off at Kawasaki's recommendation of 32 PSI for the rear, which was fine for the OE Dunlop but this looked a little overinflated, like riding on a knife edge. Never mind, only one way to find out..

Another week, another load of commuting. The tyre seemed a bit hard but not bad, not overly affected by bumps or road imperfections and in the first few dry days it had more grip than I needed - I was pleased. Then the first wet morning came, I set of as normal and all was well until I reached a junction that is made of a strange road surface, big stones perhaps to be hard wearing - unfortunately these polish flat over time. I set off in first gear, the rear slid out so I pulled the clutch and kicked it into second while the bike sorted itself out. Put the (meagre!) power down again and the rear span straight up, no problem. The rest of the commute was rather subdued!

Thankfully the commute home was dry, so again no drama. I figured the pressure must be too high, giving me only a tiny contact patch - I let it down to 28 PSI. This seemed to have no ill effects on handling and gave a more comfortable ride. There was no more rain that week but at the weekend I had a day out in the Peak district on a hot day, when I actually had to stop and let yet more air out of the tyre as it had become so hard again in the heat - now at 26 PSI! This feels slightly squirmy until the tyre is warm but it is what I've stayed with. This is also by far the lowest pressure I've ever run a tyre at, the construction of these must be really stiff.

Now running half flat the contact patch was larger and I was really beginning to enjoy the grip on offer, at least in the dry. I barely had any chicken strips left, the bike wasn't wallowing or weaving in corners and the shoulders of the tyre were roughing up enough to make me look a bit like Rossi's retarded second cousin. Unfortunately another rain dawned, and quickly dashed my hopes of a larger contact patch meaning more grip in the wet - further testing has revealed I can spin up the rear in third gear! I have also nearly stuffed the bike into a kerb when going too fast around a long sweeping bend, as whenever I tried to lean the bike very seriously threatened to lowside due to the total lack of grip on offer. These tyres make the Goldentyre GT201 seem excellent.

I have not yet fitted the front Mitas, and frankly I'm not sure if I dare. I wish I could imagine it will be better, but this is so bad that it seems an impossibility. I have since seen M+P selling pairs of scooter tyres from Dunlop for £50, I wish I'd bought those instead.. Never mind, eh?

**UPDATE**
With a pathetic 2979 miles up the wear markers are making themselves known!

Now that it has squared off a bit I can spin the rear up in 6th gear in the wet and it snakes all over the place given a hint of moisture. I'm increasingly of the opinion these tyres should not be offered for sale and still have severe anxiety over the thought of fitting the front.. I really don't think I can do it, it'd be suicide.

**FINAL UPDATE**
After 5750 miles I was becoming concerned about the police asking me why I'm running a bald tyre and the commute had long since become a game of speedway, seeing how often I can spin the rear up in the damp conditions that autumn and winter bring.

Not all of the tyre was bald:

But at least half of it was..

It was also badly scalloped (or cupped depending on your favoured vernacular) which is where the outline of the tyre looks like a lovely scallop:

Personally I've never noticed this to have any detrimental effect but it seems a lot of people don't like this for some reason.

So, the Mitas MC25 Bogart.. Just don't. They're very stiff making an uncomfortable ride. They don't last very long. They absolutely do not work at all on a road that is not completely bone dry. They're not even cheap. I think this is, by far the worst tyre I've ever had.

I still have the front tyre waiting to be fitted but I've bought a Continental ContiTwist SM instead. I hope this tells you everything you need to know.