We Are In The Scoop Era

This broadcast talk about the scoop has been going on since July 2022. JT, JS7, RC and others have been discussing the Dunlop MX14 since July of 2022 because that is when it was introduced and I feel that is because this tire is so damn good. I will admit I was anti-scoop prior to the MX14 because quite frankly the older MX12 scoop didn’t have a wide window of feel on different terrain. When the track got edgy or hard, the older Dunlop scoop didn’t have that consistent feel. The MX14 was introduced in July of 2022 and since then we have been talking about the great scoop debate because the MX14 SCOOP has a “wider terrain window” than it ever has. Below is a little bit of a breakdown on why the MX14 is good, where it’s good, how it compares to a MX34 and why some riders are sticking with it even when the track firms up. 

The obvious reason why you see Tomac on the scoop tire is because it has a superb forward bite feel and propels the machine forward (off the start) in a quick manner as well as stays on top of the soft dirt better than a MX34. Where the MX34 has an advantage is on harder surfaces (jump faces especially when leaning) where the knob can dig in better because of its tread design and tread block compound. The carcass of the MX34 is also better on extreme lean angle when on harder surfaces (again, like jump faces or scrubbing). But… That’s right, there’s a but. With the design and pattern that Dunlop has come up with, the MX14 does cross over to hard pack dirt much better than the previous MX12 version they offered or what some people may think.

I have gone to several tracks and have ridden all day to get a feel of the changing track (on each tire, MX14/MX34) conditions and where each tire shined as well as didn’t shine. Glen Helen for example is your typical sandy on top, hard underneath type of track. When the track workers do go to work on a good prep it can be deep in the mornings, but by 11-12PM most of that soft dirt is pushed off or dug into that firm base of the California desert. A place where you normally wouldn’t run a scoop is not as bad as some think.

I started off with the Dunlop MX14 in the morning and let me tell you, if you are racing at your local track and have an early moto, this MX14 is like cheating off the start. If your local track is remotely sandy or sloppy in the mornings, the MX14 will help you keep momentum and allow you to ride lower in the rpm’s without spinning your tire out of ruts/corners. At Glen Helen, even though there are slick/hard spots the MX14 works great because it pushes the bike forward in a quicker manner once accelerating out of corners. You can really feel the bike get on top of the softer dirt in a hurry once you start to roll the throttle on. In the hard/slick areas the MX14 will break loose on its side knobs sooner than a MX34, but it isn’t a sudden slip or drift. The slide that you feel is controlled and not abrupt like the older Dunlop scoop tire. Even when under load (on throttle) in hard pack sweepers the MX14 can be controlled well enough that you may not think you’re on a scoop.

The advantage of the MX14 (compared to the MX34) is so much greater in softer conditions, that you will take the slight disadvantage the MX14 has in hard pack areas. I would have thought the MX34 would have been day and night better in hard/slick spots but the control wasn’t that much greater with the MX34 on. I will say as the day wore on and both tires got there freshness worn off, the the MX34 does have more control overall (when worn down some) than the MX14. Once the MX14 has some time on it, the carcass feel breaks down quicker and you will get more roll out of the rear of the tire than the MX34. If you gave me a three hour old MX34 and a three hour old MX14, I would take the three hour old MX34 because the carcass holds its integrity better on lean angle, longer. However, this doesn’t apply to factory riders does it? They have fresh tires for every moto so Tomac isn’t such an idiot for going the MX14 direction is he?  

So with all this being said… Let’s throw out the cost part of this for one second like a rich person does (or factory rider). If you had the money to purchase one or the other to go race and change tires constantly for every other race, I would pick the MX14 because it has a bigger crossover (which I originally thought it would never have). It’s ability to crossover into hard pack is impressive for a scoop tire. The MX14 has such an advantage on the start as well as accelerating out of corners or soft berms that it makes “dealing” with some sliding in hard pack worth it to me (and it looks like to Tomac as well). This is why Tomac gives JT$ “the look” after he gets asked about why he chose the scoop.

Now let’s say money is a factor, like it is for most of us reading this, I would say go with the MX34 because it has a longer duration of feel. What I mean by this is that with time not being on our side with the wear of rubber breaking down, the MX34 will hold its feel much longer than the MX14 will. I can ride with a worn out MX34 and get almost the same feel on the track during the duration of its life. I can’t really say that the MX14 has that same feel for that same duration.

With all of this being said, if you have some money and can afford some new tires, don’t be scared to run the MX14 at your local track that is soft to intermediate terrain! Thank me later when you pull holeshots on your buddies or blow by them as you accelerate past them out of corners. The MX14 will last a few hours (5-6 hours) of intermediate terrain life, but can last much longer in pure sand conditions. For example, I ran the MX14 at Loretta Lynn’s for two motos and the “tits” of the tires were still intact after both of those motos (hardly any wear shown).

I do think the broadcast needs to calm down on this great debate as Dunlop has a great scoop tire that doesn’t make it that difficult to choose from as some people may think. As long as you can get on the middle of the tire in a hurry around the track, the scoop is superior over the MX34 tread design. This is the key to a scoop. Get on the middle of your tire as soon as you can and that will reward you. Tomac knows how to do this. Maybe that is why he choses the MX14 because he can bank off of small berms and get back straight in a timely manner around the track. RC himself said he needs to try the MX14 because he hasn’t felt what it can do. I suggest someone on the broadcast team try it for future debates.