A while back I put replaced my worn out front with a Bridgestone E661:

http://www.KawasakiForums.com/m_223241/tm.htm

It is still looking good. But with my Kenda TrakMaster II getting pretty worn, and I've got a ride in Tennessee coming up in a few weekends, I decided to replace it with some fresh rubber. On hand, I have a Dunlop 606 and the mate to the front E661, a Bridgestone E660 FIM enduro:



Decisions, decisions ...



Oh, BTW, when I dug out my 606 from my tire pile, I solved one of the great mysteries of the Universe. Where do dropped parts go?



That little bugger disappeared a while back. Now we know. [sm=headbang.gif] Now if we could just solve the mystery of where socks go when they disappear in the dryer.

I think I'll go with the other Bridgestone this time around:





Should be better in the woods around here and also probably better for where I'll be a few weekends from now. Initial smoke test indicates it is pretty soft and sticky, it should hook up well and the ***** are widely spaced so it shouldn't pack with mud. I'm going on a single-track woods ride tomorrow with HardTaco, that should be a good test for it.

I'll try out the Dunlop 606 maybe as summer comes on and the trails are hard-packed and dry.

Anyway, there's another tire I haven't seen anyone here run before so I thought I'd throw up a few photos. Oh, yeah, it's DOT approved, so you're legal on the road, too.

 

nice lookin rubber! Doesn't look like it will have much of a problem hookin' up out on the trails. I wanna try a new tire but have loved my d606 so much i don't want to try something else and regret it.

 

Damn, I wish the Kawi dealer would take my Food Stamps for tires!

 

brian. it being a soft tire aren't you afraid it'll wear too quickly? or worse than that start to chunk? i'm curious to see what the ***** look like in a couple hundred miles.

 

heck, I am curious on what the Tennesse trails are like. Clay, shale, etc.

 

We'll see. I think it will work fine but I don't expect them to last a real long time.

Drag, I'll be in the Coal Creek OHV area. Never been before, but lookin forward to it.

 

My initial thought from seeing those pics were to use the dunlop rear. Have a good time!

 

Like I said way back, I am using the K-270 set but after that I'm going back to the 606. I loved the first one I had, now if I can just get these Kenda tires to wear out.

 

I just got back a little bit ago and the E660's hook up great. Today we rode NC singletrack which was mainly roots, rocks, woods, clay, sometimes covered in leaves, sometimes covered in pine needles. Some spots were pretty muddy. They don't corner as well as the Kenda TrakMaster IIs, but otherwise is a good tire. I reckon the highlight of the day was this little hill:



They're always steeper and more intimidating in person. Of the 5 of us there, 3 of us gave it a go, but the other two chickened out. HardTaco was the guinea pig and went first - he made it all the way up but threw it away at the top - so close! I went up next and made it OK, and then the third guy did it also.

I uploaded HardTaco's ascent to youtube, but for some reason it's not showing up yet. When it shows up I'll post the link.

The other two guys went back the way we came and had a pretty hard time going back the other way. That hill was not as steep but has some roots.

EDIT: link larger pic

 

I have my reservations about the D606. I think it would be good for hardpack with the big square ***** with lots of surface area, and probably sand, but I'm concerned about how it will perform in the softer, slicker, root infested stuff we have here. Tennessee will be similar. I doubt those fat ***** will have much bite. I'll try the Dunlop next, though. Maybe. Unless I go and revert to my old stand by the K760, aka, Trakmaster II. While I've always been a fan of the TrakMaster II since I first ran it two years ago, I'm beginning to believe there is no better DOT knobby available for the more off-road riding. It's not very expensive either.