I'm at the point where I want something with better traction offroad. The MT21 always washes out on me on the front. I'm more concerned with having fun while im riding then wear on the tire. I commute 3 days a week on the bike and its a 45 minute highway ride to the dirt form my house. So it needs to be somewhat safe. Sorry if this subject is a repeat.

 

My AC-10's are holding up well on the pavement. Great traction off road.

 

I've usually found the Pirelli MT21 to be a very decent DOT knobby, even on a heavier KLR650. Not my favorite tire, but a good tire. Dirt Rider magazine did a recent test on DOT knobbies. The overall opinion for the best front tire was the Kenda Parker Desert. I'm on my second Parker, and I would agree. I've tried quite a few fronts and rears of various brands and models. I haven't found a front to bite better and last longer than the Parker. The center ***** tend to flatten a bit and then wear like iron from that point...a condition also noticed by the testers at Dirt Rider. Side **** tearing or chunking is practically nonexistent. Oddly I wasn't as impressed with the rear tire which has a totally different tread pattern.

 

Do you have a number on the Kenda Parker? I saw a K775, K774, K772

 

K772 is the one.

 

I ended up with the Pirelli XCMH 80/100R-21 Front Tire. I will post back once I put some miles on it. It is Pirelli's replacement for the MT18. Illking picked up the MT16 which is supposed to be an aggressive dot knobby as well.

 

Well I don't believe they are DOT I run the Dunlop 604's. I ride about 20-40 miles a day on em, and trail ride on the weekends. I get about two months per set at most though! They ARE dirt tires, but handle fine on the street. Just remember they wear to fast for most riders taste.

 

This front tire holds up well, I've tried a couple different Kenda dot front tires that wore way faster. The local bike shop carries the pirelli xcmh so I know others in my area feel the same way. I like the Kenda Parker rear tire on the big bore klx, but ive seen a couple throw ***** but could be due to high speed running at the San Felipe 250.

 

I agree on the rear Kenda Parker not being quite as durable. It was the front tire that Dirt Rider said was just about the perfect DOT knobby...and it was my experience as well. That said, there sure are a lot better DOT knobbies out there now than when I first started needing DOT knobbies in the 80's.

 

I just bought an '09 s with 2k miles on it - I definitely noticed the stock tires are squirrelly - sounds like the K772 is best for the front - but what about the rear?