Allow me to preface my first post with an apology: sorry for another tire thread!

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, the thread title pretty much says it all. I ride mostly street, but just found some awesome off road stuff the other day (logging roads, ATV trails, little bit of singletrack...) and had an absolute BLAST on it. I'd been thinking about getting dual sport tires anyway, but now I'm sold on the idea. I've had a hell of a time finding tires to fit the front wheel, the Shinko 244s are pretty much it. I'm still gonna do more on road than off though, so I was thinking a 50/50 up front and a 80/20 like the 705 in the back. Anyone run this themselves? Or have any thoughts on the soundness of this idea? I've only been riding for a year and this will be my first tire replacement, so I'm kind of flying blind here. I've scoured all the forums (KF, ADVRider, SMJ...) but haven't really found a definitive answer. Thanks in advance for any input you guys have!

As a parting gift, let me thank you all for the massive help this forum has been in getting my bike in proper shape! Tons of invaluable info here. Keep it up, fellas!

 

Long story short...since my first reply got lost in the ether...
Your combo will have very different handling characteristics.
On the road - the 244 will squirm when cornering fast or hard, the 705 will stick like it's on rails...my experience with both tires.
Off road - the 244 will have tons of traction, while the 705 might want to step out and try and pass the 244...I've run plenty of dirt with 705s, it's amazing what they will do.
You would need pretty good throttle control on or off road.
I would buy a pair of 244s. If you need sizes, try asking here, you can also look in the 2009 KLX SF thread on ADV.
Or buy sets of both and get good at changing tires.
So not so short of a story, but when using 2 different tires they should be similar in handling characteristics, which these are not.

 

Thanks for the input, Maximus. I've been reading about tire "mullets" - knobbies in the front and dual sports in the back - and thought maybe a 50/50 dual sport in the front and a 80/20 street oriented tire in the rear would have a similar effect, just more street friendly.

I could go with two 244s, but I know I'll be doing considerably more street riding, so I'm kind of hesitant to go with a straight up 50/50 set. If I go with the 705s, the only one that would fit the front is a 120/90-17. I'm all for the 120, but the 90 concerns me. That just seems really tall, I worry about decreased rubber contact with the road due to pinching and therefore decreased handling. Is this a legitimate concern?

I guess another option would be to get a 120/70-17 Distanzia front and a 140/80-17 705 rear (the 705 is waaaaay cheaper than the Distanzia, and I've dropped entirely too much money on my little friend over the past month). Reckon that'd be an alright combo?

 

I'm running a 120/70/17 up front. Its a Heidenau k73 rainmaster. I like the bigger front tire, as do many others on here. The rear on my bike is a Kenda k76. I dont find any trouble with the mismatch tires. My front is "better" on the road than the rear, so way I look at it the back will let go before the front.

The front is technically 90/10 and the rear is 80/20 (street/off road)

Hope this helps

 

Thanks, CC. I ended up going with a 4.6" Shinko 700 front (60/40 tire) and the 130/80 Shinko 705 (80/20) on the back.

 

Nothing wrong with a mullet, as long as it's not on your head.
Mostly, I just think the better road handling tire should be on front, if the treads are vastly different.