While I was up at the recent rally, Tour de Apalachicola, I was paying particular attention to tires that folks were running on their motorcycles. I'm not ready for tires on the KLX250 right now, but I like to have them sitting in the shop ready to mount when the time comes.

A lot of the folks were running the Chen Shin 858 tires. Many of them on the front and several of them on the rear. The other tire that kept coming up was the Kenda 270 on the rear.

Most of our riding was in soft sand and both these tires really work there!

Another very interesting quality is their price!

To make the combo even sweeter, you can purchase them and have them delivered to your house for about $75 a set! I saw a lot of the Sherpas had the Chen Shin 858 tire on the rear also. That saves you about $15 on the set! H'mmm, $350 a set from Kawasaki for Dunlop 603's or $60 for a set of Chen Shin 858's? That's a tough decision!

The tread on the Chen Shin 858 looks like it will work quite well in most of the riding areas I frequent.


I'm thinking right now that the Chen Shin 858 on front and Kenda 270 on the rear is a great tire setup!

 

About the Chen Shin 858 the knobby looks agreassive enough but the tire itself looks to be not as wide as the dunlop. Is it just the picture or is in fact not as wide? I have about 300 miles now on my tire and it really is showing the wear that you all have been talking about. I like to off road alot and I really like the tire thats on the bike but I dont like the price. So what IS the best tire that will be good for off road and not wear down as fast as the dunlop?

 

The answer to your question depends an awful lot on the terrain you are riding.

Sand is very different from rock or mud.

Most of my riding is in sandy conditions. I'm more than likely going to go with the Chen Shin tires. I mean when you can buy a tire for $30 shipped to your door, it's kind of hard to beat. Yes, I do change all my own tires, makes it even cheaper.

 

Well i've been checking out all the tires that everone has been talking about and there are ALOT of choices to go with. I usually ride on sand, loose dirt and road so im looking for a tire that will not wear down as fast as the stock one, but has the same deep tread and is as wide for those deep mud holes. I like the d606 that has been talked about and I also like the price, but will it wear down the same or will it last a bit longer?

 

I'm hearing about the same life expectency from the Chen Shin as the Dunlop is providing.

 

Hi all! I am new to this forum and am reading with great interest about the klx 250s. It seems like a nice bike, and I am considering one for myself. I have a '05 KLR650 which is a pretty good bike but it just does'nt put a smile on my face when I ride it. Looks like the 250 is doing that for alot of you who just recently bought one. But anyway I just put a new tire on the KLR after around 4,000 miles on the OEM tire and went with a 50/50 tire, the IRC P1. Seems like good tire based on the comments from this site....

http://www.mindspring.com/~mssilvers...ires/#contents

hope this helps ya
Joel

 

djam101,

There is nothing wrong with the KLR650, at least not in my book. I have one and still get a thrill riding it in it's element - packed dirt and gravel backroads.

Back in November, I made a run from my place in central Florida up to Tallahassee, rode around on packed forest roads all day long, then returned the same day - a total of 600 miles. Don't try THAT on a KLX250S, unless you have the ability to crack walnuts between your butt cheeks!

Last weekend, we had a rally up in the same area. I left on Thursday morning with BOTH the KLR650 and the KLX250S on the trailer. I rode both bikes in the elements they were appropriate for. The KLX250 saw duty on the single track and really technical stuff. Please don't get me wrong there were folks riding KLR650's there - even 3 female riders. But at the end of the day I wasn't feeling like I've been in a wrestling match with a 400 pound beast! They sure did.

On my KLR650, I have what I think is an excellent pure dualsport tire setup. It's an 80 on / 20 off road combo that I kind of like and like to run. I can run quietly on the highway - where the bike spends most of it's time, but I can also run packed roads and gravel roads all day long. I really like the setup; a IRC GP-110 front tire and a Duro rear tire.

The KLX250 will never get that set of tires, as that is not where I intend to ride the KLX250 most of the time. I would say it's an 80 percent off / 20 percent on road bike. So, since it is on the opposite end of the spectrum of bikes, it will require a completely different style tire.

While I like the 603, I don't like it at $180 from the dealer! That's just absurd! I can buy a set of Dunlop 606 - which are very close in character to the 603 tire, just handled competitively, instead of proprietarily. Also the Kends 270's fit the bill along with the Chen Shin or a combination there of.

I am basically cheap when it comes to the money I spend. I like to get the value for the money I give someone. If I don't think the value is there, then I won't buy it.

 

got a few tires from craigslist.com drove about an hr one way and got 4 tires for 75 bucks... i guess i got a deal on them.

heres what i got
2 dunlop D756 one is 100/100-18 the other is 110/100-18
1 Pirelli MT16 120/100-18 (looks big and gnarly, heheh, cant wait to try that one)
1 Maxis Max cross it 110/100-18 wich i mounted just 20 minuets ago.

its been raining like crazy here in CT and i went for a short ride today before i changed the tire, super slick out there no grip, no control... so we'll see how it goes tomorrow when i get to try out the new "shoes"

anyone else ridden these tires before? i think i've heard good reviews on the 756 but i could be mistaken.





This last from left to right (bridgestone TW-302 which just came off the bike, then the 756, Pirelli MT16, and the other 756.

that bridgestone tire was great. lasted fairly long, still had some grip in the trails, but i was lookin for something more agressive.

 

Dwight Rudder swears by the Pirelli MT16. He's moderator of the "off road riding technique" section over on TT and is a 7 time ISDE medalist and 8 time AMA national enduro champ. That's an opinion I'd trust.

I'd try one, but the rear is not DOT legal and after being checked in NJ for DOT tires, that's something I don't want to get caught not having. If I remember though, Divodave had a rather ingenious solution to that.

 

PM Please....I'm illegal on the klx right now.