Go back to your Doctor and tell him you need something stronger. 😷

 

I've never thought of tires as good or bad. I think it's best to look at dual sport tires as right and wrong, based on anticipated ride conditions and rider skill levels. As it relates to conditions, I like the old adage, "you never get stuck on the road." To me, that's always meant get the most aggressive tire that you can put up with comfortably on the road part of your dual sport experience. That probably won't be the D606 (or AC10s that I have on my KLX or similar 10/90s) because they make so much pavement noise it'll drive you crazy. In addition, more aggressive knobbies have poor wet pavement behaviors, including much longer stopping distances. I think the other end of the spectrum is the 50/50 class; anything south of that is just a road tire with a kool tread pattern. So if you want the off-road part of your dual sport experience to be enjoyable, stay inside that spectrum as you develop your firsthand knowledge of what works. To throw out some brands, personally, I've always thought of the Conti TKC80 (a 40/60) as the gold standard dual sport tire from a broad performance perspective and have used them in many rallies. Unfortunately, they're pricey and the rear doesn't have a good life (IMO)...so they're not exactly the best from an economic perspective. A good 40/60 for tread wear and cost is the Shinko E804-805; a little bit of a step down from the Conti's performance. Of course, I personally don't know what's available in the U.K. but I'll bet the "right" tires are over there someplace.

 

Got the TKC80's and love them. IMHO best all around DS tire. Started with dunlop 605's good road tires and the rear worked well off road but the front would wash easily. Then went to Michelin t63's . Over all good tires off or on but tread faded fast and the sizing runs small. I then tried Kenda trakmasters. Excellent off road but you got to be super careful on road. I was just doing too much road for this tire. Finally went TKC80'S. I will buy these again! On road is predictable and quiet. Off road is no trakmaster but they get the job done.

 

I've had good service from K760 Trakmasters and I've put quite a few road miles on them. Wear doesn't seem to be as big of an issue at least my in experience with them YMMV. I do balance my taars (sorry couldn't resist I live in Texas too) https://www.nomartirechanger.com/Bra...wt-spk12br.htm it makes things a lot smother on the road. There's still a lot of road noise ear plugs take care of that. To be honest the main reason I started using Trakmasters was the price. These things are dirt cheap and work for me on any in surface I care to ride on.

 

Taurs, taars. Now I get it.
Don't be mad - just another limey. 🤓

 

No problem... looked up "green laning" and that's pretty much what I do for the most part. My brother and some friends and I go out and ride back dirt/gravel roads along with trails if we know they are open for riding. Most of the trails that I rode as a mere youth are now gone/closed because they were on private property and some irresponsible riders tore the land up and the owners ended up closing them off.

Back to the round rubber rim protectors - if it's mainly meeting the definition of green laning you should take a look at the Duros, low cost and it seems Heidenau's tread is somewhat similar, although over here the Duros have been around far longer than the Heidenaus and far less costly. If you go to more serious off road, that's D606 territory or full on knobbies. My experience with the Duros goes back to around 1997 with my KLX650. I hit enough pavement I don't want to use even a D606, because I'll be replacing it every couple thousand miles, where a 50/50 tire will wear long enough and do 97% of all the off roading I may encounter. Plus I also know, having ridden trials with the standard trials tires, that even a 50/50 tire can get through anything, just not as easy as a 90/10 or a full on knobby. So I just be a bit selective looking for my path through the mud and the crud, running the 60/40 Duros. On the 250 I run a 90/90-21 (wish they did an 80/100 to try) and a 4.10-18 rear, staying narrower for less rotating weight eating up power and a bit easier to spin up if needed in mud or sand.

If I didn't do so much road I'd do a DOT knobby or a full on off road knobby.

Hope that helps

 

I think the Kenda K760 Trackmaster II is an underrated tire while, in reality, it’s one of the best choices for both (i) the more aggressive end of the dual sport range AND (ii) the more budget conscious of riders. I’ve used them on my KLR650. They will take care of you in about any sloppy condition and for a price of under US$100…for the set!

I just got my KLX250 in early December and had to run the 50/50 Dunlop D605s three days later in a weekend rally in very sandy Ocala National Forest (Wild Bear Safari). I’d never heard of D605s, but at the end of the rally, I thought that they were a pretty decent middle range dual sport tire even in the sandbox. I wanted to move up the ladder though, but I intend to keep the D605s around in case I decide to go down some other route with the bike.

So I replaced the D605s with a set of Michelin AC10s last week and rode another rally in Ocala National Forest (Polar Bear Adventure Ride) this past weekend. I would have got Trackmasters (RMATV US$45 front; US$45 rear), but after reading about the AC10s (RMATV US$80 front; US$79 rear) in the forum and other places, I thought I’d give them a try. The AC10s are right there with the Trackmasters in terms of off-road performance with, perhaps, a slight edge. Of course all the standard pavement issues of the deep knobby tires. They did a great job, but I’ll prolly go to the Trackmasters when I burn ‘em out.

Also, as I reported elsewhere in the forum, I really had a difficult time sizing the AC10s and wound up with two tires that were wider than I wanted.


Polar Bear ONF 2019

 

Lots of good choices from Kenda alone. https://www.kendatire.com/en-us/ Shinkos are popular.
Regarding Kenda, the 270 is a streetable dirt tire. I want to try the Kenda Equinox which is between a Trials and Enduro tire, rear only. I would put the Washougal II or Triple on the front. Trackmaster II is most agressive street legal knobbie for the back and maybe the Parker on the front.

 

Lots of good looking tires in there!

 

Thanks to all for so many options.
I'm wondering if the Michelin or Maxxis Enduros are any good as no-one mentioned them.
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