D606 Front sucks bad.

Bought a set of Dunlop D606s to replace the original Bridgestones. I like the rear well enough. Hooks up OK and really helps eliminate most of the chatter on washboards and rough climbs.

The front on the other hand just plain sucks. I've never had a tire that wanted to wash out so quickly on gravel or loose surfaces. On hardpack or good dirt it does fine. But hit some hardpack with gravel on top or volcanic graveled trails or roads and its just scary. It's like riding on a razors edge....it steps out FAST. The wore out Bridgestone I just pulled off had better grip on these surfaces.

I'm running around 15 PSI in front btw. Experienced off-roader, etc, etc.

Just thought I'd throw up my opinion in case anyone is researching tires. If you Google the right words (D606 front washout, D606 front sucks) you can find others with the same opinion. Wish I'd researched a little harder before buying.

I fully disagree, I have ran many different tires on my bike and the D606 is hands down the best for most conditions. Any tire sucks on hard pack with loose gravel on top. I run mine at 20psi, never had any complaints. You can google anything sucks and find some "experts" opinion, but that does not mean that they know what the hell they are talking about. Take this with a grain of salt because I'll be the first keyboard "expert" to admit that I'm no expert. You will never find a dual sport tire that is perfect for all situations.

Wristpin......I would gladly remount my worn out stock front Trailwing if I hadn't given it away to a friend for his beater bike. I think the front Trailwing is superior on loose surfaces.....even a worn out Trailwing. But I'm glad you like the D606, that's what's good about having choices.

I've come to the realization that I'm as close to an expert as I'm going to find when it comes to what I like. I've given up on other peoples "reviews".

I'd have to agree with you re: d606's
I ride a lot of sand, sand & dust and a little hard pack.
The rear is really good once aired down, but the front plows like crazy, even when run at real low pressure, i've had it down to ~8 psi.
I really struggle to get the front to sit in a rut, always climbs out or plows a trench!
I'm going to try something more aggressive once this tyre wears out.

I bought a set of D606's for a DRZ400 I had. Loved the rear and still thinks it's the best DOT aggressive DS tire on the market.

The front....NEVER AGAIN! It even had a weird wear pattern...lots of cupping from too much road use I guess.

I, personally, put more stock in customer reviews than "expert opinions".

I think the 606 front sucks too...only problem is my riding skills suck as well...anywho, feels good to blame the tire...and I really do think it sucks for tuff trail ridin.

...on the topic, my 606's outlasted my buddy's stock TW's, and I probably had a few extra tarmac miles.
His were toast...I'm still riding mine.

My main problem with the front D606 is the weird wear pattern along with how quickly it wore. I thought it handled great on and off road, typically ran it at 16-17psi and found it to be very pressure sensitive.

I ran as low as 16 when it was new, lookin for better traction...didnt help me much.
Then I heard shewolf ran them quite higher...in the 20's.
I started playing with the 20's, and seemed a lil better to me, all round.
Plus over 5K km, and kickin...hard to complain about the value....but I'm a complainer...heh.

So, what would be a good front tire to go with a rear 606?

I found it a little drifty on loose gravel........and thats it on road it stuck well i have even done Motard track days on them and MT21's

i love the AC-10 front as its like the D606 without the diftyness on gravel

theMISSIONARY wrote:

I found it a little drifty on loose gravel........and thats it on road it stuck well i have even done Motard track days on them and MT21's

i love the AC-10 front as its like the D606 without the diftyness on gravel

Hey theMISSIONARY,

Is that your first AC10? If not what kind of life do you expect out of it and what pressure do you run on and off hard surface?

pfy50 wrote:

theMISSIONARY wrote:

I found it a little drifty on loose gravel........and thats it on road it stuck well i have even done Motard track days on them and MT21's

i love the AC-10 front as its like the D606 without the diftyness on gravel

Hey theMISSIONARY,

Is that your first AC10? If not what kind of life do you expect out of it and what pressure do you run on and off hard surface?

second one on the WR one on my late DR650

in both cases pressure's ran 10PSI-22psi, i did 5000km with the pressure kept at 24PSI to see if they all had odd wear patterns and they all do wear odd

KM's never less than 12000km all changed before 16000km

Blackdog wrote:

So, what would be a good front tire to go with a rear 606?

I'd do a Pirelli MT21 90/90-21. I've had D606s. Matter of fact I still have them...on the shelf and for sale...
The MT21's work much better overall.
Also, what size D606 rear did you get? If it's a 120 it's too tall. A 110 would be better.

I have a 110 MT21 on the rear. Bike handles so much better.
I run about 12psi front and 15psi rear offroad.

I think the biggest handling problems people have here are coming from spooning on to tall of a rear.
Ask me how I know...

The smallest rear 606 you can get is a 120, which is too big for this bike and the front 606 sucks compared to mt21s, ac10s and pirelli rallys, thats why I dont reccomend 606s for this bike.
Some people love 606s tho, I seen the same thing on the KLR forums, people run stock tires then switch to 606s which are better than stock, dont ever try anything else then tell others 606s are the best tires to run lol.

Zero complaints in varied offroad handling w/Front D606 on the KLR650 but....

Got to agree that there's got to be something better out there for the WRR.

Rear D606 hooks up Great....but felt alot more confident with the stock front in sand/clay/allaround. -Scott

I put on a set of D606s on my WRR and, while I like them, I feel that there must be something better out there. I've previously tasted the traction of a Trackmasters 2 so I know there is more to be had than the D606 can give. Next up, I might try MT21s or AC10s. Something that comes in the stock WRR size, not bigger.

Folks, I am going to second the motion here...the front D606 does suck. I had the trailwings and believe it or not was using it in the desert (first offroad ride a few years ago) - survived...upgraded to D606 front and back, good enough, but the front did not feel much better and was plowing sideways in any loose stuff, no confidence on gravel roads at all, and down right scarey in any mud or wet grass. I had comments from other riders that I lacked confidence going down hills especially.

Upgraded to the Pirelli Scorpion XC MH (that's the medium hard).......




Whooo weeee, have tried at a motocross track of all places and holy smokes how much fun it is to trust your front end! Also tried it on the rocky/single track enduro loop, and no issues at all, no flats and my boss dented his rim with motocross tyres so I think the DOT carcass helps avoid pinch flats. I had it at 13 PSI. Don't know about sand and gravel but over the next few weeks have those rides scheduled

Guys, I gotta say if you play in the dirt, get something aggressive like the other tires mentioned in this thread....it's worth it and just didn't feel the front D606 was much of an improvement.