Tires recommendation - 60/40 road/off

I have done some reading and some thinking (maybe too much). I am thinking to start using 120/90-18 Dunlop 606 for the rear and 90/90S-21 Continental TKC80 for the front. I was thinking to go with 606's for both, but since I am on the road a lot I thought to go with a front tire that is supposedly intended for the road more than off road. I just wanted to get a few opinions on the setup and also I am wondering if anyone knows what the S is for in the TKC80 description? The only thing negative I have heard about the Dunlop's is road noise but I am not concerned about that. For the Continental's I read mixed opinions on how fast they wear down other than that they seem to be good on and off road tire.

That makes sense if you're on the road alot, but remember the front tire is very important as well when it comes to off-road handling/steering. A non-aggressive front tire could get you in alot of trouble off-road if you plan on pushing it at all.

The 606's wear very well; John's right about the front tire. If you do go off road and hit anything more than hard-packed fire roads, you'll be fighting it a lot.

so is there a reason why i would not go with a 606 front (even if I am more on road at this point)? The only reason I am more on road is I am currently living in the north east where access to trails is not very convenient. I am planning to move back down south next year and wanted to test out some new tread in preparation.

S is a speed rating, up to 112 mph. :)

The 606's are fine on pavement. A lot of pavement miles were put on mine.

I will go ahead and get both 606's and see how it works for me .. thanks all for the input

cryptomundo wrote:

so is there a reason why i would not go with a 606 front (even if I am more on road at this point)? The only reason I am more on road is I am currently living in the north east where access to trails is not very convenient. I am planning to move back down south next year and wanted to test out some new tread in preparation.

I ran 606s on front of my XR650L and was displeased with handling in gravel. Wanted to wander and search. On rear, a super tire, maybe best around for rear.

I am still hoping for positive results about the Mita front tire SW is running.

SW is the front Mita better than the 606?

Yes, by far, at least IMO. It's wearing about the same as the 606 front on pavement. The rear sucks balls.

You mean the rear sucks balls in terms of wear on the pavement, not in terms of handling in the dirt, right?

SheWolf wrote:

Yes, by far, at least IMO. It's wearing about the same as the 606 front on pavement. The rear sucks balls.

The kenda 270's & shinko 244's are another decent option.. especially if you're not getting into real gnarly terrain. My philosophy is to have the best tire for the worst conditions, so if you'll be in some rugged off road settings, full knobs are good. But if you'll mostly be on fire roads and lots of pavement, i'd prefer something more streetable.. like the above mentioned tires. They are grippy enough for most gnarly off road sections, but much better on pavement than knobbies.. last longer, too.

good luck with tire selection.. good thing is that after a few miles you'll be getting new tires, so experimenting comes natural.. you can find what works for your riding needs. One man's junk tire is another man's treasure tire...

Mr.Metal wrote:

You mean the rear sucks balls in terms of wear on the pavement, not in terms of handling in the dirt, right?

SheWolf wrote:

Yes, by far, at least IMO. It's wearing about the same as the 606 front on pavement. The rear sucks balls.

Yeah, they wear too fast for my liking. Everything else they are an awesome tire.

I've been super-happy with the Michelin T63's. I've still got tread at 6,000 miles; I'll see just how far I can go on this set.

Sarah

greer wrote:

I've been super-happy with the Michelin T63's. I've still got tread at 6,000 miles; I'll see just how far I can go on this set.

Sarah

6,000 miles! Great! What surfaces do you ride on? And what tire pressure?

I got 7000+ on my 606's. 18 rear, 22 front. Rode close to ½ & ½.

Put this set on at the end of June, right before we left for Newfoundland and Labrador. Mostly highway, some interstate, and somewhere between a thousand and 1,300 miles of dirt/gravel across Labrador. I was thankful for every knob along some of the construction mess on the Trans-Lab. I was loaded heavy so ran right around 29F/36R on the tires. I'm sure they might have felt better with lower pressures in the dirt; but I was afraid to air down due to the rocks and holes we were seeing. I'd heard of a crew of folks in two Suburbans who'd gone thru a few days earlier, they'd had 7 flats along the way.

These are excellent tires for me, low profile so I can still get my toes down.

Sarah

greer wrote:

Put this set on at the end of June, right before we left for Newfoundland and Labrador. Mostly highway, some interstate, and somewhere between a thousand and 1,300 miles of dirt/gravel across Labrador. I was thankful for every knob along some of the construction mess on the Trans-Lab. I was loaded heavy so ran right around 29F/36R on the tires. I'm sure they might have felt better with lower pressures in the dirt; but I was afraid to air down due to the rocks and holes we were seeing. I'd heard of a crew of folks in two Suburbans who'd gone thru a few days earlier, they'd had 7 flats along the way.

These are excellent tires for me, low profile so I can still get my toes down.

Sarah

which set .. 606's?

never mind .. you already posted it .. T63's

Best price I've found so far is at Dennis Kirk, just a bit over $100 for the pair.

Sarah

So, I have been running with 606's front and rear for a while now .. obviously they are not going to perform like a street tire .. Im sure the braking time longer on the 606's .. I can also feel the grooves in the road (scary) .. on some road surfaces they do howl a bit (sometimes they are pretty loud) .. they are a knobby offroad tire .. but I think the list of positives are longer than negatives. anyway, I thought I would try a different front tire and so I purchased a TKC80 from Motorcycle Superstore .. it arrived on my door step and it was indeed a TKC80, but I did not notice it said tubeless until I had my 606 front off and was getting ready to put the TKC80 on my bike .. I went on the net and checked what people were saying around about running a tube in tubeless tires and decided I dont feel comfortable with a tubeless tire on a rim probably not designed for tube and tubeless (even though lots of folks say they run the combo). Front what I understand the only difference is how the tire seals on the rim. I decided to put the 606 back on the bike and call the folks I bought the tire from. That was a nice waste of a weekend hour

greer wrote:

I've been super-happy with the Michelin T63's. I've still got tread at 6,000 miles; I'll see just how far I can go on this set.

Sarah

i've got about 4,000 on my T63s and they're still looking pretty good. Even after a full day at the local Supermoto track.

cryptomundo wrote:

So, I have been running with 606's front and rear for a while now .. obviously they are not going to perform like a street tire .. Im sure the braking time longer on the 606's .. I can also feel the grooves in the road (scary) .. on some road surfaces they do howl a bit (sometimes they are pretty loud) .. they are a knobby offroad tire .. but I think the list of positives are longer than negatives. anyway, I thought I would try a different front tire and so I purchased a TKC80 from Motorcycle Superstore .. it arrived on my door step and it was indeed a TKC80, but I did not notice it said tubeless until I had my 606 front off and was getting ready to put the TKC80 on my bike .. I went on the net and checked what people were saying around about running a tube in tubeless tires and decided I dont feel comfortable with a tubeless tire on a rim probably not designed for tube and tubeless (even though lots of folks say they run the combo). Front what I understand the only difference is how the tire seals on the rim. I decided to put the 606 back on the bike and call the folks I bought the tire from. That was a nice waste of a weekend hour

So, how do the tires (any of them) compare with the stock Bridgestone Trailwings? I've only got about 2000 miles on mine and they are already freaking me out. Nope, no burnouts or skids. Just hard riding on the street and dirt.

BG

If you're up for trying something different, I have Kenda 760s and they are a real nice DOT knobby tire. They're at home on the trails but aren't out of control on the roads either.

Not to highjack this thread.....But while we're on the subject of tires.
Have any of you fine people fitted wider series tires to your bikes as in ...say a 130 rear. Would it even fit.

You may find that you have a collection of barely used tires in the corner. Before you find the ones you like. Heck, I'm looking at doing a X setup before I start modding the engine at all. Just to have something that will really handles on the street. It would be alot cheaper than buying a CBR/FZR/GSXR 600. And ultimate speed aint what I want. I just miss throwing a light,little bike around. I must be missing my old GB500.

We have 130 width D606's on the rear on our R wheel sets. They fit fine.

X wheels on the street are hard to beat!