product endorsement - seafoam 2nd notion

[Bob Monahan]

I am picking up my used but not abused '07 KLR 650 today and it will be needing tires pretty soon. It'll be my first Kawasaki I ever owned since I used to be a Honda and Yamaha guy but this and KLR Net have convinced me that I'd be happier with a KLR 650. I'm 57yrs old and I suspect that 70% of my riding will be on pavement, 25% on sand and dirt roads with almost no rocks or gravel, and 5% will be trail riding in the National Forest near here with mostly sand, very little mud, and some creek crossings. I'm an experienced rider with about a 100K miles under my belt about 25K of which was on "enduro" bikes which are now termed duo sport. I haven't ridden in about 10 years but don't expect any issues other than a fair amount of natural caution at first. I live in NW Florida and will probably ride about 2K-4K miles a year. Anyone have any suggestions as to what the ultimate tires would be for my use? $bob$ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[stevedyer@cox.net]

Bob, My KLR came with very street-oriented tires, and although I ride more on pavement than trails, I made a poor decision in running those tires as long as I did. Even though the tires were like new, it was pointless to so severely restrict the motorcycle's capability for even mild off-roading by not immediately mounting at least some 50/50 tires like MEFOs, TKC80's or even the OEM tires. I think for the general purpose duties of the KLR, you sacrifice far too much ability off-road or even on unpaved roads when running a 70/30 or 80/20 street/trail tire than you give up on the pavement when running a trail-capable tire. Steve A13, with new TKC80s going on this evening. Can't wait. ---- Bob Monahan wrote: Anyone have any suggestions as to what the ultimate tires would be for my use?

[Mike Frey]

Almost everyone has their favorites..... My vote goes for: 1) IRC GP-1 Inexpensive but good. Better than the stock tires, which aren't really as bad as some people say - till you get in mud. GP-1s are better all around, on and off road 2) Kenda K270 - more expensive than the IRC but about the same performance. 3) The stock tires. People pick on them, but they're OK. I have Cheng Shin C858 on one of my KLRs, it has pretty aggressive knobs, rides OK on the street, great off road. Cheap. Actually not bad at all on the road other than it wanders on grooved pavement. Not sure I'll go back to that one again unless I spend more time off road. Whatever tire you choose, run your air pressures in the low 30s for street riding, then air down to low 20s (or less) for off road. Mike Bob Monahan wrote:

> > I am picking up my used but not abused '07 KLR 650 today and it will be > needing tires pretty soon. It'll be my first Kawasaki I ever owned since I > used to be a Honda and Yamaha guy but this and KLR Net have convinced me > that I'd be happier with a KLR 650. > > I'm 57yrs old and I suspect that 70% of my riding will be on pavement, 25% > on sand and dirt roads with almost no rocks or gravel, and 5% will be > trail > riding in the National Forest near here with mostly sand, very little mud, > and some creek crossings. > > I'm an experienced rider with about a 100K miles under my belt about > 25K of > which was on "enduro" bikes which are now termed duo sport. I haven't > ridden > in about 10 years but don't expect any issues other than a fair amount of > natural caution at first. > > I live in NW Florida and will probably ride about 2K-4K miles a year. > > Anyone have any suggestions as to what the ultimate tires would be for my > use? > > $bob$ > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >

[Ronald Criswell]

So when you air down (in the 20's) do you back off the nut where the valve stem / rim is to the air cap as some suggest? Criswell

On Mar 13, 2008, at 2:19 PM, Mike Frey wrote: > Almost everyone has their favorites..... > My vote goes for: > > 1) IRC GP-1 Inexpensive but good. Better than the stock > tires, which aren't really as bad as some people say - till you > get in mud. GP-1s are better all around, on and off road > > 2) Kenda K270 - more expensive than the IRC but about the > same performance. > > 3) The stock tires. People pick on them, but they're OK. > > I have Cheng Shin C858 on one of my KLRs, it has pretty > aggressive knobs, rides OK on the street, great off road. Cheap. > Actually not bad at all on the road other than it wanders on > grooved pavement. Not sure I'll go back to that one again unless > I spend more time off road. > > Whatever tire you choose, run your air pressures in the low > 30s for street riding, then air down to low 20s (or less) for > off road. > > Mike > > Bob Monahan wrote: > > > > I am picking up my used but not abused '07 KLR 650 today and it > will be > > needing tires pretty soon. It'll be my first Kawasaki I ever > owned since I > > used to be a Honda and Yamaha guy but this and KLR Net have > convinced me > > that I'd be happier with a KLR 650. > > > > I'm 57yrs old and I suspect that 70% of my riding will be on > pavement, 25% > > on sand and dirt roads with almost no rocks or gravel, and 5% > will be > > trail > > riding in the National Forest near here with mostly sand, very > little mud, > > and some creek crossings. > > > > I'm an experienced rider with about a 100K miles under my belt about > > 25K of > > which was on "enduro" bikes which are now termed duo sport. I > haven't > > ridden > > in about 10 years but don't expect any issues other than a fair > amount of > > natural caution at first. > > > > I live in NW Florida and will probably ride about 2K-4K miles a > year. > > > > Anyone have any suggestions as to what the ultimate tires would > be for my > > use? > > > > $bob$ > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Mike Frey]

I don't. I normally don't go below 20 psi and I think it's OK to not worry about the tire slipping at those pressures. If I were going to spend time with the pressure in the teens, I'd probably put a rim lock on. Ronald Criswell wrote:

> > So when you air down (in the 20's) do you back off the nut where the > valve stem / rim is to the air cap as some suggest? > > Criswell > >

[kusstj]

I will vouch for the Kenda's being good tires amd fairly cheap. K270 is nice for on road and off. I Have the K760?? Trackmaster II's on a separate set of wheels for quick install. They are DOT but you would not guess it by the looks of them. They are the ultimate tools for the woods. Lotsa fun!! Your post was titles "Ultimate" tires. I guess I don't know what that is, since you describe riding both on and off road, that K270 might be a good bet. Regarding the stock Dunlops, they are fine on the highway, but if you get into any sand, be carefull. I am still picking out the Chunks of sumac from my radiator when I almost bought the farm in a foot of sand. For basic hard pack trails they are fine. Pirelli MT21 are very nice, decent on highway if you don't sportbike the curves, yet very good off road. I would buy these as a step up from the Kendas. there are lots of good tires, but no one tire is best at both highway and off road, they are all a compromise in some respect IMHO. todd

[Mike Frey]

Good post. I only named tires that I have experience with. Although I said in my previous message that I have Cheng Shin C858s and would probably not go back to them, they are still good tires - although the 5.10x17 is a S.O.B. to mount! The C858, aired down, performs almost as well as a full knobby off road, while on road, all you give up is some cornering ability. Dave, this is a good place to read KLR tire reviews: http://www.standoutnet.com/extras/mike/motorcycles/klr650/tires/ kusstj wrote:

> > I will vouch for the Kenda's being good tires amd fairly cheap. K270 > is nice for on road and off. I Have the K760?? Trackmaster II's on > a separate set of wheels for quick install. They are DOT but you > would not guess it by the looks of them. They are the ultimate tools > for the woods. Lotsa fun!! > > Your post was titles "Ultimate" tires. I guess I don't know what > that is, since you describe riding both on and off road, that K270 > might be a good bet. > > Regarding the stock Dunlops, they are fine on the highway, but if > you get into any sand, be carefull. I am still picking out the Chunks > of sumac from my radiator when I almost bought the farm in a foot of > sand. For basic hard pack trails they are fine. > > Pirelli MT21 are very nice, decent on highway if you don't sportbike > the curves, yet very good off road. I would buy these as a step up > from the Kendas. > > there are lots of good tires, but no one tire is best at both > highway and off road, they are all a compromise in some respect > IMHO. todd > >

[Tumu Rock]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Bob Monahan" wrote:

> > I am picking up my used but not abused '07 KLR 650 today and it will

be needing tires pretty soon. It'll be my first Kawasaki I ever owned since I used to be a Honda and Yamaha guy but this and KLR Net have convinced me that I'd be happier with a KLR 650.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Welcome to the asylum!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > I'm 57yrs old and I suspect that 70% of my riding will be on

pavement, 25% on sand and dirt roads with almost no rocks or gravel, and 5% will be trail riding in the National Forest near here with mostly sand, very little mud, and some creek crossings.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Really depends where you want to make the sacrifice on handling. I have a fair amount of experience with the KLR in deep sand (Pine Barrens in S. NJ). I always traded my street capability for offroad ability because I like to ride more aggressively offroad and more conservatively on road. I found that a Kenda K760 Trakmaster II Rear combined with Dunlop D606 front handled the sand better than anything else I'd tried (Kenda K270 f/r, Pirelli MT21 f/r, D606 f/r, K760 f/r, MT21 front with a K760 rear, D606 front with a TKC 80 rear). The rear does not have great traction on the road but it is very predictable and actually fun once you get used to it. The 606 front holds pavement incredibly well for such an aggressive knobby. I never had a problem leaning the bike over on the pavement (but of course there are limitations). Some people like the 270 front for float in the sand, but I found the 606 to track better. The Pirelli MT 21s handle a little bit better than the 606 on the pavement but not quite as good in the deep stuff. That said, you might want to try the K760 rear with an MT21 front. Either way, for the rear, nothing beats the K760 in the sand. The wide 3-knob center knob is practically a paddle. da Vermonster Haven't tried any of the new Excella DOT knobbies, but I'm thinking about it... Dunlop also has a few new offerings including the 908RR if you want to spend the big bucks (I think the rears are upwards of $150)

[Tumu Rock]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Ronald Criswell wrote:

> > So when you air down (in the 20's) do you back off the nut where the > valve stem / rim is to the air cap as some suggest? > > Criswell > On Mar 13, 2008, at 2:19 PM, Mike Frey wrote: >

I do. I also air down to the teens off road. NEver had a problem with a tire slipping on the KLR. The KTM on the other hand, likes to do that. da Vermonster

[Mike Frey]

What tires did you use for your cross country trip? I'm still waiting to hear about what you WORE during that trip! Tumu Rock wrote:

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