on-road tires for lightweight dualsport

Run a set Woody's-built 19/17 wheels on my 450 when I'm riding on-road, which has been a lot lately. Usually run Distanzias and like them well enough that I wouldn't be asking, but am sinking every penny I've got into GatosBros and my motorhome right now. So what else is out there? Have been looking at the Shinko 705, Kenda Big Block, Heidenau K60, Mitas E07/8. There's lots of info about all of these tires and more out there, but not much about running any of them on smaller, lighter bikes. Not even real particular though. Just need a new set of tires to get me through this winter. Most concerned about price, wear, on-road performance, and price. Anything on sale right now?

Kenda 270's

Not these. My rear is about 1/2 tread at around 600ish miles on a KLR, and the front just feels weird to me. Can't put a finger on it, but it's weird somehow.

anything made by IRC. a bit more than the cheapest tires but better quality

I'm running shinko's on my dr350 and they are surprisingly good. Got 1200 miles on them so far. Rear shows very little wear and the front looks new. Decent wet pavement control as well. As I said before, surprising given the price point.

I was using Kenda 270's on my DR650. Seemed squirrly on pavement. Long lugs. I now have a wr250x and am using Shinko 700's on the 17 inch wheels in the dirt/back roads. They seem much more stable on the pavement than the Kenda 270's. I tried them on a whim, when I couldn't get the Shinko 244's. Not too many choices for s semi knobby 50/50 tire that will fit a 17 inch front wheel! They are also not too spendy. We shall see how they last.

on recommendation put Fullbore USA M40/41's on the Tiger and they are really good. Very similar to Shinko 705, but better compound. Great price, great on road, will do dirt roads, and good wear. >$150 for a set.
If I was going to run mostly road with the Husky those would be it.

I've run K-60's on my 630 and been pretty pleased.
They aren't the cheapest, but a crash will set you back plenty as well.
They aren't stellar in any situation, but are predictable in my experience. They also wear pretty good by my standards.

Shinko 705 all day long. Probably won't run another tire as long as they keep selling those. I don't do much gnarly offroad but I took a 705 from NC to Yellowstone and back assuming the tire would be toast when I got back. It had about 4,500 miles on it when I got home. I've got 6,700 on the tire now and I'll be able to run it for another 1,500 - 2,000 miles. Put 38 lbs in it at the start of the trip and haven't even checked the air since. As much slab as that trip was it's not even really flat spotted in the middle. Was good in the wet, dry, gravel roads, etc. For the price which is usually around $60 per tire there isn't a better choice. I've also run Kenda 761's on my old KLR, they were good to but I think the 705's are a tougher tire. The front will double the rears mileage.

I'm using Avon Roadrunners on my DR650SM and like them a lot, FWIW very popular for vintage bikes and inexpensive...plenty of grip on the road and not bad on dirt roads

Shinko 705s here. They wear great and ride great too (and they are cheap).

Sounds like I ought to give those 705's a try. Price is right, that's for sure. Can't seem to pull-up Shinko's website right now though, and am wondering about dimensions. Specifically, the height and width of the 140/80-17 and the 150/70-17. Would like to run a taller tire (for gearing) and make sure the width won't be an issue. Can anybody help me out?

http://www.motorcyclemaniacstore.com/category/4982/e705-shinko-motorcycle-tires

These folks are super-friendly on the phone, at least in my experience, so if you can't find the particulars online just call and ask. No affiliation, just a happy customer.

Sarah

Don't know about the Shinkos but for the Avons the tire diameter difference for those sizes is only 10 mm, 666mm vs. 656mm so the effective difference in gearing is only about 1.5% higher with the 140/80, percentage difference on the Shinkos would probably be close to that

dunlop - wasn't cheap either but I've had no complaints about handling

At the rate this thing is wearing, I'll probably be buried with this tire. Price per mile has been outstanding

I just saw a set of those at a bike show recently and they are a really nice looking tire. Will try them out when the scorp trails wear out.
BTW, those Trails are really good 95/5 tires, great on road and easy dirt aired down. They can't be bad if they come on a 'strada, right?

I was really impressed with my shinko 244's I had on my last bike. They gripped very well on and off road, very soft rubber. I believe they come in a host of weird sizes, they run slightly small.

Shinko 705 all the way!

I've got 7000+ miles on my set right now, front is barely worn, rear still has some tread, albeit not much in the center. Wear like iron, work good on road in the dry or wet, and on a WR250r aired down they still work off-road.

Not great on wet grass and mud, but all around a great tire for commuting and maintaining some ability for the dirt. For dedicated trail rides, I take the hour to spoon on Kenda Trackmasters.

Cheap too! In fact I will be spooning on a new rear today!

Picked-up a new Shinko 705 for the front and a D607 Trailmax take-off that I'm going to burn-up before buying a new rear tire. Just got it all put back together, so can't really haven't really formed any opinions about these tires yet. The D607 is already kinda blown-out, so don't think I can even really give it a fair shake.

It is the Pirelli Scorpion Trail that comes on the Multistrada, but they do look almost exactly like those Dunlops. I run the Pirelli on my Dorsoduro, and love them on pavement. Off road, they are tough, but no where close to knobby traction.

I tried to find the TKC-80 and the Kenda Big Blocks for my Honda XL600R SM, and they were back ordered everywhere. I ended up with a Dunlop D606 17" rear and Pirelli MT21 18" (rear tire) out front. A bit squirly, but it works.

From my research before the purchase, I'd say the TKC-80 is the best DOT knobby, but the 705 sounds like a bargain for a 50/50 tire.