Greetings, Quick question. My DR 650 has Michelin Anakee's with about 1/2 life. Great on highway, but durn scary in dirt roads and gravel. What is the lowest pressure to run on forest roads to get some bite etc and still have sufficient pressure to ride highway speeds back home? Thanks, Steve
what are you running now? try 15-20 psi and take it easy on the corners on dirt...you know already that those tires are not for dirt! jajaaja
When I ran 80/20 dual sport tires on my XL600, I just used hand pressure to set the tires. For the street, I would air them up to the point that I could no longer deform them with my hands, and for the dirt I set them so I could squeeze them about 1 cm. Real scientific, huh? I'm guessing I was in the 23-25 psi range for dirt, and they still felt safe on pavement (no need to air up before heading home). Have you seen the new Metzler Karroo 3? A bit more aggressive than other DS tires, and might be a good next set for you.
Excellent advice. I got the DR a few weeks ago with these Anakees on it. I have been running 25/21. I'll try a drop in pressure. May just have to rid myself of these tires.
sounds good one of the first things you need to think about hard is what type of terrain you will be riding...from there you can choose your tires and pressures...in the meantime just run a bit lower pressure and play it safe on dirt and switch after there are many good decent dualsport tires out there k270 michelin t63 karoos tkc80 shinkos etc..etc... all with benefits and negatives depending on where, how and how long you ride...
25psi is really high for dirt.. again just depends on what works and what tires those pressures worked for you I like 14psi fornt and back on my xr600 sometimes even go lower like 10-12 outback on my klr I used to run about 20 back and 18 front and I always carry bicycle double action pump to quickly air up for street IF I FEEL LIKE IT! jajajaja
Many years ago I raced Moto-X and was pretty good. So this weekend I took the Dr out for some dirt activity on a fire road...First corner I sailed into with those 'Dual Sport' tires set to highway pressures it was like...Hooooo Boyyyyikessssss I barely salvaged the thing and slunk back home .
whoever hasnt had that happen on a dualsport is lying! that and braking "late" and missing a turn cause the brakes werent enough for the extra heft of the bike to stop in time! did that on my klr quite a few times jajajajajaa
Good tire pressure can vary between riders, terrain, sidewall stiffness, bikes, etc. You really need to experiment to find what works best for YOU, on the terrain YOU ride, with the bike YOU ride, with the tires YOU have. Anything we say will just be a guideline/anecdote. Carry a small pump and a pressure gauge. My tiny mtn bike pump airs up both of my DR650SE tires for the road without an issue. I also have a 12V pump when I'm feeling lazy. I'd swap those tires for something that fits your riding, then sell them to somebody who runs pavement all the time. I like running a cheap long-lasting dualsport tire in the rear (K761), with a cheap dirtier tire up front (Shinko 244 or AMS Sand Snake MX, depending on pavement %age I foresee). The 244 seems to do well enough on anything not soft, and seems to last quite a while. The Sand Snake is squirrely on pavement and wears quicker, understandably, but it grabs in the soft stuff like crazy. Many DOT knobs probably last a bit longer, and may even perform almost as well offroad, but they also tend to cost more than $22. I don't ride it like an SM on pavement (braking, turning, etc.) and I feel that I more than get my money's worth before they're done.
