Once again I turn to you studly adventures for advice. How does the T63 compare to the D606 and MT21 as far a wear and performance? I need a new rear tire for the WR250R. I like the 606 (120/90X18) but I don't want to deal with the height as I'm at my limit now. The T63 comes in my size (120/80X18) and looks to be aggressive enough. I heard the MT21 wears fast so I'm ready to cross that one off my list. Thanks
Wear rate from worst to best. MT 21, T 63, 606. The thing is, for me the 606's aren't worth it since I only get a couple hundred more miles out of a 606 then I do out of the T 63, but the T 63 is $20-$25 cheaper. Performance the MT21 is the best, the 606 and T63 are the same.
I run IRC TR8s on my 525 even though I'm on the street a lot. 500 miles and they look like I might get another 500 or so out of them. I was looking at the same tires as you, but settled on these because the knobs are pretty close and offer good performance on road and are still awesome in the dirt. Since running these tires, I would probably go back to a d606 on the rear for more life.
If you do more Off Road the 606 is hard to beat simply works of road and prety good on Road as well. They are what my DR 650 prefferes , on a 250 they will last a long time.
I have been through dozens of MT21's and can't argue with this. I get frustrated with how fast they wear on my 640. Not so much on my old XT350. They lasted a couple of thousand miles on it. But everytime I try something else I always go back to the MT21 for the next one. For the size tire that 250 runs have you considered a Michelin AC10? Pretty sure those come in 110 and 120 x18. It is probably more aggressive than an MT21 but still does OK on the street. They have held up well on my MXC200.
I just spooned a TR8 on my 690. How do you like the tire aside from the wear? 1K miles is all I ever got out of 606's on my DR, if I get that out of this tire on the 690 I'll be happy. I get about 600 out of T63's but haven't run the dirt wheels on the bike in a while.
Since i tried the T63, i stick with them. Despite their profile, surprisingly good on (dry) road and more than decent on dirt when deflated down to 10 psi L
I'd try the WR250R thread here in Thumpers, since everyone there has experience with this bike. Also the WR250 forum. I have MT-21 front on mine and like it a lot. I have a new T-63 ready to mount when Spring comes. I didn't like D606s on a DR350 on the road, OK off-road, and haven't tried one since. Lots of folks like the rear but not the front. Some like both.
So far it's done everything I've asked of it. Pretty predictable on the road, even in the rain. The only incident involved some icy asphalt, but even then the tire did what I expected. I run about 22 psi for everything which has made the rear wear pretty square. It hooks up well off road in my experience. I've had it on trails, gravel roads, clay, loam, sand, and mud. A little loose in the mud. The front drives really hard in the sand, but it can also hold good speed through corners without washing (on all surfaces so far). Ten times the tire my last set of Bridgestone trail wings were.
I have run pairs of 606's two times on my 600, also K270's twice, t63's twice and an MT21 front one time. The MT21 was the fastest wearing by far and seemed to take off every other set of knobs as it wore. The others wore out at about the same rate, 3500-4500 miles. I do not like the 606 front, but good on the rear. The K270's seemed to have too much wiggle on the road. The T63's were the roundest and best feeling of all on the slab, and worked good on dirt too. Lately I have tried Shinko 700's. The rear lacks traction on dirt, but feels good on the street. The 700 front is by far my most favorite front tire yet. feels great in the dirt and gravel roads and so far has worn 4000 miles and is not yet half gone. Replaced rear with Shinko 244 to get better (hopefully) dirt traction, and turned the front 700 around the other direction to wear evenly. I generally rotate the front that way, half way through. The 606 was too directional to do that though, main reason I don't like them on front.
I've been running Shinko 244's on my DR and this is the first tire I ever got 2500 miles on a rear knobbie :eek1 Only thing, stay far far away from mud. They absolutely suck on it! The damn front tire looks like it's gonna go 7K mile which sux, I want to get rid of it and put on a IRC VE 33.
im in the same boat,i want to put my new tires on but my front shinko has close to 7,000 miles and still looks like new!
Good to hear that the 244's wear a long time on the rear, will have to be careful about mud though it sounds. Are you running the 244 on the front? Why is it such a hateful tire? When I first researched Shinko, I opted for the 700 series partly due to research and partly due to the fact that I didn't trust a tire that was so cheap as the 244. As I stated the rear didn't seem to have the traction on dirt and gravel, but the front was miraculous for gravel road stability. I had just gotten used to the mild headshake on gravel over the years and figured it was just the way it was, not harmful but irritating. I tried the Kinda 270's at the recommend of a friend who claimed to have that problem on a KLR which was cured by that tire. In my case the 700 is the cure for that on my machine. The front feels much more stable and planted with it on my gravel road wanderings. ( I haven't had the opportunity to test it in the mud yet) It seems good on the street too, not upsetting my confidence in the twisties.
i find the 244 rear lasts longer and works better than the 700 rear. i match a 244 rear with an IRC TR8 front for 50/50 dual-sport use.
I run K270 rears, IRC TR8 fronts, AMS Sand Snake MX non-DOT front knobs, and T63 rears. A TR8 front and T63 rear is a combo that will take you all over, pavement or dirt, for cheap. Swap the T63 rear to a K270 rear if you want max mileage vs better mud/sand propulsion and less squirm. Many people don't like the squirm of the K270 when leaned on pavement. I don't even notice the squirm when running just a rear, and the K270 gets me around pretty well in the sand and mud, for what it is.
Obviously, it all depends on how you use the bike. I'm not a particularly aggressive rider and managed to get 3900mi on my 690ER out of an MT21 rear. I'm thinkin' probably 40% dirt - forest roads/two track. I spooned on a 908 I had with some life left that spent most of its time on my SE. The paired MT21 front is now sitting at ~4400mi. I'm guessing it'll run another 600mi before it's shot and the salvaged 908, too. It's probably obvious that I run my tires all the way down, but that's yet to be a problem. I know it's expensive, but I have to say I prefer the 908 (Rear) over the MT21. I've run the 908/606 (R/F) on my SE pretty much since the beginning and have gotten 3500mi/4500mi (R/F). The 908 I've now got on my 690 really works well, even though it's getting a bit thin. It's a great tire for the lighter bike. A bit off topic, but I did make the mistake of putting a set Heidi Scouts on the SE. I found them to be fine for the road, but pretty miserable almost everywhere else, especially the front. I'm sure a more capable rider would have a better time, but that ain't me. I didn't even get the great mileage I was supposed to get. If memory serves, it was just under 4K for the set. I've never run the T63, but the Mitas E07 or E09 might be something to throw into the mix. I've read good things about them. No personal experience, though. Kind of rambling, sorry. My take is that the MT21 and the 606 are comparable tires for my riding and the difference in life is not significant. The MT21 is noisier on the highway. The price difference has been negligible.
I'm the OP, I ended up going with the T63's. My riding is 60% dirt and they worked just fine. The knobs are spaced far apart and I thought they'd be noisy and vibrate some but they were smooth and quite. I wish I had the milage numbers with me but I don't. I'm guessing I'll have about 4,000 on them when they get replaced. Good tire, no complaints. My next set will be the Pirelli MT43's. I heard great things about them and mounted a set on my Beta trials bike just to try them out. So far I'm pleased with them and I can see no reason not to put them on the WR.
Wear isnt a concern for me, only traction. I prefer the 606s, but like the t63 if im doing a bit more pavement. Mt21s are ok but not as good offroad as the 606 and not as good on road as the t63. These are the only three tires i would consider, though everyone has different wants and needs 2 cents Dave
You don't want to use MT 43s for Adventure travel with any kind of luggage load, they will come apart due to the soft sidewall... I have even seen them suffer a failure on a lightly loaded bike traveling on a smooth hwy, the heat build up along with the soft carcass killed them.. There a great tire if your running light and doing lots trail and slower riding...
