Sorry for yet another tire thread, BUT, I'm driving myself a little batty trying to cipher out what would be the best tire for a leisurely tour of Baja's east and south on a DR650. I'm not talking about trying to follow the Baja 1000, no serious off road, but want to be able to cruise the paved parts and feel stable and comfortable on the rough and dirty back roads. I have not ridden south of San Felipe, so I don't really know how rough the roads are. If you have been there recently, I would love to hear what worked for you. Thanks.
Good suggestions. The 606's would be perfect on the dirt, but on the pavement (probably half the trip) maybe not so much. As for the TKC 80's, estan muy caro. I'm leaning toward the Kenda K761 as a possible dirt/slab (not too pricey) compromise. Whatcha think?
D606 is a good option Maxxis Desert IT is also killer too, but not as road friendly. If i was doing a dirt only trip I think i'd have a Desert IT on the rear, and a Dunlop 742 up front.
I haven't used it, but have some friends that like the Kenda K784 (their new adventure/dual sport tire). I always use TKC's on my GS. On my Husaberg, I like the D606 on the rear and Pirelli XCMH on the front for dual sport.
My experience is that a 606 is a great Baja tire on a 650. On something smaller, a Kenda Trackmaster was fine. The Maxxis Deserts hold up well and throw rocks extremely well the entire trip. Last year, I did a solo trip, so I stuck with mild dirt and mostly road. I had a set of Sahara 3's on my G650X. They hook up well, but the front tire is very easily punctured and has ZERO sidewall strength when you get a flat. The rear tire is fine, I actually rode that same rear tire through Death Valley 2 weeks ago, going up through Butte Valley to Mengal Pass, down Goler Wash and ended up in Panamint springs. For my trip to Baja next week, I'm going with 606's again. They aren't bad on the road, they work well in the dirt, and they have very good sidewall strength. Planning on doing more offroad and beach riding. Take extra heavy duty tubes, and more front tubes than you think you'll need.
Yeah they're expensive but they work well. Just did a trip on 1200GS's in October to Mike's, Gonzaga, Coco's, then up the Pacific side and Laguna Hanson. We had a good mix of highway and dirt/sand. When we dumped the bikes in the sand it wasn't because of the tires
Shinko 244"s front and rear are about $100 a pair and last a loooong time. Will work perfectly in Baja (was there last weekend) and used them on my KLR and DR 650's
I vote Michelin T 63. It is a good sand tire and nice on the highway too. Plus cheap. Air them up pretty high for the tar, though.
I have a plated Honda xr650r.It likes rear tires and cups front tires if it sees too much pavement.1st set f&r where dunlop 606's.I liked the rear but not the front-I got both down to about %30 and replaced them with pirelli mt21 rear and xcmh front to prep the bike for 2011 LA-B-V dual sport event.I really liked that set ot tires.but either set would not make 1800-2000 miles of baja.The bike gets run on the highway then gets run on single track-no trucking the bike locally.Current set up is pirelli mt 21 front shinko 244 rear.I have about 800 miles on this setup and tires are wearing well.The front tire is not cupped from highway riding and the rear has about %50-%60 left.I think this will be my normal setup.Quiet and smooth on the road but able to handle rocky single track.I have my doubts about mud though.
Having done baja a few times, we always run 606s. Great wear even on pavement. Work well in the sand.
I have ridden my G650X on three Baja trips, averaged about 50/50 on/off road. On the first trip, I burned out a Dunlop 908 and 606 in 3,400 miles; they were toast. Both the 908/606 flattened out, and the 606 wears with flat spots in the cleat pattern so it became very noisy - and then had funny characteristics on pavement. They were a lot of $$$ for one run from Tucson, down the peninsula and back. Frank Zabriski in Tucson recommended that I replace them with Hidenau K60s. I liked these on the road immediately, and they have enough deep rubber to run very well on everything that Baja had to offer; I was riding with dirt bikes with Dunlop and Pirelli knobbies. They're stiff tire with heavy sidewalls, so they're tough (no flats for me, several for the other bikes). I rode another 3,000 mi in Baja and then 3,500 mi up the Great Divide Trail (all off road) and another 1,000 miles on/off in Canada. They wore evenly, front and rear, and still worked well on pavement and were passable off road with almost 7,500 miles on both tires. I've replaced them with another set and headed back to Baja. Best value for a Dual Sport tire in my experience, and work very well on a G650X.
Here's a quote I think is relevant and it a good explanation why when I've going to be riding on dirt, I use tires that are good on dirt, even if there's pavement on the ride. D606's or Motoz Tractionators Desert is my vote. ( the motoz last longer than 606's, but aren't as good on pavement.
