Only have about 1900 miles on my 990 baja adventure and ride 50% plus dirt (home to baja and big bear area) Im shiping my bike to a Buddys house in Washington state and doing a trip into Canada and Alaska then back to Ca. So im thinking 2500 miles 90% street, Been running dunlop 606 ft and 908 rear , i like this set up should i just run some new Dunlops or ?????
Heidenau k60 with side lug - front, k60 custom grooved rear. (150) No need to have knobies when doing 90 road. Plus these tires will get you anywhere you want to go.
Everybody has different preferences. I like the Mefo's front ( I run the front tire reverse direction ) and rear
I like the Mefo's for your ride too. Not very good in mud however. Been across Nevada on dirt and did well but missed the knowbbies on front when dirt was sand. Hey Qwik, why run the Mefo front in reverse direction?
Mitas Tires work very well . They have an extensive range of tires for the adventure rider. From 50/50 to all out DOT Knobs . Try www.durelleracing.com They are very good with answering all of your questions. Besides selling tires and being one of the nations best suspension companies. Davey Durelle is a former AMA Grand National Dirttrack racer as well as a multiple Pikes Peak hillclimb winner. So the advice you get is from a guy that uses his products . Not a kid at a parts counter who just wants toi get back to his Facebook page...
Their prices are a lot better than the group that was taking calls and calling you back when they got tires in. They wanted $250? For a rear Mitas!!
My combination for everything now is a Mefo Super Explorer on the rear, and a Pirelli Rally front. The Rally holds up well enough on the road, and it's pretty cheap. If I were to run a lot of road miles on the Rally, I'd just carry a spare. The Mefo uses a fairly hard compound that is slightly slick in the rain but otherwise perfect for my needs.
Yeah, this ^^^^^. Except if I was going scratching with a bunch of sportbikes I'd go to a TKC80 at a minimum in the front-or just ride my VFR... The rally gets a little squishy if you're really working it leaned over but I just don't find myself going that fast on the street with this bike any more. It's cheaper to haul ass on the dirt... SA
im running the Pirelli rally front (not the mt 21) and Dunlop 908rr rear. I just put the rally on the front and its awesome, my Dunlop rr rear has over 4000 miles on it and it still have over a 1/4 tread on the tires with plenty good for trails and etc. most of the miles on my 908 have been street. so far this tire is wearing like iron. the front has a 1000 miles on the scorpion rally and it doesn't even show any signs of wear yet. no issues in the rain, sand, or mud except for wet roots but who doesn't have problems with wet roots and logs? I have also put the tires through hell in the twisties and ran them all the way to the edge of the tires and they held the road awesome! the 908rr rear did start to get kinda mushy after some hard abuse but that was about 60 miles of twisties. for the people that say 4000mi isn't crap for tire life, ill have to say it is for knobbies! ill probably get at least 4500 or 5000 out of the Dunlop 908rear before I put another one on.
Tires is like an oil thread, very personal choice. I would advocate the K60's simply off my experience. I've riden from Atlanta to AK twice, both times with K60s and both times done over 10K miles without a need to change tires, they simply didn't wear out. I rode the Dalton to Deadhorse, Campbell and about 2,000 more off road miles (Oregan, Idaho, Colorado, etc...) along the trip. The K60 worked like a charm. Did it whine a bit on the front? sure...but I wear earplugs so could hardly hear it. Tire handled great in Wet, Mud, etc...(within reason) and the longevity of the tire is unmatched. Never dropped the bike or felt out of control, even in the slippery s*%t on the Dalton and Campbell. Reminder: Thank you AK Rider and Adventure Cycle Works for turning me on the the K60. Riding buddy used Conti Trail Attacks, and we were stuck on the Alcan (Watson Lake) looking for tires since his one was through to the threads. Spooned on a pair of old TKC80s to get him to Whitehorse. I've used the 606 and 908 combo on my 990, loved it...but I think you'd shred the 908 before you got back. I'm not sure I'd even customize the K60 150...I like the smooth ride on the pavement. That said, the MITAS E07 looks like a winner too. K60 for me. Just my .2c
Lenny also wants to know what kind of oil to use and what is the "best" gear to wear You can thank me later Lenny
Shop that installed the first one put it on backwards. When I swapped it around on the next one I swear it felt less planted. I've been running em reversed ever since.