CDR tires for 950 Adventure

Planing to do the CDR this summer in July and August.
Anyone have suggestions for what kind of tires would be best?
I plan to send a pair to my dad's house near Silver City and mount them there before I hit the dirt.
They should last through the trip with multiple side trips out.
Mostly dirt, but a little pavement when needed.
I don't mind shipping or buying another set to get me home from Montana.
Anyone know of a good shop where I could do that?
I've had really good luck with the Mefo Super Explorers. Getting over 10k from a set and that would be my first choice, but would love to hear some other options.

Thanks!

Dunlop 908 rear and Michelin T63 front. Unless you really spin the rear you should be able to ride them both home.

...agree... maybe a Scorpion Rally front instead of the T63 (my fav. front tire, & it's worth 4K + miles if you don't brake too hard on pavement with it).

You'll be much happier with knobbies on the trip than 50/50 tires, IMO. They are noisier on the road and don't last as long but you are taking an off-road trip that happens to have some road time.

After 3 - 4K miles, you're asking a decent amount of them, depending on your right wrist riding style... a price I feel is worth paying for the dirt performance.

I did the CDR in 2012 on my 990. Ran a 908 rear and MT21 front. When it got wet in New Mexico I was real happy with my tire choices.

I rode the north half of the CDR twice last summer and the southern half once. I started with a new Heidenhau Super Explorer on the back and new TCK on the front of my 950. I wore out the TCK and replaced it with another one, wore it out and replaced the second one with the T63. Meanwhile the SEx is just spinning round and round. 7000+ miles and the SEx is ready to come off though it still has some street miles left.
My experience..... the SEx did fine unless it was very hard pack or any kind of mud. At 25 psi it handled the rocks.of the sourhern passes and extended highway running fine. Tho i should have aired it back for the highway. The TKC are fair but don't wear or work in soft ground/ mud as well as the T63. Whether it was the soft sidewall of the TKC or just the soft front KTM rim I stopped twice at tire shops and beat my rim straight with a rubber tire mallet.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks everyone.
I'll start doing some research on the 908 and the T63.

Cheers!

The Motoz desert tractionator is another serious dirt option. They howl on the road but last really well on my SE which sees quite a bit of Baja and not much road. 2k miles and still 30% left on the rear and the front is doing even better. Holds up well to spinning the tire in the rocks. Very stiff sidewalls so pinch flats are not an issue. The biggest tire size is not spec'ed for your wide rear rim but have seen this tire on a 990 in Baja with no problems - and he was on his second set. I'm paying $200 for a front and rear set at my local shop so they are a good deal.

I would run the Mefo on the rear if I rode more pavement. I will never run the super soft sidewall TKC again.

Arfy, what are you running on the front?
And how's the foot?

I swapped out the old Mefos on my 950 on Sunday with hand tools.
I sincerely hope I never have to do that on the trail.
What a PITA!
At least I know I can now.

really? I thought the Mefos were some of the easiest tires to spoon on that I've ever had, or maybe it's because of the wider rims. At least, they're a dream compared to any tire I've had on any other bike.

Hey what kind of fuel range does one need for the CDR?

I'll go back and check my notes to give you a number.

Running two one gallon rotopax, I used up all my fuel in New Mexico.



Since the trip I've changed my luggage to Kriega gear. Much more useful for my riding. But the fuel cans stay mounted.

We had to stop at this little unmanned fuel station. If it wasn't there I would've been pushing it.



Rage, I'm out in Antioch if you need help getting ready for your trip.

Front and rear are Tractionators - still loving them - 1900 miles on the rear so far and more to go - a new record.

Cast off on 12/20 and did 3 day Baja on the 27th - might have been a little too soon.

I ran a Pirelli Rally front. Great tire, and cheap to boot! It holds up well on the tarmac. The Rally rear is good but too loud.

There are enough gas stations on the Colorado BDR that you don't need extra gas on a 950/990 - assuming you're getting normal mileage. I think the closest I got was while doing the easy route north of Ouray. My low fuel light came on as I hit Lake City.

Thanks DeepSea. I'll probably take you up on that. I do love planing .
I'll buy you a beer if I can pick your brain while we look over maps.

Instead of the rotopax option I'm thinking of one of Rades tanks.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23381854&postcount=248

Current exchange rate is the only thing stopping me.
That and loosing my tool storage which would suck, but I could solve that with a dog house as soon as CJ has one ready for the 950s.

http://www.rottweilerperformance.com/thedoghouse.html

I do love farkles!

Anytime man. Just PM and we can get together.

My schedule is pretty open most of this month. After that things start picking up.

Work tends to get in the way of all my fun.

I've tried to collect all the tire information from this thread, and several others, into one page on my website. It's nothing fancy (mostly for my own use), and all personal opinions (etc etc.), but it may help others looking for a 50/50 rear and a more aggressive front. I'll add to it and tweak it as I read more reviews and try more tires myself.

Here

Hope it helps someone.

I don't think you have the right picture for the Pirelli Rally Scorpion front. Here is a shot of it:

http://www.motosport.com/dirtbike/p...g&matchtype=&gclid=COz6v_jP-bwCFQ5gMgodwFkAsA

Thanks Mike!
Good info.

Fixed. Thanks. Looks like I had the Pirelli Scorpion Pro in there.