DR650SE Index Topic #6- TIRES, TUBES & WHEELS

[Boondoggle]

Just switching to a set of MEFO explorers for the first time, and I don't feel good about the way it's seated.

The tire is at about this depth all the way around:



It just doesn't look right to me.

I've done the air down/break it/lubricate/air up/air WAY up routine several times, and so far this is it.

I had to put the wheel back on to move the bike, so I did the "make a wish" test, and rode it half a mile or so (sloooooowly) and it doesn't feel out of round or anything, didn't shift visibly.

Is this just what they are supposed to look like?

Thanks,

Lance

[ER70S-2]

There is a rubber line directly above the word MEFO in your pic. Measure the distance from the rim to that line at different points around the wheel, it should be the same.

A tire I recently mounted took well over 60 pounds of air and bouncing on the floor like I was trying to bend the rim. This was after the soap, over inflate, deflate, soap, over inflate, etc.

Other tires have a line right at the rim.

[Kommando]

I'm at a little over 5K miles now on a rear Kenda K761. The half-depth center grooves are now about gone, but I'm going to re-groove them to the depth of the other grooves to regain some traction, as there is a LOT of rubber left on this tire. This may get me another 3K miles or so. 8K+ miles out of a REAR dualsport tire that works decently for $60-70US is a pretty good deal, IMO. I may even open up the tread on the side, for better offroad traction, even though this tire has done pretty well for my usage...about 75%+ of 45MPH+ pavement with about 10% of severe sugarsand and other, less severe, offroad usage. The other pavement usage is on slower roads around town. Considering that the tire was $60-something US and I've already gotten 5K+ miles out of it, a lot of which was 2up with luggage, experimenting with re-grooving isn't going to break the bank. If it works well, when this one fully wears out I'll buy another rear K761 and groove it full-depth like this from new.

This tire has been pretty predictable, even if not providing ultimate grip offroad of a knobby or pavement grip of a sportbike tire. I wanted an inexpensive tire that would get me where I want to go, safely and inexpensively. This tire has delivered. Even riding wet grass, roots, pine needles, crushed rock, gravel, clay, sandy loam, light mud, and sugarsand, this tire could still propel the big DR anywhere I wanted to go. On pavement, it was stable at anything close to a legal speed. I don't balance, run rimlocks, or practice voodoo. I check my pressure about weekly...25fr & 28rr onroad. I plan to try running slight softer.

For some reason, the FRONT K761 is not as well-liked, but I haven't tried one. I currently run a silly-aggressive AMS Sand Snake MX knobby up front that makes a D606 look like a touring tire. I don't think it will last long, and it's so-so on pavement, so I'm probably going with an MT21, or similar, up front next. I like the steering ability and straight-line stability of aggressive pizza-cutter knobs in the sugarsand here, but I'd like to get 8-10K miles with decent pavement manners for $60 or less/tire.

[Kommando]

Here's that K761 I mentioned before. First, a silent film...



and...



I used a #4 head and blade that came with the grooving iron. The original side-to-side grooves in this tire were a bit wider than the #4, but I think the vertical grooves were about the size of the #4 or slightly narrower. I'm ordering a skinnier head and blade to cut narrower grooves, and several wider head and blade sets to cut bigger grooves on the next K761 when I first get it. By keeping the center grooves narrow but just making them full-depth, then adding WIDE grooves to the off-center blocks, and leaving the outside 1/3 of the very outside blocks solid rubber, I can have a $60-something rear tire that lasts 8-10K miles, does well on wet or dry pavement with decent cornering stability, and has some decent thrust and lateral stability offroad in sand and mud when I air it down.

[acesandeights]

I had purchased Michelin T63 front/rear tires not long after getting my DR but they were stolen before I mounted them. That left me running the stock tires for 3500 miles or so. I'm ready to buy tires again and the T63 are on inter-galactic backorder I guess. I was considering the Pirelli MT21 but the weight rating is considerably less than the T63. The DR being relatively heavy anyway, I'm wondering what the bias is if anyone knows (don't have a scale available right now) and whether the relatively low weight rating of the Pirelli will amount to much. Will it be an issue of wear and heat, or will it be a safety issue? I'm not concerned if there is close to a 50/50 split in weight bias front to rear on a DR650, but if the rear of the bike accounts for a significant portion of the weight I'll be close to max weight rating.

Hope that makes sense, and if anyone runs MT21 front and rear, what do you think of them?

Thanks.

[BergDonk]

MT21 are fine on the front in my experience, but I do prefer the Scorpion Rally, less cupping, and more stability in the soft stuff. The MT21s are non directional and will cup, and need turning at least once to optimise wear, preferably a couple of times. I haven't tried an MT21 rear yet.

Steve

[greener556]

Does anyone know if a 140 tire too wide for a stock rear DR650 rim??

[acesandeights]

Thanks!

[NordieBoy]

The weight rating doesn't mean much at all.

The MT21 is sweet on the front.
Grit covered hardpack and there'll be no traction in the rear. The compound is too hard.

If you like rear wheel steering however, it'll be fine.

[acesandeights]

I do like rear wheel steering, thanks! Actually, I've found the DR to be a bit heavy to be thrown around quite like a dirt bike, but I guess I'm giving the MT21 front/rear a try.

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by acesandeights

I do like rear wheel steering, thanks! Actually, I've found the DR to be a bit heavy to be thrown around quite like a dirt bike, but I guess I'm giving the MT21 front/rear a try.

The good thing there is, you'll wear out a few rears before the front is toast.
I rotate the front once it gets noticeable wear on the back of the knobs.
Maybe 3-4 times over its life.

[Pr0xy]

Has anyone run the Kenda 784 Big Block on the rear?

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/k...FcHsKgod4S4A9A

I'm coming off of 606's for now and trying to find slightly more street-worthy tires, though they will still need to be dirt-capable.

What about the front?

I have quite a bit of off-road experience and will be doing a 1600-ish miler dual sport through CO and WY next month.

What say ye? There are just so many options my head is spinning.

[dogjaw]

I replaced my 700 rear with a 705, was concerned how the bike would respond on dirt, turns out I shouldn't have worried; ran 300 miles of dirt, slab, gravel and single track, rode just as fast as I ever have, I think they'll do just fine.

[dogjaw]

Btw; has anyone tried running a 19" front? Been thinking about it to get a SM feel without giving up the dirt...

[vnsfxr]

Originally Posted by Pr0xy

Has anyone run the Kenda 784 Big Block on the rear?

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/k...FcHsKgod4S4A9A

I'm coming off of 606's for now and trying to find slightly more street-worthy tires, though they will still need to be dirt-capable.

What about the front?

I have quite a bit of off-road experience and will be doing a 1600-ish miler dual sport through CO and WY next month.

What say ye? There are just so many options my head is spinning.

I just changed out the KBBs for MT-21s. I got 1300 miles on the rear before change. It was not bald but close with 2mm of tread left. They worked excellent on hard pack and small loose sufaces. Probably could have got more miles by not steering with the rear so much but I got my DR for fun and it does flat track great on the right surfaces leaving big smiles.

I would classify the Kenda Big Blocks as a true 50/50 tire. You can drag your feet on the street while still maintaining a moderate pace off the pavement. You start to push the speed though and the front will wash out in deeper gravel. For the dirt I ride I need more space between the knobs thus the change to Pirelli MT-21s.

Compared to the D606 you will feel like you are on rails (with the right psi) while on pavement. Not as inspiring on the dirt but you say you are experienced so you will be used to the bike moving under you. They will get you through moderate but not deep mud.