I just purchased the KLX and I'm looking at the D605 stock tires and wondering how well they work off road compared to say my two favorites, the D606 and the Kenda K270 for rear tires?

They appear spaced wider than the K270 so they may actually be a bit better in mild mud. They look not near as aggressive as my love.... the D606.. So maybe you can get more than 1500 miles out of them?

The bike I just purchased has 1700 miles on it and the rear tire is just about shot. I got it inspected today and the guy at the shop measured them and told me I was getting real close to illegal on tread depth.

I just ordered a Trackmaster II for the early/wet part of spring (Western PA, rain and mud is in our blood) but those tires on my KLR only make about 800-1000 miles, so they are short lived.

Tell me what your experiance is off road with the OEM D605 please and if you can, compare it to the Kenda.

 

in a simple answer, no.

 

The Dunlop 605 is better than the Kenda 270 but nowhere near the 606. As far as being a dual purpose tire I think they are pretty decent. If you want a DOT dirt tire the 606 has got to be near the top of the heap. You'll get way more mileage out of your tires than on the KLR650 especially if you twist the right wrist gently on pavement.

 

I'll run Kenda 270's every time over the 605's in the desert. The softer carcass on the Kenda, aired down to about 15 lbs of pressure, gives great grip and shock-absorbtion compared to the stock 605's. The 606 (which I have on the rear on my KLX right now) isn't as good in the desert as the Kenda 270....and the 606 isn't as shock-absorbing...however, the 606 CAN be ridden while flat better than the 270...because the 270 carcass is too flexible when totally flat. So, there is THAT trade-off.

The 605's are probably fine for on-road and light off-road (as long as it's dry...I think the 605 would stink in wet off-road terrain), as long as the air pressures are right for the conditions. (I saved my front 605 to give to someone that needs a tire and has no money to buy one.) I run a Geo-Max hard compound on the front...wish I had put the medium compound on, but, it does fine as long as it's aired down.

All that being said, the guys out here in the desert are more and more going to DOT Trials tires. They tend to be "taller" and softer...which plays well in everything but mud and deep sand.

So, it depends upon your intended use and terrain....none are perfect!

Oh, BTW, I also have a KLR650...Kenda 270's front and rear, combined with a trick suspension upgrade, gets me almost anywhere any of my riding buddies can go on their smaller bikes out in the desert...as long as the KLR can fit through the rocks. One of my buddies can ride even more street-like tires than me on his STOCK suspension KLR and outride me in the desert (except for deeper sand). So, part of it is rider ability.

 

Those tires are junk larry... especially the front, it washes out in corners real bad. It made a world of difference when i switched to the 606 front, until it got pretty worn and started washing out too. I ran through a 270 on the klx, didnt do too bad, but didnt have that good of traction in the deep mud. Trak master forever on the rear of the KLX now. Im looking to put a kenda 761 on the KLR here in about a month.

 

I've tried the kenda 761 on my f650gs and it's the scariest tire I've ever tried.
It does the job on o.k. when it's dry, but as soon as it's wet it's so slippery I got scared in many curves on pavement, even slow turn on street corner. I really don't recommend it for the klr.

For the klx, the trackmaster II on the rear is the best I've tried so far traction wise for the rear, the front is slippery (side wise) in offroad. Second is the Michelin AC10, at least that one have a good front and rear, I think they last a little longer that the trackmaster but not much. I've kept the original dunlop and I install it when I do long dual purpose ride, otherwise I put back a better tire.

 

I think the 606 sucks as well, so maybe you might like it

If I keep it DOT it's Kenda TMII's all the way. They seem to work best here in CT where it's the land of the ruts, rocks, roots, and mud.

 

I'm running the Trak Master on the back of mine but I still have the factory front....what do people think is good for the front......im running about 70 percent dirt and 30 road driving

 

Maybe I tilt my bike off-center more than most in turns, but, I like any tire that has more nubs sticking out on the corners for "bite" in the dirt. That's why the Kenda 270's are OK, and why I went with the GeoMax. I consider the stock 605 front a street tire, which can let you go off road if you aren't trying to turn quickly, or hang on to the side of an off-camber trail. If you can stand the 605 off-road, I think you'd be thrilled with the Kenda 270 front off-road...and it's hard enough to wear OK on the road. The 270 has a reputation for needing a little extra time to "scrub in" before the handling matures on the road.

 

I wouldn't buy a new OEM 605 tire for the KLX but I also don't think they are all that bad in non-gumbo situations, I bet they would be awful when in snotty mud. Good road manners too. About the best Kawi could have done for this bike.