I also just put on some knobby dirt tires and wonder how they do on long trips. Will the ***** wear out really fast? With the 13t CS sprocket how high are the revs at say 70 mph? I ran the 606 knobby tire up to about 70 mph and didn't notice any out of ordinary humming or buzzing as I was worried about. It was bumpier at slow speeds with the ***** though.

200 miles is a lot. Good for you. I think I will be doing more road riding to compliment the serious dirt off roading, the tires are the biggest compromise item.

 

Man, linkin...that's a long haul for mostly pavement on the KLX...not so tough on the bike but like you noticed, hard on the rider. I did a 175 mile, almost all off road stint on mine last year out at Moab on some decently rough terrain, and I was a tired puppy in camp that evening. Like you, my Jose Cuervo medication was very welcome that evening.

Still, I would rather do that mileage on dirt than pavement. I almost hate pavement as the years go by. The dirt may tire me out as badly as a long pavement day, but it's a different and pleasureable tired. Hmmm...does that make me a masochist?

Someone asked about knobbies on pavement. Yes, they'll die an early death no matter how good they are. The good ones like a 606 and such will grip amazingly well on pavement as far as safety goes, but they will wear super fast. I've gotten caught out in the rain on pavement on my KLR650 with 606's and Pirelli MT21's in the past, and the application of some good judgement with speed and throttle allowed relatively safe operation.

 

The ***** weren't a problem at all, like I said my emergency braking time is increased some as the rear slides alot easier now than with the stock tires. I have not yet added rim locks so my ballance is still good and and I can't tell much difference from the stock tires. I don't ride it like a motard anymore as I think it would spit me off now if I did that. And yes alot of my time was spent around 70mph and 9000 rpm's or better.

 

On these bikes (not a heavy weight tourer or a raked out chopper) the rear tire traction should have close to zero effect to your emergency braking distance.

Really.

95% or more of the braking power is on the front wheel. The rear brake provides merely a way control the attitude of the bike during the emergency stop. At an extreme case not even that since the rear tire is lofting up in the air.

This is not criticism or nitpicking. If rear brake provides a considerable part of your emergency braking power, you really need to practice correct emergency braking skills.

--
Mikko

 

606's and mt21's are knobbies? Semi knobbies maybe.

 

I've Kenda 760's and they are pretty much full *****, The reason I keep saying the rear slides easier than before is it does. As far as my emergency braking skills go I do fine with my current skills as I've ridden 37 years on the street with no accidents that were my fault. Last I make the point about the rear as I'm sure in a pannick situation it means the front would slide easier also there by increasing my emergency braking distance but I haven't yet had the oppertunity to try it.

 

Well...here are 3 pics. The first pic is an MT21. The second pic is a 606. The third pic is a Kenda 270, and that's what I'd call a semi-knobby.

 

I've bought lots and lots of tires for my big XRs over the years and have used DOT knobbies and regular knobbies from several different brands. The rear 606 is as knobby as just about any non-DOT knobby that I've seen. It's really quite agggressive with tall, sharp, spaced out *****. I don't see any compromise for street. Now the front 606, well, I see compromise with that tire but it could be worse.

 

***** are too close together and short. I've had the 606 and 21 on my DS bikes. Being more offroad oriented, my occasional ds-rides go offroad and I hate these tires there. Had them on my old xr650 & my dr350's...as a compromise, they're ok but I'd rather just go with a 760 type tire, dot legal if need be, more longer lasting than really good knobbies, reasonably priced and just ride accordingly.

 

Many hardcore DS riders over on ADV who ride terrain of all types would argue with you about 606's and MT21's...but...these are tires, and it's why there gobs of brands and models. People are different. If I saw a Terraflex sitting next to a 760, I might call a 760 a semi-knobby...LOL!

I run 760's on my KLX and like them. They even run tubeless very well.