A few comparisons, KLX with AC-10's
#1
06-24-2011, 04:13 AM
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Sandpoint Idaho
Posts: 840
A few comparisons, KLX with AC-10's
Comparison, KLX250S vs. WR426F, XT350. Michelin AC-10 vs. Stock Dunlop D605, Kenda Trackmaster II’s, Michelin S12
For the record I am not a writer, I am a rider.
Before I begin here is a brief history. The KLX is my 6th bike. 4th Factory Dual sport.
1) 1980 Honda XR80
2) 1982 Yamaha XT200 (Dual Sport)
3) 1988 Honda NX250 (Dual Sport, more of a Super Moto then an off road bike)
4) 1996 Yamaha XT350 (Dual Sport)
5) 2001 Yamaha WR426F (Plated Dirt Bike)
6) 2009 Kawasaki KLX250S (Dual Sport, Duh!)
7) 3 different 4 wheelers, 1998 Polaris Scrambler 400 4X4 (sold), 2004 Polaris Trailblazer 250(still have), 2007 Can-Am Renegade 800 Sport 4X4 (My favorite ride of all time, still have).
I bought the KLX in October of 09 with 72 miles on it. I rode it on the street for about 50 miles before putting it away for the winter. In The summer of 04 I broke my shoulder, snapped the Humorous bone in half. It did not heal correctly so I had to have surgery, 10 screws and a metal plate was put in. This was January 2010. 6 months for recovery. But in the mean time I bought a new house. So I didn’t get much time to ride the KLX. In late summer of 2010 I finally got a chance to ride off road. A friend and I rode to a trail that I have been on with my 4 wheeler many times. On the way to the trail is a dirt road and the stock tires (D605’s) where not fun. The front would washout on every turn. The rear was so bad in the mud I got stuck on flat ground. Once we got to the trail it did better but not much. It is a very rocky trail. The bike did great it was the tires that had me freaking out. The whole ride I was thinking these tires are going to kill me. In September I was planning on getting new tires and ride the fall months but that came to a big halt after I was diagnosed with Cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. So another 8 months go by before I can ride again, the Cancer is in remission.
So that brings us up to current date. A few weeks ago my wife surprised me with a new set of tires that I have been wanting for some time now, the Michelin AC-10’s. I wanted to have someone install them for me because when I had my XT350 I bought a set of Trackmaster II’s for the front and rear. They were my first set of tires that I “Tried” to mount myself. I punctured the tube a few times. Finally I got them installed. So I didn’t want to go thru that again. I went down to the local Yamaha shop (We don’t have a local Kawasaki dealer) and asked how much it would be to mount the tires. Wow was I surprised. “We don’t do tires” What? “Yeah, we don’t do tires; you can talk to the mechanic if you want”. The mechanic asked what bike they are going on. I said I can just bring the rims in.....”That’s not what I asked”, “what bike are they going on?” It’s a Kawasaki KLX. “A dirt bike?” Yeah sort of. “How many Rim locks?” None. “ I guess I could try but I am not buying new tubes if I puncture them.” Hmmmmm. I went home watched a video and had them off the bike and back on in just a little over an hour and no punctured tubes!
I took a short ride on the pavement and they felt great. I will adjust air pressure when I get more road riding time. There are a lot of single track trails where I live but for this ride we went to the ORV Park. My wife’s co-workers just got a new bike, a Yamaha TTR-125 and she is just learning. This ORV Park is a lot like riding the Oregon dunes, lots of fine sand. She did very well for not having much experience. The KLX did great also. I was very impressed with the AC-10’s. The sand was thick and tires did their job. They also did very well on hard pack. I did bog down and killed the motor a few times trying to climb some moderate hills. I use to be able to fly up them on the WR. The KLX suspension felt really good. It soaked up the whoops at moderate speeds. I was surprised I didn’t bottom out the front very much. I had absolutely no problems with the rear. We put in about 25 miles. The most I have ridden in years on a bike, I ride my Quad a lot. The odometer now reads 475, all but 50 miles where on the street. Not much after owning it for over a year and a half. Hopefully I will get more chances to ride this year.
KLX compared to:
XT350. The XT was a much bigger bike (heavier), wider and a tad taller. The Suspension travel is about the same but the KLX has better damping. The XT’s power was about the same also, a surprising 17HP, not much for a 350. There was a restriction in the intake runners that I didn’t find out about until I sold it. It did have more torque then the KLX. The XT had Drum rear brake compared to the KLX’s disk. I did a lot of modifying to the XT, Trackmaster II’s, Carb mods including a homemade “Power Now” , rear fender was replaced with a UFO Brake light turn signal combo, rear shock spring spacer for more preload, front fender was replaced with a YZ fender homemade fork brace, Tusk bars, and Uni Vents for the air box. Overall the KLX is slimmer, lighter and handles much better.
WR426. Obviously the WR had more power, but that isn’t always a good thing. I like the predictability of the KLX over the WR. I had the WR set up with YZ Specs; Seat, gas tank, carb and cam timing. The KLX could use more power, just not explosive power. Maybe a 351 sometime down the road. The suspension is great on the WR IF you are going fast and taking a few jumps. For right now the KLX’s suspension is just about right until I get more comfortable with it. The seat height is perfect it allows me to be more confident in tight turns. The WR was just too tall, 39”seat. I had a very hard time with tight downhill turns. Tight single track was a no for me on the WR. But was a great bike for the open. I could get the front tire up in 5th gear. I had the WR plated and it did OK on the street. It’s was not something I would ride for a long period of time on the street. The KLX is much better for this. I did ride a friend’s 2005 WR250F and the improvements over the 2001 model where significant.
The KLX will be around for some time. I have way more confidence riding it then I ever did on any other bikes I have owned. The seat height is the best part. I am not short I just don’t have good balance.
AC-10’s compared to:
Stock Dunlop D605. These tires do great on the street, but that is about it.
TrackMaster II’s. I had these mounted on my XT350. They are a really bad tire on the street. The TrackMasters would feel very unstable on the street, kind of like riding on wet ice. I have no idea what makes them street legal. Good tire for the price for off road only. They did hook up decent in the sand, about as well as the AC-10’s. I also noticed the ***** would easily brake off, front and rear.
Michelin S12. I had these on my WR. They worked the best out of the 3 tires even on the street. Excellent in the sand and even did well on rocky or hard pack. My top choice, but they are not a DOT tire.
I know that a lot of people like the D606’s or the Trackmasters but I had to try something different. So far I like them.
See Attached images:
XT350 in the snow, June 4th 2000 About 20 miles from my house before the new fenders.
XT350 with TrackMasters and UFO rear fender
WR426F Dual Sport, 2005
Polaris Scrambler, 2006
KLX and Renegade June 4th 2011.
For the record I am not a writer, I am a rider.
Before I begin here is a brief history. The KLX is my 6th bike. 4th Factory Dual sport.
1) 1980 Honda XR80
2) 1982 Yamaha XT200 (Dual Sport)
3) 1988 Honda NX250 (Dual Sport, more of a Super Moto then an off road bike)
4) 1996 Yamaha XT350 (Dual Sport)
5) 2001 Yamaha WR426F (Plated Dirt Bike)
6) 2009 Kawasaki KLX250S (Dual Sport, Duh!)
7) 3 different 4 wheelers, 1998 Polaris Scrambler 400 4X4 (sold), 2004 Polaris Trailblazer 250(still have), 2007 Can-Am Renegade 800 Sport 4X4 (My favorite ride of all time, still have).
I bought the KLX in October of 09 with 72 miles on it. I rode it on the street for about 50 miles before putting it away for the winter. In The summer of 04 I broke my shoulder, snapped the Humorous bone in half. It did not heal correctly so I had to have surgery, 10 screws and a metal plate was put in. This was January 2010. 6 months for recovery. But in the mean time I bought a new house. So I didn’t get much time to ride the KLX. In late summer of 2010 I finally got a chance to ride off road. A friend and I rode to a trail that I have been on with my 4 wheeler many times. On the way to the trail is a dirt road and the stock tires (D605’s) where not fun. The front would washout on every turn. The rear was so bad in the mud I got stuck on flat ground. Once we got to the trail it did better but not much. It is a very rocky trail. The bike did great it was the tires that had me freaking out. The whole ride I was thinking these tires are going to kill me. In September I was planning on getting new tires and ride the fall months but that came to a big halt after I was diagnosed with Cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. So another 8 months go by before I can ride again, the Cancer is in remission.
So that brings us up to current date. A few weeks ago my wife surprised me with a new set of tires that I have been wanting for some time now, the Michelin AC-10’s. I wanted to have someone install them for me because when I had my XT350 I bought a set of Trackmaster II’s for the front and rear. They were my first set of tires that I “Tried” to mount myself. I punctured the tube a few times. Finally I got them installed. So I didn’t want to go thru that again. I went down to the local Yamaha shop (We don’t have a local Kawasaki dealer) and asked how much it would be to mount the tires. Wow was I surprised. “We don’t do tires” What? “Yeah, we don’t do tires; you can talk to the mechanic if you want”. The mechanic asked what bike they are going on. I said I can just bring the rims in.....”That’s not what I asked”, “what bike are they going on?” It’s a Kawasaki KLX. “A dirt bike?” Yeah sort of. “How many Rim locks?” None. “ I guess I could try but I am not buying new tubes if I puncture them.” Hmmmmm. I went home watched a video and had them off the bike and back on in just a little over an hour and no punctured tubes!
I took a short ride on the pavement and they felt great. I will adjust air pressure when I get more road riding time. There are a lot of single track trails where I live but for this ride we went to the ORV Park. My wife’s co-workers just got a new bike, a Yamaha TTR-125 and she is just learning. This ORV Park is a lot like riding the Oregon dunes, lots of fine sand. She did very well for not having much experience. The KLX did great also. I was very impressed with the AC-10’s. The sand was thick and tires did their job. They also did very well on hard pack. I did bog down and killed the motor a few times trying to climb some moderate hills. I use to be able to fly up them on the WR. The KLX suspension felt really good. It soaked up the whoops at moderate speeds. I was surprised I didn’t bottom out the front very much. I had absolutely no problems with the rear. We put in about 25 miles. The most I have ridden in years on a bike, I ride my Quad a lot. The odometer now reads 475, all but 50 miles where on the street. Not much after owning it for over a year and a half. Hopefully I will get more chances to ride this year.
KLX compared to:
XT350. The XT was a much bigger bike (heavier), wider and a tad taller. The Suspension travel is about the same but the KLX has better damping. The XT’s power was about the same also, a surprising 17HP, not much for a 350. There was a restriction in the intake runners that I didn’t find out about until I sold it. It did have more torque then the KLX. The XT had Drum rear brake compared to the KLX’s disk. I did a lot of modifying to the XT, Trackmaster II’s, Carb mods including a homemade “Power Now” , rear fender was replaced with a UFO Brake light turn signal combo, rear shock spring spacer for more preload, front fender was replaced with a YZ fender homemade fork brace, Tusk bars, and Uni Vents for the air box. Overall the KLX is slimmer, lighter and handles much better.
WR426. Obviously the WR had more power, but that isn’t always a good thing. I like the predictability of the KLX over the WR. I had the WR set up with YZ Specs; Seat, gas tank, carb and cam timing. The KLX could use more power, just not explosive power. Maybe a 351 sometime down the road. The suspension is great on the WR IF you are going fast and taking a few jumps. For right now the KLX’s suspension is just about right until I get more comfortable with it. The seat height is perfect it allows me to be more confident in tight turns. The WR was just too tall, 39”seat. I had a very hard time with tight downhill turns. Tight single track was a no for me on the WR. But was a great bike for the open. I could get the front tire up in 5th gear. I had the WR plated and it did OK on the street. It’s was not something I would ride for a long period of time on the street. The KLX is much better for this. I did ride a friend’s 2005 WR250F and the improvements over the 2001 model where significant.
The KLX will be around for some time. I have way more confidence riding it then I ever did on any other bikes I have owned. The seat height is the best part. I am not short I just don’t have good balance.
AC-10’s compared to:
Stock Dunlop D605. These tires do great on the street, but that is about it.
TrackMaster II’s. I had these mounted on my XT350. They are a really bad tire on the street. The TrackMasters would feel very unstable on the street, kind of like riding on wet ice. I have no idea what makes them street legal. Good tire for the price for off road only. They did hook up decent in the sand, about as well as the AC-10’s. I also noticed the ***** would easily brake off, front and rear.
Michelin S12. I had these on my WR. They worked the best out of the 3 tires even on the street. Excellent in the sand and even did well on rocky or hard pack. My top choice, but they are not a DOT tire.
I know that a lot of people like the D606’s or the Trackmasters but I had to try something different. So far I like them.
See Attached images:
XT350 in the snow, June 4th 2000 About 20 miles from my house before the new fenders.
XT350 with TrackMasters and UFO rear fender
WR426F Dual Sport, 2005
Polaris Scrambler, 2006
KLX and Renegade June 4th 2011.
Last edited by cmott426; 06-24-2011 at 04:20 AM.
#3
06-24-2011, 04:42 AM
Very nice comparisons and observations, CMOTT. Good write-up. Thanks.
Good for you on the recovery. Keep the C away.
I'd like to come up that way for a ride some time. If so, can I look you up for some trail recommendations? And if you get down this way, I've got some for ya.
Cheers
Good for you on the recovery. Keep the C away.
I'd like to come up that way for a ride some time. If so, can I look you up for some trail recommendations? And if you get down this way, I've got some for ya.
Cheers
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