First off, thanks so much everyone for all the great info on this site as it helped me pre and post purchase. Just a couple of questions. - Are the stock Dunlop D605 tires alright for wet roots rocks and mud. Is the D606 that much better. My tires seem ok when I air them down to 10 or 12 lbs for off road but still slip alot on roots and rocks, but never tried anything else so don't really know. I've read lots of tire threads but cant find much info on the D605's. -I have been using co2 cartridges to air up for the road, but I can see it will be expensive. I want to use a small compressor, but when I plug it into the power plug located near the coolant reservoir it blows the 3 amp fuse. Can I put a larger fuse in there? I've seen some people mount a "cigarette lighter" plug. I may do that if I cant use the harness that is there.

 

The stock tires are not that great, but to be honest there aren't many tires that will find traction on wet roots, most of the ones I've encountered are like bars of ice. The best thing to do is what you are doing which is to air them down to around 10 or 12 lbs, use an ultra-heavy-duty tube to help protect against pinch flats, and be sure to install a rim lock to keep the tire from slipping on the rim and ripping out the valve stem. That's going to be about the best you can get out of your tire's traction, which is a lot better than running higher pressure, but still not perfect. So keep your momentum up and keep the tires rolling, you can get up and through and over some surprisingly nasty stuff with momentum so you don't have to rely solely on stump pulling traction.

About the only tire I know of that will actually find good traction under those conditions is a trials tire run at low pressure. I tried one and was very amazed at the traction it found. It has other qualities that are not so great, but traction wise it is superb. If you want to try one, check out a Dunlop D803. If you can only find the tubeless version, don't worry, it works fine with a tube, too. Run it with an ultra heavy duty tube and down to around 6 or 8 lbs of pressure - traction is pretty phenomenal.

Check out this video:

http://www.vimeo.com/2783843

This is the same reason you run regular knobbies at lower pressure off-road, so it can deform around obstacles for traction and feel, but a trials tire takes it to the extreme.

 

The 605's are terrible off road. The sooner you wear them out the better. I run a Pirelli MT43 on the rear and a MT21 up front. The The Dunlop 606 will also be a major improvement over stock. Get a Topeak Mountain Morph pump from your local bike shop for airing up on the trail. I run my rear at 8 or 10 psi most of the time on or off road and it does good. The only time I air down is for extended running in sand (about 5-6 psi).

 

Thanks for the replys. If I rode on golf courses I would get the trials tire. I will get rid of the stockers though, and try a bicycle type pump for the tires.

 

They are definitely not golf course tires, lol. A lot of people use them in racing. I see them all the time at hare scrambles, and they do really well.

 

The trials tires are great for off-road trails, but not so much if you are riding pavement or even fireroads. You'll destroy them in no time. I'm running the D606's right now and they are a vast imrovement from the stock tires. However because they are still DOT approved, the rubber is hard as a rock. I had a flat in the desert and didn't even realize it until I got back. So it's good if you have a flat, but I can't tell a differnce in low pressure at all. I've heard great things about the Kenda trackmasters, and that will probably be my next purchase. As far as an air pump goes, CO2 is great for trail side repair. But a small bike pump is more handy if you need to add a few PSI.

 

I've got a few friends who have been trying trials tires on their trail bikes...KTM's, etc. They work great on the rear except for one pattern that has been emerging...rocks. They will get traction in rocks just fine, but a trials tire carcass is softer and more compliant and will get a rock cut or poke easier than most true dirt tires...and I don't mean pinch flats. These guys are good riders and quite smooth, but many of them are going back to true dirt or DOT dirt tires because of the rock cuts/tears. If your riding terrain isn't particulary heavy with any sharp rocks, this may not be an issue.

 

Hard braking on steep downhills are another problem area for trials tires. And cornering - if you're an "A" or better rider. I'm not, so they worked fine for me. If you're not racing, they're fine. If you are not an "A" rider or better, they are probably fine even for racing and are likely better than a knobby for most people. Endurocross pro riders even used them in those races until they were prohibited because they worked *too* well and were seen as an unfair advantage over guys riding knobbies.

 

i rode the stock tires for a couple months and then switched to these. i like them fine for overall use.
http://www.mxsouth.com/kenda/kenda-t...-760-tires.htm

 

Thanks for the replies all. Hey TNC, been enjoying your insights on MTBR as well as on the KLX250 forums, as I have been MTBing for many years now. At 47 just got my first moto and a license a month ago and am loving it. Ordered a D606 rear and a MT21 front today.