I'm looking for a new front tire but I can't decide which one to choose.

I've red too many things about each model, and the more I read the more I get confused.

Here is a list I have at this moment :

Kenda Trackmaster II
Kenda K777
Dunlop D908
Dunlop D606
Pirelli MT16
Michelin AC10
Mitas C-17

My "needs" are :

Good off road stability (I leaned my KLX on the side more often in a month of owning it than in 10 000 miles with my last ride)

Medium durability (I'm expecting at least 1500 miles out of it)

Ok handling on the road (I have to do some highway stretches to get to the trails so I need a tire that won't be scary on the bitumen at posted speed)

Acceptable noise level at high speed (yes, I get stressed easily by high pitched noises and I already wear ear plugs each time I ride)


So, with that in mind, which tire would be best for me according to you?

Thank you!

 

DC, after trying many tires up to this point on my KLX, I've come to the conclusion that the Trakmaster II on the rear is about as good as anything I've tried. Apparently I'm fairly hard on tires in the vein of chunking *****. I've used some very expensive tires and none of them had any better traction or wear characteristics on the rear than the less expensive TM.

The front, however, has been more of a struggle. I've finally found the Kenda Desert Parker to provide the best traction and performance with the best wear. It's on the more expensive end of the front tire spectrum, but it's a great, tough, traction rich DOT tire. It's probably not the only one out there that would work on the front for me, but it's stacking up to be an almost indestructible 6-ply tire with great performance.

Tire threads are tough to qualify.

 

Thank you for your help TNC!

The Kenda DP seems to be a really good tire indeed.

I'm wondering if that row of single ***** in the center would make it unstable on the pavement?

 

When I got ready to pull the OEM's I was faced with the same dilemma, bout made my head spin. Went with the IRC GP-1 trials on both front and rear. At this point I've got about 600 miles on them split riding pavement and dirt/rock. So far they are really not showing any noticeable wear. On pavement I've had em up to 70-75 (not my normal thing) with no vibration or objectionable noise. On dirt/rock they seem to hook up pretty good running at 22psi but I'm going to try airing down a bit on loose stuff now that I have a pump to air back up for the ride home. They're a little more money than some of the others as I recall and we'll see if that pans out in the long run durability wise. I should point out that I'm not a real aggressive rider and certainly not as experienced as many others here.

 

Thank you!

They look pretty similar to the Shiko 244 or the Kenda 270 (both are good 50/50 tires)!

I'm looking for something a bit more aggressive tough...

 

I also have the Kenda Parker front and I've gotta say that that thing hooks up really well on the trails. I haven't had any issues on pavement and it seems to be wearing quite nicely. The only issue I've had is at higher speeds on deeper gravel roads it tends to feel like it is tracking with that center ridge of knobbies, especially around corners. It's never posed an issue for me, but it almost feels like the front wants to wash out, then hooks up and goes. I might of had a bit more air in it than needed.
If you do go with the kenda, remember that there are 2 versions of that tire. The newer (2011) version has more rubber in the compound and a slightly different design. Model k-772. Kenda item #047722103C0P. Plus it's DOT!

 

"On dirt/rock they seem to hook up pretty good running at 22psi but I'm going to try airing down a bit on loose stuff now that I have a pump to air back up for the ride home. Quote ShadetreeAZ"

Thread drift, how's that pump workin' for you?

Tom
Oriental, NC

 

AC-10's front and rear. I will never ride a bike with trackmaster II's on the street ever again. Just my personal experience.

 

I don't yet have a DOT front tire that I would highly recommend for aggressive off-road. I just haven't used enough to make such a recommendation.

However, I have come to the point that I would not recommend the front Kenda Trackmaster II (K760). The only reason for that is it does wash out in hard cornering much easier than some other tires. It is also weak in straight line braking on pavement...but I can't say it's worse than other aggressive knobbies. Straight line stability is great on pavement and gravel. This was the first front tire on my bike after the OEM, and I have gone through a couple of them now. I can't recall exactly, but I think I got about 3000 miles out of it.

After the K760, I tried a Kenda Washougal K7??, 80/100-21, in the standard compound, not sticky. This is a DOT tire, but you may not see it marketed as such. At speed in a straight line on pavement and hard gravel, it was a bit sketchy when new, but became good as the tire wore in after several hundred miles. Cornering traction in dirt was far better than the K760; I was able to run much harder than the K760 without losing the front end. I think I got 2000 or 2500 miles out of the Washougal.

Once the Washougal wore out - I put on another Trackmaster II, and the front end washouts in dirt came right back. I'm not sure what my next front tire will be, but it won't be a Trackmaster II this time around.

 

Thank you guys! I went with the Kenda Parker DT (not even in my list!)

The dealer told me the AC-10 would melt on the asphalt like ice under the sun...

And the Trackmaster II was one of his biggest seller.