OK I now have 4000 miles+ on my original 603 rearand although there is plenty of tread left for the street, it is getting a little hairy off road.

What the heck does 4.6-18 actually mean? I am used to the regular width/profile/speed rating & diameter measurement like 120/90P18 for instance.

I am assuming the 4.6 means 4.6inches in width? That would make it a 117mm. What profile is it? The profile is not even indicated on the tire.

Now according to the Dunlop website, the direct stock replacement 603 calls for 100/100-18s. Why are they calling for 100s if the original 603s are 117mm?

 

Tire shopping is a touchy subject. You will find between different manufactures the same exact size on the side of the tire will actually measure different in the real world. Yes a 100/100-18 is the replacement size for our bikes. Will a 100/100-18 from two different manufactors measure the same, probably not. I do know that in the Kenda trackmaster series that a 100/100-18, 110/100-18, and a 120/100-18 will fit these bikes. Will a 120/100-18 from a different manufacture fit I am not sure. Your best bet is to find a tire that you like and see if they have a size close to what you need and then go on the there web site and try and find actual dimensions for that tire. I would say that all 100/100-18 will fit, all 110/100-18 should fit but some 120/100-18 may not. I wouldn't worry to much about speed rating, most knobbies are good for at least 86mph. If you plan on going much faster than that on knobbies then you should be looking for a good 50/50 tire which most are all rated over faster than our bikes will do.

 

Do you know what the 4.6 means? If it's 4.6 inches, then that would be 117 mm wide.

I don't think I want the bike to be any taller than it is now as I only have a 30" inseam.

Can I put on a 120/80-18 , a110/90-18, or a 110/80-18 to slightly reduce the height?

 

I was just looking in dennis kirk book and they slightly explain the tire sizing. They say on some knobbies with a 80 or 90 for the second number means that they are measured from outside knobbie to outside knobbie and ones that the second number is 100 is measured from sidewall to sidewall. They go on to say that a 120/80-18 is very close in size to a 100/100-18. Your best bet is to measure the stock tire. Find how much room you can go untill hit the swingarm. Then find a tire you think you like. Pick a size and they go on to the manufactures website and try and find actual dimensions for that tire and compare tham to the stock one. As long as it wont rub anywhere and it is for an 18 inch rim you should be ok. If you need to get diameter of the old tire and it is hard to measure you can wrap the tape measure around the tire and then divide by Pi (3.14 I think), just remember that the knobbies on your old tire are worn down so the dia. will be smaller then a new tire.

 

I think I will get the Bridgestone ED04s. They look almost identical to the Dunlop 606s but they are about $30 cheaper. They are P rated rather than the R rated 606s but P rated is good for up to 93 mph of extend riding which is more than the KLX can do.

With the ED04s I can get the identical stock size of 4.6-18. They are also 0.7 inches shorter than the Dunlop which is a very important criteria for me as my inseam is only 30 inches.

http://www.motorcycle-karttires.com/...mp;LookupID=21

 

If you liked the stock Dunlop 603, then you will love the Dunlop 606, its as close to the 603 as you can get. Order the 120/90/18 I got about 1900 miles on the stock 603, and the 606 that I'm running right now has3175 miles on it and still has about 40% left. The stock front tire has a grand total of 5150 miles on it and it still looks good. Does the front tire ever wear out?

 

FM_Thumper, checkout this link for more tire info. http://www.planetklx.com/techtips/ti...gnations.shtml

 

Deej the reason I don't want to go with the 606 is that it is about 3/4" taller. Since I'm not a 6'3"mountain of a manlike you, the bike is about as tall as I can handle as is.

I have 4000+ miles on my original 603s. The front like you say is still looking good. The rear is worn to the point where it handles real nice on the pavement and probably could go another 1000 miles but for off-road it gets a little hairy so I'm going to replace it.

 

Thanks DualSport.

However, this still does not explain what the 4.6 actually means. That was my original question. If the 4.6 means 4.6" wide, that would translate to 117mm. If so, why do they say that 100mm tire is the stock size? Also in this 4.6-18 rating, what is the profile of the tire?
Those twoquestions were what I asked originally. I am used to tire ratings like 120/90R18 for example. The 120mm is the width, 90 is the profile meaning it is 108mm tall, Rspeed rating, & 18" wheel diameter. I have never owned a bikewith this crazy tire rating. How does 4.6-18 transltate to 100/100-18?? [&:]

 

Well anyway, I ended up getting the Kenda Trakmaster for the rear. I went with the supposedly stock 100/100-18 size. I was assuming that since my original 603s were very low on the center tread that the super knobby brand newTrakmaster would raise the seat height by an inch or so. Well imagine my surprise when I discovered thesupposedly stock sized Trakmaster(brand new knobby tread and all) lowered theseatheight. Hell I can almost flat foot bothsides simultaneously. I like it!