It felt like I was riding a new bike. I was HAULING some serious a$$ Saturday! I was flying in 3rd gear in places I was puttering in bottom of 2nd with the Dunlops, even when they were new. I was able to stay within sight of my old man even when he was hauling. Still can't keep up but that's 1.5 years of riding vs. a whole lifetime, and probably my 250 vs. his 400. It felt so comfortable to throw the bike left and right, grabbing arm fulls of handlebar without turning into a tractor plow. Definately felt like the 110 rear tire would spin up and go better than the 120 Dunlop. Never had it break loose, either (well, not unintentionally).

Definately think the Pirelli / Kenda tire combo is fantastic for riding trails. Yeah, they are pretty frightening on the road, but I tend to lean to the "dirt" side of dual sport. Initial rating has got to be 10/10 for these rubbers.

 

Great write up man! Yeah there's nothing like a new tire to appreciate the off road capability of this bike.

 

I've got the Pirelli Scorpion XC Mid Soft on both front and back.
Great tires, very happy with them vs the stock tires.

 

Yeah, this was mentioned earlier in that other thread, but I agree with your choice of keeping the back tire more reasonably sized. Besides my KLX I had several XR250's over the years, and they got downright sluggish with bigger rear tires. 4-strokes and especially 250-sized models like the KLX lay down their power smoothly. No need for huge rubber IMO.

 

TNC Thanks for your opinion on wide tires. I was debating the MT90 A/T in 120/80 for my next rear instead of what I have now which is next size down in this tire 110/80

So far I have been happy with these and though they slip in the wet mud and moist clay they are perfect on the road and gravel. Do well on dry dirt also.