Hey whats up everyone, I am new to the site and a novice rider. I have a Kawasaki KLX 250S and I am gonna start commuting to work in San Francisco, CA and I would like to replace my Dunlop D605 50/50 (Dirt/Street) tires for some all street or maybe even some 80/20 tires. Does anyone know what kind of tires will fit my bike? Also what kind of mods can I do to my bike to make it faster and more highway friendly?
Thank you, Jeftones 10/20/2013.

 

Hi there and welcome aboard. Tires. You can't go wrong with round black ones. See, tire choice is soooooo subjective. Tire choice for a novice would be different from the choice of a seasoned rider. Terrain and asphalt plays a part. If there were a "right tire", it would be made and marketed as the "right tire", the others would slink off into the night to find something else to do. So suggestions will be subjective, based on the experience of the rider, the surfaces they ride on........Asphalt composition in the mountains of West Virginia is different than the asphalt composition in Texas. One asphalt might be kind to a make of tire, the other tear it up in short order. So where you live, where you ride, the aggressiveness of your riding style all need to be considered. Most riders learn by experimenting with several tires over a course of time and miles and come up with a tire or combination of tires that work for them.

All that BS said, I'd recommend the Shinko 705. It is relatively inexpensive, long lasting and performs well when used for it's intended purpose.....80% road use / 20% off road use. It gets great reviews:

Shinko 705 Series Dual Sport Rear Tire - Dirt Bike Motocross - Motorcycle Superstore

If you are a candidate to be a case study for Jenny Craig, you will get less life out of your tires than someone that is used as the poster child for anorexia.

As far as modifications to improve your commutes, the first thing that comes to mind is to change your front counter shaft sprocket to a 16 tooth. This will allow you to run at highway speeds at a bit lower RPMs. You won't feel like you are flogging your bike to death. A taller rear tire and going up a tooth on the counter shaft sprocket should reduce your road speed RPM's by about 300 RPM's. There'll be a trade off on take off. Your bike won't have as much out of the chute snort as it does now. A bit of clutch feathering will need to be learned. Until you acquire some riding skill, any tire that is round, black, holds air, lasts awhile and lends itself to keeping you upright is a winner.

Speaking of learning.......you have completed a riders safety course, right?

 

I do mainly street riding and run 70/30 tires (in my signature). They handle great on the street and have done fine on the trails too. They are also lighter than the stock tires.

 

@ Fuller_Malarkey. Well I am not that much of a novice rider, my first bike was a Honda 50 at the age of 5. I only said novice because I have been riding now, with a M1 license, for almost four years now and yes I did complete the rider safety course, top of my class. I passed with a score of 99 out of 100. The next closest score was a 92 out of 100. I thank you for all your info, and I want to put on a new sprocket but I wasn't sure what size but now I know thanks to you. Also thank you for the tire recommendation, they look pretty cool and the price is hard to beat. I was originally looking at the Avon Gripster, and the Continental Trail Attack 2 (which I think look awesome) but the ones you recommended are far less cheaper. Have you heard anything about the tires that I mentioned or what is you opinion on them?

 

@ Brieninsac...Dude your bike looks sick! I also like your recommendation on tires. F**k now I have to see which ones I like better, the Shinko's, Avon's, Pirelli's, or the Continental's. They are all pretty close in price rang so I don't think I can wrong with anyone of them. Thank you for your input and once again nice bike!

 

Welcome to the forums. Kenda K270

 

+1^ on the Shinko's. Lotsa tire for the dollar.
Welcome to the forum.

 

I know nothing on the tire issue. Welcome to KF anyway and thanks to our members' knowledge to help out.

 

New to the forums and the KLX250S and found this in my search for information on tires. I also will be commuting and doing trail riding occasionally.
The KLX came with a Dunlop d605 460-18 63p on the rear. How would I match a Shinko 705 to this bike as it doesn't have that exact size as far as I could tell? I saw the Dunlop d606 130/90-18 69r was a recommended replacement but it's pry way more off road useful than I need to get down Texas service roads on a commute.

 

That Shinko tire will last a long time on the road, but mark my words, the first sign of mud or wet grass/moss on a single track or even loose gravel and you are done! I like Fuller_Malarkey's writeup, you really need to think about where you are riding. Personally I would rather wear out a tire a little faster on the blacktop than get stuck or drop a bike when you need a little off road traction. I had over 5000 miles on my Kenda K270 before I switched back to the Dunlop 606 and it still has about 50% tread left. I just found that I wanted a little more traction off road. besides for me and this goes back to what Fuller_Malarkey said, I looked at my situation and really I only have to go 5 miles or less to get on all of the gravel fire roads and trails where I live. So I guess most of my riding is off the blacktop.

The reason that I went back to the Dunlop was that with the more spaced out knobbies on the tire I found that with our type of gravel it allowed the tire to absorb the rocks instead of trying to float on top and get a little squirrely. The Kenda has a lot more and smaller blocks that allow for longer wear on the road, the 606 has less and taller blocks that give you good grip. I would put those two tires in my top list.

The mileage on both tires before it was time to replace was 5000 on the Kenda and 3000 on the dunlop. Nobody though can really decide what tire you need. We can steer you in the right direction with ideas on how to pick one but ultimately, look at where you ride, what you ride on and pick accordingly.

Here is a picture of when I first got the Kenda and the 606, compared side by side to each other. Good luck on whatever you do.