THE Tire Thread

[natalie_jamison07]

Can you help me I need to change the tire of my DL-650, I'm choosing between bridgestone or pirelli. What do you recommend? TIA!

[jokermtb]

You absolutely cannot go wrong with the Battlewings, and they can be bought for considerably less than the Pirellis.

[richw]

My BT 023 are wearing better than anything else on my VEE so far

[arkansas]

no replies on my thread so I will try here.

Does anybody run a knobby front and more of a street thread rear
any advantage in doing so? disadvantage?

I ride pavement to work daily but and quite a bit off pavement.... well I will be after my KLR sells anyway.

My thoughts are knobby up front (my front is gone) and the OEM tire on rear (mine is new) so when I know I am going on a weekend ride I only have to change and buy one spare tire (the rear). I have heard of people making Alaska and similar rides doing the same so they only had to strap one tire to their bike. This way if I am traveling and see a good gravel road to go down maybe the front tire will not be as bad about washing out Reading the tire threads the front knobby life seems to be about the same as a rear street tire so tire changes would be at same intervals.

Oh, and my bike is the DL1000

[bassbronco_74]

Originally Posted by arkansas

no replies on my thread so I will try here.

Does anybody run a knobby front and more of a street thread rear
any advantage in doing so? disadvantage?

I ride pavement to work daily but and quite a bit off pavement.... well I will be after my KLR sells anyway.

My thoughts are knobby up front (my front is gone) and the OEM tire on rear (mine is new) so when I know I am going on a weekend ride I only have to change and buy one spare tire (the rear). I have heard of people making Alaska and similar rides doing the same so they only had to strap one tire to their bike. This way if I am traveling and see a good gravel road to go down maybe the front tire will not be as bad about washing out Reading the tire threads the front knobby life seems to be about the same as a rear street tire so tire changes would be at same intervals.

Oh, and my bike is the DL1000

I haven't done it, but have definitely considered this myself...I have heard and seen it done though around here and on other forums...You could put a Shinko 705 on the rear with a knobby (TKC 80, Metzeler Karoo, or Kenda Big Block) up front since the 705 is a supposed to be a more dual sport tire...

You are right on spot though with having to change tires at about equal intervals though...you could probably get 5k to 8k depending on your riding habits out of a setup like that...

you could even go(...should i dare say it here??) dark side?

obviously the disadvantages would be more road noise and vibrations and the handling would be compromised on the street, but you would definitely have better luck off road and have a lesser chance of the front tire washing out...

how extreme off-road are you considering? i have tourances on my wee and they do dirt and gravel just fine...i have only considered going to the knobby front to get into a little more sloppy stuff

not sure if i helped or not...but these are my thoughts on the subject

[arkansas]

Thanks for the reply. As for dark side... thats a big negative I say this because I have tried it, not on a strom but I have tried it. I hated the way the bike handled. That being said it got crazy good mileage on a tire and traction, going straight anyway, was the best.

As of right now I only ride gravel roads and forest service roads mostly. My off road is mild on my Vee (not so mild to some newbies tho). It does fine with the tourances I had and now tourance front and OEM rear. (wishing I would have went with a shinko 705). I am getting ready to replace the front which I will go shinko for now and maybe a knobby later on.

I have been considering selling my KLR 650 and only having one bike. When/if I do so then the strom will have to pull double duty which means much much more off pavement and more off road. I ride it all from interstate to single track on the KLR. If I do so I will stay away from and single track on the strom but will get into some rough gravel roads, jeep trails, possibly some ATV trails.

[bassbronco_74]

Originally Posted by arkansas

Thanks for the reply. As for dark side... thats a big negative I say this because I have tried it, not on a strom but I have tried it. I hated the way the bike handled. That being said it got crazy good mileage on a tire and traction, going straight anyway, was the best.

As of right now I only ride gravel roads and forest service roads mostly. My off road is mild on my Vee (not so mild to some newbies tho). It does fine with the tourances I had and now tourance front and OEM rear. (wishing I would have went with a shinko 705). I am getting ready to replace the front which I will go shinko for now and maybe a knobby later on.

I have been considering selling my KLR 650 and only having one bike. When/if I do so then the strom will have to pull double duty which means much much more off pavement and more off road. I ride it all from interstate to single track on the KLR. If I do so I will stay away from and single track on the strom but will get into some rough gravel roads, jeep trails, possibly some ATV trails.

Sounds like you have quite a bit of tire experience to me... Also sounds like you have an idea of what you want... I plan on trying out the kenda big blocks for some off road next summer... They are inexpensive and I have read good things about them

[arkansas]

On my KLR i have tried just about all of em. Not so much on the V-strom.

I have heard the the mileage of the kenda big blocks are terrible compared to the TKC80 or really any tire for the strom. That being said they are much cheaper than the other knobbys also. If I have a weekend where I need knobbys but dont run them all the time I would go with the kendas as well, and may do so.

[bassbronco_74]

Originally Posted by arkansas

I have heard the the mileage of the kenda big blocks are terrible compared to the TKC80 or really any tire for the strom.

Product Review: Kenda Big Block Tires on BMW R1200GS - Touratech-USA

Read this article...I thought it was a good review from a reputable source...

It might change your opinion....

[arkansas]

now I wanna try one