Who do we like for adventure tires?

[phpaul]

A little back story:  Younger grandson (21) just bought a Kawasaki 2-smoke dirt bike.  Older grandson (28) is in the process of moving back to Maine from NC and will be buying a dirt bike soon.  They have plans to build a "track" (more likely a wide path I suspect) on Mom's 7 acre lot, plus older boy is looking for 5-10 acres of his own and plans to have a track/trail system for him and his two boys (4 and 8).

So, knowing full well I'm too damned old to be doing any serious dirt bike or off-road riding, I still would like to be able to donk around and do a little fire road type riding and play with the boys a little.  The FJ is just too heavy and too good of a road bike to frig with it trying to make it something it isn't.   I have a line on a Suzuki  DR-Z400S.  Going to look  at it today.  Comes with what looks like a set of trials tires and a set of "street tires".  I suspect the PO was trying to emulate the Super Moto genre.

Depending on the condition of the tires, I'll likely replace them and I'm thinking a set of adventure tires would be the best compromise as it will very likely see more pavement time than dirt time.

What brand/style/tread pattern do we like, and where's the best place to get them.

 

[gv550]

I'm using Mitas E07 Dakar tires on my Tenere, they grip well on dirt and pavement and wear very well. Available from Twisted Throttle and eBay.

[phpaul]

Thanks, I'll have a look.

[koth442]

I had Dunlop D606's on my DR650. Worked great in the dirt and are DOT approved for road use.

Otherwise I prefer Shinko for their long life and still decent performance in dirt.

[Cruizin]

3 hours ago, phpaul said:

A little back story:  Younger grandson (21) just bought a Kawasaki 2-smoke dirt bike.  Older grandson (28) is in the process of moving back to Maine from NC and will be buying a dirt bike soon.  They have plans to build a "track" (more likely a wide path I suspect) on Mom's 7 acre lot, plus older boy is looking for 5-10 acres of his own and plans to have a track/trail system for him and his two boys (4 and 8).

So, knowing full well I'm too damned old to be doing any serious dirt bike or off-road riding, I still would like to be able to donk around and do a little fire road type riding and play with the boys a little.  The FJ is just too heavy and too good of a road bike to frig with it trying to make it something it isn't.   I have a line on a Suzuki  DR-Z400S.  Going to look  at it today.  Comes with what looks like a set of trials tires and a set of "street tires".  I suspect the PO was trying to emulate the Super Moto genre.

Depending on the condition of the tires, I'll likely replace them and I'm thinking a set of adventure tires would be the best compromise as it will very likely see more pavement time than dirt time.

What brand/style/tread pattern do we like, and where's the best place to get them.

 

I rode a DRZ for six years for dual sport. I tried a few different tires and the best I found for traction off road and longevity on road were the Dunlop D606 tires. I got 6500 miles out of mine, and that's a ton for knobby style tires. 

These are outstanding dirt tires they won't lose traction on you and the knobs hold up.very well off-road.

Also, Rocky mountain ATV has an East coast warehouse and are really easy to work with.

Dunlop D606 Dual Sport Tire | Tires and Wheels | Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINATVMC.COM

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*Dunlop designed the D606 tire to be street-legal, but with an...

 

[superfist]

If you're looking for non-knobby tires that can handle a little bit of dirt, check out the Anakee Adventure tire.  It's made for 80% road and 20% dirt.

I had a set on my old KLR650 back when the 80/20 was an Anakee 2.  The newer Anakee 3 is 90road/10dirt.   The 80/20 balance was perfect for dirt roads, gravel roads, state park rides with occasional sand patches.  They also performed really well on road.

[Cruizin]

5 hours ago, superfist said:

If you're looking for non-knobby tires that can handle a little bit of dirt, check out the Anakee Adventure tire.  It's made for 80% road and 20% dirt.

I had a set on my old KLR650 back when the 80/20 was an Anakee 2.  The newer Anakee 3 is 90road/10dirt.   The 80/20 balance was perfect for dirt roads, gravel roads, state park rides with occasional sand patches.  They also performed really well on road.

Need knobbies for that Maine mud , I can't be losing one of my moderators, lol.

The D606's won't get you hurt in the dirt.

[TracerDoc]

18 hours ago, superfist said:

If you're looking for non-knobby tires that can handle a little bit of dirt, check out the Anakee Adventure tire.  It's made for 80% road and 20% dirt.

I had a set on my old KLR650 back when the 80/20 was an Anakee 2.  The newer Anakee 3 is 90road/10dirt.   The 80/20 balance was perfect for dirt roads, gravel roads, state park rides with occasional sand patches.  They also performed really well on road.

Sorry to hijack the thread Paul, just had similar question . Any 80/20  good option any more?  is 90/10 almost like a road tire? I was thinking about trying a pair on the GT. 90% rides will be pavement / aggressive sport touring i would say as in hanging with them big boys on their space toys. But occasionally might venture into fire roads and mild trails to get to a good picture spot or short cuts etc.  

[superfist]

2 hours ago, TracerDoc said:

Sorry to hijack the thread Paul, just had similar question . Any 80/20  good option any more?  is 90/10 almost like a road tire? I was thinking about trying a pair on the GT. 90% rides will be pavement / aggressive sport touring i would say as in hanging with them big boys on their space toys. But occasionally might venture into fire roads and mild trails to get to a good picture spot or short cuts etc.  

I haven't had any 80/20's in a while, and never on the FJ.  However, I do generally trust Michelin tires and my previous experience with the Anakee line of tires was really positive on a KLR 650.   But that 34hp lumbering beast can't really compare to the FJ-09.

Not endorsing the Michelin Road 5's for offroad use, but I have taken them off road and my experience has been positive.  No clay, deep mud or sand though.  But decently maintained dirt roads, double track and wet gravel and wet dirt was just fine for me.  I even made it up a gravel and mud hill that saw two cars get stuck halfway up and slide backwards.  Between TC and ABS, everything stayed sorted.  You can't throw it around like dirt tires and caution is still warranted, but I was impressed.

 

 - Back to the thread also:  TKC 80's worked amazing as on and off road tires for the KLR 650 and have a positive reputation with the ADV crowd.  I think they also come stock on a bunch of adventure bikes now.  If you need big blocky knobbies, they're worth a look.

After thinking about the 80/20 and 90/10 style ratings, I don't think they're good for rating tire capability.  @Cruizin made a good point when mentioning the D606's wont get you hurt offroad.  Even if you only ride offroad 10% of the time, a 90/10 tire might not be right if you REALLY need that tire to perform that 10% of the time.

[Cruizin]

You guys must have a seriously different description of "Off Road" than I do. 

This is where I took my DRZ 400 and non knobby tires would not work. 

[phpaul]

Those 606's look pretty aggressive to me, likely more than I need.  Also question just how good they'd be on pavement, tho spirited pavement work is not on the agenda for this bike.  If I want to go all Hooligan, I'll take the FJ 😆  I do think something a bit more street-biased would be better for my application.  "Off pavement" would be more accurate than "off road".  Think trails and fire roads, not cross-country.

[norcal616]

I think this is your best solution.. 

 

[koth442]

1 hour ago, phpaul said:

Those 606's look pretty aggressive to me, likely more than I need.  Also question just how good they'd be on pavement, tho spirited pavement work is not on the agenda for this bike.  If I want to go all Hooligan, I'll take the FJ 😆  I do think something a bit more street-biased would be better for my application.  "Off pavement" would be more accurate than "off road".  Think trails and fire roads, not cross-country.

I've ridden on the freeway with D606's. They're fine. A little bit of weave at freeway speed but not awful. Around town they're still really good. I honestly cannot express how impressed I was with them.

[Cruizin]

1 hour ago, phpaul said:

Those 606's look pretty aggressive to me, likely more than I need.  Also question just how good they'd be on pavement, tho spirited pavement work is not on the agenda for this bike.  If I want to go all Hooligan, I'll take the FJ 😆  I do think something a bit more street-biased would be better for my application.  "Off pavement" would be more accurate than "off road".  Think trails and fire roads, not cross-country.

They went 6500 miles doing 80% pavement.  I used it to ride to work and then go fire road and trail blasting after work and on weekends. The DRZ 400 was awesome on these tires.  The DRZ400 is also a dirtbike. 

But if you aren't going in the dirt and not going up any dirt hills, then knobs aren't needed. But dont be fooled, non knobbie tires will slide out and spin out and get you hurt in dirt. 

Let me know if you get the DRZ, I have a ton of good tech info on that bike. I also have a service manual. I have rebuilt top/bottom end on a DRZ, suspension, carb, made up my own seat, respoked DRZ wheels, lighting, exhaust. Myself and three buddies all had one and we helped each other do just about everything to these bikes. They take a lickin and keep on tickin. My freind's 04 has over 40,000 miles on the original engine. 

 

[phpaul]

13 minutes ago, koth442 said:

I've ridden on the freeway with D606's. They're fine. A little bit of weave at freeway speed but not awful. Around town they're still really good. I honestly cannot express how impressed I was with them.

Hmmmm.  Well then.  I guess that's the way I'll go.  Doubt they'll ever see the high side of 55mph anyway.