I just bought a 1999 KLR 650 which came with a Dunlop D606 rear tire and Michelin Cross AC10 front tire. I commute on the highway every day and at least the front feels quite squirrely which is I guess is to be expected with such an aggressive tire. I live in the PNW so will be riding in a lot of rain which I haven't been in yet with these tires but I imagine it will be scary...

What would you recommend I swap the tires for? I will be riding 70%-80% road and the rest will be mountain forestry roads. Would it be a bad idea to swap just the front for something more street oriented?

Mitas e0-8. 70/30 road/dirt
Mitas e0-7. 50/50
Shinko make similar to e08
Avon have new Tyre out called trekrider. Looks good.
I got 18000klm from e08 rear
And 24000klm from the front.
Found them great in wet.
Just put a set of e07 on yesterday. Meant to get good mileage from them and still good in wet. We'll see.
I can vouch for the e08 s.


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For your riding environment: Continental Trail Attacks II.

I'm very happy with my Shinko 700 front tire/ Shinko 244 rear tire combo. They both do fine in the rain, will corner hard enough to touch pegs to asphalt and goes well enough in the dirt. They're quiet on the road, but I do have one complaint about the rear tire. It locks up easily during braking on pavement. Forward traction is fine, but it slides easily when stopping. I might try a 700 rear next go around, but it looks like this 244 rear just might last forever. 2k miles and still looks brand new.

I put road tires on mine. For what you're riding I'd go with a 100 percent road tire you'll be fine on forest roads and safer on the highway. I loved them on mine.

What Toney said about street tread.

For regular dirt and gravel roads I'd lean heavily towards regular street tread patterns.
I love the look and feel of the Shinko 705's as a personal favorite. (90% street
from my experience)

Again, Continental Trail Attack IIs for a slab-biased dualsport tire; for a 50/50 . . . Kenda K270 (or one of several tread-clones) . . . an advantage of the latter . . . AFFORDABLE!

(After all, this IS a KLR forum! )