[vinson1213]

I finally got a KLR. Which I love.
Right now, it has stock tires which are pretty bald.
Overall, they seem to do okay off-road and on-road, the previous owner said they just don't last many miles.

I was wondering if I could get some advice on tires that are similar to the stock performance, but with better lasting mileage. I plan on doing a 70 on-road / 30 off-road. What do you recommend and how would you rate them on/off road?

I am sure I will have more questions as I continue to figure this thing out.

Thanks!

 

[Paper]

Where are you located? As you can see lately, tire choice and cost as a lot to do with you being north or south of the Canadian border.

I, and most I'm riding with, are running Kenda 761 which has been an excellent tire, and is very inexpensive!!

Right now, Motorcycle Superstore sells a set for $85 shipped to your door.. That's for a SET of tires.. They grip the road well, aren't squirmy like some 50/50 knobbies are, and are what you'd expect off road for a 70/30 tire..

I will order them again.. Oh, and several people say they're getting 10K miles out of a set.. I don't know if I'll see that, but at the price, I'd be happy to see 5K.

All of that for $85 a set, shipped!!

 

[vinson1213]

That is sure a great deal!
I will have to look into that. I am located in Oregon.
So, on the tires, they will go through almost any terrain (besides freshly loose gravel of course)?

Here is another rookie question, I have been shifting gears around 4000 rpms, and cruising between 38k and 45k rpm. Does this sound about right? or am I off?

 

[Paper]

The 761 aren't for super loose stuff (sand or fresh gravel) but they'll go through it.. For fire roads and regular road riding, they're perfect..

Are you saying you're typically riding around 3800 to 4500 rpm?? If so, that's right around where the engine's happiest and that's typical road rpm's at highway speed. As long as you're not running into the redline, and not lugging it, you're doing fine!

Also, remember that KLR's don't have a rev limiter like most bikes..

 

[Randog]

Actually the OE Dunlop K750 isn’t bad for what you want to do. I thought they had pretty good performance on the road and were only adequate on the trail. The K750 were better in the desert that on a hard rocky fire road. I replaced mine with a set of D606s and although they hooked up nice in the dirt they suck on the street. The 606s are noisy and wear fast on the street. I doubt that any of those “Adventure” tires like the Kenda would be as affective as the K750 in the dirt. I had no problem and doing 85 or 90mph on the OE tires on freeway. The Shinko 244 tire is supposed to be a good cheap replacement for the K750s.