The dual sport tire rating system is somewhat of a misnomer as it doesn't necessarily mean (in this instance) that you'll ride them 20% of the time off road and 80% of the time on road. Rather, the rating is more of an indication of a tire's functionality along a range of conditions that one may experience both off road and on road while dual sporting. Off road conditions range from hardpan, to rocky/rutty, to loose gravel, to loose dirt, to sand, to mud. On road conditions range from straight, smooth and dry to curvaceous, rough and wet/slippery. Shallow tread patterns, like the TW41/42 above, are going to be best for on road conditions and hardpan off road surfaces. Deeper tread patters, right up to knobbies, are going to be best for loose surface off road conditions...and not so good for just about any on road conditions. You really need a good balance that's based upon your riding plans.
My riding plans need to take into account that any time I go off road here in Florida, there is a very high probability that I am going to encounter sand and other very loose terrains, including mud and flooded conditions. I need to have a tire with a much deeper tread, plus one that channels the crud from side to side and self cleans. At the same time, I want a tire that will do a reasonably decent job of tracking through paved cornering. It's a compromise.
So, I have four tires that I'm currently looking at to replace the TW41/42. The are:
Continental TKC80 Twinduro (40/60)
Shinko E-804/805 Crossfly Dual Sport (40/60)
Dunlop D606 Dual Sport (10/90)
Pirelli MT21 Rally Cross (10/90)
Continental TKC80 Twinduro
I'm already a big fan of the Twinduros. They're the gold standard in dual sport and adventure tires. I have a set on my KLR650. They have handled some pretty gnarly terrains on recent rallies. They aren't as aggressive in the sand as I'd like, but they got me through some deep sugar sand areas. On the highways, the Twinduros have been nothing short of amazing. I was just up in the Smoky Mountains at a rally and ran the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohalla Skyway and some other real curvy roads and the TKC80s stuck nicely.
On the downside, the Twinduros are expensive! You could find yourself spending $250+ on a set. Another downside is that the rear Conti on my KLR only lasted 3,000 miles. Expensive tires, soft short-life tread.
Shinko E-804/805 Crossfly Dual Sport
These are a good looking set of tires that I think may well be comparable with the TKC80s. I saw a set recently being used on a big Super Tenere during a rally in South Florida. They really seemed to be doing a good job.
The Shinkos come in at the lowest pricing of all my choices. In fact, I can reel a set of these in for $158. Also reviews are coming in with mileages ranging from 5,000 miles all the way up to 8,000 and several of those reviews were guys riding heavy adventure bikes.
Dunlop D606
This is my first 10/90 tire in my lineup. The reason I have such an aggressive tire in the lineup is that they are highly regarded among small to mid-size dually riders.
That front tire really looks a little gnarly for road work. Also the tread wear reviews seem to be all over the place, but on the low side. In fact, Revzilla had some reviews showing 1,500 miles. Yikes! This is the problem with the high off-road percent tires; they tend to be softer. I don't really need soft and need a block that can channel stuff.
Pirelli MT21 Rally Cross
The Rally Cross is another set of 10/90 tires. A popular tire, it actually comes stock on some KTM models. I find the tread pattern really attractive for soft terrains like sand and mud. They really look like they'd channel the crap out and self clean. However, similar to the D-606, tread life is pretty short lived. Any highway use is going to wear this tire fast.
Comments and reviews also indicated that the tire wasn't very stable on longer road expeditions, which is somewhat of a concern. I suspect that this tire is the right tire for someone who's an A-Rider and trailers their dually to the riding areas.
For sure the good thing about dual sport tires is even if you make a bad decision on the set you buy, you're going to end up buying the right set in another 3,000-5,000 miles. Also, I bear in mind that I can mix and match these tires. However, I'm not choosing to do that at this time.
I want to give the Shinkos a try. Like the Conti's, they're 40/60 tires, but they look just a little short of the Conti in block design on both the front and back. I was already a little disappointed with the Conti in the sugar sand and mud already, so I'm thinking the Shinkos aren't going to be better, but not much worse.
Then, the low price of $158 for the set and double the tread life of the Conti really make the Shinkos a desirable choice for the first set of suitable tires for the DR650.
Stay tuned for the review of performance.
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