D606s on twisty tar?

[marks]

The TKC and E09 on my 08 KLR are over half worn and while the Scorpions a/t's on the 09 KLR are great on the tar and fine on normal gravel they arent "off road" tires as such.

I was thinking of a set of Dunlop 606's the maximize my chances of staying upright on the more adventurous rides but didn't want to totally sacrifice the handling of the KLR on twisty sealed roads.

I understand that wet tar and knobbies are not a great combination but I'm a big girls blouse in the wet anyway.

Tire life is a consideration but I'm lucky to get 5000k out of an E09/TKC combo and would hope to get the same out of D606's

Don't care about tire noise as I cant hear it over the exhaust noise anyway...

thoughts?

[zeRax]

tire life, kms wise, dunno, i twist the throttle alot


but the 606 rear wears a hell of alot better than MT21 rears, not sure how many kms the mt21's have done atm , new from before dusty, but its not too much.

mt21 front seems alright


on my xr250L i had mt21's for DB1k 08, rear wore like shit on that bike too, then ran mt21 front ( the same one ) and a 606 rear, and liked the wear, and was alot more aggressive knob wise than i thought they would be,,


But, they get a mega howl from half worn or there abouts, ( for me it did anyway )


and 606s are more expensive a think ;x.



dunno what to BUY next time :\ probably whatever!

[buggsubique]

got me a BF goodrich Crossengo for $81, was gonna use on the DB1k but thought I'd jsut waste out the MT21 first. Me and the MT 21 have a love/hate relationship but she's starting to turn into an old nag so might have to f*ck her her off and try something new. Whatever I use I'm lucky to get 3k from a rear...will be trying the crossengo for trail bias and a shitty goldenboy for road & summer use.

oh, and the MT 21 sucks balls on twisty tar when it's hot - very slippery. Suck in the wet on tar too, very slippery. Pretty sure just cos of the large flat knobs.

[Crisis management]

Not tried the 606's but the TKC wore better than the MT21 on the DR...Zerax's comments about the 606 lasting longer than an MT21 would let you assume they will be a similar or better life than the TKC.

I always found the TKC gripped on everything except wet tar snakes but was predictable and forgiving when it got near the edge of traction.

Try a 606 and let us know!

[warewolf]

The D606 rears matched with the MT21 front seems to be the most popular choice on advrider thumpers etc... what I gleaned from lots and lots of reading. Lots of for & against, but it scores the most votes. I haven't tried D606 rears as the closest size to my needs is not brought in to the country, so have no personal experience.

The grip/life/price of the two as rears is rated as identical (life less than TKC80, usually), but the MT21 is renowned for chunking so loses out. Too many reports of front D606s being scary where the MT21s aren't make that choice the opposite.

Most Euro adventure tyres grip fine on the tar. Some of the Asian ones can be dicey, eg Kenda K270.

[Woodman]

Had a d606 on the front of my xl600 and I vowed never to put knobs on a road legal bike again. It just made the bike too much like hard work on twisty roads, e.g. very unresponsive, so much so that I made myself carsick (bikesick?)riding through Queen Charlotte Drive. Since replaced the xl but still have the tyre.

[buggsubique]

I made myself carsick (bikesick?)riding through Queen Charlotte Drive.. hey, I did the same thing heading out Kenepuru Rd...fuck I felt ill!

[Woodman]

hey, I did the same thing heading out Kenepuru Rd...fuck I felt ill!

Thank god for that, I thought I was the only one.
Should we start a support group??

[buggsubique]

Support group no, but perhaps we should PM the grand poobah of adv riding shitStain and humbly request some one on one advice / lessons on how to corner?

[Padmei]

Had a d606 on the front of my xl600 and I vowed never to put knobs on a road legal bike again. It just made the bike too much like hard work on twisty roads, e.g. very unresponsive, so much so that I made myself carsick (bikesick?)riding through Queen Charlotte Drive. Since replaced the xl but still have the tyre.

I had to stand up riding into Havelock couple of weekends ago to stop myself having a chuck in my helmet after a exciting ride thru the Queen Charlotte:sick:

[zeRax]

on a side note, holy fuck this is a big fucker of a white tail , what a bastard

[warewolf]

I think you guys need to get some more exposure to get used to it... Repeated runs along Qn Charlotte Dr until you can do it without feeling sick

Or take 2 HTFU pills and call me in the morning :lol:

[Woodman]

maybe the sickness is the thought of the tyres getting hot and wearing out and having to justify the$$$$ to you know who???

[dino3310]

y not stick to the TKC front and E-09 rear.
i'm getting a great run out of the e-09 on the rear 3500klms and not even near half worn yet.

as for that sick feeling woodman wouldnt that be more suspension set up than tyres

[bart]

Hahaha, you should see the front I'm running. I don't think it even has a name. Might be vee-rubber or something. Full knob farm bike tyre. Works great with a TKC80 rear. Bastard just wont wear out. Sticks like glue.

Must say that I'm impressed with the TKC on the back though. Awesome.

[Woodman]

y not stick to the TKC front and E-09 rear.
i'm getting a great run out of the e-09 on the rear 3500klms and not even near half worn yet.

as for that sick feeling woodman wouldnt that be more suspension set up than tyres

Possibly suspension related, but I never got crook with other tyres on, and honestly it was a real physical effort with knobs on, whereas the klr seems nice and light with e09 front and rear although I haven,t done many ks on road yet to totally prove this point.

[Aslan]

marks - I'm running mt21 front and d606 rear combo on my dr and am very pleased with the performance of both - after almost 5k including the DB1000K the rear is about half worn and the front barely showing signs of wear.

As to TKC80's - run them all the time on my 1150GS - best tyre for gravel and tar but more expensive than others.

I'm thinking of fitting a Mitas E07 when the D606 is gone - winter commuting and gravel riding.

good luck

[bishxt]

I can vouch for the D606's as they were supplied on my KLX - they gripped in the wet and didn't manage to get stuck in any Waimak mud holes when off road. They did about 1200k before I changed them for Trackmaster knobblies and they look just about unused.
The TKC's are great tyres, I've had plenty of sets on the XT over the years and they've lasted and gripped well - but... they're much cheaper in Europe :doh: So I've been running a K270 rear and TKC front for the last
3000K and it's all been good on wet seal, gravel and Waimak trails. The K270 is el cheapo but seems work!

Cheers Bish

[NordieBoy]

Or take 2 HTFU pills and call me in the morning :lol:

SeaLegs :2thumbsup

[NordieBoy]

As to TKC80's - run them all the time on my 1150GS - best tyre for gravel and tar but more expensive than others.

They're more expensive than some bikes.

[NordieBoy]

The K270 is el cheapo but seems work!

Define "el cheapo"?

[warewolf]

Possibly suspension related, but I never got crook with other tyres on, and honestly it was a real physical effort with knobs onThey do feel squidgy, there's no doubt about that, some worse than others. But adventure tyres like the D606 are much better behaved than full knobs.

What sort of pressures were you running? Low pressure makes the front end feel smooth but soggy and sluggish; higher pressure feels crisp and brings the knob profile in to play since the carcass deforms less.

And don't forget the rear influences the steering, too, in the same way that rear-end suspension problems are felt at the front. Eg a squared-off worn rear resists leaning/turning.

The last time I was motion sick was in a slow car over Takaka Hill. My bro driving, visiting from Aussie with his wife who couldn't handle the corners. We were going so slowly I could not slow my sighting through the corners enough to keep the mind in sync with the body. The lag was surprisingly unsettling. Not watching didn't help as I could still feel the motion. Bizarre.

[marks]

Thanks guys for the answers

Are knobby tires like the 606 more inclined to 'square off' than more roady adventure tires?


They do feel squidgy, there's no doubt about that, some worse than others. But adventure tyres like the D606 are much better behaved than full knobs.

What sort of pressures were you running? Low pressure makes the front end feel smooth but soggy and sluggish; higher pressure feels crisp and brings the knob profile in to play since the carcass deforms less.

And don't forget the rear influences the steering, too, in the same way that rear-end suspension problems are felt at the front. Eg a squared-off worn rear resists leaning/turning.

so are you saying that the normal 30/32 odd psi on road and 20/22 off road applies to 606's like any other adventure tire?


The last time I was motion sick was in a slow car over Takaka Hill. My bro driving, visiting from Aussie with his wife who couldn't handle the corners. We were going so slowly I could not slow my sighting through the corners enough to keep the mind in sync with the body. The lag was surprisingly unsettling. Not watching didn't help as I could still feel the motion. Bizarre.

pussie south islanders who cant handle a few corners. I suggest you take a couple of what you were prescribing earlier and call yourself in the morning......

[NordieBoy]

pussie south islanders who cant handle a few corners. I suggest you take a couple of what you were prescribing earlier and call yourself in the morning......

He keeps getting an engaged signal :no:

[Crisis management]

Thanks guys for the answers

Are knobby tires like the 606 more inclined to 'square off' than more roady adventure tires?



I certainly end up with the centre burnt out before the edges and it does make for a disconcerting transition into corners on seal, but the edge grip is still there so theres nothing stopping you working on those pesky chicken strips until the tyre is completely dead.

[warewolf]

Are knobby tires like the 606 more inclined to 'square off' than more roady adventure tires? Wouldn't say so. They square off the same: it's a function of your riding style not any particular tyre.


so are you saying that the normal 30/32 odd psi on road and 20/22 off road applies to 606's like any other adventure tire?Yes, if that's what works for you, they'd be no different. 21/29 is spec for my bike on-road, I run 22/28. Off road it's usually 18/24 (or leave at 22 for a proper knobby front in the dry).


pussie south islanders who cant handle a few corners.:laugh: I couldn't take anything at that time, it wouldn't have stayed down :puke:

[Kaituna]

I have 606's on my DR650 and love them. On the seal I have never had a moment and I push them pretty hard to the point of a soft drift which is predictable and fun. On gravel, they are the bomb. Point and shoot. On wet tar seal, I am far more conservative as I am old now and have lost the ability to bounce. I reckon I will replace them with the same next time. Done about 3000km's and 3/4 rear worn but ride really hard.