Wilsons Sandbox

Hi Mike Wow! 2700 miles! How did you get it to last that long? Sadly, that seems about right from what I have read over the past 2 years, maybe even more than some have gotten from the OEM. Actually I got about 3500 out of mine, which was a few too many. Tire opinions vary here, a lot. Someone will pony up with the "source" of tire comparisons, but one thing is for sure, if you go with a heavily street oriented tire, you will not be having much fun if you go where there is anything less than hard pack. If you don't go off road, even that 20%, by all means, get that street tire and amaze the rice rockets what a single cylinder machine will do in the twisties. It freaks them out to be bested by a 38 hp thumper on the right tires. Many have a favorite, and for the price, I like the Kenda 270, (my third consecutive set) but it has more dirt orientation than your suggested 80% street use. Easily 1/2 of my riding is gravel roads, or straight dirt farm trails, interspersed with boulders and badger holes. This tire works well for me and the companions I ride with. Some find the side-knobs a little disconcerting during the transition from straight and level to full lean in the turn. Others suggest this feature keeps them honest, ie, not to fast, but fast enough to still be plenty of fun. As for mileage, I will get about 5000r/10000f miles out of this newly installed K270's. Mike, identify where you live and what trails you are going to ride. Maybe someone on the list can give a favorite, more clearly defined tire based on where you ride. The good news is, if you don't like the tire, you won't have to ride it long...most don't last much more than 5000 miles, and some a whole lot less if there are sharp rocks involved. Do your self a favor (IMHO), and install HD tubes. The added insurance of no flats is worth the extra price. Not completely failsafe, but definitely helpful. and, Don't forget to change the gas as soon as possible, exchange gas for miles of smiles, as often as possible. Question for you: What kind of riding gear are you using? Jean jackest and flip-flops? Just kidding of course, but I hope the answer is something with armor in it, pads, plastic. Regardless of your age, if you ride the KLR, you will fall down, and armor is good. At my age (51) armor is very, very good to me. Numerous testimonies here about falling down and glad for the armor. Armor is cheap, and skin, well, its only skin deep. ATGATT revmaaatin.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "zornsklr" wrote: > > I've been lurking in this group and enjoying both the humor, and the > info. I have a 06 with 2700 miles. My stock back tire is almost worn > out. My riding has been mainly on the street. Does this seem like > normal wear for the stock tire? And what would be a good replacement > for an 80% street tire ? Thanks Mike >

> I've been lurking in this group and enjoying both the humor, and the > info. I have a 06 with 2700 miles. My stock back tire is almost worn > out. My riding has been mainly on the street. Does this seem like > normal wear for the stock tire? And what would be a good replacement > for an 80% street tire ? Thanks Mike

Take a look here, (scroll down to comments). http://www.mindspring.com/~mssilverstein/motorcycles/klr650/tires/ My $0.02 .... based on what you said it depends on how hard you push the bike on the street and what the other 20% is ) If you ride real hard on pavement and the other 20% is easy gravel, something fairly street oriented like a Gripster may work. They have just mental amounts of grip on the street (which you probably don't need) but the looser the gravel gets, the worse they work. Some people have used a K270 rear with a Gripster front which is interesting and highlights that mixing at matching can help you fine tune. The Kenda 270 is a 50/50, not a good choice if you're 80% street. Plus I just *hated* it on my bike, leaned fully over when the outer knobbies engaged the rear would squirm and the front-end felt like it was about to fold. I just could never get comfortable with them. You might want to look at the IRC 110. Thats what I have on right now and I've been super pleased with them. If the K270 is a 50/50 then the IRC110 is a 70/30 street/dirt (despite what the FAQ says). Excellent on pavement, good on gravel and cheap. But poor in mud (like I said, 70/30). I was thinking of trying a different 50/50 next if I can find something that doesn't feel like the K270 leaned over. Maybe a D606, which, oddly is rated as "dirt oriented" but the reviews seem to prefer it to the K270 on the pavement. Tony

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "zornsklr" wrote:

> > I've been lurking in this group and enjoying both the humor, and the > info. I have a 06 with 2700 miles. My stock back tire is almost worn > out. My riding has been mainly on the street. Does this seem like > normal wear for the stock tire? And what would be a good replacement > for an 80% street tire ? Thanks Mike >

Mike, What pressures are you running on the street? Tire life goes down dramatically if the pressure is lower than appropriate for conditions, even when the tire is only 4 psi low. Some listers carry a small compressor so they can air down for dirt, and back up for the street. The life of your stock rear tire is not unusual as reported here, but some people have gotten more out of a rear tire by running anywhere from 30 to 36 psi, depending on load and riding conditions. Some people runing the (owner's manual) recommended pressures have gotten only 1500 to 2000 miles out of a stock rear - big rider, lots of hiway. Experiment some, read the replies, run a search, decide what works for you. Kenda's, Duro's, TKC80's, and last but not least the Mefo's. The Mefo's are pricey, but I have a couple of friends that actually were able to use them for about 17K miles. The tread design of the Mefo looks pretty good for general KLR dual sport use. all the best, Mike

Sonny, You'd hate yourself if you dropped it on one of the Neumanns, but if you've got one of the stereo ones it might be worth it... Sorry about the over-the-top reply, but it sounded as though you weren't going to be happy with what is possible with the camcorder mics. I would at least try the cheap Radio Shack dual-lavalier setup -maybe have them in a *big fuzzy* sweatshirt in your tank bag- plugged into the mic input of the camera... Given your location and occupation, do you ever run into Ritchie Owens? He's a bandmate of mine from back in the day... John

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Sonny Bulla wrote: > > > "scarysharkface" writes: > > > > My inclination would be to mount a couple of fairly bullet-proof Shure > > SM-58's out of the slipstream and put 15db pads in-line to your > > camcorder's input(s). > > Well,....I was really just wondering about how the mic that came with > the units worked but, if you want to get all technical...let's just > figure out how to carry my laptop, ProTools hardware, strap some > Neumanns all over the beast (my studio buddies would KILL me!), run a > SMPTE track, sync it all up in post and mix for best effect! > > ,,,or maybe, a Nagra and a "Big Fuzzy"... > > Sonny > '02 KLR650 >