"knobee" tires for mostly road use

eran_k

Been Around the Block
hey all,
I'm looking for tires, for 18" rim.
I want them to look "knobee" but most of my riding will be on the road with maybe some mild dirt roads etc.
the bike is a suzuki gsx400 the front tire is 90/90-18 and the rear is 110/90-18
any suggestions?

thanks
Eran
 
These are a street/offroad tire. I rode 200 miles, spent a weekend in the twisties down at the thaw, then rode 200 miles back on the highway. I was pretty happy with them, and they are cheep.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/15034/ITEM/Shinko-244-Dual-Sport-Front---Rear-Tire.aspx

IMG_20130508102558.jpg
 
I have these on my KZ400....

http://www.shinkotireusa.com/product/product.php?id=60

I really like them, they ride smooth, but seem a little tough to balance. I need to give them one more shot at balancing. But, they are inexpensive and like having the option of a little meat on the tires for mild off- road/gravel/etc.
 
Old post, but here goes.... What size did you run on these?
I checked these in 3.00-18 and 4.00-18 for my cb400f and the speedrating on the 3.00 front tire was 75mph........... :(
Also are these tubeless?

JSJamboree said:
These are a street/offroad tire. I rode 200 miles, spent a weekend in the twisties down at the thaw, then rode 200 miles back on the highway. I was pretty happy with them, and they are cheep.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/29/393/15034/ITEM/Shinko-244-Dual-Sport-Front---Rear-Tire.aspx

IMG_20130508102558.jpg
 
You can't exactly expect to be doing the ton on knobbies.....its a little.....uh.....unsafe? 75 should be fine.
And tubed or tubeless doesn't matter you can put a tube in a tubeless tire without issue.
 
SONIC. said:
You can't exactly expect to be doing the ton on knobbies.....its a little.....uh.....unsafe?

ah it aint that bad, just a bit of wobble hahaha :-\

also its pretty neat how they dont just gradually break away when cornering. You go from all the grip to literally hopping over a foot mid corner :eek: thats a bit unnerving as well...

so now i stick to real street tires, they dont look as cool when parked but so much nicer to ride around on.
 
I couldn't tell you the size anymore, that bike has long been sold. They were tube tires, you cant really run tubeless with spokes. As for the speed, I managed to hit 80 on that bike down a hill on a highway with a tailwind... It was smooth though..
 
I had put the factory size tire on the 350, and because of the knobs I actually had to slightly modify the fender to keep the knobs from rubbing.
 
Thanks guys. Not sure what path I will take on the tires yet, but the knobees sure look Nice when Parked....... I can imagine they don't run as smooth as streets tho.
I have been looking on different Dual Sport tires that look Nice and also got good reviews on street.
Like the Metzeler Enduro 3
metzeler_enduro_3_sahara.jpg

Heidenau K60 Scout
Heidenau_K60-Scout_pair.jpg


You can get both in 4.00x18. The problem is that they doesn't have a front in 3.00x18 so I am just as phukked.

I guess it will be the BT45 or the AM26 in the end........
 
I see on Heidenaus homepage you can get the K60(not Scout) in 90/90-18 so that can be an option. Has gotten good review on street aswell.
http://www.reifenwerk-heidenau.de/modules/reifenliste/view.php?point=2&rtyp=10&profil=37&pic=47
 
you shouldnt notice a big difference in ride quality around town. My city's ring road is probably 70% grooved concrete and we have a few steel grate surface bridges. this is where you'll notice the front wandering the most. If you dont have that you probably wont even notice on regular rides. The shinko 244 actually gets pretty good reviews from dual sport guys in regard to its street manners.
 
Thanks for the input Mr.Danger! I have emptied the internet by now Reading about dual sports. Like you say the 244 has gotten some good reviews, but they are hard to find here in Norway. The Heidenaus I can get for 250$ shipped.
Haven't made up my mind yet. I have as good as New Metzelers ME77 sitting on the bike today so there is no rush...
 
ohhhhh i didnt bother to see what part of the earth you're on! hahaha well best of luck, choosing tires ais a real pain, took me a month and a half and i decided on a tire i hadnt even considered at first!
 
D4N63R said:
ohhhhh i didnt bother to see what part of the earth you're on! hahaha well best of luck, choosing tires ais a real pain, took me a month and a half and i decided on a tire i hadnt even considered at first!

Haha Thanks :) Currently looking at the mikexs.net 2.15x18 rear rims and 1.85x18 front aswell...
 
I've been riding enduros a good portion of my riding career (about 25 years) and I always go for aggressive tires because in Ohio you never know what slop you will come across off road. I don't like getting stuck. I've found while riding to places like PA and WV I can do twisties at 55-60mph with aggressive dirt tires. I don't have the balls that some of the other guys in my group do but they can really lean into a corner on them. It's something you want to get used to, and the more square the profile of the tire the less predictable they will be... someone else mentioned it before as well. Rounded profiles are better if you're going to be leaning quite a bit. you will be surprised at how well knobbies grip on a DRY CLEAN road. On gravel roads they are downright fun, grab well and slide predictably. Its when the roads get wet that things get... ahem... interesting. Let me make that dangerous. Braking distances also need to be increased. My rear tire will lock pretty easily., I've skidded into the middle of intersections when a light changed late.

This is what I run on my enduro (which happen to be almost the same size tire you are looking at)

Dunlop D606 in rear
Dunlop-D606a.jpg


and an intermediate terrain tire in the front (varies on what I have available)
0000_cheng_shin_c183a_series_soft_terrain_front_rear_tire.jpg


The worst part about running knobbies on the street is that they cup really bad and really quick. I have to take my front tire off the rim and flip it about every 500-750 miles to get it to wear evenly. The rear will go a little longer, about 1000. You'll have to inspect them to see when they start to visibly cup, then flip it. Also make sure you do not get a directional pattern tire, or you can't flip it.

The nice thing is that there are tires that work well. I get about 5000-6000 miles out of my Dunlop rear on my XR250L, and that's running it dirt and street. The larger the blocks the longer it will last.

Let us know what you decide.
 
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