Here is a quick comparison of two very similar tires that I have run on my DR650. This is just my personal opinion, I'm not sponsored or paid by either brand (or anyone for that matter ). Enjoy!
I would have to agree with what you said about the soft side lugs making for sketchy handling on-road in the corners, I definitely noticed that on several occasions with the K270 tires on my Drz400. However, I found that they are great off-road, and since I don't do a whole lot of riding on pavement, these tires work perfectly for me. They're decent on-road, but if your doing more than 30% on-road I would suggest trying something different. Also, my k270 on the rear has right around the same wear as the k270 you showed in the video, except my tire only has around 1,000 miles on it. I do usually ride somewhat aggressively though, spinning the tire a lot, doing lots of wheelies etc., this will obviously eat a rear tire much faster.
Had exactly the same experience on these tires (on my KLR). Won't run the 270's on the road as I tend to corner there and the 244's just work so much better when you're doing 50/50 riding! Edit to add: I've run the 244's from British Columbia to California with many places in between, both on and offroad.
I like the 244s, but the kenda do last longer. I have recently switched to the tusk dsport because I'm doing less road time on my DR now that I have a vstrom also
244 front 504 rear winning combo. i slab hard too, 80-90 mph iron butt days. round hard contact patch, stiff corner lugs on soft grippy compound. 504 paddles me out of mud and shit with plenty of drift for shenanigans, and the 244 carves and stears the ship. could be a tad better in mud, but the road manners for an aggressive tire like that are aces for me. no squirm AT ALL EVER. loose lugs in corners is the worst feeling i can think of, id rather fly over mud until i straighten out than squirm out in a fast corner. the combo could carver better, but when im deep in shit, they paddle me out. i never need a push in mud.
The Honda crf300l stock tires are much better tires. I went with kenda and wished I’d went with another stock tire. The kenda does feel squirrelly when going highway speed. I stopped to check that the tire wasn’t loose after a few miles.
Hey Mike its Troy, I experience the K270 sidewall flex myself on pavement. Definitely not a good feeling through a corner when your ass end starts to walk out. I have never run the Shinko but Sübix seems to like em. I tried the Dunlop 606 and honestly I didn't experience the life out of it you did. Mine was toast in about 3k miles and felt like I had a hell of a lot less traction on the road. Of the road thought they were pretty damn good. I ran a Pirelli MT21 in the front last year and slid out around a corner and the bike slid into a tree. I blame myself for pushing the bike past its limits as well as the dual compound of the tire. The soft rubberwore away really fast leaving a chunky tire with only the hard rubber left. The harder rubber just didn't have the grab needed for how I was riding. Thanks again for donating the parts to help me get back on the road. My favorite tire so far definitely had to be the TKC80 hands down. I've been running them front and rear since I ditched the Pirelli and I'd have to say, they don't flex through the corners like the Kenda. Nice solid large blocks of rubber. They're great for the kind of twisty road street riding up here and grab pretty darn well in the dirt.
I had my first experience with the "chunking" of a shinko. In its defense, it was made in 2017 and sat in a garage for 2 years so I'm still reserving judgement.
If you don't need all that traction in the back, a good combo is the TKC 80 up front and a Shinko 705 in the back. Good mileage and great front control in the dirt.
Nice, clear review. I guess for a ‘true’ 70/30 tyre, the Kendas would be great because those soft side lugs would work well off-road. Whereas, the Shinkos would perhaps fit in to a 60/40, due to their better cornering ability on road (even though they are marketed as a 70/30, also). Would you agree?
K270 my go to rear for traveling, every day use, and trails. D606 front for me as well. If I have to do alot of off road and trail over a couple days I swap to D606 or Trackmaster rear. There's Motoz as well, are good tires but now way too much money for me.
Hey man....totally agree with your assessment. Thanks for validating my thoughts. Can you please tell me what the music is that's playing in the background of this video?
Just bought some shinko 244's, 5.10-17 rear tire, and then a 4.60-17 front tire, brought it to the shop and they said that it didn't fit... Do you possibly know what sizes you used? I have a drz400s and saw on multiple forums and youtube videos that this size would work.
You have an S or an SM? It makes a difference, an SM is the super motard, it has 17"wheels front and back and upside down forks, an S has a 21" skinny wheel up front and an 18" rear wheel. My bike is a DR 650, it has a 21" front and a 17" rear.
