I nearly bit the bullet today. Rolling at 15 mph on a basic wet dirt road. Front washed out so quick on me I had no time to react. Only my knee jerk reaction of the foot getting to the ground with the bikes weight pounding behind it kept me from dropping it. It was like hitting black ice on the highway. Reaffirms my thoughts that these type of 80/20 tires are just exactly that. 60/40 rating is the way to go. As soon as you throw any wetness or gravel at these tires they stop doing their job. I pulled over right after and the pattern on both were completely caked over. In actual mud.. it’s lights out.

To bad! I just wasted a half hour looking up front tires for you only to find out you don't like Shinko tires. I was going to recommend that you go to a 3.00X21 to get more flotation, and I'd be tempted to try a Shinko SR 241. It has three lugs across blocked by a half lug on either shoulder. Two other Shinko's worth looking at are the Shinko 700 and their 216 Series. These three tires attack this problem from three different angles. I think these will work in dry sugar sand. For damp sand under 1 or 2 inches of dry sand, you need lugs spaced farther apart and taller...ARH:)

Goldetyre / Gibson ...GT 216 full knobbly..
go for 90/100/21 or 100/100/21....big and fat..

These ====> http://goldentyre.co.nz/

You will need to find a US surplyer and order online
these tyres arn't normaly sold in shops..

Another point most don't know...The FIM rated tyres have very small nobs
only 13mm tall...


..

i guess im not fully against shinko tires just comeing from a single track enduro raceing back ground i look for the most aggressive style tires i can find for off road since im basically useing this bike to trail ride around the upper peninsula of Michigan while being legal to ride the road when need be. sometimes its a 1 hr ride on road to get to the trail heads i want to hit that weekend so i cant fully sacrifice all the road capabilities .... :crazy: such is dual sport rideing always trying to find that perfect in between :hmm:

pete what do you think of this front tire? https://www.amazon.com/MOTOZ-Tractio...ds=21+tire+dot

Since you come from a "racing enduro background" one of these could work for you. A Pirelli MT 43 front is what I'd choose, especially if I had to ride on pavement very far to get to the trail I wanted to ride. And I don't ride as fast as you do...ARH :p

I believe the mixed set he talks about at the end is probably one of our best options. The 805’s or TKC80’s are what I’m liking but definitely considering the Pirelli offerings.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N_2y9LSxbvQ

i find that interesting... i have had almost no issues with that with my shinko onroad scooter tires (ninja 250 rim supermoto conversion) whilst dual sporting... i have run creekbeds, mud pits, wet grass, muddy washes uphill, etc with these and had minimal issues...

https://cdn.wpsstatic.com/images/100...5d35352e9b.jpg

so many tires sooo hard to choose :cry: well im down to 3 choices thanks to all of you 1 the most likely ill choose is a kenda track master in the rear https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...2QX59NLJ&psc=1
and a motoz tractionator in the front https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...CWI1WBOD&psc=1

second choice that also i like alot is the pirelli mt21 thanks to chiptoothy for both front and rear. tho they are slightly more expensive

and my last choice that i think are slightly better for the longer road rides is a irc tr8 battle rally in the front and a motoz mountain hybrid in the rear https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...XRRCX4P2&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...CWI1WBOD&psc=1


thanks for all the help guys ill let you know in the spring what i choose and how well they perform !

I have never used MotoZ tyres..
But people who have seem to rate them..

Kenda make there version of the mountain hybred..

The tyres I use are..

dirt..
Golden tyre 333 or 216 front & 230 rear..
Michelin AC10 rear..

ADV
Shinko 700 front & rear..

trials
Dunlop 803 front & rear..



.

going with kenda k760 track master 2's front and rear got an awsome price at my local shop 38$ for the front and 51$ for the rear tire cant wait to try them out this spring

I have heard good things about the K760. Honestly, that is probably the closest thing on the market to a stock Hawk tire there is.

im not sure if the hawk has different tires from the tt250 but as far as the front tire goes its far more aggressive looking with its staggered side tread rather than the inline v formation the stock front has the rear is similair but same thing staggered side tread and not a v formation for the price i couldnt argue and im hopeing they will perform better in the sand for me

The current TT250 from the factory gets something more akin to a 50/50 or 80/40 tire while the Hawk gets a 90/10 similar to the K760.

let us know what you end up getting and how well you like them. My TT250 is going to be run probably 95% dirt/gravel/cinder roads, wet and dry. Sounds like I will be at least wanting to change out the front tire if you are experiencing washouts easily.