I liked the performance of the stock Michelin DOT 90/90x21 Enduro Comp. front tire on my TE 510. I was running it at 15lbs but put 2 dents in the rim. The bike hauls a$$. I put it up to 18lbs and it still did good, but I wanted to try a 90/100x21 to get a little more (9mm) of rubber between the rim and the road. I went to the Kenda web site and found most of their front tires are DOT approved. No sellers seem to list this though? I went with the Kenda 90/100x21 K775 Washougal regular compound/non sticky. Only $52 from RM. It seems to give the front end a heavy feeling at slow, near walking speeds, but that is the only bad thing I can say about it. At speed it does just as good, maybe better then the stock Michelin. I am real happy with the tire and would buy another. I might try the sticky one then.
That's good to know about the DOT ratings. I'll have to take a peeky-see at the Kenda site myself. Around here, we have a lot of grouchy rangers who will write you a ticket or threaten you if you don't have all your DOT stuff on the bike in some parks (like Anza Borrego) that allow only street legal vehicles.
Another Kenda DOT option is the 760 Trakmaster II. I'm currently running them front and rear....both ends DOT rated (not that they check in my area) Have approx 750 miles on them, front has started slightly rounding and rear is holding up well with no chunking, but about half gone......actually not too bad for hammering thru 99% dirt/sand/rock on a 510. They perform very well in my varied high desert/mtn ride conditions. About the only place I feel their lacking grip is extreme hardpack w/loose sand or thin layer slick mud over it, but even then it's fairly predicable slide. Maybe the K775 would be better here.
I have the 120/100x18 Kenda K760 Trackmaster on the back. It is a good combo with the K775. It seems I need to run 18-20lbs in the rear though or I can feel the side wall flex under the extreme 510 power. I have the K760 TM set on the DRZ. It is a good combo, especially for the price. I think I like the K775 out front more then the TM. More open knob pattern.
yep, same size I use on back.........but only run 12-13psi (off-road anyway), w/heavy tube If I stay w/a DOT tire, I might have to give that 775 a try next time.
I used the trackmaster rear for YEARS with a Bridgestone M59 front. For a very long time my overall favorite tires. Now I'm running the Motoz. I feel the Motoz offer better handling but the Trackmaster / M59 combo is a VERY good one.
Bridgestone and I don't play well together....bike or truck, but I have been reading all the recent posts on the MotoZ tires with great interest.
I'm running the Kenda K-270 on the back of my 510. Soft side wall but great in the bush. And a Maxxis M7311 Maxxcross SI Front. It's OK sidewalls don't flex much and I can hit things pretty hard without damaging the rim.
Can anyone confirm that the kenda k775 front is a DOT approved tire, some sites say that it is, others say that it is not.
It is unclear from the marking on the tire. It says "DOT XXXXXX" on the sidewall, where XXXX is some alphanumeric code. I don't know if that means that it is street legal. It does not say "not for highway use" anywhere on it that I can tell. If I remember, I will take a picture tonight.
I run Washougals and I believe that's the DOT number for that specific tire. They are DOT legal. I don't think Kenda promotes them as a Dual Sport tire though, as they are really a competition tire.
