I have browsed the internet and found various threads offering suggestions for knobbies or close-to-knobby tires that can be mounted on 17 inch rims. However, I know I have seen pictures on here of somebody that has these types of tires mounted on their bike. I was thinking it was one of the ladies. So, for anyone who has tried this, which tires did you use? Did you like them? How did the bike handle off-road? And, most importantly, what size of front/rear tires did you go with? I have an 06 510 that I am trying to make a little more dual-sport friendly. I have ridden it offroad for a limited amount of time on Pilot Powers and Distanzias, but would really rather have something with more bite.
Search for posts from Woodschick. She is the one you are thinking of with the knarly knobbies mounted on her 17 inch tires. You might also try googling "toughest looking dirt bike ever" that should also bring up pics of her husky.
I am also interested in tire options for the SM610. The tire on the front of Woodschick's bike looks like a rear tire, and I'm wondering how it handles. My dad ran a rear tire on the front of his bike once. It worked well off-road, but steered really weird on the pavement. Another option I was thinking about was running the stock rear 17" wheel, but going with a 19" front wheel. I read about someone doing that, but couldn't find any info on how well it worked. Seems like it would give a lot more options when trying to get tires. I'm wondering if a 19" wheel would work with the front brake, or if it would require changing the brake as well.
I am looking to do this as well on my SMR 510 2006, did you ever end up buying any tires Phoenix? What size did you get? I'm looking at either the Trackmaster 2's from Kenda or some IRC's.....
