I generally hate tire threads because the wander on endlessly with no resolution to the original question but with a smaller more focused group like this maybe this will work. I have been thinking about setting up the TE 510 with a set of street shoes but I don't want to spend the cash to go the whole SM route so the questions is are there any good sport/street tires in 21" and 18" sizes.
610 tires My KTM 950 came with Scorpions and they were OK. Wear like iron and are OK on the pavement. Not worth much off road. Doug
Local shop had a Suzuki DR350 for sale with a loose pair of street tires that the owner had put on for a supermoto track day. The new buyer didn't want them, so the shop gave them to me and I put them on my TE610E. Maxxis MH90-21 and 130/80-18. Not the best, but not bad for a "Sportsman" Street Supermoto. I've always run Avons on my RD350, so if I was buying new, I'd check out them. Lots of decent 21 cruiser tires availible. I've got a used pair of Karoo's that came of a newer TE610 on the TE610E right now. Norman
Avon also makes Distanzias in 21" and 18". They are a different compound than the SM 17" Distanzias. They work great on the street, but are kinda crappy in the dirt. It seems to me that most folks that swear by them in the dirt are streety SM guys, not experienced dirt riders that know how a good dirt tire should feel.We were running the Avon Gripsters, which work just as well on the street and better in the dirt, but they don't make them in 21" and 18" anymore apparently. My husband was a successful roadracer for many years and he can really push the Avons on the street with pleasing results. He has the Pirelli Scorpions on his LC4 640e and they have worked admirably for his everyday commute and they haven't put him on his head yet on pavement. We did a 40 mile trailride up at Middle Creek in the Mendocino Nat'l Forest and the Scorpions worked better than he imagined they would. As an aside, my 17" MT60's work better in the dirt than his 21/18" Distanzias. Hope that helps some... WoodsChick
Thanks Norm, I was considering the Avon Road Rider which is kind of a sport/touring tire. Its' tough to find exactely what I'm looking for in a 21/18 combo and I don't like mixing and macthing tire types (at least not on the street) but Avon does have the right sizes so it looks like I will give these a try.
Thanks for the info WoodsChick. I'm not really concerned with the tires off road prowess. I've given up on trying to find a tire that can do everything and I'm just going have different sets for different occassions. While I would love to have a full SM set of rims and tires to swap out I really can't justify the money for that right now so I'll just get real good at changeing out tires.
On/Off road tyres I currently run my te 610 on a road biased set up (SM gearing) with Brigdestone trailwings 41 Front 42 rear they are extremely good on the road, can take full lean to the edge- no chicken strip! I can virtually ride it like a supermoto and they work in the wet. The rears are lasting me around 3000km with street use before they are totalled. Ive also used the 301 Front and 302 rear trailwing which are slightly more offroad and these coped with dry trails ok here is the bridgestone info http://mc.bridgestone.co.jp/en/products/trailwing2/index4.html http://mc.bridgestone.co.jp/en/products/trailwing/index.html Cheers Dil
Doh! Sorry about that; I guess I didn't read your original post closely enough. Anyway, I still stand by the Distanzia's as being a really good choice for the street. StreetChickToo
RBG- I have heard great things about Pirelli Scorpion A/T's... they even look like they could tackle some hard pack and gravel respectably. I met up with a guy last weekend to do a DS ride, and he had Kenda K761's on his LC4... they did a really good job on the pavement and the dirt too. the Kendas are easy on the wallet as well. (on a side note, the headlight mod is still rockin'!! No problems at all to report.)
Thanks Low Down. Good to hear that you're still lighting the way for everyone. This thread is going exactly oppostite of what I normally see in a tire thread. Usually I pick a couple of tires that I think might work and ask for opinions and everyone comes back and shoots holes in the ones I picked. This time I picked a few that looked like they might work and everyone is comeing back saying there all good. Maybe I should should buy the cheapest one that I can find and call it good.
Sounds like a plan! We got to do all we can to save money these days (so we can buy other 610 goodies!).
I know this is a old thread but I have been running Metzler Sahara 3's on my 410 for over a year now. They are the stock tire off the BMW 650X. 140/80/18 and 90/90/21. They make for a great street tire, handle well in the rain and will take a fire road too!!
I considered the Sahara 3 as good choice but I ended up going the full sumo route so now I have my dirt tires on the TE rims and a set of Contiforce SMs on the street rims. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.
I know you said you don't care about off road performance, but I thought I'd just mention that what worked for me on my 950 Adventure for gravel and asphalt was the Scorpion A/T rear and TKC 80 front. I may try this on my 610.
A coupla summers ago I commuted across Kansas every week and rode my KTM950 with the OEM Pirelli Scorpions. I road all gravel roads. My average speed was 75mph but I looked for every opportunity to get over 100mph.
