• Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

    Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.

    Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.

    Thanks for your patience and support!

TE630 Rear Tire Replacement

I see no one got back to you on this. The Sahara is a highly regarded tire by the BMW riders. Long life, good road manners. It doesn't see as much popularity for the dualsport crowd because it's way behind the others in offroad performance. For mostly road it should be a very good choice. I would also look at the Kenda 270. Good cheap tire. There's a 5.10-18 that should fit pretty well for the 630.

Thank CJ for your reply.

Unfortunately, I do not have so much offroad option here (a lot of single and double tracks are forbidden, here), so I have to face the 60% of my mileage on street. Also, I like to take the bike everytime I can, also to go to my office (30 Km far, on road), and I don't want to stop now caused by wet and cold roads.

I'm looking on the web for Kenda 270, it's a little bit difficult to find here..I'll try, otherwise I'll go on Sahara 3 and give my opinion.
 
What size of rim lock should i get for my 610TE with a 140/80/18 rear tyre?So many options in the net...:confused:
If you're going to ride pavement much and want it easily balanced - try MotionPro's lightweight rim locks. They weigh about half what a standard rim lock weighs and makes it much easier to balance the rear.

The LiteLocs are available in 1.60/1.40 and 2.15 rim sizes, for virtually all common dirt motorcycles out there today. Retailing at less than $20 per lock, they are a bargain investment to better performance and longer tire and tube life. Check them out at http://www.motionpro.com or head down to your local dealer.



http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/category/rim_locks/
11-0060.jpg
 
Mounted up a new Karoo (not the (t) traveler)and took it out for a ride yesterday. Performed well, much better in the loose stuff than the Karoo T that was stock. Did well on the road too, don't know how long it will last, but at $78 it wasn't too much of a gamble.
photo.jpg
 
For anybody needing tires www.bikebandit.com has a good deal going on until the 28th. Buy $99 in tires and you get free Motion pro tire irons plus free shipping.
http://www.bikebandit.com/motion-pro-assorted-tire-iron?b=25546

And if you're an AMA member you get 10% off anything you order. So I ordered a front Pirelli Scorpion Rally for $57 and rear Michelin T63 for $54. Complete set of new rubber shipped to my door for $111 with free tire irons to boot.

Other selection of tires at good prices also, rear 140/80-18; Dunlop 606 $81, Pirelli MT21 $68

Edit - today only Nov-28, now everybody gets 20% off everything. And above free shipping and tire iron offer is still valid. I'm stocking up and ordering more tires, T63 is now $48 and Scorpion Rally only $50 each. At the speed I'm racking up miles they'll only sit for a few months anyway. Doubt if you'll ever find a deal this sweet again.
_
 
Got 1200 miles out of both the 606 (right) and MT-21 (left). The 606 has a slightly better bite and handles softer terrain slightly better. Pirelli is predictable and better priced.
The cracking and chunking on the Pirelli is due to some very rocky terrain. Not unexpected and probably would be the same with the Dunlop.

IMAG0357.jpg
 
Got 1200 miles out of both the 606 (right) and MT-21 (left). The 606 has a slightly better bite and handles softer terrain slightly better. Pirelli is predictable and better priced.
The cracking and chunking on the Pirelli is due to some very rocky terrain. Not unexpected and probably would be the same with the Dunlop.

IMAG0357.jpg

Funny, in a worn out state the MT21 actually looks more aggressive, a more open tread spacing. The square edges of the 606 must bite better.

A 606 has much taller knobs than the T63. My T63's are getting rounded off pretty quickly. Both of these tire's knobs have stayed pretty squared off - what pressure do you run on the hiway?
 
Funny, in a worn out state the MT21 actually looks more aggressive, a more open tread spacing. The square edges of the 606 must bite better.

A 606 has much taller knobs than the T63. My T63's are getting rounded off pretty quickly. Both of these tire's knobs have stayed pretty squared off - what pressure do you run on the hiway?

Just under 20. I don't air up/down.
 
If you're going to ride pavement much and want it easily balanced - try MotionPro's lightweight rim locks. They weigh about half what a standard rim lock weighs and makes it much easier to balance the rear.

The LiteLocs are available in 1.60/1.40 and 2.15 rim sizes, for virtually all common dirt motorcycles out there today. Retailing at less than $20 per lock, they are a bargain investment to better performance and longer tire and tube life. Check them out at http://www.motionpro.com or head down to your local dealer.

http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/category/rim_locks/
11-0060.jpg

+1 on these.
I was able to balance my wheel and tire with weights on the inside of the rim, then a few layers of duct tape and cut out for the stem and lock:

DSC04513.jpg
 
I'm using the LiteLoc rim locks as well. I was surprised when balancing the with these. No weight needed up from, and only 1.5 oz. in the rear.
 
Last May i went about 20 miles on the White Rim Trail in Moab on a 606 that went flat from a brand new 16 penny nail that went thru and thru (i must have picked it up in town). Anyways, the outer puncture sealed up with the slime i was already running. The inner puncture would take about 2 miles to leak the air out. i would go about another mile on a totally flat tire. If you have ever been on this trail you know it is hardly a typical dirt road. I would stop every three miles, air up to 50lbs and ride like heck back towards town. After six cycles i made it to asphalt and the Colorado river. There was a boat/picnic area and we stopped for the shade and patched the tube while one of our buddies jammed to Moab to get a inner tube in case we couldn't fix it. Point is, when we decided to do the air up and ride like hell plan, everyone and myself, figured the tire would spin on the rim and this is why we sent a guy to town to get an inner tube. Maybe the 606 fit tighter on the rim? I have had this same result on my KLR.

Oh notice the river all the way up to where we were!IMG_1516.JPG
 
The WRT has a lot of places perfect for pinch flats. This last year's record snowmelt has had water levels on the Green and Colorado at incredible heights.
I rode it twice this year, between closures where the Green flooded Hardscrabble Bottom and Potato Bottom, and the section just below the newly repaired Mineral Bottom switchbacks.

That's a loooong ride, and a horrible one to get a flat and not have a spare tube!
 
Yeah we got as far as Potato bottom the river was receding, but the road was still closed, next day we came around the other way past the potash mine. 70 miles in and 70 back. My profile pic is at the top of Hog Back where we ate lunch. I discovered the puncture on the way back, thankfully only about 20 miles from the potash mine and asphalt. That's why we decided to limp it to the shade. Compared to other tires i have had the pleasure of getting flats on, the 606 was the most impressive. Must be the stiff sidewalls. It was in the 90s that day and the tire was almost to hot to touch from all the flexing. Great experience though! I cant wait to go back next May!
 
I had a local shop put on the T63 over the weekend. I had them do it because I've never balanced a wheel before. I also went with the Motion Pro wheel lock, good recommendation. I do notice that when I go over 60 mph I get a slight wobble/ shimmy from the rear of the bike. I used to feel a bit of wobble from the Karoo front tire when on the grooved highway which I was used to. This wobble from the rear end is more pronounced and has a greater effect on the over all control of the bike. You think this occurs because it is not balanced right? Or is this somewhat normal with a 130 sized tire?


T63...
Just back from Death Valley, did about 400 miles, 75% dirt. My buddy had a new D606 on his XR for the trip, knobs are quite a bit taller. Looks like the T63 is a quarter worn out when new in comparison.
But then it's 25% less in cost so I guess it's a trade off. I doubt the 606 will last 25% longer but certainly worth a try.

It is vastly superior to the Karoo Traveler they come with. Hooks up good, rides great on the road. Very predictable, great traction, very happy with it. It has rounded off the front of the knobs but height doesn't seem to have changed much. Good profile, good on road curves. It hums pretty good at about 40, but never noticed 'till riding around the block after the washdown after the trip. Wind noise with my MX helmet on the hiway drowns out even the exhast note - can't hear a thing. ;)

Based on mileage so far it looks like it will easily go over a thousand miles. I don't expect really long life out of it though so 12-1500 would be a real bonus.

I would also prefer a 140mm tire but it's fine. Maybe try the Tractionator or Scorpion rally next time.

EDIT: BTW, I just looked at MCSS on the 130/90/18 D606 and they are $95 now. That means it's 50% more than the T63...ouch! Michelin Desert - $142..ouch again. Scorpion Rally in 140/80 is $97.
DSC04605.jpg
 
My wobble is gone. If they lined up the rear wheel with the hash marks on the swingarm it could be out of alignment. They don't agree with a tape measure from swingarm pivot to axle. I've had mine to 80 several times since the tire swap and I just get some hunting back and forth from the front end. Nothing from the rear (except a pretty good knob howl at 40-45).

I don't think it has anything to do with the tire. I've got about 600 miles on mine now and it still looks like the photo above. But I still think 1200 miles it gonna be doing good, doubt it will go any further.
 
How much balance weights did the shop add to your rim? and what location did they add it? The Motion Pro rim lock is 2.4 ounces. I didn't balance mine but only guesstimated by adding 2 ounces of weight opposite the rim lock and it turned out perfect, not wobble whatsoever up to 96mph. My T63 is going on tomorrow so I'll post back later in the week my findings.
 
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