Oh, no! A (DR650) tire thread...

[buck000]

I'm looking for the respected opinions of the denizens of this particular deep.

Here's the story: I picked up a very nice '98 DR650, with still-good knobbylicious Dunlop D606s on 'em. though they look pretty good, I'm not sure how many miles are left on 'em and, besides, I think I'd be more confortable, initially, anyway, if I had more road-biased tires that also don't suck too bad on hardpack/gravel/etc. roadage.

So, I'm leaning toward something like an Avon Distanzia; I figure if it's good enough for The Striking Viking (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41699), they'll do for me... ;-)

So my first question is, whatdya think about that?

Then, i come to find that my rear tire is actually not the stock 120/90-17 size, but rather a 130/90-17. Moreover, I come to find that the Distanzia I was thinking about only comes close enough to either of those sizes via a 130/80-17 (at least what swmototires.com shows). Maybe I'll just go with Pirelli Scorpion S/Ts or somesuch.

So, my next question is: what do you folks think are the merits/drawbacks of a bigger tire on a DS bike?

I just don't see myself taking advantage of the D606s any time soon (but I'll keep 'em around for remounting when I'm feeling more confident about getting into the muck a bit more... ;-) )

Thanks for any/all opinions, even "you're a tool," which keeps me humble... :chug:

[WoodButcher]

Well, on my DRZ I went with a wider tire when I put my Pirelli mt21's on, but that was because of dirt performance. Since you are thinking about more street riding, I'm not sure what the implication would be. In my case I found that the wider tire worked great. Of course the Pirelli's were better on the street than the non-DOT knobbies they replaced by design.

The 606's you are replacing are in the same class as my mt21's. 80% dirt/20% street. You will find them suprisingly good on the street, great on the dirt roads and gravel, and pretty darn good on trails. The only thing I would be careful of is cornering on wet pavement.

[gotdurt]

Off road; fatter is better for many reasons. On road it'll likely handle better with the stock size, I can't imagine how a wider tire would help.

Take a look at IRC GP110's. You'll get a knee down on the pavement, and they work better off-road than any other non-knobbie DS tire I've ridden (they're still no knobbie though).
http://www.accwhse.com/photos/irc_gp110.gif