DRZ 400 SM Tires recommendation 140 150 60 70 road use only?

[3rdMoto]

Recently acquired a new to me 2006 low mileage SM and other than the Kenda K671 ST Cruiser 140/70 rear tire (and the Outlaw petcock rebuild kit I just installed,) it seems to be stock. At the most performance wise it might see a pipe & 3x3 w jetting kit in the future. I think I have read most of the SM tire threads using search posted here from 2006 to 2014, haven't found any newer, so I thought I would bring up the issue. While my location has me near awesome mountain twisties, and some of that will definitely happen, but the vast majority of riding will be commuting and two lane back road day trips to AL, SC, NC & TN. I am also 59 yo and don't like contributing to the state/county/muni governments through their law enforcement collection agency's.

I am leaning toward the Pirelli Angel GT tires (sport touring) w/ rear being 150/70-17 as they should last a very, very long time on such a light bike, and work well in the summer thunderstorms I am sure to encounter. Thoughts? Do you prefer finding a 140/70 to stay stock on rear, or find 150/60 and 150/70 to be either better or acceptable? Is the kenda 671 worth keeping on the rear until its worn? Still has the dunlop 208 on the front, and while its not worn out, its far beyond its use by date any further, given its age.

I have read previously many preferring Michelin pilot road and pilot power 2ctcombos (soft sport on front and harder sport touring on rear) Is that still the hot ticket? (or Power RS / Road 2/3/4/5) Between my cr250r and wr250r I have off road covered, so the SM at worst might see gravel or a forest service road on the rare occasion. Hope to put lots of state 2 lane highway miles on it, and as little as possible 4 lane I-xx miles.

I only THOUGHT my Yamaha wr250r stock seat was uncomfortable... until I started putting miles on the SM.  Sheesh. What have ya'll done? seat concepts, fisher, sargent? 

Thanks for any input you can contribute.

[Scottg07]

I would recommend seat concepts, better than stock but still feeling it after several hours. Fischer might be the ticket, I still have my stock seat to send them over the winter.. they are made wider, support ass better!

I have a S model so no advice about tires but I plan to get sm wheels at some point.

 

Nice looking bike btw

[38super]

Bridgestone S20, Mich PR4 (60 series)

[cowpie]

well, i think your assessment of the tire lasting longer on a 'light' bike isnt correct heheh, it tends to 'slide' more i think both accelerating and braking for that very reason and tends to be short lived .. however i do think your on the right track with the sport touring lineup and thats the best choice for commuting .. in my assessment you can get a couple of extra thousand miles out of a sport touring vs a sticky performance tire .. im currently using a Bridgestone BATTLAX BT-45H 140/70-17 and i think the stock size tire performs best, i feel more comfortable leaning into it anyway, feels more predictable than a wide hide .. wider all your gaining is looks which you cant discount too much, its cool ... but for commuting and burning miles on it THE most practical is a stock sized sport touring tire ..

[Mr.Awesome]

going with sport touring tires (dual compound) is the way to go for the street. Unfortunately you are limited on the choices if you want to stay with the stock 140 size. Seat concepts is definetly worth the money, much more comfortable. I have the full carbon look one and love it. Nice combo of slip and grip. 

[Broadie]

+1 for bt45's 150/70 on mine more than enough grip and feedback with great mileage.

[Phil L]

I run 140 70 / 120 70 Power RS's and they're great.. not a fan of 150s at all

Edited August 23, 2018 by Phil L

[3rdMoto]

ALL, much thanks for the input. Since I originally posted this I came across a seller who's drz400sm was unfortunately stolen, and I purchased as new tires from him that had not been mounted yet. Michelin Pilot Power 3 120 70 17 front, and a michelin pilot road 4 150 70 17 rear. I intend to mount the pr3 front and probably resell the pr4 150 rear, as they are bringing stupid crazy premium money currently, and my kenda 671 rear has tons of tread left. I managed to find a good used seat concepts seat, and it should arrive tomorrow. Judging from the pictures its either standard or tall height, I'll see how that goes. Once I get a couple of thousand of miles on it, I'll know better if it works for me or if I need to look at something more boring. (vstrom, tenere, etc)

Edited August 24, 2018 by 3rdMoto
spelling

[drz400s_guy]

I run the Seat Concepts seat and Pilot Road 3's in 150 on my SM. It is a good setup for doing 150+ miles at a time and not killing the bum!

[Boshwa]

The K671 honestly isn't awful, they last forever and have decent grip for what they are. I have a set on my Ninja 250 from when I was commuting on it.
My DRZ has Pilot Power (4?)'s and they feel really good leaning the bike over, so if you are okay with the lifespan they work well.

[38super]

Avoid big bike tire pressure, run 22-26 psi or the tire will never warm up.