Tars fer my XR400...

[Sam Simons]

Hi All,

I'm planning to dual sport my XR400,and am interested in tires that are more for street surface than dirt,but have a tread pattern that doesn't 'look street' per se.....one example being the IRC GP110. I don't plan to off road this XR at all,but maintaining the 'dirt bike look' including the appearance of the tires is somewhat important.

I'd appreciate any feedback regarding the GP110's,as well as suggestions about other tires to consider.

Thank you,

Sam in IN

(DRZ125L,XR250,XR400,CR500 & XR100 for the Mrs.)

[creeky]

The Kenda K270 is a decent tire, reasonably priced.

[Owyhee]

I ran GP110s on my 1990 XL600V Transalp.

They're cheap but last a long time on pavement. My 600V had about 50hp and weighed in at 450lbs wet before luggage.

I'd get about 10,000 miles out of a front and about 4,000 (summer) to 6,000 (winter) miles out of the rear. Less if I was on the interstate with luggage in the summer. The rear would square off in about 2,500 miles.

They're good in the rain on the street and don't hum. The front cups badly when it overheats or runs too little air. I could run the tires to the edge on twisty pavement and not feel like I was about to die.

The GP110 is terrible off road. Terrible. Unless you're on hardpack wet clay, it'll scare the crap out of you.

"O"

[Trailryder42]

Here's a good site that has compiled rider oppinions on lots of different make tires. I went with the IRC GP1s. I know it is oriented to the KLR but the tire info/handling would be similar for any bike.

http://www.standoutnet.com/extras/mike/motorcycles/klr650/tires/

[dpop24]

I'm running the Maxxis 6006 on mine. It's listed as a 60/40 tire, it has great manners on the pavement, and looks like medium aggressive knobs.

[grreatdog]

I second the Maxxis 6006. The rear works almost as well offroad as a knobby and the front works way better on the street than DOT knobbies. They are a pretty good street biased compromise.

But IMO the IRC 110's are even worse offroad than Death Wings. If you are going to ride any trails at all you will hate them. They are utterly worthless in mud and sand.

The only plus I could ever find with the GP110 is that they do work very well on the street and they were "S" rated back when I tried them. But an "S" rating is pretty meaningless on the XT350 I ran them on.

[Owyhee]

But IMO the IRC 110's are even worse offroad than Death Wings. If you are going to ride any trails at all you will hate them. They are utterly worthless in mud and sand.

+1

My 450lb Transalp could make the tire hook up accelerating, but when it came to turning or stopping... watch out. I couldn't lean the bike into a corner off road. The front would wash out and feel all wiggly.

The TA was a "fast" bike and could break 100mph easily. I ran 105 miles of I-90 in Montana in an hour (back when "Reasonable and Prudent" was the speed limit) and the tires didn't melt or square off.

"O"

[Sam Simons]

Thanks,fellas,for your input,and for the article, Trailryder. The GP110's appear to be very adequate for my purposes...they won't see any dirt,just pavement(got other bikes for dirt...). There's a 5.60x18 GP110,I'd like to

mount that one since it's the largest size available....

Sam in IN