Winter Ride and Kenda K270 Tire Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Reviewing the Kenda K270 Dual Sport Tire on a CRF250L after over 19,000 kms on the front tire, and over 12,000 kms on the rear.
Before we get to the review, we motorcycle through some winter orchard country, then into the hills and onto a forest service road that stops us cold with snow and ice.
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I just ordered a pair of those for the 300L ! Cant wait to see how they perform .
Let us know when you find. I think you'll like them.
It's just struck how new your bike still looks! She's immaculate. You obviously look-after that thing.
Nice review mate.
+Rob Ash
Ah Shucks . I gave it a bath a few days ago. You should have seen it before then. Clyde has a few scars for sure but he wears them well. Cheers, mate :)
I have been amazed at how Kenda and Shinko perform for "economy" brand tires. They offer a tread pattern for everyone. The longevity is on par with the "big boys". Plus they are half the cost. I had the 270's in mind for my old KLR but went expensive. Wish I bought the 270's.
+azdesertdog
True, they are awesome value. I have Shinko 700's on order now. Thought I'd give them a try as most of the dirt around here is hard pack or rocky. I say that just because I don't like mud so I avoid it if at all possible. I figure when I hit mud I'll just be content to squirm around till I'm out of it. In fact I want to find a nice mud patch to practice in. Anyway, the 700's have better road ability than the 270's and should perform adequately off road as well. We'll see :)
Aah thats my hometown! Love your vids. And love the k270's
Aah, cool, thanks :-)
Great, detailed review. Looks like my old stomping grounds, BC interior!
Yup, the Okanagan Valley. Thanks :-)
Incredible value.
True!
I have these on my 74 Honda XL250. They handle great on our sandy trails out here. Very good on the road also. I like them.
Yup, they perform well, and are a great value for the price.
I find them to be a great all round tire on my KLR, hard front braking does bring on cupping as I've found with most front tires
on my KLR
+BDAWGRANGER
The front K270 is prone to cupping, especially if you hit the front brake hard while using off-road air pressure on tarmac.
Its not relevant to the video, but, I changed the stock rear sprocket to a 45 tooth JT sprocket (and an RK chain) and it made a MASSIVE difference. When I first tested it - I was ranting the whole time. Its a completely different machine; it never bogs down on mountain roads anymore and it pulls really well in every gear. I'm so impressed that I don't think I'm going to do anymore performance modifications other than the exhaust and this is coming from someone who rode a Yamaha WR450R in the past. Anyway, thank you for the insight.
Yeah it does make a difference in applying power off road. Much better. I run 14/45 at the moment. Enjoy :-)
Great review and very informative.
+SGFAdventures
Thanks SGF. Appreciated :)
That is quite a lot of mileage for any tire. You must be meticulous with tire pressure. Man! Just watching you riding on the snow gives me butterflies. lol
+motonut
I'm not meticulous at all about tire pressures and such. I just try to keep them around the mid range of 22psi for the most part; sometimes more on asphalt and less on dirt.
Good to see this review. I want to try to squeeze a little more out of the stock IRC's first but am looking at the Kenda K270, IRC TR8 and the Motoz Mountain Hybrid as replacements. I'd have to decide on a good front if I go the MMH route, as they don't make a paired front.
+stove611
Try and match the tread and compound to the typical surfaces you ride and you won't go far wrong. The K270 is a popular choice and it's certainly good value. Cheers :)
i mostly ride on the road rarely go off road. it rains quite a bit. should i get these tyres? i like how they look
No, if you rarely ride off road I wouldn't use the K270 tires. They are a compromise on pavement. Mainly good but they can squirm when you lean the bike over at speed. The side lugs are quite flexible, causing that. An inexpensive but very popular road biased tire for 90/20 street/dirt would be the Shinko 705. It will give you very good and safe performance on pavement and still allow you to ride some trails as long as they aren't too loose or muddy. If you want more of a 50/50 tire for better dirt performance and still very good on pavement, try the Heidenau K60 Scouts. I use the Scouts at the moment and like them a lot.
great review! I'd agree that they're great tires. sadly I get maybe 500 miles out of a rear lol. front tire looks almost brand new after 2 rears
although I keep mine at about 18 psi and do lots of offroad riding
+Squid WithGear
I'm continually amazed at the different wear rates people get from the same tire. I do probably 60/40 road/dirt, and have used them at 16 to 25 psi, sometimes not bothering to air them up on the tarmac if I was running 18 to 20 psi. Strange!
+Squid WithGear
Cheers, SWG, Everyone's experience is unique it seems :)
What size rear did you run for the k270's on this bike. The manual specifies 120/80..which is what I ordered for my girlfriends 250 and it slightly rubs against the chain guard. I've got a 120/80 on the way for mine now also, as I got a huge puncture in the front stock tire while out in the bush so it was a good excuse to replace them. I ran these tires on my xt350 when I had it and they were great.
It was the stock 120/80 - 18 I used. Sticking to stock sizes ensures stock handling.
I ride my 2016 CRF250L on snow packed service roads like that every week with the stock tires at 8-10 psi - I live in the Cariboo region of BC. Lowering the tire pressure made a significant difference, however, more often than not, it feels as though I'm going to slip out at any moment. Nevertheless, I need a replacement; my rear tire hardly has any centre knobs. I decided to buy the Kenda K760 Trakmaster (it is unbelievably good on snow packed roads), but I couldn't find my tire size - even at fortnine.ca. I'm strongly considering the Kenda K270; fortnine.ca has my tire size in stock.
Cariboo region; that's a nice area of B.C. I suppose the more open and aggressive the nobby is, the better in snow. A softer compound would also help. That said, if you ride a lot of compact snowy roads and trails, studs would be the ticket. Not sure if you could find studs that would do well and still not be slippy on bare pavement though. And unless you use screws, studs are expensive. Compromises always eh.
Hey thanks for the k270 review doing some research for DRZ tires hey and those gloves you got look awesome what kind of gloves are they they look well suited for cold Ridin always looking for a better pair of gloves! And new shoes for the bike lol
Those gloves are the Cortech Thinsulate Winter Gloves. Been using the same pair for years now. Nice gloves :-)
Good review ! Did you have the Shinko 244's at one time ? If so how were they ?
+WOODZMAN Dual Sport Adventures
Thanks. No I haven't tried the Shinko 244's. The tread design gives them better cornering on asphalt, but oddly the speed rating on the front tire is too low to consider an good option IMO. Cheers :)
Planning to purchase these this summer! Did you go oversized at all or just stock?
+Ed Masker
Ed, I went stock 3.00 x 21 and 120/80 x 18. I think it's important to keep the tire size as stock as possible to maintain nimble handling. I feel that putting fatter tire on a rim meant for narrower, changes the profile of the fatter tire, effecting handling (in a pinch). My next tires (on order) are Shinko 700. because our area here is mostly dry, hard packed and rocky, they should provide enough grip off-road, give me a bit of slide action for loose corners, and be even better than the 270's on the tarmac. The 270's are awesome tires all round. I just feel like experimenting :)
Holly jeepers. I'm looking for a rear tyre after nearly 2500km with dunlop d605. 12000 is awesome. How good where they in sand?
We don't have a lot of sand here, but the bit we do they are fine in.
19000kms......of the most mellow riding you've ever seen....
Just for all you mellow dual sport riders out there. It aint a dirt bike ;-)
just put k270 on rear I got 10000km on irc hope to get same or better on kendas
+ontrider
I suspect you'll get at least the same, if not better.
I can squeeze 4000 miles out of these kenda's on my crf250l if I ride like a gentleman. My last set I only got about 1,000 miles as I was riding aggressively and doing a lot of wheelies. Doing wheelies really tear these tires up a lot faster.With That sudden torque from poping the clutch in second I could see significant wear within 100 miles. One guy may get 8,000 miles with the same tire as another guy of same weight and bike who gets only 800 because of the way they ride. I grew up racing motocross so even on a crf250l I can destroy tires rather quickly. One front seems to hold up for as long a four or more rears with the way I ride. I really like the performance of the k270's though as they are good on the road and in the dirt, and last long enough especially if you are not aggressive on the throttle. With the price I can afford to ride as I wish as well.
The stock size for the rear tire is 12/80-18 in metric. What are they in inches? 4.0, 4.1 or 4.6? I goggled up and internet says it's 4.0 or 4.1. But the dealer in my country insist it's 4.6. What are your thoughts?
Yeah, it's closer to 4.60 x 18. That's the size of Shinko 700 I used on the crf250L and it was near as dammit to the stock 120/80 - 18. I think different manufacturers can vary.
@@Scoottoots got it thanks!
So I see that you ride K270 and are not stranger to winter riding.
May I ask your opinion then? In past days I noticed great decrease in grip of my front K270 tire (it's relatively new - bought this year). What I mean by decrease is I cannot ride through roundabout without front wheel trying to slip right out from under me, and I am talking about riding through it at baby pace. I suspect something about new salt on road, possibly underinflation of tires. But some people suggest K270 being a problem. There is much negativity on forums towards it's wet pavement performance, and I get that I may not be able to scrape pegs during rain with dual-sport tires, but I still believe that I should be able to cross roundabout safely on moderate speed, right?
You're right, the K270 has descent grip in the wet or winter conditions i.e. cold tires -- for the type of tire it is. The only issue I had with them is leaning aggressively on dry summer pavement. I could feel the side knobs flex. That can be a bit unsettling. Never had an issue in the winter, and I rode on them almost daily in all sorts of conditions. I wonder if your tire is not scrubbed in well enough, causing the slip from the cold conditions and possibly some residues of road de-icing treatments on the surface. An idea: go to a clear and dry parking lot and counterbalance to get the bike leaned way over in some tight slow circles in both directions. The idea being to scrub the entire contour of the tire and to test the grip in a controlled somewhat safe manner.
@@Scoottoots Thank you for your reply.
The funny thing is that last time I gone down was while going back home from parking lot practice. Lot was rather dry compared to roads that day (streets here get heavily salted, so they remain wet longer). I was doing my figure eights at low, and moderate speed without problem.
Although when I was practicing crossroad turning (still on parking lot) in more supermoto-style (moving to the outside was new concept for me) I did notice a little slippage, but thought that it was due to painted lines that I got to ride over.
I consider using lightly sandpaper on tire surface.
Do you think that improper air pressure can make difference in this case? If so, should I get it higher, or lower?
@@Rozkrwawiacz I wouldn't bother using sandpaper on your tires. They scrub in easily in a parking lot doing figure eights and such. Much easier and better than trying to sand them. As for the tire pressures, I think a little less pressure for winter is a good thing. Stock pressures for the crf250l for instance are 23 psi front and rear. I normally ran about 20 in the winter. Parking lots are your best way to accustom yourself to tire handling and grip. Of course you have to adjust to all sorts of conditions on the roads. Winter riding = slower riding and less lean, to compensate for all the hazards and cold tires that don't grip as well as in the warmer months.
@@Scoottoots It is also more fun to ride than to scrub with paper.
Of course, I don't expect infallible grip in those conditions, but if to avoid losing traction I have to downshift to 2nd nearly close throttle and avoid lean to such degree that I barely can stay in my line while, obviously, holding all traffic, I start to get suspicious.
Thanks for all your time. I will drop pressure and test it on parking lot, hope that helps.
Hi. Are the tyres tubeless? How did you decide on sizes; I unstand there are different widths?
+Andrew Clark
No, they require tubes. I chose the stock sizes of 3.00 - 21 in front and 120/80 - 18 in the rear.
Hi. Tell me please. When you ride on the road do the tires hum??
It's been a while now, but I cannot recall a hum from those tires. I definitely had a hum from the Dunlop D606.
How would you compare your rear tire to stock rear? I'm already sold on getting this to replace my front.
+ChronicAltitis
The stock rear was good in my opinion, but the K270 is much better, especially for my local riding conditions. I tried a Dunlop D606 rear, but it was no where near as good as the K270 on the tarmac, and it slipped too much on embedded rock surfaces off-road. I did not like it at all. Just some thoughts :)
How would you say this is on hills with packed down snow from plowing? I'm not sure if you have encountered any as of yet (I can't tell what the angles are in the shots) but I just thought I'd ask since I'm interested in this model of bike and I want to find out how good it is in wintery conditions.
+John Smith
John, The CRF250L is a very controllable bike, so it would be ideal in marginal traction conditions such as winter snow-packed dirt roads. That said, on packed snow, the final word is with the tires. The only sure way to ride on that stuff is using studs in your tires. Some are such that you can run them on tarmac and on snow or ice, and some are too long for tarmac but great on snow and ice. With the right studs you can grip as good or better in snow or ice than you would in summer on dirt. The CRF250L is a great bike for exploring and having fun. Go for it :)
BlastsFromTheSaddle Thanks for the information, it was very comprehensive. Much appreciated!
Can you help me with sizing of the K270's for my WR250R? Want to match stock size bit the front tire sizing is strange. Stock WR250R is 80/100-21 front and 120/80-18 rear. Probably the same as your Honda? I believe your front is 3.00-21, but I don't understand the 3.00 vs 80/100.
80/100 x 21 is metric sizing. It means the width is 80mm and the height of the sidewall is 100% of the width = 80mm high. Your rim sizes are the same as mine on the crf250L. Your front rim is 21" x 1.60, and your rear rim is 18" x 2.15 as far as I remember. Please check that. The 3.00 x 21 is imperial sizing. It means the width is 3" and it fits a 21" wheel. The metric sizes are more detailed. Check with your supplier, but I think you'll be good with a 3.00 x 21 K270 front tire. The 3.25 x 21 might also be a good fit. Again... check that with your retailer.
Brilliant, thanks! Looks like 3.25 is closest (82.55 mm vs 80 (stock) vs 3.0 (75 mm)), but will check with supplier as suggested. Much appreciated. Good review. Going to put them on for my daily 200 km commute on the WR. I assume you have found them good on wet pavement? Wet pavement and rain and wind is pretty prominent where I live (Newfoundland). Getting them from the Canadian website fortnine dot ca.
FortNine is where I order from as well. The K270's are a good dirt oriented 50/50 tire, if that makes sense. They excel on dirt and are adequate on tarmac, wet or dry. Very nice tires if you mainly ride dirt and your paved road riding is to and from the dirt routes. If on the other hand, you want to prioritise paved roads while still keeping 'adequate' dirt performance, the Shinko 700's are the ticket then.
Do you have any issue with your front break pads. In my case, I only have 6000km and there is only 2.21mm left on them. I got tipped by the fact that my oil level was at a low point.
+Michel P
No I don't have any issue with the front (or rear) brake systems. Both front and rear pads are at almost new thickness at 32,000 kms. The reason is: I don't use the brakes much. I employ engine braking and anticipation, combined with tapping the brake to activate the light to warn drivers behind me. This bike has good engine braking, so there is little need to use the brakes except in the final few feet when stopping.
@@Scoottoots First set of pads on my Wr250R lasted forever as well, riding as you just described.
@@TapioBlue Yeah, the front gets used a bit more both on and off road, but they do last.
Do you replace your tubes when you get new tires? Or if the tubes are fine, keep using them?
I always replace my tubes. Peace of mind for minimal cost. I also use the Motion Pro Armor Rim Strip Tape, as it protects the tube much better and lasts the life of the bike.
any input on what tubes? I think I am going to go K270s but I am new to dual sport and tube tires (coming from sport bikes) Thank you again
My main advice is to stay clear of STI brand tubes and other makes with poor quality control. I have settled on Michelin tubes. Quality manufacturing trumps most other considerations. Now, I just use a high quality Michelin tube. The AirStop Street Tube, or the AirStop Off road Tube from Michelin are dependable choices IMO.
Thank you for the info! And videos