I have a 95 St1100 and was thinking of mounting a set of Shinko 705 on my ST for light off road traction. I know it's a dark road that why I asking. My concerns are handling issues on this type of bike plus I have to go with non stock sizes 120/80/18 and 170/60/17. Is there any other tire they may do well in light dirt conditions?
opinions/experence with dual sport tires.
- Thread starter Denny63
- Start date
I don't think a dual sport is what they had in my mind when they designated it an ST....It wouldn't make a very good off road bike between suspension travel, and the sheer weight of the thing. Never seen a 700+ lb dual sport bike anyways........not sure anyone's gonna know about a dirt tire. Most everyone here is concerned with tire mileage, and higher speed handling. Not being an ***** just my .02
Frank
Frank
What is your definition of "light dirt"? Add a little moisture and it becomes mud. No place for a 700 lb. bike and SURE not a place for a 700 lb bike with 705s mounted. They are almost worthless in the mud.
I saw a video where two guys in Europe put knobbies on a Ducati Pangale and a KTM Duke 1290 and went racing. It was obvious they were experts, but still, much lighter bikes than a ST1100.
Get yourself a KLR 650 and put some Dunlop 606s on it to play off road. You will have a lot more fun, and you can find the things cheap. I run Shinko 705s on my KLR, but rarely venture into anything wet, mostly gravel and fire roads. They are fine for that, and great on the road. When I think I am going to get into washes or mud, I will mount something much more aggressive, like a 606.
may be if you get something that is 90% street and 10% dirt you might get buy on packed dirt but forget gravel roads. Anything more than that I would be worried about contact area on pavement, rain and braking distance. Another concern would be the load range of the tire. It's a slippery slope!!
Shinko 705's will be way to soft, they wont last long at all. just stick with a regular tire
Suspension, ground clearance, weight, lack of crash protection, traction, the list goes on... Get a dirt bike or a dual sport properly set up for off road. On thing I love about my KLR - if I drop it or mildly crash it off road, I just laugh, pick it up, and go on. The time for worrying about cosmetic damage to it is way in the past.
I've ridden many miles of gravel and hard packed dirt roads (not usually by choice) on my ST11 with standard street tires. No problems if you're careful and don't ride too fast.
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I've ridden a few hundred miles of gravel and graded dirt roads on my ST1300 and my biggest worry is my foot slipping out from under me when I need to stop or dab.
I rode my ST to Alaska last year on a set of PR3's. I aired up (20% from recommended) to increase mileage on pavement, and it did. I aired down (from rec) on the Haul Road (dirt/gravel) to increase traction, and it handled just fine. I stood up the whole way, doing 70 on the straights, and spinning it out of the turns. So no need to change your tires, just air them down. I got 16,250 miles from the rear, and the front is still on there with just over 19,000 on it.
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What do you mean by light dirt conditions.
If it is hard packed any tire will do.
If it is soft dirt then hard round tires will start to squirm under you.
The best thing is to air down to get a "flatter, wider" tire. This will help you float on top of the soft stuff.
A wider tire is better,....
About 45,000 miles ago I switched over to a car tire since I commute every day on my bike...
What I discovered was that the best air pressure was 28 lbs. It gives a nice soft ride...
One trip out through the Carrizo Plain National Monument was on a dirt road that had several shallow sandy patches.
My fellow riders on their big HDs with MC tires were squirming in front of me. While I floated over the sand on my ST1300a..
Gravel roads were no problem. YMMV....
Mud is a different story. Skinny knobby tires are better in mud. The tires need to dig in and cut the road to keep from sliding.
wide tires on mud will slide all over the place. I live in So. Cal...
The tire I am currenly using:
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?146717-Another-option-for-the-ST-BF-Goodrich-G-Force-Comp-2
If it is hard packed any tire will do.
If it is soft dirt then hard round tires will start to squirm under you.
The best thing is to air down to get a "flatter, wider" tire. This will help you float on top of the soft stuff.
A wider tire is better,....
About 45,000 miles ago I switched over to a car tire since I commute every day on my bike...
What I discovered was that the best air pressure was 28 lbs. It gives a nice soft ride...
One trip out through the Carrizo Plain National Monument was on a dirt road that had several shallow sandy patches.
My fellow riders on their big HDs with MC tires were squirming in front of me. While I floated over the sand on my ST1300a..
Gravel roads were no problem. YMMV....
Mud is a different story. Skinny knobby tires are better in mud. The tires need to dig in and cut the road to keep from sliding.
wide tires on mud will slide all over the place. I live in So. Cal...
The tire I am currenly using:
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?146717-Another-option-for-the-ST-BF-Goodrich-G-Force-Comp-2
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