hobiee 28 Posted March 6, 2012 So about three months ago i was given a set of the new Kenda Parker dot legal dual sport tires to test out and give my opinion. Well i have finally gotten a chance to put some real miles on them and i have to say i am VERY impressed. I just returned from putting them through the paces in the arizona desert on nasty rocky terrain and also some street miles as well. The rear is still in great shape and has held up remarkably well for a very aggressively tread tire. Offroad traction is superb on all terrain from sand to complete rock. I am especially happy with the front, it will become my go to knobby front for a long time coming. The front tire is stuck to the ground (when it actually touches :roll eyes: ) point and shoot and the tire tracks perfect and predictable. I have about 550 miles on them now and it looks like 1000 is not out of reach at all for the rear and much more for the front. They are a bit slippery on the tarmac in the beginning but once broken in they perform just like any other knobby. I am very happy with these tires. I would say they are a great buy and i will be adding them to the line up. Still love the mt43 but for a knobby these will be my choice. Kenda K775 Parker Desert Terrain Rear Tire Kenda K774 Parker Desert Terrain Front Tire Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CVRick 42 Posted March 6, 2012 where did you buy them? how much Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted March 6, 2012 where did you buy them? how much Didn't buy them. Kenda sent them to the shop and told me to try them out. I believe motorcycle superstore has them though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
socaltrailrider 0 Posted March 6, 2012 There was a set of these on the 300 that I bought. My experience is the same, I really liked the tire. It's a bonus that they are DOT legal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteelRain 0 Posted March 6, 2012 Hobiee, I am curious what bike you had them on. I had these tires on my on Plated XR650R for Death Valley Days this year and though I LOVED the grip everywhere from pavement, to rocks, to sandy washes. Within 150 miles I had chucked two knobs of the rear; by the end of day one I was down eight knobs; by the end of day two the rear tire looked like a cut slick from side to side. I was disappointed in the life I was getting from the rear, but the front looks like it just came off the rack. I know I am not easy on rear tires and neither is the XRR so I can understand quick wear but the tire was gone way to fast for me. current gearing 15/42 OEM Gearing is 14/48 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted March 7, 2012 Hobiee, I am curious what bike you had them on. I had these tires on my on Plated XR650R for Death Valley Days this year and though I LOVED the grip everywhere from pavement, to rocks, to sandy washes. Within 150 miles I had chucked two knobs of the rear; by the end of day one I was down eight knobs; by the end of day two the rear tire looked like a cut slick from side to side. I was disappointed in the life I was getting from the rear, but the front looks like it just came off the rack. I know I am not easy on rear tires and neither is the XRR so I can understand quick wear but the tire was gone way to fast for me. current gearing 15/42 OEM Gearing is 14/48 450 exc 14/50 gearing throttle pinned most of the time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteelRain 0 Posted March 7, 2012 Maybe I just got a bad tire. I love the Kenda Tires (especially the "Big Blocks" - way better than the TKC80s IMO) I usually get them from Cycle Parts West, but it is not a bad idea to call them and check stock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crusty Posted March 7, 2012 Hobiee, I am curious what bike you had them on. I had these tires on my on Plated XR650R for Death Valley Days this year and though I LOVED the grip everywhere from pavement, to rocks, to sandy washes. Within 150 miles I had chucked two knobs of the rear; by the end of day one I was down eight knobs; by the end of day two the rear tire looked like a cut slick from side to side. I was disappointed in the life I was getting from the rear, but the front looks like it just came off the rack. I know I am not easy on rear tires and neither is the XRR so I can understand quick wear but the tire was gone way to fast for me. current gearing 15/42 OEM Gearing is 14/48 I got one bad Kenda, rear tire. It lost 90% of the knobs on a 600 mile ride, from Carlsbad-Laughlin-Carlsbad. Sent it back. 1 week later a new tire arrived at my house, postage paid both ways. 1300 miles on the front and 700 on the rear, with lots of miles left. I am very happy with my Kenda tires, they rocked the Desert Dash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goofy Footer 539 Posted March 7, 2012 These were the first tires on my DRZ. From what I recall they burnt up rather quickly but they hooked up and did come with big knobbies. Definitely call cycle parts west before you go there, they had a very slim DOT tire selection last time I was there before the DD (like only 4 tires) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted March 9, 2012 We are trying a set this weekend on our Yuma to Parker ride. I believe my friend only paid 120ish for both tires delivered from Chapparal. The real advantage I see with them is they are 6 PLY which means tire plugs will actually work properly with them (with the tubliss set up) as opposed to the 4 ply where plugs are useless. I hope they work....I'm tired of the 606 pricetag. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baldbeemer 0 Posted March 9, 2012 where did you buy them? how much Didn't buy them. Kenda sent them to the shop and told me to try them out. I believe motorcycle superstore has them though. Just checked Motorcycle superstore and they're not in stock. Bummer. The 606's I have now still have some life in them so I'll check with RJ at AAKTM and see what price he can get them for. Edit: Found them on the MSS site (Operator error) and they're on sale for $90 (RR) and $64 (FR) right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted March 12, 2012 Well our first outing with the Kenda Parker tires was a disappointment. Chris had a set mounted up with the tubeliss set up on his Aprilla 550 and 5 miles into the ride he stops and tells us the rear is so out of balance he cant safely ride above 55 mph. Ugh. He toughs it out and rides 125 miles from Yuma to Blythe where we stopped for lunch. The rear tire is already starting to chunk so it is obvious the rear will be trash within 400 miles. After we finish lunch, we come out to a flat front tire on the Aprilla....even the tubeliss is flat. The front tire had small slices in it and even some thorns sticking into it....for a 6ply tire it is really fragile. The tires looked so bad after only 125 miles Chris cut his ride short and did not continue with us to Parker. My entire group is really tired of DOT tires....we never I mean NEVER had flats until we all made the switch to DOT's trying to be legal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted March 13, 2012 Well our first outing with the Kenda Parker tires was a disappointment. Chris had a set mounted up with the tubeliss set up on his Aprilla 550 and 5 miles into the ride he stops and tells us the rear is so out of balance he cant safely ride above 55 mph. Ugh. He toughs it out and rides 125 miles from Yuma to Blythe where we stopped for lunch. The rear tire is already starting to chunk so it is obvious the rear will be trash within 400 miles. After we finish lunch, we come out to a flat front tire on the Aprilla....even the tubeliss is flat. The front tire had small slices in it and even some thorns sticking into it....for a 6ply tire it is really fragile. The tires looked so bad after only 125 miles Chris cut his ride short and did not continue with us to Parker. My entire group is really tired of DOT tires....we never I mean NEVER had flats until we all made the switch to DOT's trying to be legal. It seems the tubliss is the problem here not the tire ???? Not trying to make trouble. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotRod82 2 Posted March 13, 2012 Well our first outing with the Kenda Parker tires was a disappointment. Chris had a set mounted up with the tubeliss set up on his Aprilla 550 and 5 miles into the ride he stops and tells us the rear is so out of balance he cant safely ride above 55 mph. Ugh. He toughs it out and rides 125 miles from Yuma to Blythe where we stopped for lunch. The rear tire is already starting to chunk so it is obvious the rear will be trash within 400 miles. After we finish lunch, we come out to a flat front tire on the Aprilla....even the tubeliss is flat. The front tire had small slices in it and even some thorns sticking into it....for a 6ply tire it is really fragile. The tires looked so bad after only 125 miles Chris cut his ride short and did not continue with us to Parker. My entire group is really tired of DOT tires....we never I mean NEVER had flats until we all made the switch to DOT's trying to be legal. It seems the tubliss is the problem here not the tire ???? Not trying to make trouble. The tubliss on the rear was not changed when he mounted the Kenda so I think the balance problem on the rear was the tire. The front....who knows? The only success I have seen with the tubliss (within our riding group) is when they are run with the non-DOT 6 ply bridgestones. I will not run the tubliss with the DOT tires because of the numerous failures I have witnessed. I know many people run them successfully but with the type of terrain and speed we run the tubliss has not performed well. Chris on the Aprilla is determined to make them work and has had several failures. I was really hoping the 6 ply Kenda was going to perform well, I can get them for just over half the cost of the Dunlops. Sadly, our group realized with the DOT tires we are using at least $75 worth of tire on our normal 400 mile weekend rides. This and the cost of fuel is getting pretty steep just to go riding with your buddies for the wknd! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted March 13, 2012 Its a shame that for all the money they charge for the tires they cannot produce a good quality product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted March 13, 2012 Low pressure - High Speeds - Sharp Rocks = Trashed Tires? Hard to argue with the history of good results on off-road tires. Other than tread pattern, what are the construction differences between Off-road and DOT tires? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted March 13, 2012 Other than tread pattern, what are the construction differences between Off-road and DOT tires? I think that the difference mainly has to do with tread depth, or in this case knob height. But I recently bought a cross country competition machine that came with DOT tires as OEM fitment....probably because it is a base model for street legal versions in other countries (or other states in the US). The knobs look quite tall on it, actually...so maybe there are a lot of dirt only tires that could be certified and marked for street use if the manufacturer wanted to go to the expense of getting them certified and retooling the information inside the tire molds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goofy Footer 539 Posted March 13, 2012 Chaparral Motorsports has that K774 Parker Desert Tire Front for $54. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 516 Posted March 13, 2012 Just curious why people aren't calling local shops to see what price they can get...give them an internet price and see how close they can come. I try to buy my tires from local shops if they come within $10 - $20, because I want to see our local shops keep their doors open. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted March 13, 2012 Just curious why people aren't calling local shops to see what price they can get...give them an internet price and see how close they can come. I try to buy my tires from local shops if they come within $10 - $20, because I want to see our local shops keep their doors open. Let me try to answer that- and then let's open the question to our friends with shops- I don't feel "right" calling a shop and start throwing prices at them. I've been in that position before myself, and always considered it rude. Nothing worse than quoting a price to a customer and have them tell me that they "can get it cheaper online". So, I buy my tires from American Moto Tire and either install them myself, or pay a shop to do it at their requested rate. I agree that it's in everyone's best interest to support our local shops, and if the final price tag is within $20-ish dollars, I'll happily support the local guy. But I've never found it to be true, or maybe I just didn't beat them up hard enough. So- shops Hobiee, Paul Lima, Brent- Do you mind being called out on price? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 516 Posted March 13, 2012 And let me reply to that.....I just ask, "what's the best price you can do on this tire" and I take it from there. I don't think that's rude. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted March 13, 2012 Well we always try to help out our customers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Champ 116 Posted March 13, 2012 I called Scot at Motoworld last time I was looking for tires , he was honest with me and was only $7.00 over the best online price. That works for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted March 13, 2012 Ok, so I now have to assume the prices posted on tires are not he "real" price? Brian, of course you guys always try to help customers- AAKTM has always been good to me. Unfortunately, geography is a problem.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ADV Bum 205 Posted March 13, 2012 Unfortunately, geography is a problem.... This is one of my main issues. For me, most shops are far away. It cost $20 in gas on top of the price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
