Where to buy dual sport tires in toronto?

Torontorocko

Well-known member
I am coming up to soon needing a new back tire for my WR250, and was looking at getting a Kenda K270 120/80-18 rear.
I don't know where to get one though.
Any dealers that you know sell them?
 
I don't know that they ever stocked them, but it seems to me like that'd be up Parker Brother's alley.
 
I'm not entirely sure about places in Toronto. The dealer I go to is Edge Performance, because it's the closest to me, and I live in Newmarket.

I've heard the Kenda is more of a 50/50 tire, because the side knobs are a little wobbly on the pavement, but they work great off-road. The tires I'm running right now are Shinko 244, which have nearly identical tread pattern, except the sidewall knobs are more connected so they don't have the wobbly problem. But the Shinko is more of a 70/30 tire. It works great in dirt/gravel/grass, but not to much in sand/mud. So if you are planning on doing more street riding, then I'd recommend the Shinko.

I can't speak from experience using the Kenda tire, so I only know what I hear/read about them but I can't say a single bad thing about the Shinko. But I have heard that the Shinko rubber is a different design than the Kenda, so it doesn't stand up as well to aggressive off-road riding, but lasts longer on pavement. For example, I've read stories of the Shinko losing knobs on rocky trails, but I also hear that the Kenda doesn't last all that long if you use it on pavement, but I've never heard that from the Shinko. I'm replacing mine this week with 10,000km, with about 85% pavement, 10% dirt roads, and 5% trails. They are just barely at the wear mark too.

Here are pictures of the tread differences:

Kenda K270:
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/11/53/802/5346/ITEM/Kenda-K270-Dual-Purpose-Rear-Tire.aspx

2nv5c2u.jpg


Shinko 244
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co.../Shinko-244-Dual-Sport-Front---Rear-Tire.aspx

2eofb0i.jpg
 
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Les at Dual Sport Plus in Hamilton is a good person to get to know. Not sure of his tire prices, but he is a fountain of knowledge, so paying a little for access to the knowledge may be worthwhile.
 
Les at Dual Sport Plus in Hamilton is a good person to get to know. Not sure of his tire prices, but he is a fountain of knowledge, so paying a little for access to the knowledge may be worthwhile.
Do they ship tires?

I'm not entirely sure about places in Toronto. The dealer I go to is Edge Performance, because it's the closest to me, and I live in Newmarket.

I've heard the Kenda is more of a 50/50 tire, because the side knobs are a little wobbly on the pavement, but they work great off-road. The tires I'm running right now are Shinko 244, which have nearly identical tread pattern, except the sidewall knobs are more connected so they don't have the wobbly problem. But the Shinko is more of a 70/30 tire. It works great in dirt/gravel/grass, but not to much in sand/mud. So if you are planning on doing more street riding, then I'd recommend the Shinko.

I can't speak from experience using the Kenda tire, so I only know what I hear/read about them but I can't say a single bad thing about the Shinko. But I have heard that the Shinko rubber is a different design than the Kenda, so it doesn't stand up as well to aggressive off-road riding, but lasts longer on pavement. For example, I've read stories of the Shinko losing knobs on rocky trails, but I also hear that the Kenda doesn't last all that long if you use it on pavement, but I've never heard that from the Shinko. I'm replacing mine this week with 10,000km, with about 85% pavement, 10% dirt roads, and 5% trails. They are just barely at the wear mark too.
Thanks for the info and pics mate! It's nice to see them on a bike.
 
I just put a new Avon Gripster rear tire on my DR 650 today.

I got it at the M/C Superstore on Sheppard Ave. Ordered it Friday afternoon and it was in yesterday, went over there at lunch today & they mounted & balanced it for me in under 30 mins. Quite happy with price & service, and I generally shop around.

Very few places stock d/s tires, you'll have to special order. I wanted Kenda's but my model has been discontinued.
 
Awesome! Make sure to post your opinion of those tires.

I'm curious if you have the wobble problem too with the Kenda tire... it only seems to happen at highway speeds, or on corners.
 
I run K270's front and back on the KLR for street and trackmaster II's for the dirty stuff. The 270's are ok on the street, but yes they do wobble if you lean too much and on the highway they can get scary over 100kph. At least with the 270's you can run off road pretty much anywhere, as long as it's not too wet...

Glen at flying squirrel matched any advertised price from any CDN dealer on the Kenda's and tubes for me...but then he's just that kind of guy...
 
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