Riding on Dirt Roads?

I would like to be able to ride my 1981 XJ650RJ on some dirt roads (not off-road). Does any member ride their XJ650 on dirt roads? Are these bikes okay for handling on dirt roads - I certainly won't be going fast, rather just to enjoy the scenery. If so, what tyres would I get? Thanks, Stephen.

 

learn to ride standing on the pegs, it lowers the center of gravity and lets you shift your weight faster

 

Thanks Polock, I'll be giving this a go, although my objective here are "dirt roads" not "off-road" - I'll leave that to people on chook-chasers. Currently I'm on Dunlop Battlax BT45, not a tire suitable for dirt roads. I want a tire that will be okay on the "black-stuff", yet be able to handle dirt roads. Has any member used such tires on an XJ650 for dirt roads? Cheers, Stephen.

 

You're probably better off searching ADV rider forums than here, I don't get the impression many people do dirt roads much on XJbikes.

I ride dirt roads at times on road tyres, in fact i like to get off the bitumen for a while for the same reasons you want to, it's more about how you ride and experience i reckon. I also have a trail bike with knobby tyres and they can still be skittery in loose gravel.

 

I don't have an XJ650 but i have done dirt roads on my XJ900 with a pillion and road tyres and thought it handled it quite well. In fact I was so impressed with it's ability on the dirt that I was going to turn my spare XJ900 into an offroad tourer but instead sold my KLR650 and bought a Triumph Tiger 800XC which even though it is an offroad style bike it only came with Pirreli scorpion Trail tyres. These tyres basically look like road tyres but were fine for hardpacked gravel. I have now fitted it with Metzeller Karoo 3's for more serious stuff.
In the 90's alot of the roads around here that went over the mountains to the coast still had long dirt sections and I used to do them 2up on my CBR1000 without any problems. If you aren't in a hurry road tyres work fine on gravel even when wet. However if the road is clay then steer well clear of them in the wet unless you have knobbies on. Assuming the 650 has 18inch wheels like the 900 then there are a number of good 50/50 tyre options available for dirt riding that still handle well on the bitumen. Just do a search on tyre brands like Metzeller, Pirrelli, Continental, Bridgestone, Mitas, Dunlop etc

 

I ride on dirt roads and some pretty serious off road all the time. I still have a Dunlop 404 on the front, but a vee-rubber 163 on the back, and another for the front when the 404 is done. They haven't slipped in the twisties yet, and I've pushed them pretty darn hard. Cheap as hell, too.

I think the only complaint is the xjs are a little twitchy in the gearing since it needs to be kept at higher rpms. Most dual sports are single or two cylinder for the low end torque.

All that being said, it is better than a KLR650 in some ways, and the center of gravity is much lower.

I'd also recommend flatter bars for a better "feel".

 

Also, the other issue is finding a tire that actually fits with dual sport tread. That's why I got the vee-rubber brand. They come in a 90/100-19 in the front, and 120/90-18 for the rear, unlike most other options.

 

Hi all,
Thanks so much for all your replies, much appreciated. I'll take them all on board - and look forward to doing some dirt roads. Cheers, Stephen.

 

I grew upn the dirt roads. I rode a Yamaha 250 DT2 then moved to a SR500. Street bikes do OK on dirt roads. Be careful of deep loose gravel.

 

Just relax and be prepared to feel the bike move around underneath you,try to plan a little further ahead than your used to, no sudden input, brake and accelerate smoothly and gently NO sudden direction changes if you can help it.

 

That a good summary of the topic gunna' and add a little Polock as needed.

 

just seen this and wanted to say that you can try to find a duelsport tire that is only mildly aggressive and use it. that way it will still do well on blacktop. my brother just got a set of kendas on his KLR650 that are very well suited to the blacktop but still have enough tread to do a little off roading. something like that would maybe be a good choice. check out shinko sr428. they look good for what u want. they only thing is that you most likely will have a hard time finding the size you need because these tires are mostly sized in larger wheel sizes due to duelsport bikes having larger diameter wheels. goodluck