Is anyone running a Dunlop K950 Trials (rear)?

My son has a new/old KTM 450 EXC. It has knobbies and I recommended he gets another set of rims to swap out with some more street-worthy tires. He found these have a very strong following - Dunlop K950. Street certified in the USA. The hitch is that there isn't an equivalent front. But Michelin and Pirelli make some that may work.

I thought hmm that might work on the N15CS. I have the K70s which, in fact, are pretty darned good off road. But on road they just don't have much bite. The compound is too soft, combined with a fairly chunky tread. OK as an all-arounder perhaps, but I got thinking - even though the trials tire is more aggressively off-road oriented, the harder compound and carcass seem to hit a sweet spot with a lot of riders. They would certainly look good, but that's not my real objective, the K70s are fine in the looks dept.

Anyway, anyone running these on something or other?

Apparently these rallz tyres aussy design are 50/50 one way and 70/30 https://www.moto1.nz/products/tgps1...gKEgOr0LTxFzOu4whe1OZU9sQH6W611UaAoq1EALw_wcB
I use a much knobbier tyre same brand the knobs on the side are offset and joined for more support and they are higher silicon for more road grip .

Those K950 tires probably wouldn't last a long time on the N15 on the street. They would last a little longer on the KTM, but it really is a trials tire. Trials isn't about going fast. It's about doing stuff that looks impossible to most people.

There really isn't a great tire for both on and off road. You have to enjoy a little less traction off road with a good dual sport tire that works on the road and vice versa.

IRC was a popular inexpensive choice good for one season on the rear in the previous century. IRC makes a similar patterned tire in front and rear. I ran IRC and Pirelli and probably something else back when I was riding dual sport on street licensed big single thumping dirt bikes. Long time ago though, so doesn't mean much. Basically, you lay down your money and you take your chances with dual sport tires.

Schwany said:

Those K950 tires probably wouldn't last a long time on the N15 on the street. They would last a little longer on the KTM, but it really is a trials tire. Trials isn't about going fast. It's about doing stuff that looks impossible to most people.

There really isn't a great tire for both on and off road. You have to enjoy a little less traction off road with a good dual sport tire that works on the road and vice versa.

IRC was a popular inexpensive choice good for one season on the rear in the previous century. IRC makes a similar patterned tire in front and rear. I ran IRC and Pirelli and probably something else back when I was riding dual sport on street licensed big single thumping dirt bikes. Long time ago though, so doesn't mean much. Basically, you lay down your money and you take your chances with dual sport tires.

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Good info. It's a 'keep an eye out' thing for another set of rims and some 50/50s. Son is off riding today up at Cajon Pass (Summit OHV area) with a buddy that's running a KTM 525EXC and is a lot more experienced. Early 20s, a better mechanic and rider than I ever was or will be for sure. Yesterday I helped my kid get ready. His recently purchased 450 EXC had a rad leak so I grabbed some Chinese copies and new hoses for under $100. They fit but don't allow mounting of his guards without some fabrication. Adjusted valves and found the intakes have plenty of adjustment left - they are a known issue, soft and get pounded to the point where they can't be adjusted. So they must have been updated. Whew. He knows the seller via friends - a mech engineer, really cool MTB / MC / Surfer etc in San Clemente, living the dream. The new radiators have no thermocouple for the electric fan, so I put a plastic toggle switch to the bars, just to get him out there.

He had a pretty hard getoff. I asked if the bike is OK and he said yeah.

Oh, we just sold his '23 Ducati DesertX for a tidy profit, I had mounted a Shinko rear 50/50, the 804/805 Big Block. I mounted the rear and gave away the unmounted front to the buyer. It was fantastic, fine on the street, and much better than the OEM Pirelli in the dirt. So that's the direction we'll go. I run Shinko 712s on my GS1100E, and there is no tire that is a better value IMO.

You've got the skills. Not a lot of people that would want to put an old Norton together that is not all there spread out in boxes and not been together or cleaned for 50 years.

Glad your boy didn't get hurt. I broke my back riding in the dirt, but apparently didn't learn much from it.