Kenda K270

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5.10 x 17 K270 next to 5.10 x 17 Kenda K257D with 3118km - 1937mi

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(Rider reviews from various websites)

The 5.10 gets a test drive on the tarmac. Didn't seem to bother me at all while prancing around the street at modest speeds. The 3.25 front I thought I forgot to cinch the axle. Nope. Tires flat already. Nope. Feels like the steering head is going tight, yikes the rubber bites at slow corners and tracks like a mule. I had heard this and can now attest that the front soft knobbies give the front end a mind of its' own.

The test ride. Armpit to Fraser Lake for a break in (almost 500 Kms). A modest highway scoot to clean them off. 60 Km'ish FSR/Double Track. 14 Km of that was stone covered FSR, some very loose marble. I don't think it was the front tire so much, more of a combination of Pig and tire. The back end liked to grip on roost, even on slick stuff. The front, tracked a little oddly in ruts and crests, and likes to grab hold going slow, feels odd sometimes but definitely grips. I discovered that going faster seems to negate the odd front feel, so I just keep going fast. Managed to test the Twister performance on the swervers on the shores of Francois Lake, both ends felt under control and stable while assaulted.

Conclusion so far after 1300 Kms: No wear to speak of, minimal at best. High speed highway cornering, no problem. Rear traction offroad was fine, a 4.60 would be fine. Front traction is good, tracks weird at slow speed. Front probably will get better with age, but I wouldn't get another 270 front.

An intermediate update. Now with almost 6000 Kms on the set of 270's, I really have only two complaints. The first still being the front tire, while the odd tracking feeling has improved as it has wore down, it still is noticeable even though I have become somewhat immune to it, again this is only felt during lower speeds. On the good side the wear is minimal, probably good for another half or full year of riding. The rear has endured well and still has good life in it, one knob chunked partially off, most likely on rocky terrain. I can however say that the rear has never failed me in terms of grip, in any terrain, for that matter neither has the front. The rear probably will endure half of next year. The second complaint is most likely irrelevant, but on steel decked bridges, they are an adventure. It is however important to note that of the prementioned mileage, only 1/5 of it was off-road. On the highway, not much complaint as they managed highspeed cornering well, although they are somewhat noisy in terms of a whine. So far my concensus is that I will opt for something different up front, and for the money the rear works just fine.

I have the 270 as the rear tire for my old TS and just got a 270 for the front, so we will see how that goes this summer. I took the bike through some wet and sloppy mud and root sections and it handled it fine.

I have had 5 of those 270's on the rear of my Super Enduro in the last 2 years. The best wearing tire I have found...about 5000k each and still had tread left LOts of dirt use, about 70% or so.

Hooked up really good everywhere but on the pavement....but then 2nd/3rd gear burnouts are pretty fun anyhow.

I don't know how I could justify a dunlop 606 with the price of these kenda tires.I'll stick with my Trakmaster up front and 270 in the rear for now.

When I bought my DR350 it had K270's front & rear. The front had about 70% tread left but the rear was about 3/4 worn. I thought I'd get another couple rides out of it before replacing it. Nope it lasted another 2200km. I finally replaced it near the end of last season with a Pirelli MT43 DOT trials tire. The front K270 looks exactly the same as when I got the bike. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever need to replace it...

I now have the 270 on both the front and back of the DR and have not had any issues so far. I have mostly ridden FSR's and blacktop. I took the bike in some mud and snow the other day and it did OK by my standards. I was quite surprised that the rear was as knobby as it was. I think that it will do me OK.

Starting with the Front. As previously mentioned, I never did like the feel of this tire in any situations but it handled better as it ripened. Almost 11,000 Km on it with 2 flats. Currently I am undecided how the flats developed, first I blamed myself for pinching it, however I suspect now that it has more to do with the dent in my rim that resides roughly where the punctures occurred. What perplexes me more is the manner in which it decayed. If you look at the picture you can see the odd unevenness of wear while yet a tall centre lug remains? I keep air at max as a rule of thumb. bchunter has the same tire and same wear issue. Having put the stock on last week for some adventure resulted in a higher level of confidence, suprisingly on the rough and the road. Conclusion- NEVER AGAIN will this tire don my steed, no matter how cheap.



As for the rear, 12,000 Km and it looks like this. About 1mm of centre left. At the top of the pic you will see the partial damage reported in the early part of the review. Never tore away or was an issue and no flats. Coupling it with the stock Dunlop up front seemed to make the Pig handle better than with the Kenda. I would guesstimate that the tires went 65% Assphalt/ 35% off-road and assaulted fairly well on both surfaces. As for Assphalt, I really have no complaints, for off road I can't complain either.
Conclusion for the money it is an all around good tire and wouldn't ever hesitate to throw on another.



I just raced the 270's at the Piston run in Chilliwack and these things hooked up like crazy. They clean out very well. The conditions were very muddy. My Berg 550 pulled crazy hard and not a single chunked knob. My berg usually pulls tires apart pretty quick when racing, but this 270 has held up great. I am still undecided on the front as I haven't had a chance to ride dry conditions with it, I am suspecting it will feel "washy" and not bite. I will post any updates. So far after 700kms I am happy.

I have run 3 different bikes all with the K270 front and rear and they last me the whole season. I do about 15% knarly riding, 65% highway and street and 20% off road and they handle great everywhere and easily get me 5,000 km.

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Kenda 270: decent both on and offroad, (especially considering the price), much better life on the rear vs. the 858. Got ~4K out of the rear, and sold the bike they were on before I wore the front out, it would've gone at least 8K I'm guessing. Didn't have any problems with "squirelliness" in the front as some have reported. Maybe I just wasn't cornering hard enough.

I don't know if you were using the Pirelli MT-16 as a dual sport tire with high asphalt usage or not, but for what it is, I think this tire is an excellent choice.
I bought one as a rear (size 120, 18") in combination with a Pirelli Scorpion Pro in the front.
The MT16 is a non DOT competion tire and as such it does a pretty good job. I got about 600 miles (1 hare scramble, two dualsport rides and the rest singletrack, about 100 miles of the mileage on asphalt in dry conditions) out of it, Tirepressure at 14psi in the dirt and 25psi on the street. It provides excellent traction in all kinds of surfaces, except clay. It especially allows very predictable drifts on loose gravel. (With the power of a bonestock DRZ400S) On tarmack you can lean it in quite a bit with good feedback when getting to the limit. It does wobble around a bit, though.

I am running K270s front and rear on my DR. I like the rear. The front never really feels planted.

For their price the 270s are hard to beat for 50/50 tires. I really enjoyed them on my KLX650R. The only place they really lack is the mud, they handle pretty well on gravel dirt and are really predictable. They are quite fun on the pavement too.

I'm running them f / r on my DRZ. Best compromise tires I've found.

I like them but some folks don't like the way the side knobs flex on pavement.
It gives you the sensation of being loose, but your not, they actually stick quite well. I've suprised more than one road bike in the twisties! and have also suprised myself by climbing some hills off road that I wasn't too sure about ! p.s.I run them on an old DR650

I am running them front and rear on my Klr. On the street there great compared to the mt21 I normaly run. There ok in the dirt and rocks not so good in sand. My biggest complaint is if you get a flat your screwed they wont stay on the bead. My MT21's I have road for 45+ miles on a flat in both dirt and pavement and it never broke the bead. For me being able to get home when I'm 30 miles into BFE means a lot because I normaly dont carry a spare tube and spoons.

I found them VERY squirmy for the first hundred plus miles on pavement, then the settled in. Still a little unpredictable when pushing hard on the pavement (but it is a 50/50) Pretty good in the dirt.
Cheap, when it get really loose, like sand or mud, you'll be wishing for better tires.
Quite good for a dual sport tire compromise, especially in light of the cost.

I have them on my KLR f/r.Good 50-50 tire.I like them,am on my second rear 270.

I have run them on KLR and DR650. I think they are the best deal going. Not much in mud, but they work for me in sand, and outlast anything else you can buy for off pavement.

damn thing wont wear out. I have 3,500 miles on my rear tire and waiting for it to wear out to try a more aggressive tire. Hoping to finish it off this summer before the wet fall riding begins.
It's not real good in the wet woods and pretty bad in mud. Ok, REALLY bad in mud. But for general use on/off and road traveling the thing is probably the best all around tire on the planet.
Yeah it's pretty scary when new before all the new shiny-ness scrubs off.
Also I find that on dirt roads it spins instead of grabs so I cant get traction to wheelie.
I typically run about 22 PSI, give or take.

I like the 270 on the rear and hated the front. the front was rotten in the sand and squirelly at highway speeds, and not very good on loose gravel. so I replaced it with a Metlzer Karoo 2. Best money I ever spent.

My 270 front did not last long though. It wore real funny and I pitched it at 8K I think

Problem with the Kendas is the flex of the knobs. I think you mostly notice the whoa in the front, so mixing it up might be a good idea. On my 950 I run a KarooII front and Scorpion rear. Running the K270 on the rear with something more solid up front might not be a bad idea.

I had a set of K270's on my XR650R. With a low tire pressure and the flexy side walls they work similiar to trials tires off-road. On one particular ride which consisted on lots of wet clay/mud the K270's worked better then a knobby. Needless to say I was impressed.

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I swear by them. I have ridden them all over the south east and even road through GA during a tropical storm with a fully loaded bike and they worked great. I also get around 5k out of the rear and 2-3 times that out of the front ( I change tires at about 25% tread remaining. Buddies K270 equipped KLR650 has had similar results). Spent a week at Highlands Park and during a hard rain only a handful of riders were out on the trails. I was on a K270 rear and K760 front which has been my go to setup for 100% off-road for years. Even in the GA clay with wet rocks and roots I never had a problem other than rider skill . An hd rear tube and 10-15lbs of air and the K270 just seems to dead hook in the dirt. 25-28 on road and they ride fine (not great on road but they do their job). They also seem to shed mud like Teflon.

+1 on airing down. The 270 rear tire is the best all around tire I've found. I suspect those guys that are running trials tires would find more traction with the 270 as the tread is just as soft as the trials tire yet the knob spacing is more suited to sandy situations. The soft tread really shines on hard pan dirt roads also giving more traction than say a Trackmaster 2 on surfaces that are med to hard, and the soft sidewall compensates for sandy conditions. I find also that the 270 can go off road even at 20psi of air where I had to use 18psi on the Trackmaster2 to get the traction consistent. The front 270 is also great if you use the 3.25/21 but lacks tread depth. The sidewall seems soft enough to allow decent traction in sand until the tread is worn to 75% or so.

My K270s hook up excellent on dirt roads, and they make a 25ft wall of sand at the dunes without trying

I have tried the IRC's, Duros, 606's and the Kenda 270's. The kendas work great on my xt600 .I get about 4000 or so with lots of fast mountain road pavement, gravel, and forest roads. Others around here get even more. I get the best compromise for off road and pavement life from the 270's. I'm on my 3rd set

yes the rear K270 last a long time as the knobs are deeper than the 244. I tried the K270 way back when and while it was cheap the pavement cornering was never to good to me over the life of the tire.

The front was really horrible the whole time. it was squirmy. the rear was better but the bike never railed properly like the 244 does. If someone does not push their bike on the pavement then a K270 would be a decent rear option. no way ever on the front.

Why would anyone try that hard to find such a crappy tire, the rear Kenda, sure, but the front is pure, as my Scottish Grandpa would say, Clap!

I would agree about the front tire being crap!(very scary) The rear on the other hand I love. Great off road traction and durability (14,000km)

If you're set on the 270 front (and I don't know why you would be) make sure you get the 'C' load rated one, not the 'B'. It only comes in the narrower version (3.00", I think) but is slightly better (stiffer sidewall) than the 'B' rated.

Hey all, I'm looking for new tires this spring for the DR650, I'm pretty sold on the kenda K270 for the rear! price, durability, and performance really dictate this. Yet the front tire doesn't give me the reassurance that I need off road. Has anybody tried the front kenda ? with what success ?

Good offroad but very slippery on wet pavement. Much prefer Pirelli MT21 for all round use.

I agree, I have a K-270 3.25 x 21 up front on my 640 and it's a great gravel road tire, but feels a little vague on pavement. I dont think I'll run a Kenda up front anymore.

The kenda front is straight up CRAP, the Pirrelli works great.

Still like my Kenda 270's, they only last a season, but the price is right and they handle well.

For a DOT knobby I like the 606 but get better mileage from the Kenda 270. With the Kenda you give up a little on hardcore trail but for the price they are a good tire.

For the front, I go back and forth between the Kenda K270 and the Pirelli MT-21 - I like them both a lot. I always use the Kenda K270 on the rear.

Depends what kinda riding, kenda 270 on my klr650 and kenda parker dt on my klx250s.

[Kenny]

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