I'm looking to upgrade my existing rubber. My bike came with fairly new Trail wings, they're decent on pavement but a bit scary offroad. I spend 80% of my time on trails but I do transit on pavement. I've looked at the Kenda 270 but they seem to have mixed reviews. Most of the trails I ride are a sand/dirt mix. I realize that it's difficult to get a good compromise but I'm wondering what other people's experiences are. The bike in question is a KLR250.
Im running shinko 244 on my dual sport bike that sees mostly trails. I've been impressed with the performance in dirt and they're decent on the road too.
I loved the Duro that came on my KLR650 (the back one anyway; the front one cupped on me). I replaced it with a Kenda but never rode it enough before selling it to generate much of an opinion.
The KLR250 is an underrated bike. Good choice.
In reply to Woody: I wasn't looking for a KLR250 when I found it. I came across it on KIJIJI for $200 so I grabbed it. I really like it though. It won't set any speed records but it's a very capable machine for what it is.
I would try swapping just the front tire to something a bit more aggressive first and see how that feels. For example: I run a DOT knobbie on my Husky on the front (terrible on road but pretty good elsewhere) and a Karoo 3 on the rear. The Karoo is pretty much a street tire with wide blocks so it can clear mud. It is OK in dirt but works great on road and is basically a pad tire in the mud. It is a great compromise for the kids of trails that I run.
The point here is that the rear tire has less to do with confidence off road than the front. Get a front tire that is just short of a full knob (The 244s and 270s aren't aggressive enough for me, I have friends with both and they are prone to washing) like this:
http://www.revzilla.com/product/dunlop-d606-dual-sport-tires
or this:
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/pirelli-mt21-rallycross-front-tires
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