totaly agree....
little small nobs flex and have less surface area in contact with the road...

look at the 700 in the pic I posted... lots of surface area & the side nobs are
bridged to help with flex...
On the worn out one look at the size of the chicken strips , are about 5 or 6mm
(un-used tyre at the side)
yer can ride it right to the edge... "with the right pressures"

has anyone tried road tires...like a supermoto:hmm:

I was just watching a Supermoto race on youtube, and I can tell you I was totally unimpressed with their tire performence in the mud. They just paddle their way through the mud with oceans of wheelspin from their big engines. Some how I can't see a Chinese 250 doing that, at least in this state of their development. :crazy:

The Shinko 244 rear feels vague on pavement until it is about 1/3 worn, then it's not bad. The 244 front feels fine on pavement but cups as it wears making it thumpy at low speeds. The 700 feels better on pavement than the 244, and the 705 is the best of the group on pavement and worst of the group off road.

I've ridden my friends Yamaha 250 super moto type bike with sticky 17" street tires. Great fun on pavement but sucks off road.

All tires are a compromise.

you guys might try a tr8 in front and a dp type in rear. i am Very happy with the tr8 out front {handles dirt w/o the washouts and does good on the street, even when wet) and the GP1 or something similar in the rear. The rounder profile of the gp1 rides/grips far better on the highway, and rides far smoother and predictable than a full knob like the 606, only giving up mud performance really.

i dont mind the knobby on the road, dont ride in the rain anyway, but it does say off road use only on it, how do you get through inspection?

I considered scotchbrighting the letters off the tire. I woulnt mind wearing them out before replaceing them.

i used to run dunlops and yoko supperdiggers on my moto bikes when young and even with limited street use they wore quickly.

The hawks tires are lasting very well for a knobby. 100 miles didn't show any considerable wear. i suspect a harder compound.

that said i hate the missing bead locks, and the high pressure that forces you to run.

changing the tire would give me a chance to install one.

For what it's worth, the stock tires on the TT250 so far have been really nice on the pavement (tight twisties) and also, seem to do well on dry gravel roads. I was going to change them out for something better, expecting the usual stock garbage that sometimes comes on new bikes but am pleasantly surprised so far with the stockers.
I guess it depends on your needs more than anything. We don't do a ton of off-road or wet.