I had my new tires mounted today and so far I'm really impressed. I put 489XTs on the front and 589MTs on the rear. I stayed with the stock sizes.

I gained a total of 29LBS, 7LBS on the front and 22 for the rear which I didnt think was bad.

I didnt get a chance to hit the trails this evening so I did a short ride around my home which was mostly blacktop. The rears have more of a chunky feel at very slow speeds on the blacktop but not quite as noticeable through my yard. Once I hit about 20mph that feeling went away and the ride was surprisingly smooth for how aggressive the 589MTs are. There is a hugh traction difference on the blacktop as compared to the stock Dunlops. The 589s hook up really well. I couldnt get much of a feel for any change in handling or that pushing sensation on the front so I guess I'll have to wait for the weekend to find out if my theory of the 489s being a much better handling tire payoff.

I was concerned when I brought the tires home (off of the rim) that I was going to loose some height, they seemed to be about 2" shorter than the stock tires. I didnt take into consideration that once the tires were mounted that by them being squeezed onto the rim that they would "stand up" more. I actually gained almost a full 1" of GC.

One thing I didnt expect was the 589 being a much flatter profile than the rounded Dunlops and it gives the look of more travel in the suspension. Which is sort of cool.

The built in rim protector on the 589MTs is a really nice feature. I cant imagine how hard I would have to hit something to bend the rear rims. The 489XTs offer more protection than the stock tires but not the amount of the 589s.

I cant wait for Saturday.

 

Let us know how they handle with that combination!

 

Hey MonteSS maybe we can get together and ride some time. I'm sure you must ride up around Murph. I am allways looking for new trails to ride. I cant wait to get out on Saturday and try out my new tires.

 

Got to hit the trails today and give my tires a test. I think the ride is just as good as the ride with the stock tires. The front doesnt feel like it dives or pushes nearly as much. I played around with tire pressure and decided I thought it felt best with 5psi in the front. I couldnt really tell much of a difference in the rear with psi ranging from 3-6lbs so I kept 5psi in the rear also. I think I made a good decision with my tire selection the handling feels better and the ride doesnt seem to be effected and I know I am getting ALOT better traction over the stock Dunlops.

 

Don't have one yet i'm waaiting for the 2003 to come out and see if i will have a job comes summer rumors of lay off floating around. I am familiar with murph though i used to ride there a lot when I had a dirt bike. i am just colecting info for when i do get one. I'll let you know when I do and we can meet up.