dirt bike paddle tire recommendation?

Brian Machnach

Brian Machnach

New member
Joined
May 21, 2021
Messages
190
Reaction score
109
bringing a 2018 kx450f into glamis this year with us...looking to see what you guys know about paddle tires and what one works good out there.if your not sure maybe your kid or somebody could chime in and help out...thanks.

 
8-10 paddle skat trak should be good . I have a cr500 and used a 10 paddle skat. Plenty of grip I was thinking going to an 8 though I like a little more spin. 
 

 
I always ran a 10 cup on my 450s.  Never had a problem spinning it.

 
I run an 8 cup on my 500, and used to use an 8 on my 450 as well.     

 
Always used an 8 paddle. 250-2smoke/450-4 stroke. 
 

Fun with no paddle as well. Used a trials tire last time on an xr400 link below 17:52 mark  worth a watch

buddy ran the 10 paddle on his yz426, looked like a tractor tire and way to much traction. But if you don’t dune… it’ll get you going. 
 



 
Last edited by a moderator:
I recently took paddle off so put a cheap tire in my 500 for street use and my dirt tire is an irc m5b 140 size. Now that knobby can get some grip used it in glamis and was fun to ride as I like a bike to slide.I don’t ride bike in glamis

much so who knows if I will ever put a paddle back on. 

 
Paddles: I used to tell new riders that a 450 was best with a 10 paddle in my opinion. Gets the front end up right now. 8 paddles work just fine also. They have more slip so you have to tug on the bars to get the front end up. I felt that there was no sense bringing an open class bike to glamis only to neuter it with an 8 paddle. If your rider is aggressive, they will probably prefer a 10 paddle. 

  Molded verses buffed and glued: Skat trak tires are the lightest paddle tire available and in theory, will spin up faster. I preferred skat trak tires, either viper or hooker cup designs.  I ran my share of molded tires like cheng shin though and they were better than a knobby by far. Honestly, I don't think most people will tell the difference aside from price. Skat trak tires were double the price of a molded tire. I haven't ran any of the newer sand paddle brands so don't know if the molded tires have become lighter yet. 

epo5.jpg

 
77charger said:
I recently took paddle off so put a cheap tire in my 500 for street use and my dirt tire is an irc m5b 140 size. Now that knobby can get some grip used it in glamis and was fun to ride as I like a bike to slide.I don’t ride bike in glamis

much so who knows if I will ever put a paddle back on. 
Click to expand...
Agreed!

 
Lighter the better. If its a 19" rim the Sedona Dunatik 8 paddle is great. If an 18" rim i think they only make that model in 10 paddle. 

Make sure the rider checks for loose wheel spokes and run tire pressure down around 6psi front and 8 rear. Get the little rubber seals that go around the valve stem of the tube. At that low pressure the tire and tube flex and sand creeps around the valve stem and gets inside the wheel. With time it wears down the tube. If you are swapping out a knobbie its not as critical as you will clean the wheel and tube when you disassemble after glamis. If you have a dedicated sand paddle wheel you want to seal out the sand best as possible to last all season. A brand new rim strip is nice too. The tube can get pinched by the spoke nuts if the rim strip or tape has worn through. Seems to happen quicker in glamis with the low tire pressure and more movement of the tube. I prefer thin tubes for glamis. Lighter the better as mentioned. Im on a 2 stroke though so i dont have the torque of the 2018 450f. Think im actually running a natural rubber tube that is multi thickness. Its thick in some spots and thinner in others to save weight. Got it from rocky mountain. I believe it was the natural rubber that deals better with flexing. 

Avoid the tire with the center strips. Its a molded skat trak. I ran that for years its super heavy. I keep it for a backup. Welcome to even borrow it if you want. Its been put on and off a rim dozens of times so the bead is already chunked up. You cant really hurt it anymore than i did. Problem with buying a brand new paddle is realizing it hits the rear linkage. Will rip chunks off your new paddle. Thats another thing is make sure to have a used chain that is already stretched out. Depending on the bike sometimes a newer chain is too tight and the paddle will rub on either the mud flap and/or the rear linkage.

 
thanks for the reply..hes gunna put a paddle tire on a new warp 9 rim.hear thay are decent rims, good price and he will only use the paddle in glamis maybe 4 trips so hes not looking to go with top dollar rims.think stock tire hes keeping in the front.is a paddle tire defiantly gone break his mud flap?

 
Brian Machnach said:
is a paddle tire defiantly gone break his mud flap?
Click to expand...
More than likely. Some people run a longer chain or a second master link to give extra space between the tire and flap. I did both over the years. I ended up having a seperate cut down mud flap that I used for the sand. I'd throw on a stock flap for the trail/moto riding. The sand flap had a few inches cut off of it but still protected the shock from sand. I have seen an air box ripped apart because the mud flap was strong so the box ripped instead. 

 
I use to take off the flap and cut out a make shift one from a 1 quart oil bottle and that way it keeps the sand off the shock and flex’s better and harder to break if the tire does rub it. 

 
I measured a 19" Dunatik 8 paddle and its around 3.9 inches from the rim to the top of the paddle. You could measure the KX with the dirt tire on it now to get a rough idea if a 4" tall tire would clear the mudflap and linkage. If the bike has an 18" rim then that paddle will be even taller. 

Generally speaking you can look down at the rear axle holders. They have little alignment knotches. If the chain has stretched and the axle is more towards the end of its adjustment the paddle should clear. 

 
wopachop said:
I measured a 19" Dunatik 8 paddle and its around 3.9 inches from the rim to the top of the paddle. You could measure the KX with the dirt tire on it now to get a rough idea if a 4" tall tire would clear the mudflap and linkage. If the bike has an 18" rim then that paddle will be even taller. 

Generally speaking you can look down at the rear axle holders. They have little alignment knotches. If the chain has stretched and the axle is more towards the end of its adjustment the paddle should clear. 
Click to expand...
thanks ill check that out tomorrow

 
ready to pull the trigger and seen the warp-9 rim has holes for rim locks? think thay are needed for a paddle tire thats gonna be run on a lower pressure in the sand?any of you guys running rim locks?

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top