Hi guys,
I’m not only new to adventure bikes, I’m also new to riding in general.
I bought a DL650 and I’ve been busy setting it up with crash bars and bash plates and panniers etc but in the mean time i have been looking at what tyres to put on it.
I’ll be doing a bit of sandy stuff and some rocky stuff for a spot of hunting and fishing, but mostly long distance on the road.
When i am in the rough stuff i will need a good set of off road tyres though but i don’t want to feel unsafe on the 600-700km trips to get in to those spots.
I have a Shinko 80/20 on the front but a street tyre on the back so looking for something that’s worth about $200ish to stick on the back that will work well on the road and off.
I was looking at a MOTOZ tractionactor but what do you guys think is the best value for money?
All depends on how ‘off-road’ you intend to go really.
The rougher the offroad, the more of a compromise you’ll need to make to have something kinda ok at both.
In dry-ish off road conditions, the Shinko SR244 is fine. Not ideal for deep mud, but decent enough on-road, rocky or riverbed etc. Pretty cheap too, and seem to last ok.
If you need more aggressive offroad, the Tractionater may not be great for the other 6-700km…
Thank you so much, i have noone to ask, i have no mates who do this and don’t trust the guys at the bike shop cause they just put me to the most expensive tyre.
Motoz are freakin’ awesome, I run the Mountain Hybrids as I sadly ride nearly 100% sealed road. The Mountain hybrid rear is fricking awesome for hookup on anything and lasts like nothing else in it’s range. The front hooks up really well, but (on a DRZ400) does not have anywhere near the longevity as expected for a front. The hookup in gravel is great too!
The only downside is you can only buy them online shipped and then have to install yourself (which I have taught myself to do) or take’em to a shop. But for ~$200 for a full set of medium weight ADV tyres, it is epic! They’re alot like the Bridestone gritty but 1/2 the price!
PS- I’ve been running Motoz for ~40000kms and love ’em. The only one I would avoid is the Motoz Adv front as it is like all other dual sport tyres in that it’s sketchy on everything! I have a tractionator front which is very aggressive and desert tyre like, I’m waiting to see how it behaves on the street. The mountain hybrids are WOW! I get ’em from here:
https://454.co.nz/
That’s a big tradeoff you’re wanting for a heavy bike.
I’ve run the continental TKC-80 on the front which will let you use all of the bike on the road but is still a blocky tread tyre. Mitas-E09 for the back? I don’t know what the current price for them are.
Yeah the E09 is a bit pricey at $300 odd.
I’m looking for $250 and under really.
But undoubtedly a good tyre!
I did look at the TKC 80 though and might consider that at the first suggestion is only made in 18s and i need a 17.
I looked at the Motoz and i think they are in my price bracket so I’ll take a squizz at them too!
Thanks again guys you are awesome!
I don’t know anyone that would recommend a TKC-80 on the rear, they grip well but melt like butter.
I had the same requirement a couple of years back on my R1200gsa. I ended up with the Pirelli scorpion ralley ST. Great on road, awesome off-road. Had them front and back. Has a bit of tyre roar on the tar, but that is to be expected. Really made my bike feel much more confident off-road than the Bridgestone battlax it had on.
Thanks Gerrie,
What was the tyre wear like on those?
I do big miles on Tarmac so need something thats relatively long lasting, i suppose the fact that I’m running a lighter bike would make them last longer too though?
I did 21900km on the rear before I replaced it. I had a serious off that totaled the bike (and my wrist) at 90 663km. The front was still good (I actually had one on back order).
Back then I would say I did about 80/20 tar/gravel. When I did gravel though it wasn’t just unsealed roads, it was offroad as well. Didn’t get a lot of chance to do mud and really soft beach sand, but it seemed to cope well with loose rocks.
Thanks mate, really awesome of you to help.
Don’t know where you are but have you considered Shinko 804/805, very cheap tyres but very good. I have just done 8 000kms on a rear with about another 1500 kms left in it and the front will do 3000 kms more on a guess.The Shinkos are really planted on the road even in the wet and the block pattern hooks up well with stony and sandy conditions.
I am pretty much the same as you tho not new to riding bikes but I’m new to riding offroad too. The Shinko’s transformed the bike off-road from the Pirelli MT60 it was one before. I would’ve replaced them with the same but I do about 15 000kms per year and can’t be bothered to replace tyres every 8 months or so, so I have a set of Tractionator GPS’s waiting to go on when these Shinkos are done.
I have found the Mitas E-07+ to be a good overall tyre – nothing will ever do all you want it to but the Mitas’s wear and behave well over a range of surfaces – except wet grass over the top of soft soil! Quite well priced as well. Boyds have them.
wot e sed… 2x TKC-80 rears down, neither will make 2500km… tad expensive. Going to experiment with a set of Anakee Wild next, then probably a Tractionator Adventure rear and either TKC-80 or Wild front…
I will grant the TKC-80 one thing tho, for a knobbly its freaken amazing on seal. We’re talking edge of the blocks and it’s gripping (dry, gets slidy quite quick in the wet). Get silly and you have a wee slide that warns you you can’t be totally stupid, just mostly.
‘@Mike Harrison to the courtesy phone.
Mike has just become the NZ distributor for Tusk Tyres and I think has some prices in your ball park.
Hi guys i wanted to say thanks so much for all your help.
I ended up with shinko 705s i did a bunch of research in addition to your comments.
I found the issues and the solutions to they problems with these tyres and I’ve ridden these for about 100km now and they feel better than the old anakee IIIs i had on it, now when i say old they were 14yrs old, dry and horrible.
The bike feels like a different bike!
So the issues i found with these tyres, a lot of people are using crossply which will blow out and bubble on a heavy bike so the fix is get the radial and they are fine.
If you own a wee-strom or a cb500x or a 502k or larger you need the radials if you have a dr or a cbr then you can use the crossply.
Anyhoo i hope that help others, i am loving leaning in to the corners now without the tyres gently sliding across the road lol