Everyone has their own opinion on what is the best tyre for their bike/terrain/riding style etc.
Have your say or ask questions about adventure tyres here.
Everyone has their own opinion on what is the best tyre for their bike/terrain/riding style etc.
Have your say or ask questions about adventure tyres here.
I need a new front tyre for the DR as my MT21 currently fitted has worn really weird and 1/4 of the tyre is bald but the other 3/4 is still got 50% tread.
I’m on a budget so looking for a cheap tyre, What are peoples thoughts on the Bridgestone TW301?
http://www.boydmotorcycles.co.nz/store/ProductDetails.aspx?n=Front-Tyre-Bridgestone-Trail-Wing-TW301-275×21&p=106440&t=4&c=71145
Ended up with a TKC80 front, which in my experience is about the best front tyre for mixed adventure riding.
I went down to Boyd Motorcycles yeterday and they had a 90/90/21 front in stock and it was $176, given I was looking at $140-$150 anyway the extra $26 was nothing. I’m sure the last one I bought was a lot more than that.
How are you finding the tkc80. I’m looking to replace my trailwings shortly and probably will go for them front and rear. I ride about 20-30km a day on seal as my commute but like to head onto the gravel around palmy when I can.
I have always rated the TKC80 on the front as about the best front adventure tyre you can get. I’ve run them on airhead gs’s, KTM950, DR650 and never had an issue on them and they could handle fast road cornering right the the edge of the grip on the 950.
On the rear it depends on what you are riding and how you ride, they are still a great tyre but melt like butter on a hot day with any decent use. My last TKC80 rear on the 950 lasted 8 days/3500 km touring the south island and that wasn’t just worn to the wear indicators, the metal strands of the carcass where coming through.
I find the Mitas E-09 far better value for money on the rear and the Mitas E-07 even more so.
Good to hear. Will have a look at them
‘+1 for TKC80 which i am also still running up front. Don’t use it in the rear, too expensive for fast wearing. I am using a Dunlop D606 which is really good. My next set is a matched pair of new Dunlop D909 Rally Raid. I’ve heard amazing things about them but usually too expensive for most people to bother with. I know the Dunlops are very good on the road for knobblies, and very aggressive tread offroad. Got the set free with a purchase from a fellow rider, so may as well try them out!
Eddie, did you spin the MT21 around at all? That’s the trick with managing wear on those. They are uni-directional.I get about 6500kms out of a front. Wouldn’t bother with the rear.
I’m running TKC80 front and back but the rear is near shot (Pack Spur Road in the wet proved that.) Front is like brand new. I have had a reasonable run but am looking at possible swapping the rear for more on road slant. Most of riding is on road and gravel with the few dirt excursions so still don’t want to not go full 90/10 split but more of 50/50.
Options I have narrowed it down to;
Mitas E07
Heidenau K60
Motoz Tractionator Adventure (Used the endure version on RMZ250 and liked it so intrigued about these)
or sticking with TKC80 (always an option)
Any experience in these tyres ideally if you have run multiple and can offer your view would be great.
Running a 110/80/19 and 150/70/17 combo, I’ve used the K60 and E07, neither to maximum life (K60 got 10776km and more to go, but not worth re-fitting at a later date) and the E07 I’ve only done 3750km so far. The K60 has a stiffer tougher carcass than the E07, so while it handles airing down better, I didn’t like it’s sealed road wet weather grip (to the point of being scary). The K60 would likely get a longer life, but I’d trade some of that for better grip. So for me, so far anyway, E07 better than K60.
Yeah I have heard the K60 is a bit interesting on wet road. As the tyre changes depending on size the 130/80-17 doesnt have the continous line down middle so unsure what difference that makes.
It’s mostly around longevity. The bigger heavier bikes chew tyres out, so the centre ridge helps reduce that. Block movement generates heat, heat speeds up tyre wear. The E07 in my size also has a centre ridge but it’s stepped, so as the tyre wears the centre ridge first becomes continuous, then grows wider.
Ridge won’t affect grip for the most part on sealed roads (cornering), but obviously both tyres will have a weak spot for mud/clay or anything else where the ridge stops the tyre from biting down.
If your adventure riding only includes gravel roads and dry tracks then Avon Trailriders are worth considering. These are what I replaced the worn out Mitchelin T63s on my DR650 with and to be honest I have not noticed any less grip on the gravel but they have a whole lot more grip on the road. This suits me as I use my bike as primary transport but might not suit others who prefer a tyre that will keep them upright on wet dirt or sand.
Thoughts from the hive mind on a mt21 front paired with Kenda track master rear?
I ran the stock Grittys on my drz and they were ok off road and not terrible on road, am now running Shinko 804/5 which are good on road and tolerable off road… but looking for someone more like a trail tyre for summer riding. Suggestions welcome!
thanks
Hi, I am looking for replacing my trailwings whick are almost worn out on my dr650 from stock.
Basically they’ve been good to me, from up north now im in dunedin. 8000+km. Lots of gravel and dirt, not so much mud / sand.
I am leaning towards a tkc80 front and mitas e07 rear. I need some tires that’ll go good for the trip back up and then will be used for commuting on the road and afternoons / weekends exploring. Probably around 50/50.
Any downsides to the tkc80 on tarseal? Anything comparable to e07 for dual purpose and longevity?..
Thanks
Olly
I ran an E07 front & rear on the DR650, front was OK and rear was really good. I’ve just bought and fitted a TKC-80 front tyre on the CRF1000L, along with a nice new E07 rear tyre.
I went for a ride today and scrubbed in my new tyres. I did a bit over 200km with a decent amount of gravel, the tyres were good on the seal and on the gravel, I’m pretty happy with my choice.
My Two worth.Ive been trying out the MotoZ Tractionater tyres.I fitted them at the start of Feb and attended Chris Birchs two day off road course (which I cant recommend highly enough)Tyres were used in farm paddocks ,mud.river crossings and fast closed forestry roads around Thames and were most excellent.A week later I did the TT2000 two up with luggage mostly on road with a little bit of gravel around kiwi rd and Waikarimoana.As I write this Ive just got back from a week down south having been through Molesworth,rainbow,Porika ,Braeburn,Maruia saddle,Random spur,Black forrest,Old dunstan,Dansys.The Haka,French pass,Titirangi bay,well you get the idea.Front tyre is still fine rear tyre is shagged and split to the cords but held together .I was bricking it when I first noticed it splitting when I was in Kurow but that was 800km ago and nothing I could do been Easter Sunday.Am home safe and sound .SO tyre only lasted two months but did just under 7500km so Im more than happy.And yes been a slack arse its still on the bike and been used to commute to work lol
Just got a new rear tyre today, I had a TKC70 on the rear, very good tyre for dry and wet riding! Also very good on gravel. The only thing I didn’t like about them was riding on wet grass, with the solid centre line the rear acted like a slick, no grip on wet grass at all. Still had some tread left on it but after doing the south island with a heavy load it squared off a bit. I got 13,376 kms out of it, I’m now trying a Michelin Anakee Adventure,
This has a similar tread pattern, a little blockyer, but without the solid centre.still an 80/20 tire. I’ve done just over 300 km with them today on gravel and road, very secure footing on the loose gravel, so far very good, a little bit more road noise with the blocky tread. Will see how they go, photos,
on the left Anakee Adventure,
on the right TKC 70.
Just about to fit a Shinko 804 front and 805 rear to my Vstrom.
Presently has the stock tyres, the front seems a bit squibbly on the gravel
Have this combination on the drz400 also so will be interesting to see what happens.
Update,
I have just changed my TKC70 front, I got 18,250kms out of it, still had about 500kms left on it. I have changed it to a shinko E705, will see how it goes.
My Triumph has Pirelli Scorpion Trail Tyres. I have found them to be rather disconcerting on gravel. They very good on Road and heat up fairly quickly. As a result I ve been looking for a slightly more aggressive Tyre to provide better levels of offroad traction without losing to much road grip. The Shinko E705 was my choice recommended by Fortnine. However there are quite a few reviews that say it is really bad in the wet? Also a few reviews with road performance issues. Eion it would be great if you could do an update on how you finding them! Will really appreciate that.
Well so far I have found the Anakee Adventure tire on the rear very good on the road and also good on gravel. The Shinko 705 has been ok on the road a little slippage in the wet but nothing major, have had the pegs down two up quite comfortably on tarmac. I would recommend for both front and rear the Anakee Adventure if most of your riding is on road and some gravel.
Has anyone used Michelin Anakee Wild 50/50’s? I’m wearing out my standard 2019 Honda CB500X tyres and looking for something better and 50/50. Another option might be Dunlop Trailmax Mission.
Pete
Hello Pete, I ended up buying the Shinko 804 & 5 tyres for the Raglan Adventure ride. They have got plenty of great reviews. I had a fully loaded bike did approx 800km over the weekend including 200km through single tracks, farm roads, small revine crossing etc. So properly tested. They were great! On the road at speeds of 100-120kph they where stable and offered plenty of traction on the twisties. The road noise was not intrusive. I actually couldnt hear them. Also, they are reasonably priced at just under $400 for a set. Fitted to a Triumph tiger 800. Apparently they get great mileage too. From my little experience thus far, I would stick my neck out and recommend them.
I have had a set Dunlop trailmax mission on my r1250 GSA for just over a 1000kms and rate them highly. Have had 3 sets of anakee adventures, a set of anakee wilds(burn up quick , noisy and misbehave on wet roads) a set of bridgestone ax41( not as noisy and best for offroad but wear out in a week)
My 804/805s have 8000kms on ATM with about 1500kms left in them. I am pretty happy with them but getting a bit sick of fitting new tyres every year. They did well in all my riding, even icy roads over Arthurs and Lewis passes in the winter. So a set of Motoz Tractionator GPS’s have arrived today. I will be happy if I get twice the mileage out of them and the same great performance. Gets good reviews everywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjtgLz1LjnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pY7Puw-ZtE
Hi,
I’ll be replacing the standard Dunlops on my CB500X shortly, and will probably go for some 50/50 tyres. Having read here of the wear rate on some rear tyres, especially on seal, has any manufacturer produced dual compound rear tyres for adventure bikes? I know one of these made a big difference on my Ducati Scrambler.
Pete
Not heard of any dual compounds but interested to hear what tyres you get. Looking for similar myself for my RR 500X.
New tyres every year? If only…
Bought my 1090R in August, replaced the rear in September, replaced both in November (front still has life), now about to need a 4th rear in January… The rear about to die might see 3000km, a record for a rear so far.
TKC80 – butter, Anakee Wild, slightly less buttery but not double the life of an 80 Michelin claims, now going with a Tractionator Adventure, see what that’s like.
Eishhh…best tyre replacement to consider might be a RH wrist brace!! 8?)
Hahaha, doesn’t sound very fun, but does sound cheaper…
Just put an E-07+ Dakar on the rear but could only get a plain old E-07 front (not even Dakar version).
It’ll interesting to see if the Dakar goes longer than the standard plus. I’m managed 5.5 and 6.5k out of my last E-07+ rears.
@Gremlin I got 4,800k out of a Tractionator GPS…
Front E-07 Dakars have gone 19.5 and 16.5k’s – although the last one would probably have gone a lot more (I reckon I would have got a warrant on it) but changing due to a little event next month.
And, the WR is loving it’s Motoz Desert H/T’s 🙂
After a hunt around the area and a good char re. tyre makes and patterns, I purchased a set of Shinko 705’s for my CB500X. So far I’ve covered around 3600km on them in a variety of conditions, on tarmac and gravel, and am well satisfied. They’re certainly a big improvement on Honda’s standard fit.
The bike required a slightly narrower fit than standard on the rear tyre, but this has probably been to the good on gravel / offroad.