Another "Which tyre?" thread

[brassmonkey001]

It'll soon be time to re-shoe the 88 Paralever GS and I'm wondering what tyres to use.
I've got Avon Distanzias on at the moment which are OK but I want something a little more aggresive for some green laning but good for commuting too.

I use TKC 80's on my F650 GS Dakar which are a good all-year-round all-conditions tyre for my needs but I don't know whether to stick some on the Airhead or not. (I've tended to use Tourances in the summer and TKC 80's in the winter when the lane gets sloppier in the past. but with the recent wet summers we've had the last couple of years I've worn the TKC80's all year round.)

I'm considering the Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara's as a compromise as I don't intend to use the Airhead so much through the winter so won't necessarily need a pattern quite as aggresive as the TKC80's but will definately need a bit more bite than Tourances or Distanzias.

Any thoughts?

 

[Rob Farmer]

I've been using the Sahara 3's. Good tyres in the wet and off road but they only lasted 3.5k

I'm running Heidenau K60 at the minute. Not quite as good in the wet as the Sahara's but still a good tyre and ssmoother on the road only £111 a pair delivered from Mynetmoto

1 HEIDENAU / 90/90 - 21 M/C TL 54H K 60 FRONT
2 HEIDENAU / 130/80 - 17 M/C TL 65H K 60 REAR

 

[Shep]

I've had some TKC80's fitted, they seem OK, I don't do alot of offroading but the bits I do at the moment are very slippy and steep and it was all a bit of a struggle on tourances.

Odd thing is my 12GSA would just bimble up the slopes on a whiff of throttle and little or no wheelspin even on battlewings, the Para Airhead needs a few more revs so that seems to encourage wheelspin, all fixed with the more agressive tyre though.

On the road, well for the first few miles I was wondering if I had done the right thing, but once they had bedded in (or indeed i'd got used to them) they are fine, not exactly scraping the footpegs stuff but OK for knobblies(better than OK actually)

Shep

 

[VAL. H.]

Stick with the TKC's They are by far the best all round tyre. Good on the roads 'wet n dry' and great off road on the trails.

Val.


PS: Shep, The TKC's are good enough to get your pegs down

 

[mikyh]

TKC vs Sahara 3

After years on TKCs I switched to S 3. As I hardly go off road anymore.
The big difference is that they dont make the bike twitchy at 130Kph and more - straight as an arrow. And still dicent off road.
Miky

 

[Shep]

PS: Shep, The TKC's are good enough to get your pegs down

They may well be but i'm not

 

[45disco]

i run Dunlap 606s very aggressive on my r80g/s, i run them on the road also, and side wall them from time to time on the hard top, (mountains of northcarolina) they seem to hold up well and are predictable. but the tkc 80s are a better road tire and they hold well on an airhead. wear is longer also. i have used saharra 3s on my ktms and they were great especially cornering on the street, not so great in the mud, good in sand, high speed gravel is ok. but i would use the tkc 80s before the saharras. you do not loose anything on the road but gain some off-road. another light off-road tire is pirreli scorpion a/t. great grip on the highway wet&dry and wear well.

 

[brassmonkey001]

Metzelers £166.98
Heidenau £134.90
TKCs £163

fitted and balanced to loose wheels at my usual tyre depot.

 

[VAL. H.]

Metzelers £166.98
Heidenau £134.90
TKCs £163

fitted and balanced to loose wheels at my usual tyre depot.

FYI the Heidenau's are a harder compound than the TKC's and therefore can be a little dodgie in the wet, when compared to your other two choices.

The down side to the TKC's is that they add a bit of vibration to the ride (but you get used to this).

However there ain't anything looks better fitted to the Para's


Do it and enjoy


Val.

 

[Rob Farmer]

After years on TKCs I switched to S 3. As I hardly go off road anymore.
The big difference is that they dont make the bike twitchy at 130Kph and more - straight as an arrow. And still dicent off road.
Miky

The only downside to the Sahara 3's is the wear rate. They aren't cheap and don't last long. If you can put up with that they are great tyres.

I keep trying TKC's but find them horrendous on the road. Vibey with a high wear rate. I suppose it's what you get used to - theres plenty of happy TKC owners out there.

 

[Kenny]

Ihave TKC80's on my faux gspd...and think they are the dogs danglies and you can really really nail them on the road...just an initial weirdness when turning slowly ( like with any knobbly ) but just ignore it and have confidence in your tyres ( 0.2 seconds before you hit the deck )

They do look the part as well