Road tyre choices for a Dakar?

[Al_79]

Hi all,

I am looking at getting some road tires for my Dakar but having problems finding a huge range. Tourances seem to be popular but are they dedicated road tires? Does it really matter too much? I will be riding to south of France to visit my folks a fair bit and commute to work in all weather. So any tips from Dakar riders would be great!!

Many thanks

Al

 

[JohnP]

I use Tourances on mine. I do all road mileage in my daily commute to work (65 miles per day) and find them very good. They give plenty of grip in both wet and dry conditions and make the bike very chuckable, especially on roundabouts. They have plenty of life in them as well, giving about 9000 miles for the rear and nearly double for the front. Hope this helps.

I do'nt know Conti Trail Attacks are available in Dakar sizes. If so, they might be a good option.

 

[Andy80F]

I'll second Tourances they really suite the bike on the road and the millage you get out them is great. No great off road grip of course beyond rough paths (in the dry) but on a trip to the South of France and road based commutes I can think of no better tyre for that bike, and they don't look too road biased, they still look a little bit chunky.

Andy
(just lost his Dakar to a tree)

 

[rc mad]

tourances on mine Around 2k of motorway/ a road miles on em and they aren't anywhere near as worn as the saharas were at that mileage. I love em

 

[Al_79]

Nice one guys!!

 

[Al_79]

One last question - I feel like Columbo;

Ok what do all the letters refer to after the sizes of the tires? I am referring to the Tourances -

90/90-21 M/C 54H TL
90/90-21 M/C 54S

Compound? Speed? There seems to be many more for the rear 17 tyre, what should i be looking for, for my purpose?

Very wet behind the ears hey?
Thanks

 

[rc mad]

looked on the metzler site, tl means tubeless, the 54 part is the load rating and the single letter is the speed rating

h = 130mph
s = 112mph


The tourances you'l be wanting are
Front
90/90-21 M/C 54S
Rear
130/80-17M/C 65S

Mainly because we run a tubed tire and the bike won't do 112 mph, not that i've tried I belive you could fit the h rated tl tires without problems tho, the inside of the tire may be rougher than the tubed ones tho

 

[dotcaf]

Well, I can certainly recommend Tourances. I have now done 16,000 miles on mine on the way from London to Oz (see wee.planitearth.co.uk) and I still have another 2000 UK legal miles left in them. I have used them 70% on goodish roads and the rest on rubble, off-road and seriously pot-holed roads. And that's with a bike thta's loaded with 30kgs of luggage and panniers. The only strange thing that I find is that the front is wearing quicker than the rear. Great grip on road. Good enough grip on tracks and passable off-road if you're not in a hurry.

 

[Grizz]

Have Tourances on the 1150GS as well,and seem to do good.

Will go same on Dakar.