Inline 4 adventure bike, tyre recommendations?

[zeRax]

Hey all..

So I bought the Husqvarna TE310 and its awesome, safari tank etc etc, its the bee's knees

But I've always had a fantasy about an inline 4 adv bike for lighter dutys and long road hauls. so I've now got a 2006 Hornet 900 aswell, keeping both.


The hornet is awesome on the road, real nice bike o_o, has powercommander and micron pipes and hotgrips, part from that she's stock.

Ive taken her for a squirt up some gravel roads, and its different for sure.

Engine crash bars. Renthal bars and handguards. stone guard belly. fender change. Basic changes are planned. But I dont want to fuck it road use. which brings me to tyres

What are tyres that people recommend for dual purpose yet kick ass for tarmac? for big bikes

stock tyres for size:

Michelin Hi-Sport Front: 120/70-ZR17
Rear:180/55-ZR17

[Woodman]

You loon... Its not so much the size of the bike in your case, but rather the horsepower, so not sure really.

But,

metzeler saharas are awesome on road and pretty good on gravel etc. Don't last long on a moderate hp bike so your case could prove pricey .

My 2 cents

[Gremlin]

There is always a trade off between dirt and road performance. You have to choose what balance you live with.

TKC80s are available in street bike sizes, great gravel, bit vauge on the road compared to road tyres.

[haydes55]

I can vouch for the Bridgestone T30's being well below average at handing rough gravel, my bike was walking around under me something cronic.

Interesting choice for an adventure/touring bike.

[zeRax]

oooer. i like the look of those saharas, just googled em.. how does one get on with lack of tyre sizes may be an issue though :/?

looks like tkc80s will have the sizes alright

[zeRax]

as far as inline 4 bikes go, its an awesome candidate, exhaust position is a good start, riding position is good, ease to change bars. reliable as. easy to handle and a small formfactor.

stoked that i stumbled on it, its awesome on the road

[Motu]

The more cyls the more wheelspin - watch some speedway sidecars, they never hook up. They put huge grooves in slicks for traction.

[Night Falcon]

Yikes....tire threads are popping up everywhere http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1035125

[dino3310]

perilli scorpion MT90

[R650R]

The pireeli above is good tyre if available in 17 inch.
Front is still going to be pretty 'tucky' anyway with small wheel like that compared to a 21.... prob better just to keep running road tyres.
Even my DR spends way more time on tarmac than gravel despite my best intentions.... theres not a hell of a lot of gravel roads and 4wd tracks left really....

[CrazyFrog]

Pirelli MT90 A/T are not avail in 17" fronts. You can get 17" rears, but only 120 wide - too skinny for your Hornet.
On the other hand, the Pirelli MT60RS are avail in good 17" sizes, made for supermotos, dirt and tarmac tread pattern/ tyre compound.

[chasio]

I think Toto did this some time ago with his Hornet for a SI trip, so would have direct experience of at least one set of adventure tyres on a 900. Haven't seen him online for a while but a PM might reach him..?

[Gremlin]

I think Toto did this some time ago with his Hornet for a SI trip, so would have direct experience of at least one set of adventure tyres on a 900. Haven't seen him online for a while but a PM might reach him..?
He used TKC80s, still has the partially worn set. I know, coz I travelled with him. They were much better in the rough stuff compared to road tyres, he had a lot more grip. On the road, especially in the rain, it was more scary than regular tyres.

However, after that trip, the chain and sprockets were knackered, the suspension needed an overhaul etc... :innocent:

[XF650]

Back in 2007 a group of 5 intrepid KB Adv. riders rode a "Passes Ride" route around the SI, to visit all accessible (you guessed it) Passes. Naturally this included heaps of gravel and occasional off-road stuff. Other KB'ers joined them at various stages to keep them company. The point of this post being that one of the bikes was a 1200 Bandit on road tyres, who proved to me it's the rider, not the bike.
Story here: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/43887-Passes-ride-daily-updates-and-photos?highlight=Passes+Ride
Knowing how zeRax can ride, I reckon it would be bloody entertaining trying to follow his 900 on gravel.
Do 17" EO7's have width sizes for both ends? I've seen them fitted to motards, reversed on the front.

[zeRax]

ooo, all good info guys,

the tyres with a wide selection in 17" rears like have been mentioned, whats the go there,, reversing a rear tyre for the front, as simple a thought as driving traction vs reversing it for braking direction on the front?

tyre sizes seem to be the most annoying part,

argh

TKC80's 180/55-17 for the rear and 120/90-17 for the front?

figure 120/90 as opposed to 120/70,, gain a little bit in diameter?

Cant see what other flavour I can go with due to wheelsizes, but I may be a bit blind :\

this is getting me super excited btw :D

[Woodman]

I got a half worn/melted 120/90/17 here if you want to try it. As long as you don't give it back its yours for free. Its only done one Molesworth/Rainbow loop on the back of the KLR.

[Gremlin]

TKC80's 180/55-17 for the rear and 120/90-17 for the front?

figure 120/90 as opposed to 120/70,, gain a little bit in diameter?
I'd stay stock. Unless you're modifying the bike, you might end up with clearance issues. With the TKC80, the knobs are about the same size as regular tyres, ie, the base of the rubber has a smaller circumference than a regular road tyre (because the gaps between blocks are deeper than grooves).

TKC80 fits the CB900 fine, no problems with swingarm/mudguard clearances.

The reason you're struggling for tyre size is that dual purpose bikes simply don't have a 120/70/17 and 180/55/17 profile. About the most road biased dual purpose gets is 110/80/19 and 150/70/17. Everything else goes more off road biased (21/18 combos and smaller)