Tyre choice for adventure riding? (Mixing road and off-road)

[Transalper]

Check with cooneyr later, he is about to give an E09 rear a try. Has a D606 rear on at the moment.

[cooneyr]

Its not going to be till about the CCA ride before the E09 goes on. There is probably still another 1000kms in the D606 rear.

Cheers R

[Transalper]

You could take care of that in a day you know.

[cooneyr]

Well it only took one day and 1000kms to deal to the first 2/3rds of the tyre Was pretty hard on the rear tyre during the dusty butt but hope to get a few more kms (relatively) out the last 1/3rd.

Cheers R

[tri boy]

This is a bit of an update on how the TKC80 handles being on the fr of the Scrambler.
The worn one has done 8500km on a 50/50 split of seal/gravel. As you can see there is still a heap of life in it, as is only coming off so the new tkc can do the sth isld. I'll run the old one out with the old Sahara/Trailwing/old rear TKC.
I like the TKC on the front, and see no need to change while the bike continues as a back road mount.(that may change, as I'm thinking of getting a DR/XR/KTM or similar for more adv riding).
They may cost around the $180-200 mark but it's quite good value if sure footedness on and off road is what you need.
Pressures have generally been around the 25-30psi range.

[Motu]

I just scored this tyre - being out of step with the rest of the world means I get to pick up things others don't want.I didn't know they made these things in 21in,I thought they only come in 19in...but there are 18in made too.No NHS markings,no DOT label.

So what is it?

[XF650]

Thanks Carl. From what I've read previously the MT21 and D606 are pretty much equal in many respects. I was hoping the E-09 would have more grip in the dirt (mud, actually), so if it's less I'll give it a miss.

Rode the Macetown track on Wednesday with EO9 rear on the DT230, @ 20psi. Seemed to match my limited ability quite well but not much mud that day to really test the tyre. It did move around a bit in loose sand, where a more trail biased tyre would have been better. No issues with all those river crossings though.
So based on what I have "heard", is the EO9 comparable to the TK80?.

[Motu]

I've always reckoned that compound is more important than tread pattern,on seal,gravel and hard pack anyway.Mud requires tread.

True....

I see no one was interested in my tyre,and that's why I was able to get it for a bargain price. It's a Dunlop K180 dirt track tyre - the genuine flattrack tyre.They don't sell the 21in in the US,the 19in is the official tyre....but the 21 must be made for MX bikes to do short track.Man,I would of given anything to have one of these when I was riding on the dirt track,I had to settle for a speedway rear on the front and a trials on the rear.

So I fitted it to my spare wheel and slotted it into the XT620 and took it for a shake down ride today - and man I'm impressed,I think I found the perfect tyre.As I said,compound is important on hard pack,and this tyre is very,very good on gravel.It looks like a street tyre,but it tracks better than the knobs I've always had on this bike before,never slipped once and I was pushing it hard....I can get the throttle on real early and forget about the front,no slip,no tuck.And as you would expect it's very good on seal too,I can get over the front wheel and push it really hard,something I didn't do with the knobs.

So for my adventure riding,which is mainly gravel and the tight nasty seal roads to get to the gravel it has to be the perfect tyre,I reckon it would be good on grass and sand too.....but not a mud tyre.Now for a rear tyre....

[Oscar]

True....

I see no one was interested in my tyre,and that's why I was able to get it for a bargain price. It's a Dunlop K180 dirt track tyre - the genuine flattrack tyre.They don't sell the 21in in the US,the 19in is the official tyre....but the 21 must be made for MX bikes to do short track.Man,I would of given anything to have one of these when I was riding on the dirt track,I had to settle for a speedway rear on the front and a trials on the rear.

So I fitted it to my spare wheel and slotted it into the XT620 and took it for a shake down ride today - and man I'm impressed,I think I found the perfect tyre.As I said,compound is important on hard pack,and this tyre is very,very good on gravel.It looks like a street tyre,but it tracks better than the knobs I've always had on this bike before,never slipped once and I was pushing it hard....I can get the throttle on real early and forget about the front,no slip,no tuck.And as you would expect it's very good on seal too,I can get over the front wheel and push it really hard,something I didn't do with the knobs.

So for my adventure riding,which is mainly gravel and the tight nasty seal roads to get to the gravel it has to be the perfect tyre,I reckon it would be good on grass and sand too.....but not a mud tyre.Now for a rear tyre....

Is it pretty soft?
How fast do it wear?

[warewolf]

From the CCA thread;

Well that looks like it rules me out. XF650 & I were getting quite keen and excited, but this with the changed criteria (previously said something like it was suitable for all adventure bikes including large bikes and pillions) looks too much on the trail side of adventure riding for me. While the E07's are OK in the shingle I'm not really convinced they are right for me and the riding I do, and was considering slightly less aggressive tyres, not knobblies.

Criteria hasn't changed. It's always been OK for all adventure bikes... with the proviso that they have adventure tyres, not general purpose/trail tyres.

Not singling out timg - he is not alone nor the target of this post - but quoting him for context; the sentiment is common. For the interest of those getting in to adventure riding and reading this thread for background...

The Capital Coast Adventure ride is not unique in its demands on tyres. In my experience, no organised adventure ride will accept less. Adventure rides are organised to get in to less-accessible places, usually in tandem with more technical riding - which is what most riders want. Remember, the mystic beauty of any place is inversely proportional to the size of the car park.

In other words, if you want to do any organised adventure rides, you're gonna need TKC80s or equivalents, or better.

As a further aside and gross generalisation, I have noticed that road riders getting in to adventure riding tend to have a limited view; limited dirt experience by definition. Frequently they are under-skilled on over-size and under-tyred bikes (been there, done that meself). One very noticeable effect of this is that they consider the likes of the TKC80 as "phuck-off knobblies" (to quote Big Dave's lovely phraseology) whereas motocross riders consider them "slicks". It's one of those adventure-riding compromise things. For a road rider, going from a sports radial to a thing with slight gaps in the shallow tread is a compromise; for a motocrosser, going from a Not for Highway Service mud-chucker to a road-legal enduro tyre is a compromise.

[timg]

Wasn't bitchin about the ride, more acknowledging where my focus and level of skill is. Initially I thought this was a large bike/pillion friendly ride, and if so would suit my skills and less 'trail' oriented bike setup. Now that I know it's not, it's no big deal but just not for me. Adventure bikes are all about compromise as you say, I choose to be at the softer end of the scale (& I've never owned a road bike, just 30+ years of small XL/XR's ) Cheers.

[bart]

OK, I've read about half of this thread and got bored. Got one of the Conti TKC80 thingies for the back. Thought I got ripped paying $190. Turns out it may have been worth it.

Cheers guys

I can tell the missus I got a bargain...........she won't believe me.

I'll let you know how long it takes to rip to shreds on the gravel.

[pete376403]

True....

I see no one was interested in my tyre,and that's why I was able to get it for a bargain price. It's a Dunlop K180 dirt track tyre -

So where did you find it?

[Motu]

So where did you find it?

Boyds in Hamilton.I got it for $79,they want US$130 on the internet...so a bargain I reckon.It's soft,but not overly so Oscar - because the knob things are long and there are very definite grooves it tracks very well and doesn't move around like any other dirt tyre.On the front with my riding style it's not going to wear much,but it might be a different story on the rear.....but what doesn't....I'm not going to be tossing it into a corner with no brakes and scrubbing off speed with a front wheel slide these days,but it's capable of doing that,so a lot more tyre than I can use.

Having used trials tyres (real ones) and speedway tyres on dirt tracks,gravel and seal,I know they offer more grip in these conditions than normal dirt tyres,so was pretty confidant that a flattrack tyre would do the job too.

[NordieBoy]

Boyds in Hamilton.I got it for $79,they want US$130 on the internet...so a bargain I reckon.

They got any more?