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

**NordieBoy** · 1st September 2009, 08:29

Just ordered one of the enduro fronts from Torpedo7.
No 17" rears though

**Taz** · 1st September 2009, 15:01

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

Just ordered one of the enduro fronts from Torpedo7.
No 17" rears though

Of course not. Real bikes don't have 17's

**NordieBoy** · 1st September 2009, 15:45

Originally Posted by Anthrax

Of course not. Real bikes don't have 17's

But my DR650 and Gilera Nordwest both have 17" rears

The XR had a 23" front stock too

**warewolf** · 1st September 2009, 23:42

Originally Posted by topo

Was thinking about that but the kiwiX i'm running now is a 120 and it feels great, have run down to a 110 michy S12 with no noticable effect in traction.

Ok, to repeat ad nauseum...

there are two main metric tyre measurement standards, equivalence-mapped as follows:
100/100-18 = 120/90-18
110/100-18 = 130/80-18
120/100-18 = 140/80-18
The former measures carcass (sidewall) width, the latter tread width. One is the Jap standard, the other Euro (ETRTO). Have posted before about which is which.

So a 110/100 is OEM size for the 640E and -1 size for the 640A.
A 120/90 is -1 size for the 640E and -2 sizes for the 640A.

I would guess your KiwiX "120" is a 120/100, nice & wide. The 110 S12 would be a 110/100 or the next size down, but the brand-name & legendary traction of the S12 is making up for the smaller footprint.

If someone says they are running "a 120" (ie unspecified profile) they could be running the small 120/90 or the large 120/100. The WR450s I rode had this situation; one was running a 120/100 the other the 120/90 which was -2 sizes. The owner of the 120/90 could tell something was wrong but mistakenly presumed his 120 was the same width as the 120/100, he knew the profile was a little shorter but didn't think it would have that much effect. He was half right.

(There are some 130/90-18s about which are 130 wide but a few % larger diameter than a 140/80, eg the Michelin Competition III rear I used on the 640A. And to throw a screwball in there, the Michelin AC10 rear comes in an odd size of 120/90 which is a sidewall-measurement and actually a 90 rather than 100 profile, but it is the larger width. I only know because I've got a 110/100 and 120/90 and lined them up against various 100/100, 110/100 and 140/80s.)

**junkmanjoe** · 7th September 2009, 15:03

well its time for me to buy new tires for my bike...my E-09s are rooted..
spent more time sliding all over the shop on sunday than i did going straight..
a couple hairy moments,,,with a 100 meter drop on left hand side...

**dino3310** · 7th September 2009, 15:09

how many klms did you get out of the eo-9 front Joe

**junkmanjoe** · 7th September 2009, 15:29

about 5k and i turned it back to front for a while as well. they still be ok for a bit longer on the gravel..

**dino3310** · 7th September 2009, 17:46

how was the lean angle on those, could ya scrape a toe or peg

**junkmanjoe** · 7th September 2009, 18:39

ummm i don't normally look at how far away my pegs are from the road..
buy my wear marks are with in 5mm of the outer edge of the tire..thats a fair way over mate..for knobs..

**dino3310** · 7th September 2009, 20:33

Originally Posted by junkmanjoe

ummm i don't normally look at how far away my pegs are from the road..
buy my wear marks are with in 5mm of the outer edge of the tire..thats a fair way over mate..for knobs..

ive got no chicken strips left on my front tyre which scares me cause i havent been pushing it, but still got about10-12mm on the back to go

, just a missmatch in tyres me thinks, was thinking about an e-09 or a tkc80 for the front to match or better the rear

**.chris** · 10th September 2009, 10:11

I am thinking I might go chunky for this next set of tires.
Michilen Baja

I do not expect them to last too long, but should be fun. Will have to remember to be gentle on the right wrist. Or this may happen.

**Padmei** · 10th September 2009, 16:18

What are they like for NZ conditions tho? With a name like Baja would they be good for clay & rocks?

**Taz** · 10th September 2009, 16:49

Chris was that a Vee Rubber or a Pirelli MT21?

**.chris** · 10th September 2009, 17:12

Originally Posted by Padmei

What are they like for NZ conditions tho? With a name like Baja would they be good for clay & rocks?

Seems they are out of stock, so may have to look at other options anyway.

From what I have read, they are great in sand, gravel, tarmac.
Which is pretty high % of my riding. And that tread pattern seems agressive enough to handle some clay/mud I think.