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spare tires? spare tires?
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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Sean Howman, The Pamir highway in an unseasonably cold late October, Tajikistan

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Sean Howman,
The Pamir highway in an unseasonably
cold late October, Tajikistan



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  #1  
Old 29 May 2007
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spare tires?
just a question: how many of you carry along a spare or two? I've occasionally kept the old tires when I bought new ones, as backups (unless the old ones were completely spent). I have a few odds and ends floating around and am considering bringing along either a complete second set (high mileage street oriented), or another rear (Karoo, currently running TKC80's), or even a complete second set of Karoos (was given a nearly new set). Or... I can skip the tires and depend on luck. Obviously I'm not talking about travel in developed areas where tires are everywhere. I'm considering the Vlad-Mongolia-'stans-Turkey route, and don't expect much selection... So (sorry for the long post): bring along a spare rear, spare set, or trust the gods?
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Old 29 May 2007
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IMHO carrying tyres it a PITA.
I would do almost anything to avoid it. For the journey you have planed say around 6000 miles you could choose a tyre that would last, you may have to compromise at bit with your choice. Depends on what bike you are using but I am not sure the TCK will make it but a Pirelli MT90 AT should last the distance and a bit more, it’s a tough tyre.

What bike are you riding?

Steve
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Old 30 May 2007
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I'll be on a KLR, expect around 14K Km before hitting Istanbul, with the most interesting part (read: good rubber would help), being in the middle. If I rode something like Pirelli's or Avon's, they would make the distance, but would be pretty smooth the whole way, as opposed to maybe bringing a spare rear and switching out (street/knobby) halfway...
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Old 30 May 2007
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You could start with fresh TKCs and carry a spare rear. The front will go those miles.
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Old 30 May 2007
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yeah, in terms of minimal kit and not having to search for expendables, I'm leaning toward bringing a spare (rear) TKC80. The only hassle is that there isn't any quick on/off place to strap it to, just the usual spiderweb of straps and ropes (This is where road stops and luggage searches get to be a pain!)
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Old 30 May 2007
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Tyres
Why not use Heindenau K60's? A great 50:50 tyre that lasts whilst providing good on and off road grip (and cheap too). I'm on my third set now, averaging around 10,000 miles from a rear, more from a front. Beats having to carry spare TKC's...
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Old 30 May 2007
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Different point of view ....
In my experience, it's the front tire that either makes riding under difficult conditions fun or not. With difficult, I mean mud. Stones, gravel, that kind of stuff you do not really need nobblies for.
Sand dunes are another story altogether of course.
But, back to mud: having a road tire on the rear and a motocross tire on the front you'll still have a lot of control and make relatively good speed.
So, my advice is, start out with 'road oriented' nobblies, like Michelin T63, or others, and bring a new front motocross tire for the difficult mud parts. The T63 rear lasts 10 000 kms pushing it a bit.

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