I would like some help on the choice of tyres for travelling down through Spain and into Morocco on transalps and then returning through Spain and France next April, I see a lot of people seem to use the continental TCK80 , would it be possible to use thes all the way or should we change the road tyres in southern Spain, this would be a bit more of a pain but if it has to be then so be it, any help on this matter would be a appreciated

Thanks
Ian:confused1:

The question, "What tire should I use in Morocco?" is kind've pointless without more information. Tire choice for Spain and Morocco is exactly the same as tire choice anywhere else, which is to say, it depends on where, how and what you're riding: on road, off road, pavement, gravel, hard-charging or mellow, heavily-loaded or not, etc. Why would it be any different?

TKC's are good tires, and they're fine on pavement, but they sure wear quickly. If you use them on an extended tour through Morocco and Spain, you'll proabably need to change them out before you're done touring anyway.

I use them when I'm expecting to be off the pavement a lot, but have taken to pairing a TKC front with Kenda 270's on the back just because this combination can last 10k+ miles instead of 4k. On the other hand, in Morocco I used Pirelli Scorpions because that's what was on my bike at the time, and this worked fine for me. Loaded up, I don't spend much time on very rough terrain, so tire choice doesn't usually make much difference. I doubt you'll be straying far afield on your Transalp.

I found it fairly easy to find whatever tires I needed in southern Spain, but I wasn't being terribly picky. Morocco would've been more difficult.

Hope that helps.

Mark

[quote=markharf;

TKC's are good tires, and they're fine on pavement, but they sure wear quickly. If you use them on an extended tour through Morocco and Spain, you'll proabably need to change them out before you're done touring anyway.[/quote] True.

Have a look at Heidenau K60 or MEFO super explorer 99's.
Should cover most of what you want to do on the transalps.
Should give about 7-9k miles on the Honda.
Dave.

You should get at least 4500 to 5000 mile's out of a TKC on a TA.

They only need to be at there best for the off road in morocco,and once they have worn down,they are still plenty good enough for the road.

Dazzer

Drove 4,000 miles last month down through Spain and around Morocco and back through Spain (home to UK on Santander to Portsmouth). I used TKC80's on a BMW GS but that was because I was riding pistes as well as roads. They lasted really well and I have about 1000 miles left for road use - not much tread left for off road though.

Thanks everyone for the information I now have a few choices.
Cheers
Ian

Still interested in a suggestion?

I used TKC80 going down to Almería - can't say I liked them. Not good enough for the road, not good enough for offroad either. Bad compromise, I think.

In Almería I switched to Michelin Desert - if you're into sand riding that's a good choice and they last long. Don't take them when you expect humidity though, they are slippery when wet. My travel mates used Pirelli MT21, those worked well too.

Cheers,
FlameDance