I run a K60 rear and TKC front and the combo works great on everything except wet pavement .


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Now I'm running a Kenda Parker DT front and K270 rear on my XT350 Overlander.



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I have had good results with certain sizes of Heidineau K60's on the rear. The 17/130 was great - good grip, flat resistant, ok mileage (12,000kms mixed riding on a loaded DR650). Front was excellent on the pavement and seems to last forever, but washes out in loose surface. I think acceptable if you looking for a mileage oriented front that can handle some dirt if the speeds are low.


I am currently running a mixed setup of a Mitas 07 rear (17"/130) that I can't comment on yet, and an IRC TR8 battle rally front in 3.00/21" - only size available, so not a viable choice for the larger bikes running 19" fronts. I've been really impressed with the TR8. It is acceptable on the pavement with much less howling then a pair of similar MT 21's I have tried. On any kind of dirt, gravel, sand, or mixed surface it is the best tire I have used. I am expecting around 10,000+km's from the front, so it should change out about the same time as a less aggressive rear like the K60's or Mitas 07. that would be ideal for me, as I prefer to change tires at the same time. I have been paying $50-$60, which puts it in the 'cheap' category for me.

My personal theory is to run a 50/50 or more pavement oriented tire on the back, and a more aggressive front. On a loaded 'adventure' bike, rear grip doesn't seem to be as much of an issue, but tire life and puncture resistance are. I am fine with my rear 'drifting' a bit in corners, or spinning, but when the front starts to wash out, I get uncomfortable. A more open knobby tire on the front seems to bite through the sand/ gravel that is on the surface of most trails/ dirt roads, and grips the harder base surface. On the rear, an open knobby seems more likely to get cut by rocks. Just my thoughts.

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Go for it.

Wear will be less, but they are a very capable tyre on road and off road if it's not too muddy

I have them all year round on 2 of my bikes - front and rear

I bought my 1200 Super Tenere and it had the Metzeler Tourance (80/20) tires. On the road these are great, good grip, helps fuel efficiency, quiet, off road are useless on such a heavy bike. If all you were to do is gravel roads or smooth dirt roads these would be a great tire. If you want to go into the rough, the Heidenau K-60 scout (50/50) are superb. These do not act like a 50/50 tire, more like an 80/20. After mounting the K-60's the bike suddenly seemed to be designed for off-road use rather than merely enduring it. Fuel efficiency fell off (as expected) but the road feel is great (a bit noisy, less grip at serious peg-grinding lean angles). Because this is a tank with two wheels, there are no inexpensive tires made for it (or the GS) but the tires will make or break the ride depending on how you use the bike.
My old beater DR350 has had IRC, Shinko, unnamed made in China tires, etc and I have just mounted Pirelli MT21's which are, essentially, an off-road tire. They sound like a full knobby (wailing, and howling down the road) and ride in the dirt like a full knobby.
Shinko 244's were a nice balance of on/off road but the tread is a bit too close (I ride in a lot of clay-heavy mud which turns these into slicks making the ride "interesting").

Reviving this thread.

My Honda NX4 came stock with Pirelli mt60s on it. There are fairly good on and off the road, but not good in mud. The rear only lasted me about 8,500 kilometers.

From there I put on the Pirelli MT90 AT tires which have been discontinued. They performed about the same on road as the MT60s did, but for me did better off road in dirt and gravel. They definitely lasted longer. I got around 15,000 kilometers out of that set. They actually still had some tread left but the rubber was starting to get a little hard so I changed them out.

The current set are Pirelli MT90 ST. So far I think they perform better than the previous ones on road and probably about the same as the last set off road, better than the MT60. They are wearing just fine and I expect to get at least 15-16,000 kilometers or maybe more from this set. This is using them 70% highway, 28 % off road, 2% in town.


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I have used these on my 990 for a trip to Morocco and back, great on and off road. Even fairly useful in the sand and I expect the mud. No where near as good as dedicated sand and mud tyres but a good compromise on the 990. Just about to shoe some onto a DR650SE for another trip to Morocco, hopefully the same results. On the 990's there is plenty of tread left after 5,000 miles.

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DR650SE, KTM 1190 Adventure, CRF450X, KTM990 Adventure

I've updated my do-it-all tyre page, adding the latest rubbery offerings.
It's just a way of seeing them all in one place.
They're what I consider optimal tyres for travel biking which involves occasional excursions off the tarmac.

https://adventure-motorcycling.com/t...re-tyres-2019/

The attached image below may come up a bit small to read; full size version on the link.

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Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail