As regular readers may know, I have a fairly new Kawasaki KLE 500. Unfortunately, the combination of hot London weather, mostly road riding and 1500 miles in 2 months have knackered the front and rear Dunlop Trailmax tyres. I'll gloss over trying to ride it like a race bike and 90 mph up and down the M3 (I was running it in, be fair...).

I now have a golden opportunity to try other types (always seek the positive) but I have no idea what to buy as they keep offering me too many choices. There are several considerations to make. Firstly, I have a 400 mile round trip to Devon to make next month and normal usage for someone who only rides bikes in London. Secondly, I am riding to the Italian F1 GP the following month so add at least another 1400 miles. Thirdly, I mainly ride on the roads, but I like riding off road where I can even if it is rare. Fourthly, it's been very hot and September is usually hot in Italy. Finally, I don't have much money and my realistic upper limit is £120 for a pair.

My tyre types are (Front) 90/90-21 54S and (Rear) 130/80-17 65S. I believe that's pretty much the same as a BMW R100GS/R80GS, a KLR650 or a Yamaha XT660R. I was thinking along the lines of Avon Distanzias or Continental TKC80s, but I understand Metzeler Tourances are popular, but I've no idea whether they'd fit or not. Basically, they need to be cheap, long lasting and usable off-road. Any advice or anecdotes would be highly appreciated. And the sooner the better as I'm hovering on the edge of legality as it is.

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"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

Can you get Kenda tyres in the UK ?

I've got pair of K761 on my bike , they are a bit like a Distanzia ,but half the price .

Dodger

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"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

TKC rear will ware out too quickly. If you can afford it the Torrance or Distanzias on the rear is the best choice. Failing that (think the price maybe too much?) just get a cheap road tyre.

Front - Michelin Sirac are good - for mixed road riding.

Also Heidenu 60s are cheap and long lasting, both front and rear.

Yep these are all available in your sizes (I've the same sizes on the K75G/S)

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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Just checked their website and they don't seem to distribute outside the continent. I'll definitely give them a try when I find some, but for now I think I'll get some Distanzias front and rear and probably pick up a sirac front later on.

Cheers for your advice. It's always better to ask someone who knows.

__________________
"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

Try Michelin T63, very good in all conditions, especaily wet, slightly noisy. Sirac is OK for road, but very bad offroad, so if you intend ride offroad forget Siracs. By the way, T63 are also better onroad that Siracs, grip equal as Anakee, Tourance and similar street tyres.

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AnteK

just bought a kle 500 with metzler tourance tyres, so they will fit you bike

Thanks for all your advice, but I've gone for a set of Avon Distanzias which were £99 for a pair from KWR in Kennington, South London. Being in a bit of hurry and frankly unfamiliar with the bike, I decided to pay the extra £20 and get them to fit and balance them for me.

Great idea on paper, although perhaps I should have stuck with my gut instinct to at least try and do it myself. They did an excellent job and it feels nice to have rounded wheels again. The problem is that I now have tubeless tyres instead of tubed ones. This means that with the mileage I was planning on doing in the next two months, if I have a puncture now I have to replace them again.

__________________
"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

Can't you just put a tube in the tubeless tyre if you have a puncture?
Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Sure, you can, but it's usually done only when a normal plug/patch will not hold - as in a tear. There are certain types of patches made that can be used on the inside of a tire in the case of a very large whole or a tear, where normal plug(s) will not hold.

Not as a permanent solution (is there such a thing?). The tube would add extra rotating mass to the wheel and increase the wear due to overheating. The extra heat would also increase the air pressure in the tyre and may cause bulging due to the weakened structure of the carcass. But a tube would be get me home.

The beauty of tubed tyres is that if you get a puncture, you either get a new tube or patch the puncture until you can get a new tube. The only reason you would replace a tyre is down to wear or obvious damage (especially to a side wall).

__________________
"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

are you sure about this, mf? my klr has a tubeless rear tyre with a tube in it. i've had punctures and repaired them, but no signs of wear/bulging.. incidentally did you mean the tube or the tyre would bulge? trying to imagine how either could happen as the tubeless tyre is pretty solid (!) and the tube has nowhere to go, whilst inside it. also the mass of a tube is surely very low -would it really cause overheating? if so why does a tubed tyre not overheat? these are genuine questions; i'm not saying 'i know better'..

have to replace ... I've had a few flats on tubless tyres ... allways fixed them externally with a 'string' type fix. Only one of those fixes failed - as a slow leak. So I don't relpace tyres if they puncture .. I fix them and ride ... as you would if the next motorcycle place was 1,000 km away ...

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Puting a tube in a tubless tyre .. yes it will run hotter .. but you don't run at the tyres max rated speed so it is no where near its max rated temperature.. and it will ware out quicker .. but that is probably a lot more miles than throwing it away now ...

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If I'm looking at doing a long trip .. I usually start with new tyres ... less likely hood of tyre problems that way.

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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

I daily change tires on bikes. Here in the states we have cruiser style bikes that have tubless tires mounted on tubless wheels and also on spoke wheels with a tube. Same tire very similar mileage. I like tubless for the simple fact of being able to plug the tire. At the shop I work at we don't patch or plug tires (due to liability issues), we do insert a tube in a tubless tire after putting a patch on the inside of the tire. The patch is to cover any roughness on the inside of the tire caused by the puncture.

I'm not exactly sure, I'm making several assumptiuons. For instance, I know tubed tyres already run hotter than tubeless tyres, so if you take the logical step that therefore tubeless have been designed to heat up faster (for the sports bikers), well it follows that putting a tube in a tubeless tyre will cause it to heat up more than normal.
As for not running near the rated speed, my previous tyres were S rated (113mph) and motorways are so boring that it's not hard to find yourself creeping up to that speed.
It's academic really, as I would obviously put a tube in if needs be and ride slower. It's common sense.

__________________
"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

Why not put Slime in the tubes, the one thats made for tubes. I know guys that won't use it in sports bikes because its doesn't let the tyre warm up enough. Just waiting for payday to do mine, having just bought the bike I'm scraping by for a few more days.
When I do get to change the tyres I'll probably go for Conti Escapes. I've had good riding on their Road Attacks on my old zzr1100.
Cheers, Richard.