Hi All,

I will be traveling in from Cartagena Colombia to Ushuaia Argentina and then back up to Paraguay Uruguay starting in October 2020, solo trip. I have 15+ years of steady pavement riding (My own Japanese and Italian Sport-bikes, and various loaners/rentals of every other type of bike) and am quite confident on the road, I had a blast the few times I have been on dirt-bikes but dirt is definitely not my Forte. I have narrowed down my bike of choice to most likely the V Strom 650 (Adventure w spokes), so my below questions would be with that bike in mind.

1) TIRES! This is probably my biggest question mark at the moment, I am not sure what to put on. I love riding twisty roads aggressively, and want to enjoy some of the best roads in the world that I am sure to come across. I am aware that you find whatever kind of roads that you want, but also do not want to limit myself to pavement and would like something workable in the dirt roads that can be found in CA/SA and allow me to explore (an aside, any input on what kind of road conditions to expect would be welcome). The big two seem to be TKC 80 and K60 Scout. Never rode knobbies on the road, but from everything I've read the TKC 80 surprisingly seems to be superior in every respect than the K60 (even on pavement), except wear. K60 wear seems amazing, but the issues that seem to arise in the wet scare me a bit, and the reported lack of traction in dry (by comparison) makes me wonder if the compromise is worth it. I completely get that soft compound=grip and wear and then vice-versa for harder compounds, and that by nature a dual purpose tire is a compromise. Metzler Enduro 3 Sahara and Karoo 3 seem like other options?
So, I'm looking to get some feedback from people that have had these tires, or others, and especially people that have done this trip and their tire feedback.

2) Camping/Gear. I like the idea of taking a tent, sleeping bag and cooking stove for the romance of sleeping under the stars, cost savings and the emergency potential. I am not by nature a camper, but see previous points lol. On the other hand, I know that there are huge parts of this trip where camping is probably not advisable; I wonder if the cost savings of camping the odd-time will even offset the cost of buying a decent tent/sleeping bag/stove etc, let alone be a net savings. And then there is the added weight/bulk to be lugging around, I usually like to travel light and my many years of traveling has proven the old adage true; pack your bags with everything that you think you need, and then remove half of it! Any feedback about this from people who have done this trip would be appreciated.

3)Any other general travel/safety/tip/advice from people who have done this trip.

Thank you all, and maybe I will run into some of you on the road!

Cheers,