Hi All.

I hope someone can chime in with some advice on the best way to proceed. I am leaving for a big world trip in about a week. I'll ride cross country across US to ship to SE Asia, then on to India and Pakistan eventually before going up through Central Asia.
I am riding a Suzuki DR650. I'll put fresh tires on in the US next week (more road oriented) that will have a long life and will work for cross country and SE Asia.

I feel strongly that I want to have a knobby tire for the Central Asia leg of my trip (Pamir Highway and on).
I currently have a set of Pirelli MT21s that I really like that have only 100 miles on them - so they are used technically, but almost no mileage on them. So, what will be workable and cheapest way to do it?

1. Can I have someone at home ship them to me in India? Has anyone done this? Is shipping super expensive? How about customs- I thought since they are used tires maybe don't have to pay duty?

2. My friend will come visit me to travel in the end of my India months. I could have her box them up and bring them with her as checked luggage item on the plane? It would be a bit of a pain, but an option if the above is too difficult.

3. Order new tires and have them shipped to a location in the area. Anyone have a tip for me?

4. Buy tires local. I have heard the selection of good DOT Knobbies / off road oriented (NOT 50/50 tire) is hard to find in these area; but if that's not true please let me know.

Thank you! I appreciate any advice here.

Julia

Buy in Osh or Bishkek , Kyrgyzstan, Almaty in Kazakhstan or have tyres shipped to any large city in Russia from Moscow. Do a search of this forum for the outlets. Sourcing tyre questions are regularly asked and answered.

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Hi Chris.

Thanks for your reply. Noted on your suggestions for later on my route - I will keep that in mind. However, I am asking about tires prior to crossing Central Asia.

I want to put on these tires right before I leave India/Pakistan area. Any advice regarding my original points is much appreciated,

Thanks!
Julia

Osh is at the start of most people's definition of Central Asia, if coming from India/Pakistan and taking the short transit through the western part of China to Kyrgyzstan.

Not sure what your knowledge of what tyres are needed for what terrain in Central Asia, but this summer I rode a Honda XR650L with Mitas E07 front and rear without issues on many dirt routes that included the Bartang Valley and the Tosor pass.

The Wakhan Valley is easy dirt and the Pamir Highway M41 is mainly paved (admitted bad pavement and in disrepair). The main thing you should consider is good suspension and light/minimal luggage to make things more fun.

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Apart from the cost of shipping to India or Pakistan the import duty would be very high making for an expensive pair of tyres. I know 120-17 trail tyres are available in India for a very reasonable price, I had them on my Hero Impulse and a lot of bikes in Nepal had 21" front wheels so they will be available there, the roads will be potholed but even road tyres are fine in India, Nepal and Pakistan, no need for anything particularly knobbly.

As the Royal Enfield Himalayan is made and sold in India with the same rim sizes as the Suzuki Dr650 one should think that reasonably offroad tyres would be available in India.
If not there are for sure a good selection of offroad tyres available in both Malaysia and Thailand. So you could get new tyres and mount or carry them (yes its a PITA to carry tyres - but sometimes its neccesary)

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Hi Chris.

Thank you for your response and the information below- it is definitely helpful!

Yes, you are right, and I am planning to do the China transit, though have no details figured out yet except my China visa.

I am an experienced rider (dirt bikes and ADV) so I know what type of tires I would ideally like to have in various terrain. Sand/silty dirt and lots of mud being conditions where I would really like to have a knobby of some sort. Pavement or hard pack dirt and gravel, I care less and I'll obviously take what I can get.

However, I have no knowledge at all of the riding conditions in this part of the world, apart from what others have told me, so I appreciate your tips and experience. Where/how did you procure your E07s? I am assuming you got these on the road while traveling?

Im riding a DR650 with a freshly upgraded suspension (hooray!) and soft bags, and will be trying to keep the weight down.
Thanks!

Hi Mark.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, thats what I am gathering- particularly about duty in India. I just have these barely used tires and was thinking whether it would be easy to get them to me on my route somehow since I already have them. Maybe the easiest thing will just be to sell them locally now and then just buy on the road.

Thank you for the India/Nepal tips- much appreciated!
Yes, I imagined road oriented tires fine for India/Nepal/Pakistan, I was interested in more off-road worthy as I head North from India/Pakistan into Central Asia.

Thank you! Yes, good reminder about Royal Enfield and good to know rim sizes are the same. Also appreciate your tips on Malaysia/Thailand. Would like to avoid carrying tires if I can, but still good to know.

Buy Timsum tyres locally. Cheap as anything and available in road off road treads. Trust me, you DO NOT want to have to deal with Indian bureaucracy.

Check the weather statistics in the area as to the likelihood of mud. In summer in the Stans it'll be very unlikely.

BrightysJollys on Facebook will give you some idea of the conditions I encountered this summer.

The tyres were on the bike when shipped to Kyrgyzstan via Poland.

Zorro and Muztoo, both in Osh, sell tyres of different brands/models

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There is no custom on shipping tires to Pakistan and if you want to ship from Germany I can help you since I'm also shipping a pair of tires to Pakistan. There is a local Pakistan company that will ship the tires and takes approx. 6-8 weeks. Send me a PM if you need help.

Hi Abrar.

Thanks so much for your message. I had a problem with my settings, and I just saw your reply! I would love to hear more info. I will message you.