Where You Headed?
Certain places in the world you may have trouble getting hold of an 18" tire. Like Latin America. In Europe I'm sure 18's are more common. But just no need to make this mod.
You can get 18's... but in certain areas, MUCH easier to find 17's with more choices too. 18's are also typically MORE expensive as some of the real RACE tires are 18" size. Like Dakar spec Michelin, Dunlop and Pirelli. $$$$$.
With 17's you're more likely to find some of the Korean tires like Shinko, Kenda and IRC. Most are less money than the Euro 18" tires.
If traveling I would FOR SURE upgrade your chain to a DID X ring, vs. typical O ring chain. At least 20% to 30% more life with the X Ring chain in my experience over 200,000 miles riding these chains. Carry TWO spare front sprockets and change them out every 6K to 8K miles. This should extend your chain life on that bike to near 25,000 miles. (I just changed chain & sprockets on my DR650 ... got 25K miles on DID's top of the line ZVM X ring chain)
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