Hi Guys, I have been running Michelin T63 tyres on my XT600E, which I used on my trip down to Morocco and the Western Sahara. There is no doubt these tyres are superb on my XT600E; I got 8,000 miles out of a rear and they grip great on tarmac and the twisties in the Atlas and are really good off road. However, with the off road bias of these tires and the fact that in recent times I have been riding mainly onroad, I am looking for a replacement rear tyre with a more road orientated bias. Any suggestions on the ones to go for based on experience from fellow XT600E owners would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Brad XT

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Brad XT

This is a perennial question, so you will find information from past discussions. From memory, the favoured rear tyre for 'mainly road use' (80-20 road) was the Avon Distanzia, although you'll find other recommendations for - and even warnings against - purely-road or 50-50 type tyres.

Use the HUBB searcher with something like "xt600 distanzia t63" (without the quotes) as the searchterm keywords and make different searches as other types of tyre are mentioned/recommended, in order to 'spiral outwards' in your research.

I can sort-of recommend Distanzia on the back, and Pirelli Scorpion MT90 front, "sort of" because that's all I've used on the XT600E so far and it seems pretty good on road, grip-wise, whilst not wearing too fast - although I would say the Distanzia rear is too soft&grippy to last long if you're going to do a lot of motorway / A-road miles. (You could also say that about the XT600, itself!).

I have used a pair of Bridgestone Trail Wing on a Funduro, and they were hard-wearing but scary in the wet. This is a matter of interpretation, though: I have heard both "awful in the wet" and "communicative in the wet" levelled at these tyres and indicating pretty much the same trait - breaking (some) traction early in the wet. It's a bit like that criticism of 4-wheel-drive compared to rear-wheel-drive for cars: rear-wheel slip on rear-wheel drive happens early and is more correctable, but when you really lose all traction in a 4WD car it's likely a bit of a disaster. Ultimately, I prefer the Distanzia to the Trail Wing - but then they were on different bikes, with different characteristics.

Cheers Big Foot, many thanks for the info. It seems Dizentzias would be a good choice, although they are a little on the soft side and my research suggests they might wear out a little quickly, plus they seem to be 80/20 road/off road bias. Does any body have any experience of other rear tyres on XT600E such as Tourance, Siracs, Mitas E07 & E08 & Pirelli Scorpion. Any other observations would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks to all who contibute!

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Brad XT

Put a set of maxxis on my tenere for one little trip,absolute of load of shite,every time I stopped for fuel I would look and think...bloody hell they've worn down even more...they were a road orientated trail tyre,not a knobbly,which was slightly alarming..yes they were cheap,but they weren't half the price of an alternative,but lasted less than half of the time...so cheaper ended up more expensive..
Currently bike has some Pirelli mt21 s on it,which are obviously more off road orientated yet have lasted longer than the maxxis,done a trip to morocco,done quite a bit of road miles in uk and some playing in the mountains in catalunya..
I may take them off now,chuck some distanzias on it for the summer then put another pair of them on it or its next aventure in September..
Used some distanzias on a drz I had previously and was ok..

I have Distanzias on my XT600E and I love them. Very grippy wet or dry, but the downside is the soft compound doesn't wear well. It's a compromise I am happy to make, although my use is probably 99/1 rather then 80/20. I doubt if they would be much good in mud, although they cope with gravel well. I've had them on for about 4k miles, and both front and rear are shot to bits.

I have Avon Gripsters (not my choice, came with the bike) on my XT660R - same sizes I believe and a broadly similar chassis layout - and they are good on tarmac too. I haven't had them long enough to comment on wear rates. From the pattern, which is more open than the Distanzias, I would imagine they would cope with mud and sand better, but still nowhere near a proper off-road tyre.

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Thank alot guys for all this info. This tends to confirm my suspcioins about Diztenzias, great road orientated tyre but wear out quickly. Marcm, not familiar with the make Maxxis but I will clearly avoid them. Interested in your comments about the MT21 Pirelli, are these the Pirelli Scorpions? I had a pair of MT Pirellis on an XT500 years ago and again, they were a great road orientated tyre with fantastic grip but wore out very quickly.
I have also just come across Mitas E-08 and E-09 which seems a much cheaper option, but there seems to be very little info about these tyres? Any views on Mitas anybody?
Many thanks again for your help and interest in helping me get the right choice. Worked last time for me on the forum when I bought the T63s which were fantastic both on and off road. Cheers.

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Brad XT

I'm using Mitas E07 on a long Europe trip having previously had Distanzias

I think they're great

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