Just a quick question looked at the Conti TKC80's yesterday and really liked the look. Has anyone got any experience of them I am wondering what they handle like on the road and if they are prone to vibration at high speed???
Go forth and discuss!!!!

Check out this page F650 Tire Opinions FAQ and scroll down to TKC80, lots of opinions there.

Currently I have 130/80-17 KAROO as rear tire. Its very good tire, gets me out of mud/crap places easily, afterall it has big deep knobs. But its a bit more slippery on gravel roads than my previous MT21. I guess it wouldnt be if it had smaller knobs on the edges, like TKC80 has.

Cheers for that link very interesting. I think I will go for set of the TKC80s see what happens. I have been tempted by the Anakee but feel I would like the off road option the TKC offer. And i think the XT will look better with propper knobblies.

That's a great link Ilpoj - a really useful review and very comprehensive; would be worth putting that into an equipment review posting for tyres (no point in re-inventing all of that typing when it has been written already!).

__________________
Dave

Be careful when scrubbing in the TKC80's. Yesterday a guy on a KTM950 was trying to keep up on a nice twisty road and low sided into a ditch. Apparently his near new TKC's had not been scrubbed on the edges, when he really leaned the thing over .....well...the rear tire just stepped out. No harm, no damage, no injuries. Very very lucky man. So gradually lean them over, little at a time, steeper leans as you go. Should be fine....other than wet roads where I would
go a bit easy till you get used to where they break loose.

I've choosen a TKC80 for my front tire on my upcoming Cent. America trip. I'm hoping these tires work well on my DR650 both on and off road. I'm running a
Pirelli MT90 on the rear. I'm hoping to get close to 10,000 miles with this combo,
doing some dirt exploring, but mostly road work at relatively low speeds....not over 70 mph. Mostly 55 mph.

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

"---------....not over 70 mph. Mostly 55 mph. -------------"

Yeah ,right !!!!!!!!

__________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Trust me, once I start seeing bald coming my way and no 17" dual sport tires for
1000 miles....that'll slow things right down.

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I totally agree with you on that point, when you know you have not got the RAC to come and rescue you or a nice and friendly ambulance crew to patch you up you tend to adjust your riding style. I wish you all the best for your coming trip and when the TKC's are fitted I will take it easy. Having dropped the bike once already through no fault of my own I dont fancy any more big repair bills.

Yep, that's it. But crashed bikes are a minor inconvenience compared to crashed bones and shredded skin.

In '97 I hit a guard rail (snapping Tibia/Fib) and flew up and over it, falling 200 ft. to a rock creek bed below. The medical bills (thank God paid by insurance) for my complicated broken leg and some "other" issues involved six operations and about two years off work. Total costs ended up at around $200,000 USD.

Today, those costs in the USA have at least tripled. My $10,000 brand new sport bike, was a minor figure in all this. I rebuilt the bike while on crutches and did numerous track days to erase my dread and fear that was keeping from riding well.

In much of Latin America health care is free but not always and not always for foreigners. So bad crashes need to be thought over carefully.

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I got about 9,000miles out of a set of TKC's before they were totalled. I have run two sets and got the same mileage on both.
The knobs either side of the centre on the front tend to wear before the centres so above about 5000miles you get a slightly weird cornering sensation as you 'fall off the knobs' into a corner, but you adjust naturally.
Good tyres.....
Im thinking about trying the Dunlop 908RR's as an alternative next time as they're pretty agressive but supposedly the rear wears very slowly.
Good luck!

I recently recorded 16000 miles on an Anakee rear...fullly loaded BMK K75s...400kilos...50% dirt...50% tarmac...

TKC 80 is somewhat over rated...the knobs will wear out quick on tarmac and the tread plies are too weak to handle sharp stones off road...

The Anakee and Tourance may not look sexy, but they will get you there...adjust tire pressure accordingly to the terrain and that will make a world of difference.

BUT...if you can get them...one of the best tire off/on is the Mefo StoneMaster...again...if you can get them.

__________________
edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

It may be the TKC knobs will be ground down quickly but for the front I'm hoping it is a bit better than a Tourance or Anakee in dirt. If I can get 5 to 7000 miles out my TKC front, I'll be thrilled.

Running a MT90 A/T on the rear of my DR650. Should go past 10K with any luck (and slower speeds)

Regards the Anakee, I loved them on my Vstrom DL1000. But even carrying MUCH less weight than you, I only sqeezed 7500 miles out of my rear Anakee. The front went to about 10K miles. I liked them a lot however. Great grip, great in rain, very even wearing, even worked good when worn out. (now...THAT is RARE and worth a lot IMO)

I've tried Tourance (on my Tiger) and on my Vstrom, I've also tried Stock Trailwings (2 sets) Dunlop D604's (crap), Avon Distanzia's (2 sets), Dunlop D607's and Pirelli MT90 ST's. High speeds and driving hard out of corners with 90 RWHP makes a difference I think.

Or maybe we ride just a bit harder in California?

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I there,

I'm using TKC80 on my DL1000 and i'm loving it. Feels great off-road and excellent on road ...! I'm going to Morocco in October and that's the set of tires I will go with.

Ok...let me clarify my issue with the TKC 80.
Its a good tire and especially good choice up front. BUT tires are a complicated thing...wear depends on many factors...weight, road type conditions, heat, tire pressure, etc. BUT people get so caught up in the tread design and ignore these other factors...especially the need to adjust pressure for different road conditions...changing a couple PSI can make a big difference in performance and overall wear...

I change my tire pressure often because the variables change often...if you don't feel like messing with the pressure...so be it...but your mileage will vary.

TKC-80's in the front are fine but realize they have 2 ply sidewalls so stay away from sharp rocks...Tourance fronts offers 4 ply sidewall and tread...the only front tire to do other than stonemaster and ME880...
Why this is important is that it allows the rider to drop the PSI to an even lower level than 2 ply sidewall and that will make a bigger difference in traction than knobs(except in boggy mud). I dropped my front to 20psi regularly in dirt and sand without punctures on sharp rocks. I wouldn't dare try that with TKC's or other 2 ply...

Bottom line...tires are a complicated thing and choosing the right one isn't easy. And mixing brands and models between front and rear like MollyDog has done is a great approach to mitigating some of the tires shortcomings...

__________________
edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

Excellent summary on tires edde!

High ambient temp plus high speed = fast wear. Add heavy bike, rough Mex. roads (Baja pavement is like a cheese grater) and wear increases more.

Changing conditions certainly requires pressure adjustments but that's not always practical or posible. With group dual sport rides sometimes we are switching from paved to dirt 3 or 4 time before lunch. And NOBODY is waiting around while you fiddle around with tires. If you know the way and are fast, you can stop to do this and ride alone all day. (which some prefer)

In these cases I go with compromised pressures. On my DR I go with 18 front / 20 rear (stock pressurers are 22/25). On the DL1000 about 24 front / 28 rear. (stock is ? 34/36 ? )

On the DR this works OK, but on the heavier Vstrom the tires really heat up hitting paved twisties at speed. A compromise for sure and faster wear is the result.

Going solo I can take more time to change pressures if needed. But if I have only a short dirt section I'll leave the stock pressures and ride accordingly.
(slow and careful with the front brake)

I didn't think about the TKC's being two-ply...a worrying point for certain.

In my enduro days we went with 4 ply knobbies, usually Metzelers or Pirelli's
that have (or had?) 4 ply and even 6 ply tires back then. These were like ISDE tires I believe. Not sure what's available now...but man ...these suckers
are TOUGH....nearly impossible to wear out a front dirt riding and the rears lasted well unless you were doing serious rocks at speed. Impossible to change in the field. (for me) Not good motocrossers though. (too stiff)

I'm hoping HD tubes will mitigate some of this 2-Ply worry. They should resist pinching better. Also, I won't be attacking the rocks too hard fully loaded,
just keeping a good pace and trying to avoid the worst hazards.

Half of survival off road is reading the trail and good vision. Most novice riders look about 10 ft. ahead. A huge and basic mistake. They also sit. Standing, breathing and looking about 50 yds. up the trail is the difference between picking your way along like a Burro and flying. Ask any desert racer.

It's true, tires are very complex. I've been lucky enough to have attended several tire intros with the engineers with all the charts, graphs and power point shows. The Metzeler guys do an excellent job with this. Dunlop are a bit arrogant, Avon are great and just say...."get on the race track and we'll talk later...and don't forget your bag of free swag!" Gotta love that.

Did you guys know the TKC is made in Korea? Probably made in the same
factory with Duro's, Kenda's, Maxxis !

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!