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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 26 Aug 2007
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Conti TKC80
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!!!!
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  #2  
Old 26 Aug 2007
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tkc80
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.
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Old 26 Aug 2007
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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.
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  #4  
Old 26 Aug 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ilpoj View Post
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.

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!).
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Old 27 Aug 2007
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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
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Old 27 Aug 2007
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"---------....not over 70 mph. Mostly 55 mph. -------------"

Yeah ,right !!!!!!!!
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Old 27 Aug 2007
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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.

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  #8  
Old 13 Sep 2007
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TKC80's
Hey guys,

Just my 2 bobs worth too! I had a set of Anakee's on my R1200GS which had done 5200km 2 up with luggage in the Middle east. They are only about half worn and I took them off to fit a set of TKC80's for a trip down through East Africa. Fitted the Conty's in Salalah (Oman) and travelled 2000 km tho Al Makha west Yemen. The rear is now nearly shagged! Has about 25% left on it! No this has been one up with luggage on a big bike and the ambient temp has been from 39C up to about 47C. So you can see that these tyres do not last in the heat or with weight. I have used them before in Australia on a R1150GS ADV and found the same with them there as well in Central Australia. Did a trip from Cairns to Cooktown (1000 km) then directly west to Alice Springs and by the time I got to Cooper Pedy the rear was again totalled.

Personally I do like the Anakee and they do hold on well and wear well and yes the 4 ply side wall is much better. I have had no trouble with either sliding on asphalt but I do wear my tyres in before I go crazy in the corners.

Ok guys, hope this helps as well.

Cheers
Ivan
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Old 13 Sep 2007
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I think everyone has made a lot very interesting points on this subject. I have spent ages doing research and asking loads of questions a lot of people have got good and bad experiences to share which is great and what this forum is all about. You pay the money you make the choice! We all ride on different terrains and in different ways. It almost makes me want to buy another XT so I don't have to choose which tyres to fit. I am going to try the TKC's as my next set and see how it goes I will report back, coming from a sports bike background I personally think tyres for the XT are quite reasonably priced so will just change them to the Anakee if I don't like them. Thats if I can make my mind up!!!
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  #10  
Old 14 Sep 2007
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I've been following this thread and decided to jump in. Originally I had MT21's on my XT. I found them quite noisy on the hiway and the front wheel pulsed annoyingly.Since these tires were getting...well...tired.I swapped them for Kenda's 761s since I ride mostly to work at speeds up to 110kmh. Altho the front feels loose at this speed it's predictable.The Kenda's have been offrroad once..gravel, mud and loose rock. The loose rock was bad..very bad...fell twice.I'm considering these TKC tires as a decent compromise. All the info here has been very interesting. Since I'm not a particularly aggressive street rider maybe these are an option.

Also, if anyone has some experience with loose, smooth rock about the size of baseballs, let me know.I had my tire pressure down to 18lb , down from 24lb.
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Old 14 Sep 2007
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My opinion .....

I don't go for this get the tyre that suits the majority of your riding idea.

If you enjoy riding offroad (even if its just 5% of your riding time) then you MUST HAVE KNOBBLY tyres or its not going to be much fun at all.

So for on road you have to ride more carefully.

I find TKC80s to be good offroad and really quite good on dry clean tarmac BUT much care is needed on wet or "gritty" tarmac.
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Old 31 Mar 2012
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Last October I thought I'd try out a set of TKC80s no my BMW F800GS. I've gotten about 4-5000 miles on my TKC80s ridden entirely on the road. I still have some tread on the front but it's not far off needing new boots - perhaps another 1-2000 miles? The rear is now in dire need for a change. The front tyre has worn in a peculiar way; the off centre blocks have worn quicker than the central blocks.





I think they've been pretty good on the Tarmac, take the usual extra care in the wet, especially if loaded up. You get a little uncomfortable vibration but only at speeds in excess of about 80mph. No problems with cracks or any other faults. The major drawback is the poor wear rate. I might get more miles in the dirt, which I'm sure they will perform excellently. I think I'll try the Heidenau K60 next. In the meantime I'm putting my old Bridgestone Battlewing back on to finish it off as it's still got loadsa miles left on it as my riding at the moment is a commute limited wholly to the road.
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