Anyone got any thoughts as to whether MT21's or T63's would be more preferable on an XT600e?

well straight and short ?
the T63 is dangerous !
it doesn't give you any warning if this tyre starting to slip... it will just go and drag you to the ground, not much grip on soft wet or lose surface.
any good ? well it last quite a bit until it's worn down, so OK on summer tar.. without rain....

the MT21 on the other hand is worn down faster on tar, gives you excellent responding warning if it starts to slip, and is way noisier than the T63, very good on lose ground.

any alternative ?
well try the "KAROO MCE" !
it's a more modern tyre, not as noisy, quirt on tar, wares down evenly, gives better traction than the T63 but not as good as the MT21 in off-road condition, but is a good all purpose tyre for all conditions, even in the wet, not for extremes but a good choice for travelling.

by the way I did ride all of this tyres for years now.... and will never go back to use a T63 !

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The trouble is that he was talking in philosophy, but they were listening in gibberish.

Thanks for that, i've used MT21's in the past but looking at all the options. Thinking maybe TKC80. They seem to be well thought of?

As usual it all depends on what you're planning to do, maybe a little more information would help narrow the choice down.

Personally I like the Heidenau K60 as an all-purpose tire. It's fine on the street even in wet or cold conditions and handles dry dirt and gravel roads quite well.

The profile doesn't seem adequate for muddy conditions, but I haven't tried that yet, so I can't really comment on that.

Also it's probably one of the longest lasting dual sport tire you'll ever find.

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Projekt Balkan
www.buebo.de - Der tägliche Wahnsinn

If you are planing on riding any distance on tarmac (ie going on a trip, rather than just green laning locally), then I'd definitely go for the TKC80s - they will last at least twice as long as the MT21 or T63...

Of course this is primarily because the TKC is not as aggressive as the other two, but for dry weather DS riding, the TKC is an excellent choice - particularly if you are riding for long stretches on the road/dirt roads too.

I've used all the tyres mentioned above - MT21s and TKCs on my Tenere, and all three on my XR650R, and I'd say the T63 is the least suitable of them all - they really are designed for smaller lighter-weight bikes than the XT, and will not last long on a travel bike... good in the dirt mind you!

J x

Having worn down my OE Bridgestone Trail Wing, I've just bought a Trelleborg E08 in a 140/80 size for the back. Different profile to the original but will still fit OK and was about £20 cheaper than a new Bridgestone. It is very much a road biased tyre, which is all I need at present. I also ordered a front while I was at it, even though I don't need it yet. Incidentally, the rear is almost illegal at just shy of 5,000 miles. Good or bad? I don't know these bikes well enough to judge.
Now, here's the best bit of this tale. Having ordered two tyres from the shop, about 15 minutes later I got a phone call to tell me that he didn't have a new front tyre in stock after all. But he did have a new one that had been in his warehouse for about two years although hed never been used. He siad he didn't feel he could charge me for it but would send it to me for FREE and I could use it if I wanted to. Now, I know that tyres don't deteriorate if they're kept in cool, dark storage so when the time comes I'll give it a try. To me this was old fashioned customer service of the best kind so if you're able to, then please use this guy. I think he deserves our support.
Trellesport - Enduro Competiton MotorcycleTyres, Army Special Tyre
In the meantime I'll fit the rear one and let you all know how it works out. I know that some people in this forum have tried them and praised them, so I'm confident it will be OK.


Geoff

grate guy, I agree... very much recommended..
used to live near by in Whitney, just a bit north of Abington.
Did gave the guy from Trelleborgtyres.co.uk a visit a few times to fetch this "Army specials" for my KTM 350cc two stroke from 1989,which I was riding at the time. very pleasant service with a personal touch.

just to mention it, the "Army special tyres" are a sort of traily type tyre and last a log time and wearing down evenly, good on tarmac and in the wet.

other Trelleborg tyres seemed to be heavily used in the UK for MX and competition type condition, and are not very known in the rest of Europe.
In Sweden I have seen them on the shelf with long spikes for Scandinavian winter in a tyre shop a few years back.

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The trouble is that he was talking in philosophy, but they were listening in gibberish.

Just to clarify, I bought the E08 tyres, not the Army Special that the link suggests.

Geoff

I'll need a tyre for a combination of road/trail/mud, probably in that order. The TKC's seem to be coming out on top at the mo'.

I use mefo mfc12 "stonemaster" for that job. Really good offroad, and actually aswell on the pavement. You can lean the bike way over, and the tire warns you, others just slip away at an instant.

Pretty deacent in the rain aswell.

The knobs are really tall, cant really see it here. The last one lasted over 5000km, with knobs still on, but changed due to a long trip.

I can highly recommend this. Havent tried a tkc80, but as i see it, its more offroadworthy than the tkc80.

I don't know if you guys in England can get the Dunlop D606. This is another player in the field here. I've been quite surprised how well my D606 rear tire has performed, especially on pavement. It has also lasted well. Maybe not quite as far as a TKC but close.

On my DR650 I'm currently running a Dunlop D606 on the rear and a TKC80 up front. (130/17 & 90/90-21). On a recent dual sport ride I was able to maintain very aggressive corner speed with these tires and they did great in mud and dirt roads. Excellent overall performance!

They also work very well in mud and Baja deep sand ... giving enough drive to keep the front end light. Not bad at all on such a heavy bike. Good combo, IMHO.

Rear tire prices:
The TKC's are amazing but quite expensive (at least in the USA) at over $95 usd each. The T63's are $55 usd each. D606 goes for $72 usd. MT-21 is $68 usd. (these are mail order prices ... shops add about 30% more)

I have a set of NEW T63's sitting in the garage waiting to be mounted. What Jmo says (and Spooky too) is scaring the shit out of me. I don't back off on wet pavement but sounds like the T63's may be a problem in those conditions. But the price was good ... Of course every tire works a bit different on every bike. I will report back in a few months on these tires.

I've used MT21's for years and on many Baja rides on various bikes. I am not impressed. Terrible off road tires, IMO, and not very good on road either. They last just "OK", I wore out the rear MT21 in about 1500-2000 miles of hard Baja riding. (40% pavement, 60% dirt) Pavement eats them alive. The D606, TKC all longer lasting on pavement in my experience.

As Jmo says, probably for a travel tire the TKC cannot be beat. Expensive but worth it.


The D606 still a bit of life left after about 3000 miles ... mostly pavement.
The front is a TKC 80 at 3000 also. Lots of life left up front. Even worn the D606 worked pretty well in mud.

I used the Trellys (army tyres) front and rear on my XT600e for Africa. I changed from the road tyres in Senegal and went through 2x rears and 1x front by the time I got to Cape Town. I changed the second rear in Cameroon. Bog standard to fit with no direction markings and easy too.
They really came into their own from Mali to Angola, so I recommend them if your doing some good off road. I road tested them in Spain as comfortably was zipping around corners at 60+..! (dry)

Not bad as my riding companions went through TKC80s like ice cream! I'll be getting the Trellys again for my SA-UK trip this year.

The picture is me changing into the new rear after a puncture in Cameroon (Limbe to Younde road). The one I changed still had life in it but I'd had enough of carrying the spare. The puncture was due to tyre slip and ripped the valve.

Hope your choice goes well.

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Geoffshing

'Security is a product of one's own imagination, it does not exist in nature as a rule, life is either a daring adventure or nothing.'