The Yamaha Super Tenere XT1200Z Big Thread

The K60 is this one?



If it is, I'm looking for a tire more off road oriented, bigger knobs for the sand and mud, but for the 17" wheel there aren't too many.
This is what I've found:

Off road oriented tires for 17” wheel:

Karoo 2: very good in off road but it doesn’t last long. On road is very noisy.
Karoo T: more road oriented
TKC: similar to Karoo T but it last more and is more expensive.
Mitas E10: Same design than Karoo T but it looks as if it is harder. I'm trying it now. Good price.
Mitas E09: bigger knobs, similar to Karoo2.
Mitas E09 / E10 Dakar: I think they are the same design than the “standard” but harder. Reports said it last a lot but must be careful in wet roads.
Pirelli MT21: I don’t know much about these, I read they are quite good and last a lot.

Anybody can add some information?
Thanks!

I have to call BS on that one. I removed a rear one and was with great wailing and gnashing of teeth.
The front wasn't bad. Define "simple lever".:huh

I'd think the MT21 would be less than ideal, especially from a tread life standpoint. A lot of the guys I ride with run them on their DRZ's and KLR's. Seems like it would be asking a lot to run them on the Tenere. The front might be fine, but I bet you'd shred the rear pretty quickly. I've never tried them though, so who knows?

I run the K60s now. Wear level is fantastic. Most my off road stuff is harder pack.
I will say this last time in the sand they were new and actually did okay.
Meaning I didn't faceplant.

The last mud ride was slimey sticky stuff that packed the knobs and spun easy.
Once it got stuck on a tree root it cleaned itself with a first gear red line.

These look interesting for streetie looking tire:

http://us.ridexperience.metzeler.com/2012/11/metzeler-introduces-the-new-karoo-3-at-eicma/

I REALLY like the looks of those Karoo 3's, and I'll be looking for new tires come spring.

I don't love the K60's I have now. They're decent on dry pavement, decent off road, and they last fairly long (although I don't think I'm going to make it to 10k miles, which I was hoping to surpass)... But I think they're wet pavement grip is downright dangerous. With traction control off, 70 MPH in 5th gear, I can easily give it gas and spin up the back tire on the highway.

I like the looks of the Mitas E-07's, but my understanding is they wear notably quicker than the K60s.

There are several 140 width tires that look nice (actually the K60 in 140 width look better to me than the 150), but they're listed as Tube Type.

I have been looking at the Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires....from what I have read they are more aggressive than TKCs, and last maybe 4-6k miles....also, they are cheaper than anything else.

Wow, so much info on this bike!

I'm really happy to see so much information about this up here.

Looking to pull the trigger on a new ride within the next couple of months, and after looking at the maintenance, reliability and overall ownership cost of nearly a dozen bikes, I've narrowed it down to two: the S10 and the Concours 14.

The S10 fills the bill for me with doing some light off-roading, as well as touring and just about anything else, in a simple, easy to maintain package.

The Concours 14 is fast. VERY fast. Has a ton of members in the COG group to back it up (I'm a member, nice folks they are!) and is one of the most comfortable bikes I've ever ridden.

Decisions, decisions...

It's great having so much choice and no money to spend!

You've probably seen this, don't know if it helps make a decision or not.
If you are planning on even light off road it will turn more aggresive once
you see what the Tenere can do sooooooo, just get the twin and be done.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=843827

Wow... I thought the TKC's lasted about 5k miles, and the Scorpion Rallies only last about half that. But that's just what I've gathered from reading online; no personal experience with either.

I like the looks of the 140 width K60's more than the 150. They're supposedly Tube Type though, so, uh, you know... I probably shouldn't try them on my tubeless wheels.

I also like the looks of the Mitas E-07's, but I've heard they don't last near as long as the K60.

150 width Mitas E-07 on the left, 140 width K60 on the right:


Eek, sorry for the huge picture.

I can't imagine why you have traction control off when it's wet in the first place.

But even with TC on, the handling in the wet is less with a well worn t of K60s.

Same here, no actual experience, but I have read a few accounts of people putting them on GS1200s. Maybe they meant kilometers? Actually had a set ready to go on my old Tiger, but they went with the bike when I sold it.....arrrg.

Because at lower speeds, spinning up the back tire like you're riding on ice can be kind of enjoyable. Try to kick it out to opposite sides with each shift... First gear powerslide to the left... second gear go right... third gear go left again... etc. If you've got no traction at all, might as well enjoy it! (I can't figure out why my rear tire isn't lasting as long as I want ) That is until about 40 mph; above that I want traction, I don't have the required amount of balls to do motorcycle powerslides on pavement at that high of speeds. When I, just for kicks, tested it in 5th gear at 70, and saw the RPM's soar, and the speedo go nuts, I sucked half the seat up in my puckered sphi.... uh, you get the idea.

big balls. this bike is too heavy to be fuckin around like that IMHO. but K60's in the rain, with the traction controll off, riding fast,,,,, is crazy the only reason i even tried K60's is because i have traction controll.

I have the scorpion rallys on my Tenere. I've only put a few hundred miles on them so far so I can't give any mileage reports and won't for a while since it is going to be winter here until April, but I have been hugely impressed with their performance in gravel. The rear lug design does seem to allow the rear to slide out but in TC2 you can really ride aggressively and look quite heroic with them. When in a straight line, you can really hammer on it and get some stupid speed built up really quickly. I'm not sure I'd get the rear again since I don't expect it to last long at all and it isn't the smoothest, but the front is awesome, I like it better than the TKC front. Now to see how long they will last.

Rear


Front


This was the first ride on them.

The 140/80 K60 should work better off-road since it does not have the solid strip down the middle of the tire. Might be worth a tube if you were going to be riding a lot of mud / wet dirt/ wet clay.

can you visualize that once those 140 k60 wear down a few mm they have a center strip just like the 150?

some have taken the 150 and used a knobby knife - http://www.knobbyknife.com/ or other cutting tool and removed some of the center bar so the tire looks and works like the original version of the tire.

Just ordered Denali panniers from Happy Trails....they have some killer deals going. Free shipping and a $100 gift certificate with the purchase of a pannier set. I ordered a "scratch-dent-misdrilled" set which was $210 cheaper than the new pair. As far as I can tell, there are not many, if any, cheaper hard luggage options with the promos. No affiliation with the company.

This is my tyre changing kit in its entirety although I do use a bit of WD40. Not BS. Pure truth.

When I get to Salt Lake I will show you how it's done.

The centre strip is there for a reason. Although it reduces grip off road, it is there to make the tyre last longer. Hence the big centre strip on the 150/70R17. Big bikes wear out the centre strip real quick.

It is a compromise tyre for more mileage rather than more grip.