Michelin T-63 front tire

[Todd34]

The stand for now. I'm sure I'll find the logs this spring!

[Alleycatdad]

I'm hoping the 10% offroad improvement will not be at the expense of 20% of the on-road ability of the TKC. I didn't get a photo, but it was cool that the outside knobs were blued...

The T63 knobs are small with larger voids, but maybe the shorter height will make em stable on the road.

Steve

[gefr]

I was hoping T63 was the intermediate solution. Hoping for better on road/wet paved manners than TKC. Am I wrong?

Alleycatdad your MEFO looks like a 140/80/18. Is that the case?

[Alleycatdad]

Originally Posted by gefr

I wa hoping T63 was the intermediate solution. Hoping for better on road/wet paved manners than TKC. Am I wrong?

Alleycatdad your MEFO looks like a 140/80/18. Is that the case?

Nope, that's a 150....

I was pretty happy with the TKC on the road; don't really need to do more than get the pegs down. Was kinda hoping to get similar performance and add some dirt ability based on the reviews here. I'm anxious to try it out; looks ain't everything. Supposed to blizzard today, though, so it may be a bit.

Steve

[offworlder]

Not meaning to hijack this thread (I realize this is a front tire thread - and I'm considering moving from my 606 to a T63) - and having in the past been a big K60 (Heidenau/Mefo) fan on the rear of tamer steeds (BMW), I dont understand how the K60 is considered acceptable off road ? More than adequate for FSR, gravel, etc... but does nothing but slip and spin in the slippery stuff....

I run a Dunlop 908, and its awesome, great traction and great wear, IMHO there's no comparison (between it and the K60)...

[dogsslober]

Originally Posted by offworlder

Not meaning to hijack this thread (I realize this is a front tire thread - and I'm considering moving from my 606 to a T63) - and having in the past been a big K60 (Heidenau/Mefo) fan on the rear of tamer steeds (BMW), I dont understand how the K60 is considered acceptable off road ? More than adequate for FSR, gravel, etc... but does nothing but slip and spin in the slippery stuff....

I run a Dunlop 908, and its awesome, great traction and great wear, IMHO there's no comparison (between it and the K60)...

DONT bother with the rear T63 it is way to small for the big bikes

[Alleycatdad]

Got out briefly today on the new shoes. Definitely more vibration with the more aggressive tire patterns (duh...) but no obvious shortfalls. It's too wet with too many cinders on the roads to evaluate cornering on pavement; my favorite test trails are still under significant snow so again, no hard test there. I did do a number of miles on graded dirt and gravel, some of it fairly deep and at least in this very limited test I liked the T63 a lot. The T63 seems to turn in better and give a lighter front end feel than the TKC, but I didn't get to turn it very hard. It was sure a nice day...

[Alleycatdad]

Finally got out for a decent pavement test--I know, pavement on the T-63...? Yep. Gotta be able to do it all on this bike.

Anyway, I found it to not be as confidence inspiring leaned over as the TKC; It falls in more readily and there's a point at which it starts sending, "Are you really sure about this?" messages... It's better on the cross-grooved, grindered pavement than the TKC, though, and how fast do I really want to go around pavement corners anyway?



...as fast as I can...

Dirt, so far, seems slightly better than the TKC, maybe by the same amount that the TKC beats the T63 on the pavement. Most of the decent dirt around here is still snowed in just above town, so this will reguire further testing...


Steve

PS-paired with the Mefo rear, this is a noisy combo. Sounds like bubba-joe's lifted Chevy on the road....thought I'd lost a bearing at first.

[DavidQ]

I'm running the T63 / Mefo SE combo as well. On the asphalt the Mefo steps out occasionally, the T63 holds as good as the TKC. On Gravel, they both perform very well. In the mud, the T63 seems to keep me pointed in the right direction and the Mefo cakes up pretty quick.

Overall, I like the combo so far. (about 1000 miles of 50/50) My biggest problem is getting the T63 balanced.

I don't find the T63 to be any nosier than any other knobby.


YMMV

[650XDriver]

Originally Posted by DavidQ

I'm running the T63 / Mefo SE combo as well. On the asphalt the Mefo steps out occasionally, the T63 holds as good as the TKC. On Gravel, they both perform very well. In the mud, the T63 seems to keep me pointed in the right direction and the Mefo cakes up pretty quick.

Overall, I like the combo so far. (about 1000 miles of 50/50) My biggest problem is getting the T63 balanced.

I don't find the T63 to be any nosier than any other knobby.


YMMV

Try using Dyna Beads with the T63 and the MEFO. I use them both front and rear with no vibration on or off road and speeds up to 80 mph. I have also found that using the Dyna Beads, it eliminated any cupping of the tires. Super simple to install and awesome results. Check them out at: http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.php You won't be disappointed!!

[Alleycatdad]

Just to follow up, I'm now about 1300 miles into the T-63 front.

I've decided to return to the TKC for my next front tire.

T-63 pros:

Somewhat better in dirt than the TKC.
Better on grooved pavement than the TKC.


T-63 Cons:

Unpredictable at significant lean angles on the pavement.
Inconsistent turn-in on pavement.
It's not enough better in the dirt to make up for the issues on pavement.
I'm seeing significant cupping at only 1300 miles and the knobs that started off so short are at used-scorpion levels now.

So, for me, the TKC is a better front tire. This may be an unfair test, as I changed to the MEFO rear at the same time and that big square chunk of tire may also be affecting turn-in and cornering stability, but it's barely worn at 1300 miles and the T63 is about ready to swap out. I don't air down in the dirt 'cause I can't afford a rim right now, so any difference in tire stiffness is nearly moot.

I really do ride this bike as a DUAL sport; about 50/50 dirt and pavement, and I want to find a combo that performs well in both places. On a bike this heavy I am pretty sure that's not gonna happen. I'd rahter not crash, but if I have a choice of hitting pavement at speed in a corner vs hitting the dirt at a slower pace, I'll choose the dirt (assuming we're talking tire causation, here...)

I don't like to run tires clear to bald, if you're gonna do that, why not start off with a "nearly bald" tire like the trail attacks that reportedly last nearly forever?

YMMV, but, for now, I'm going back to the TKC.

S

[cjracer]

Thanks for the update. Very helpful.