Yep I think that that is what Rad was saying and Its a pretty fair assessment of how the tyre changes. I still think its a good tyre though-perhaps overall it not that cheap.
Thanks for the responses everyone - very helpful. Keep the tire pressure up on the pavement; slow down a little; all good stuff. The reason I ask is; I have a ride coming up, Denver to Northern Montana (pavement from Denver to Mid-Wyoming, mix of dirt and pavement after that). From MT, Divide Trial back down to Central CO. I think the total mileage will be about 2,300; I'm riding an '01 1150GS. Sounds like the TKC80 will work out just fine - might need replacing when I get back; which is fine because I can throw the Tourances back on. Thanks again for the help.
Just got myself a set, looking forward to run these tires Ps.. Search button sucks on forum, next time google it. :)
1150 GS, Y2K. I get about 3000 miles out of the rear. the front lasts 6000. I bought an extra rear wheel & run a Tourance on that. I try to save the TKC for when I really need it. they rock
Front and rear taken off my 2004 1150 Adventure...with just under 10,000 miles on them. There were small cracks at the base of the knobs.
Thanks mate, won't be riding till April tho. U got 10k miles on them, not bad at all. I will actually mount these on only when I plan to go off road, while Michelin road 3, will be my daily uses tire tho
I find they wear and square off rapidly, 1500 miles or so, but then they stabilize and last me about 3000 more miles
lol, this thread is from 2006. I'm surprised people aren't complaining about the resurrection of dead threads. You're damned if you search, you're damned if you don't. Anyways, I think I probably have about 1000 miles on my TKC80s. Looking at rounded knobs w/ cracks on the base of them. I'm going to run them until the rear is down to where I'm uncomfortable, or (hopefully not) it throws a knob. Not sure if I'm going with them again. They are probably one of best dual sport tires when it comes to going off road. However, the 99mph operating limit, the noise, the wear, and (imo) the handling in the wet, can be a bit of a bummer.
I get 3000 - 5000 miles off a rear depending on the terrain and load (1 or 2 up) and about 5000 - 8000 with a front.
7000 for the front ( front makes a great every day tire) 2000-2500 for a rear. with mixed riding Not a fan of the rear tire anywhere but in the dirt. after 500 miles, its slick like oily butter on wet pavement. its flat and missing knobbies at 1800 miles
Rather than start a new thread, I'll ask on here. I'm planning roughly a 3500 mile trip that is about 2500 miles pavement and 1000 miles gravel. I'll be finished with the gravel portion at about 2500 miles, so the last thousand will be strictly paved. A good portion, maybe up to a thousand miles, at the beginning and end, will be 70ish mph highway. I'll be taking my SV650. Do you guys think that the TKC80s will last the entire trip? I'm also thinking about buying a Heidenau K60 for the rear, and then use the TKC80 on the front. However, I already have the TKC80 rear, so I'd rather use that if it is up to the job. Plus, I'd like the best tire for the gravel.
max you will be fine, use up the TKC, since it is on the shelf I do like the Heidi rear TKC front set up on my 02 1xxxGS.
I rode about 1000 miles of dirt and 3700 miles of pavement on my last set of TKC80s. By the end my rear was past the wear bars and I limped it to Engles BMW in Kansas City. 4700 miles is nothing to whinge about. I was loaded for two weeks of camping. Some of those roads were those horrible chipseal tire devourers in Texas. I am still using the front. You have no worries, aside from taking an SV650 offroad. I think this is about 4300 miles. I was really pushing the last 400, and I was holding my breath from Topeka to KC.
Same experience here, a little less mileage, about 4,000, due to intense heat, 100 plus all the time. Tire was as above but I kept it for another couple hundred miles around town and zero rain that time of the year. Would not recommend running a tire in this condition on wet tarmac.
Might want to check out Mitas E-07, it's a 50/50 tire availabl in Canada, no distributers in USA yet. http://www.mx1canada.com/mitas-e07-dual-sport-rear-tire.html I tried the standard on my 04 GSA but there is a heave duty "Dakar" tire. $230 delivered to my door for the set, front and rear !!!!! Did not know what to expect but read a couple good reviews. I just completed a 9,000 mile round trip to Alaska and front and rear are not to the wear bars yet. Was worried the front was going to wear out first but it made it, even held up under a 1000 mile in 24 hrs sprint down hwy's 97 and I-5 to get home last Thursday in time for fireworks. This was my 3rd Alaska trip and never made it on one set of tires. This trip included about 1000 miles of gravel (Hwy 4 Campbell, Top of the World, Denali, Kennecot Mine and Telegraph Creek). 150's were out of stock so ran the 140 (measured only 1/8th narrower when mounted than the TKC 150 I took off). Ran 35 psi, tire says 33psi with 716lb load. I ride fast and hard so will be ordering another Mitas rear, maybe try the "Dakar". http://www.mx1canada.com/mitas-e07-dakar-rear-motorcycle-tire.html For the front I'm going to mount one of my take-off a TKC's as the E-07 front seemed to wander more than I remember the TKC did. Still experimenting but for the price $$$$$$ the Mitas was impressive. OH, and they mount easily, seated on the bead nicely and had no FLATS or issues in the rain. Somewhat noisy but I (and you should) always wear earplugs. Mitas also has a E-09 and E-10 knobby I have not tried. http://www.mx1canada.com/mitas-e09-dakar-rear-tire.html Charlie Boorman likes the E-10 http://www.charleyboorman.com/news/mitas-adventure-tyres-on-your-bmw-gs-1200
they appear to be pretty much all out of stock, no Dakar tires, and the E07 is out of stock in 140 and 150 sizes
The basic E-07 Dual Sport that I used look to be in stock. Frankly, I beat the hell out of the 3 ply tire and had no problems. I was going to try the Dakar 4ply to see the difference but am actually concerned they might ride rough and be hard to mount.
Thanks guys! I guess I'll use the TCK80 without worry too much worry. I'll just try to keep the speeds reasonable in the paved sections.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147377 Continental TKC-80's on my DRZ. Work great. See them almost exclusively on Beast Bikes, but I'm not putting them on the VStrom. Since they came in DRZ rim size and my riding preferences demand pavement to get to those places I wanna go, I'll give them a try. Expen$ive. Working good in every way. YOUR mileage may,,,,,,,vary?!