I'm sitting at ~11.5K miles on my '13 Strada. About read for an oil change and the next valve inspection. The tires are going pretty strong, but I'd like to plan ahead on what tires I want to get for my next set. I ride to work every day, and do light trails very rarely - but the trails are irrelevant because I'm going to buy TKC80s to swap out whenever I go for joy rides. What street-exclusive tires fit the Strada rims? They're kind of a weird size, and I *thought* the Pilot Road 4 Trails (I LOVE the pilot road 3s and 4s i've had on other bikes) would fit, but now I'm unsure, since the Road 4 Trail is 150/70r17, while the manual calls for 140/80r17. Similar differences with the front tire, as well. Do the Road 4 Trails fit the Strada? If you guys have other ideas for long lasting excellent cold weather street tires, I'm all ears.
I have Michelin Pilot 4 Trail tyres on my Strada and just come back for 7000km trip to Phillip Island for the MotoGP. These tyres are THE best tyres I have ever ridden on the road on. We had 1degC and rain storms on the way down and 44degC and dry and sunny temperatures on the way back ( all in the space of 18 days. You gotta love Australian weather). Absolutely not a single tyre excitement moment. I have ridden and raced motorcycles for 41years and never come across a better set of tyres for purpose ( road riding in this case). Grip in the wet, dry, ridiculously hot and cold. Michelin has really got it right with these. They are of course showing a flat ring down the centre because of the upright ( very loaded) touring, but next to the Bridgey BT90's I proddy raced a couple of years ago, these things are amazing. I have 120/70 19's front and 150/70 17 rears. No ABS error problems.
Hi Guys Speaking of tyres has anyone had experience of Kenda Big Block, looking at replacing the K60 & Karoo 3s on my Terra ??
I have been running the Big Block on the rear. I am about 500 miles from having to change it but, I have 3,400 miles on it. I'm impressed. The front big block is fine AFTER it scrubs in but man is is scary until that happens. I will get a front and maybe a half to two rears. I am well satisfied for the price.
Thank you, currently I have the K60 rear & Karoo 3 front - I intend doing the Tanami Desert Road in June, as the round trip is close to 10,000klms of which 1,200 klms is crappy dirt I'm researching tyres that can go the distance Over the weekend I was recommended the Big blocks Currently looking at either the Mitas E09 or Bigblock front with the K60 or Mitas E07 rear The Karoo 3 has been good in most conditions, but really scary in the wet
Personally the Mitas E07 would be perfect for the Tanami. Rode my suzuki TU250 with road tyres through there couple years ago. Plus if it rains up north the roads are officially closed.
Dandydisco, Awesome, well done, how did you go with the fuel challenges? That was a long ride, Melbourne, Alice Springs, Tanami then back to Melbourne - 10,000klms ?? What tales do you have to tell ?
Learnt a hell of a lot riding a 250 through Arkaroola Oodnadatta Finke Mt Dare charters towers Kimberly Darwin Gibb Kakadoo Broome Banggles and so on. Tried to stick to dirt roads everywhere I could. Posted up photos before on this forum as GGP http://tu250riders.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=621&start=30
i'm running Shinko 700s front and rear at the moment. They are a pretty good street tire that works well in hard pack dirt. If condition gets on the soft side then they aren't as good. I was thinking of going a bit more aggressive on the front, maybe a TCK80 or Kenda Big block. Does anybody have feedback as to how noisy either of them are? But for the rear I need better wear, I want at least 5k miles on the rear and of course more is better. I was thinking either the Mitas E07 or K60 Scout. Does anybody have a comparison for either of those 2 to the Sahara rear? Or between the E07 & K60? Both are pricey. I'd like some tires that aren't as noisy as the Saharas. That's part of why I went with Shinkos, they are quiet and I had used them on my KLR with pretty good results for my riding conditions. The rear is wearing faster on the Husky than the KLR, I guess more power really does make a difference in wear rate on the rear.
Dan I run the Big Blocks front and back. The back now has just short of 3400 miles on it with about 500 more safe miles to go. The front is great AFTER it scrubs in. Before that it is way scary. The bike turned in so freaking quick it was hard to control until you scrub the knobs on the sides of the tires. I will easily get two fronts against one rear. They are also slippery until then. Would I put them back on? Yes, in a heart beat and they are reasonably priced and lasted longer than I thought. Off road I run 15# front, and 25# rear. On road 32#'s in both.
Any ideas about changing rear to a 150/70-18 series? Heidenau Scout tread pattern is slightly different compared to their 140 series.
I currently run the 140/80 -18 & am very happy, possibly get 10,000klms out of it I had looked at the 150/70 as it has a central rib, to give better mileage on tar, however reports seem to indicate less traction on the dirt There's a video K60 v Mitas 07 I'm researching, however will be either the Mitas 07 or the K60 at the rear, unless someone brings out something better between now & May 2015
Heidenau K60, 140 width, is the "old", original tread pattern of the first series K60's. Tube type only. Great stuff, very heavy, pretty good grip in the loose stuff right up to the end of wear, noisy + lumpy, hard rubber, lasts well but has a reputation for being treacherous on wet asphalt. Heidenau K60, 150 width, is the new "Scout" with the center rib, tubeless Great stuff, very heavy, getting pretty skittish from about 60%wear, noisy but not as lumpy as the original pattern, hard rubber, lasts well but has a reputation for being treacherous on wet asphalt. Prime choice for 2-up gravel work and for long-life rough stuff, keeps punctures to a minimum. Hit ther deck twice with ~30-40% worn examples on the V-Stroms (wet gravel-clay mix and wet asphalt) Mitas 07, tube + tubeless, LOVE the fronts, expensive for what they are, softer rubber mix than the Heidenau's, fairly quiet...but still noticeable, my preferred hoop for the mainly dry, loose stuff we see in AUS. Rears wearing out too quickly, also seen a couple of rears with deep cracks in the carcass lately, both swapped under "warranty" without fuss by the importer. Good grip all-round for a tyre of its kind. My choice for when the going-gets-rougher. TKC80...tube + tubeless, never felt confident to chuck the bike around on asphalt with those, but many like them on the bigger bikes. Coarse, noisy, rears wear quickly on paved roads. Kenda 784 Big Block...tubeless,very similar to the TKC's in all aspects, but amazing grip on asphalt for that kind of hoop, also come from Taiwan (at least the Aussie stock), softer rubber mix than the TKC, wore out front within 5000km, rears by 3000km,....cheap to buy, expensive in the long run. Certainly love the Shinko 705 rears for a quiet, well gripping, everyday general purpose tyre with some decent grip on hardpack and the usual surface gravel off the pavement, tubeless. Last well enough (very similar to other "road-pattern" tyres like Tourances/Anakees/TKC70 and the like) but slightly better on the loose stuff. For what they are and the price bracket they're in, they're damn hard to beat. I only wish I could lay my hands on the Fullbore rears, which are a copy of a Shinko 705 (made by Shinko/ Yokohama) in a slightly harder compound and slightly wider block-spacing. Had them twice on some Yammie XT660R hire-bikes in New Zealand for a couple of weeks each and they proved just the exact right mix of grip and smooth running in just about anything thrown at them. Wear seemed to be on a par with other, similar products. http://www.fullboretires.com/adventuretouring.html Mefo Explorer 99 (tube/tubeless/reverse for rear tyre) ....with a pattern similar to the original (NOT the Scout) K60 front, but a somewhat softer rubber mix and without the weight of the Heidenau, many in the D/S community are raving about this tyre. Scored one for the front of the Strada and the first 500km were pretty damn impressive. Quiet, stable and immediately "comfortable" after the first 20km scrub-in, nice grip on wet pavement , quite amazing in the dry... good and stable on dry dirt+gravel. Haven't encountered wet dirt yet. (hey, it's summer over here!). Which makes for my currently preferred combo of a Mitas 07 front and a Shinko 705 rear for both the TR and the Strom, with the FullBore rears and the Mefo fronts being serious contenders. Then again...tyres are like deodorants....everyone likes something different. :-) I don't mind hanging the back out, but I'm scared witless of the front going AWOL.
Never had a Mitas 09...but if the compound is as "soft-ish" as the 07's, it won't last long with that more aggressive pattern. It's pretty much like a TKC/Kenda 784 at first sight, and ADVrider posts have it as a capable, but expensive and short-lived hoop to run on the mixed riding we tend to do (i.e. most distance covered on tar to get to the "good stuff"). I expect similar results from the Karoo3 I just bought for the 21" front of either the KLR or the (optional wheel) TR,...whichever comes first. I didn't "grow up" on dirt, so some good road manners are appreciated, too. Love me twisties, moite!
I'm currently using the Karoo 3 on the 21" front, fantastic grip dry tar, proved good on the Birdsville track, wearing really well, expect 10-12,000 klms, but not very good on wet tar or wet clay That's why I was looking for alternatives I'm planning to ride the Tanami May/June next year & didn't want to fit new tyres in Alice Springs if I could help it (round trip nearly 10,000klms with 1,500klms dirt)
The regular 09 is only a slightly harder rubber compound than the 07. The 09 Dakar has a harder compound and lasts a lot longer. For me the 09 Dakar is a very good alternative to the K60, if I'm planning rougher, more muddy terrain and less tarmac. For the really heavy muddy stuff (the trails around here through the Brabant clay are infamous) I love the Shinko 540, but that wears very fast on tarmac.
