Tyres for an A.T.
 

My wife and I are travelling two up on an A.T. from London to Sydney through Europe and Asia. The route will take us on good, bad, and gravel roads and mud, both wet and dry. Can anyone recommend what tyres to use. .......Bob

[This message has been edited by mcdarbyfeast (edited 16 January 2002).]

Hai,

Be aware. The AT only has tubed tires. Tubeless can not be mounted on "spoked" wheels.
I am also thinking about the choice of tires for my AT. (same journey) I want them to last long and be alround (dirt and road).
Anyone sugestions?

Maarten

I suggest using Michelin T66. We are also planning to do London to Aus this year and after some research these tyres seem to be the best option.
When are you planning to leave and what route are you going to take?
Regards
G

Metzeler Sahara 3's are good if you can still get them.

TKC80's but pretty crap and scary on the road at times.

All depends on the ratio of tarman/gravel etc

I love the TKC80s,, I think they stick better then most other tyres on the road or the gravel. They are even okay in the mud (well up to the bash plate anyway.).
We are going Midlands to Aus route starting sometime this summer (via Africa and south america) and I plan on using the TKC for it. The only down side is that you really only get about 5-8000 miles out of them. I am changing my rear wheel to be 18" (from 17") and that makes them cheap too, and easier to find.

IMHO they are the best dual sports tyre ever!

Completely wrong!Have you ever heard of a BMW GS?

If you are suggesting that you need to buy a GS to have tubeless tyres on spoked wheels, I need to inform you that other bikes have that too. for examlple the 25 years old Honda XL600 have them...

To be back on topic, I had on the AT for offroading the TKC, the Karoo and Mitas E09. They are all tyres for the same purpose and they look more or less the same. My choice between those three are the Mitas, because they are the most high milleage, they are cheap, and good off road. They are maybe the worst on tarmac, but they are good enough for traveling speeds on tarmac, no problem there. All of this tyres are bad on wet.

I've got TKC80's on and I really like 'em. They seem great on the road (compared to Mich Deserts - oh dear - or Metzeler Saharas) and very good on gravel. Sand - haven't had any here yet. Mud - who knows? I just fall off in the mud. I'd definitely get 'em again (although I don't think you can get them in South America...?)

Tkc
 

The TKC are pretty good. My riding companion managed to touch down a metal mule pannier attached to his overloaded AT on one of the great sweeping tarmac corners in Gabon using TKCs.

We both rode from UK to Cameroon, fully loaded, one-up before changing the rear TKC (about 10,000miles). People get upset because they square off so quickly but after that initial wear they settle down and last for ages. Good at taking hits from glass bottles, nails, thorns etc without tearing too.

TKCs come in a larger block pattern for bigger bikes (AT) and smaller block for lighter bikes.

+1 on the TKCs.

(I was the guy with the pannier...).

Great tyre, one rear from UK to Cameroon, another from Cameroon to South Africa. Genius.

Hello guys,

I am going to buy a set of TKC tyres for my Africa Twin.

I've heard that tubeless & tubetype will fit... Is that true or not ?

Many thanks,

Fabien

Im not sure if you can tubeless TKC's...

Rule is this:

You can use inner tubes in a tubeless tyre quite safely. This is common practice in Supermoto and other racing situations. So pretty much, if you have rims designed to have inner tubes (most spoked although not BMW), you can use any tyre you want as long as it fits.

You strictly CAN NOT use a "tube only" tyre on a rim designed for tubeless unless you really enjoy hospital food. :nono:

Tkc 80
 

Quite right - if it needs tubes, give it tubes. (TT = tubed tyres, TL = tubeless)

Front:

90/90S21BWTL
110/80BQ19BW / TL
Rear:
130/80S17BW / TL
150/70B17BW / TL
3.50S18 BW / TT
120/90S18 BW / TT
140/80B18 BW / TT
150/70B18 BW / TL

Yes it's true I'm running a tubeless rear tyre on my Africa Twin with a tube.

Thanks for the replies guys :clap:

It's good to know that I can bouy both: either tubes or tubeless :innocent:

RD04 - I used Michelin Anakkes. Front 21” 90/90 Rear 17” 130/90 with tubes ! great road tyre in all weathers and tough, with a decent life .... not the best off road, but how many km's will be off road vs.. on road ?
Cheers Matt

Salut Fabien

TedMagnum has said what I wanted to say - I agree with what he said.:thumbup1:

heidenau K 60 knobbies
 

hi, i'm currently using a set of K 60 tyres under my transalp,
both on and offroad and they work just fine, only on wet road surfaces you have to be gentle on the throttle....
profile as open as tkc's, only about half the price...

tkc's dont last long. if you really want the open knobbly design look at the mitas 07. i am deff going for these next. they are reported to last a lot longer than the tkc. will also get the mitas 09, looks like a shahara 3 but lasts a real long time i hear. they are also cheaper than conti tyres