KLE500 tyre choices

[MadM]

Hey everyone!

I am currently on a market for a new set of tires. I have been using K60 for the last 6000km and have been quite pleased with them, on-road I can grind foot-pegs on dry or wet. But have been disappointed by the front off-road, lost the front 2 times. Now I am looking at more knobbly tire to try riding some harder terrain than fire roads.

I am looking at:
Mitas E09, E10
TKC80 (designed for bigger bikes??)
Michelin T63 (saw it on a couple of xt660r very little info)

I cant decide what to take, I have read that a E09 on the rear and MT21 on the front is a good combo, but MT21 is slick on wet road. How about E10 for the front and E09 in the back combo?

My dealer recomended getting a set of Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara's but they are almost the same as K60, as are E07.

Basically what I am looking for is a tyre combo that will out-preform K60 off road and have similar capabilities on road (I might be asking for too much).

Thanks for all the help!

[rockmonkey1]

Hi ghosty, I have TKC80's on my KLE, I do like them, they are great off road, ok on the road but I have found them a bit slippery in the wet and the rear is wearing very quickly (its not because of aggressive riding either!) hope this helps! If you want more of an off road tire they would be worth a look!
I'm waiting for some K60's to arrive for a trip in two months time to morocco, I'm hoping they'll last longer and have better road manners!

[MadM]

Originally Posted by rockmonkey1

Hi ghosty, I have TKC80's on my KLE, I do like them, they are great off road, ok on the road but I have found them a bit slippery in the wet and the rear is wearing very quickly (its not because of aggressive riding either!) hope this helps! If you want more of an off road tire they would be worth a look!
I'm waiting for some K60's to arrive for a trip in two months time to morocco, I'm hoping they'll last longer and have better road manners!

Hey!

Thanks, than the TKC80 are out of question, they are to expensive if they wear fast. With the K60 you can grind footpegs on road no problem, but don't expect to get 10.000km or more (like some say on advrider). Our size 130/80-17 uses a bit softer rubber than 140 and 150 for KTM and BMW. I really liked them on-road, but when off road the front is slippery and you can easily loose the front wheel.

[rockmonkey1]

I agree they are way to expensive for the rate they are wearing out! Cheers for the info on the k60's, they'll probably spend most of the time on the road so I'm quite looking forward to trying them out!

[MadM]

Well, since there wasn't much input on what people are using on KLE's regarding knobbly tires, I bit the bullet and ordered a set of Mitas tyres.

For the front I took C-17 and for the rear I took E-09. Here is a picture of them I took from advrider:



At 103,99€ delivered I took a chance to try a knobbly tire. If I don't like them it won't be a big blow to my wallet compared to TKC's, T63's or Karoo 3.

Cheers!

[Southern Cross]

Something to check on when buying knobbles that you will use on sealed pavement. Some knobbies, when you look at them around the perimeter at the point of contact when cornering, will show lots of air space between the knobs, just when you need rubber for grip. Look at that, this way. Stand at the front of the tire and imagine it spinning. Look to the near edge where it will grip the road when leaned over for cornering and see if all the air spaces line up. Some knob bikes have too much air spaces lining up and therefore you cannot expect grip.
I hope that I have expressed this clearly enough to imagine if you do, or do not get rubber at the near edge.
I can't now remember which knobbies are the worst at this issue but some are definitely better than others. And yes TKC80 are good but are too expensive and wear quickly.
I have fitted Dunlop 605s front and rear and they work very well pavement or dirt. The rear may wear a little faster than I'd hoped but is not critical and they are fairly cheap.

I'm very happy with my '07 KLE but it has some issues needing improvement.
First, I installed a KTM muffler. It now revs freely sounds louder but I won't call it a particularly good "note". Slight opening of the air box and 120 main jets to be done later this year but is not urgent.
I weigh around 82kgm and find standard suspension too soggy. For the moment I add 10 strokes with a bicycle pump to give about 10 psi and that improves it a lot but has to be redone every few days but only takes a minute. I need firmer springs and GV emulators or similar.
The rear shock is not real great and that will need re valving and a slightly stronger spring. Perhaps a new one but all depends on $$$.

[Danko]

Originally Posted by Southern Cross

Something to check on when buying knobbles that you will use on sealed pavement. Some knobbies, when you look at them around the perimeter at the point of contact when cornering, will show lots of air space between the knobs, just when you need rubber for grip. Look at that, this way. Stand at the front of the tire and imagine it spinning. Look to the near edge where it will grip the road when leaned over for cornering and see if all the air spaces line up. Some knob bikes have too much air spaces lining up and therefore you cannot expect grip.

That is a good point, I have mx tires on my kle (also mitas, c02 and c21), and I feel more like hovering than driving on paved road But it is a great tire on all other surfaces (grass, mud, gravel).

[MadM]

Originally Posted by Southern Cross

Something to check on when buying knobbles that you will use on sealed pavement. Some knobbies, when you look at them around the perimeter at the point of contact when cornering, will show lots of air space between the knobs, just when you need rubber for grip. Look at that, this way. Stand at the front of the tire and imagine it spinning. Look to the near edge where it will grip the road when leaned over for cornering and see if all the air spaces line up. Some knob bikes have too much air spaces lining up and therefore you cannot expect grip.
I hope that I have expressed this clearly enough to imagine if you do, or do not get rubber at the near edge.

I know what you mean mate, I can feel that gap when cornering on pavement, the bike just drop in the turn to the next line of knobs. I think that C17 is a bit to aggressive for 50/50 riding.

But on the other hand, I have no such feeling with the E09 on the back, it's a bit louder than K60 though.

I will try to get a few more km's on them and if I won't like it than I will change the front to MT-21 or maybe E10.