R80G/S tyres

[bryan]

advice on tyres for a london to capetown trip?
front 90/90*21 .rear 4.00*18
in adventure m/c chris recommends michelin "deserts" and/or pirelli "mt21"trail tyres
1) i'm told the mt21 is not available for 4.00*18 (rear)
2)which tyres are michelin "deserts" ?
the only off-road tyres available in both front/rear sizes is the T61 ?
(tyres availablein both sizes;-
avon gripsters (soon to be discont.?)
metzeler enduro 1/2
metzeler enduro 3(sahara)
conti tk60/tk70
conti tk80
pirelli mt40
any advice? many thanks in advance

[Chris Scott]

A mich desert on the front may last all the way , but whatever you put on the back will need replacing halfway i reckon. Get a knobbish tyre (alternatives to MT21 - are you sure no MT21 in 4 x 18?) to cross the sahara as far as Sudan Ethiopia (if going that way) - then a long lasting trail tyre like a gripster will do to the cape.

Chris S

[Ian]

I'm sure you'll get an 18inch MT21, I believe it's the width you'll have to careful with. If you have a G/S, you might be considering uprating to an R1150GS swingarm (see www.hpn.de) in which case Deserts might fit. I've currently got Conti Twinduros on my KTM which seem to be wearing well (only road use so far) and look aggressive enough for decent grip on the dirt. The Conti tubes look very heavy duty as well.

Cheers,

Ian.

[giorgioXT]

You can put Michelin T63 120 x 90/18 that are similar or still the older T61 that are still avalaible in 4.00 x 18 ..both are good tyres , just with 3 mm less of knobbly thickness , BTW T63 have the same tread pattern of deserts

on front I suggest a Desert or T63

Another option should be Continental TKC80 but these are hard to find

[Ian]

Bryan, I guess you're located in the UK, if so you can get Continental tyres from ATS/Euromaster or see http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/

Happy levering,

Ian.

[Yves]

Hi Brian,
4.00x18 is quite a narrow tyre, you will not be so happy with it, go as large as you can. I recommand the dimension 130/80x18 or even 140/80. You will need to cut some mm of the tyre to clear the swing arm - trie before buy.

Good luck for you trip, Yves