Tyres for C/S.America

[Del Boy]

Hi,
What type of tyre is best for Central/ South America? I have Michelin Anakees fitted and these are fine on paved roads but will I need something like TKC 80s for the unpaved/gravel roads of this part of the world? I ride an Africa Twin.
Cheers Derek.

[hook]

Hi Derek, I'm 20,000km into my trip through Mexico and C&S America. I used Metzeler Sahara's from the US to Costa Rica in anticipation of alot of off-roading. In the end, I really only went off-road in the Copper Canyon. In Costa Rica Norval and Julio(at the terrific BMW shop in San Jose) suggested Metzler Tuarance steel radials. I've used them all the way to Patagonia without a problem. In southern Bolivia there are plenty of unpaved roads. The truth is, if you want to ride on dirt, you have to go looking for it (know that if you WANT to get the tires dirty, every country in the America's will be glad to help!). By the way, I got alot more life out of the Tuarance's as they have a less agressive tread. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions. Good luck with your trip. (Also, you posted this in the advisories and security forum, you'll get more responses if you use the correct forum).

[Narelz]

I would agree with hook. I spent 2 months in Mex with tkc80s which were very useful. I did alot of cayon riding in the Sierras. But now that am in Gautemala I am going to switch to something more street.

[mmaarten]

Hi,

Depending on how many km you plan to do, keep in mind that nice tires like the TKC-80 are not available in latin-america.
All you will get is pirelli and metzeler (both made in Brazil).

Riding dirt on pirelli mt60 is absolutely no problem. Only when it gets real muddy you would want to have a TKC-80.

MT60 will last around 14.000 km on a AT (front and rear the same).

More important then tires are a chain. The 525 is very uncommon in SA and thus dificult to get. Bring a spare one and as soon as you use it, start looking for the next one. DID 525 VM last a long time (30.000)... but a lot depends on where and how you ride.

One more thing: Pirelli MT60 costs around 30 to 50 USD in country,s like Bolivia.... so don,t bring an expensive spare from the USA

Good luck,

Maarten

[Del Boy]

Thanks for the info guys! By the way, I checked out your site Maarten. Excellent! Also very apt as your route thru the Americas is similar to the one I hope to take on my RTW next year.
Cheers Derek.

[czycat]

Depends a little on the bike too - My R100PD was a bit squirmy with the Pirelli MT60's. The Metzler Sahara's seems like a good compromise for a bigger machine; quite durable and you can push them hard on asphalt, yet they get by okay in dirt.