Bringing a spare tire to switch between on/off road?
 

I just bought a KLR650 that has Kendra 270 tires. I am planning a trip to Argentina and estimate that I'll be more 70/30 on to off-road. I am buying a new pair but am wondering what y'll think about buying a primarily on-road tire and bringing the off road ones with me and changing them when I plan dirt days...

Or is that just way too much work?

IMO, definitely too much work. Carrying a set of tires along with your entire kit is basically an act of desperation or self-defeating parsimony--I've tried both. It really only works when you're cruising pavement, since the extra weight and awkwardness will contribute to crippling your abilities off-road. As for changing out tires regularly....well, that's not how I'd like to spend my precious holiday time. And off-pavement excursions come frequently in Latin America, often in short little bits--you'd likely end up riding dirt on your road tires and highway on your dirt tires fairly often anyway.

I'm guessing that you're not talking serious "off-road" anyway, purely on the basis of having chosen a KLR. In general, unless you go to extremes on either end of the spectrum, tire choice is not going to add or subtract that much to your abilities whether on or off-road. A semi-knobby choice will give you a rougher ride on the pavement, but no dual sport bike is a performance machine anyway, so how much will that really matter? A relatively slick choice will certainly impact your ability to ride on mud or sand, but you're not really thinking of buying a 100% road tire anyway, are you? Far, far more important are things like how much of a load you're hauling, maybe your suspension, and definitely your skill level and fatigue.

Buy a nice, middle-of-the-pack dual sport tire and make do with it. The Kenda is fine, but I've switched to the Heidenau K60 Scouts for that sort of riding (and still sometimes go for the TKC80's when I don't care about mileage). If you're highway cruising and you see a little side track you'd like to explore, well then off you go. When the stony track you're exploring suddenly morphs into a freshly-paved, high-speed upgrade which doesn't appear on any map, you're ready to take advantage (or not).

(Again IMO, as always)

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

+1 Too Much Work. And carrying another tyre is a hassle. Don't do it.

Sound advice from Mark and Warin, too much weight and hassle for little or no advantage, fit a good mixed use tyre and you will be fine.

Same as above.....carrying tires is always a hassle. Only do it if you absolutely have to.

http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/z...lnikSLO023.jpg

I built a rack so I could keep the tire on the bottom, so I could access my stuff without removing it Even so, this tire was a hassle. The panniers were top opening and I had to loosen the tire every time I wanted to get to the bags. If parking security wasn't good, I would take it off and bring it into my lodging at night.

Also, be aware not to let the tire droop down over your muffler, or obscure your turn signals and brake light.

I haven't carried a tire with me since.

..............shu

Thanks for the solid advice!!! I carried an extra rear tire with me before and definitely agree with the hassle part, especially in regard to security and getting to things. That said, it saved me quite a bit of money when the one I had on wore out in Syria. Maybe this isn't as important in Mexico/central america? I hear you can get good prices on tires in Columbia. I don't think my current tires have enough live to get me all the way out there now (I'm in Texas but planned on going down Baja). Also at about 70mph the bike starts wobbling a lot and I figure I have a LOT of highway miles to put in where it'd be nice to go over 60.

So if I'm summarizing what I hear its to maybe change to a TCK80 or K60scouts, which might be a bit better on pavement especially as I drive across the southern US; try to sell my current k270s rather than bring them with me, and just buy what I can find when they run out.

I'm curious, for those of you who have done Mexico/Central America...how limited would I be with a more street oriented tire such as a Sahara3 or Anakee 3?

Yes. Buy tires in the States, where they're cheap and plentiful. That's unless your Kendas have a lot of tread left. Plan to buy tires again in Colombia, where again you'll have some choices and reasonable pricing. Try not to get stuck purchasing tires in Chile, or especially Brazil. Etc. etc. etc. A few random notes:

I wouldn't use the Anakees because I do prefer something with a degree of off-road-ish-ness. I also want my tires to be able to easily shed a lot of water, because that's a common problem.

I don't understand asking about the Anakee and the Sahara 3 in the same sentence, since they seem to me quite different.

Same with the TKC and the K60: the former will wear out quickly, the latter will last forever. That's a distinct choice you'll need to make...having said which, my DL currently has a K60 Scout on the back for durability and a TKC on the front for somewhat better traction. They'll both need replacement around the same time.

Have fun!

Mark

Go for what Mark says and get the K60s. That's all I use now on my 2007 F650GS. At home my riding is mostly pavement but there are many tempting gravel roads on Vancouver island so it's the best compromise. After a few weeks of riding on them on pavement I got used to them and don't really feel the difference anymore. The biggest issue I had with mine on my Mexico - Central America trip was that they did wear a lot faster than my previous Anakees while riding on straight Interstates on the way to the southern border. I ended up swapping out the rear for an Anakee in Arizona as a preventative measure before crossing the border into Mexico.

I'm not sure anything would be gained by swapping tires when balancing two spares might undo any benefit you'd get from the more aggressive tread.

You'll never have the perfect tires for any particular area but I rode with an Anakee rear through Mexico and all Central American countries and didn't feel particularly limited. There is a plethora of paved roads throughout most regions down there and the short spurts on gravel (Mexican construction zones, the northern side of Lago Izabal in Guatemala, and a little jaunt down to Caracol in Belize) were not a big deal to ride anyway. Nonetheless, in spite of my previous experience with an Anakee tire, I would now choose the K60.

TCK80 - good for grip of road. But will not last.

Buy tires before you leave the USA. Don't try to skimp by using up the tires for have - replace them before you need to so you have the best chance of getting to to next place with tires to suit and reasonable prices.

Track your tire ware on the trip - figure out where they will ware out (what country) and check tire prices and availability there and in the country before, maybe 2 countries before.

I'd also check chain and sprockets .. these can be hard to come by, you might be best to replace them now and have someone hold the old ones for you?

There are only two good reasons for carrying spare tyres; one is if you're on a long trip and unsure whether you will be able to get replacements when the originals wear out, the other is as emergency spares in case of irreparable carcass damage on the road. But as the guys say the weight and bulk mean this is a decision not to be taken lightly.

If you expect a scheduled change on your trip you could look at the characteristics of the expected terrain and plan a more appropriate tyre for each leg, but in general a good dual purpose tyre will do the job. I certainly wouldn't want to have to heave different tyres on and off every time I went on dirt.

Hello

+1
I also turned the rotation direction on the front TCK80 at halftime.
Don't know your size but the K60scout, from 140 up, has a different tread pattern, less traction but more durability.

sushi