Motorbike Tyres West Africa
 

Does anyone know where decent dual sports tyres can be bought in West Africa? There doesn’t seen to be much around.

The normal reply to this question—which has been asked before—is the KTM dealer in Lomé, Togo. I’d definitely call ahead. At one time there was also a community of active riders among expats in Côte d’Ivoire, but that may no longer be true. There was also a South Asian merchant in Accra who was importing large dual sports and parts directly from Japan—he may be gone now, and I’m far from home and don’t have his contact info with me. Always worth asking around.

Accra is definately the best bet for you as they have a relatively big motobike "scene", though this is not a matter that can be arranged from the comfort of a couch. Ride to Accra, ask around for the district where they sell all sorts of spare-parts / bikes ( you will be amazed by this place, it´s a very "Mad Max" kinda area ) and then dig deeper when you arrive there. Definately some sorts of tires will be available but you will have to find the people who sell them and this will only work through personal contact. Plan a few days to spend there, ask plenty of people, give them your contact/phonenumber and communicate which tire dimensions you need, speak to as many people as possible. There is "fixers" who earn a comission from the seller of the spare-part / bike / car / tire when they find a buyer so it´s in their good interest to find that tire for you. Motivate them additionally by offering a tip if they find you what you need. Took me one week to find a very special dimension crankshaft seal in Mali / Bamako long long time ago but in the end worked exactly how I described above.


Togo Toni and his mysterious KTM shop in Lome is frequently mentioned here on the HUBB since many years, my personal experience when I was there once has not been the greatest in terms of the guy not being friendly nor helpful at all. And expect a very heavy pricetag !


Your best bet is a good condition used tyre imported from USA / Europe / Japan. Most probably you will find cheap Chinese tires, I´d still go for the used one above and so do the locals.


Look for local rider groups on Facebook, Instagram or other social media and try to get in touch.


Good luck !

Your best bet is Mad Bikes in Dakar. He has a good selection of Michelin Anakee Wilds and Michelin Deserts, along with Motoz Tractionator Adventures.

As someone else suggested, Accra is probably the next best option. Go to Motoworld and there won't be any need to shop about, they'll be able to source for you but I couldn't attest to what they could get. In the workshop around the corner there were Africa Twins, KTM 890's, F800, so I'm sure there is availability somewhere.

Toni Togo in Lome only had Pirelli Scorpion MXs in dirt bike sizes.