I'm currently on a trip in Australia on my Tiger 1200. I'm finding the bike to be good for two up touring, but I'm a bit miffed with the availability of suitable tyres. I had a damaged rear tyre (pictured) in a small town and managed to get a tyre sent by courier from the nearest bike shop (180km away). The tyre was a 150 rather than the specified 170, but that was no big deal unless you read the Triumph manual that limits you to 3 tyre types.
I'm now in a larger town with three motorcycle shops and none have a front tyre to fit the bike. Apparently, 120/70/R19 is an unusual size. To get one to me is a 5 day effort. Luckily I'm not in need of the change and was only doing so to put on a more offroad oriented tread pattern, but it has me questioning my choice of advenure touring bike. I'm in a first world country and in a relatively large state with good infrastructure, and yet getting a suitable tyre is a major challenge. If I had a bike with a 21" front and 18" rear this would not be an issue as this seems to be a very common size combination for enduro bikes. Even if the tread patten isn't to your liking at least it will fit and get you going again. I can't imagine having this trouble in a remote corner of Africa and only wishing my rims were a common size. Has anyone else faced this dilemma, and has it affected your choice of motorcycle for adventure touring?

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