Road tyres for XT600???
 

I'm looking for a new set of tyres for my '84 XT600.

As I'm going to be spending most of my time on tarmac for the next 6 months I'm looking for a really good road tyre.
Money is not an issue (within reason) I just want to get the best I can get.

Amongst the best IMO are the Metzeler Tourance. Not a 100% road tyre but good mileage, good rain characteristics and reasonably well performance on dirtroads.

Avon Distanzia are a good predictable road tyre.

Having said that it's only my opinion. I have no doubt someone on here will tell you they are crap because they fell off once in the rain, got a puncture or their wife ran off with the milkman the day they got them fitted.

M & P did a good price a while ago.
http://www.mandp.co.uk/

All good suggestions made so far.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I know alot is down to personal taste and riding style.

There's a reveiw in 'Bike' magazine (UK) that covers tyre choice for the BMW GS - I guess there will be a few similarities???

Hi

I have to recommend continentals contiescape!. A dualsport tire.
Well worth having a peek at imho...

Here's the thing.

I've done about 15,000 miles on one set of Tourances - the back tyre now has very little tread (ok it looks more like a slick), but the front tyre still has some wear. It's a pretty good road tyre in a warm dry climate, a bit vague in the wet, good on dirt tracks, but not great on gravel (tho I still managed to do 30 miles of gravel riding this weekend and only fell off once).

That said, I'm switching back to Trail Wings next week because I prefer them. If money isn't an issue, can you send me some because I'm really broke atm :).

Anakees
 

Hi Tom, I'm running a pair of Michelin Anakees on my XT, they are great tyres on the tarmac - rolling very smoothly even compared to the Trailwings that came off, they are good at holding a line and are predictable when cornering ( at least once you've scrubbed them in ) They are OK offroad in the dry but completely hopeless in mud or on wet offroad tracks.

The ME880 Marathon are great wearing

I guess we'll never agree on 'The Best' XT600 tyre - we would be at for ever!!!

I've seen the Distanzias and the Anakees in the flesh and they look like 60/40 Road/Off-Road tyres.

I've also seen the Avon Venom and it 'looks' more like a road tyre. This has been suggested for Harleys - it may work for my needs???

What I've found with the 60/40 style tyres I'm using Pirelli front/Michelin rear they are OK but for tarmac use they could be better.

Michelin SIRAC's are Very Good !
 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the MICHELIN SIRAC here !

Michelin offers

Get them from here (I did) -
Michelin Sirac Rear

I fitted a pair of SIRAC's to my 99 XT6E in April and haven't looked back. They have done a superb job in all road/offroad conditions. In wet they are stable and in the dry they perform as good as anything else on the market.

If you enjoy the adventure of discovery, check out the Michelin Sirac. While it easily handles the demands of everyday riding, it's always ready to explore dirt roads or trails. Best of all, this versatility comes at a surprisingly reasonable price.

If I hadn't gone for the SIRAC's my next choice would be the Metzeler TOURANCE. I have heard these things are now the most widely used tyre for BIG trailees...

Can you get an Avon Venom

For pure road use you can try the good old Avon AM21 Roadrunner which is still available. (Yep, 21 inch is np with these)
Currently I'm on a set of Tourances which work just fine and given their long life it's gonna be some time before I try anything else :)

Patrick,
+1 on the Venoms. I have these on my Harley Road King and I love them. I don't get the mileage of some of the more long distance tires on the rear but the difference in the way the bike handles is more than worth it. The bike steers lighter and and I love these tires in the rain. You can get the Venom in a 21" front also.

I mentioned the Marathons because a friend of mine runs them on his old KLR650. What I forgot to mention is he uses his bike just for commuting on the interstate with these tires so he can get nothing but high mileage. He has a set of knobbies mounted on spare wheels for off-road use. He doesn't do much "sport" type riding on this bike as he calls it his "work" vehicle.

Further to my post on this interesting thread regarding the fitting of Michelin SIRAC's, I would point out that these tyres are slightly more offroad orientated than the standard Michelin Anakees also mentioned on this thread. If you seek a more agricultural look as well as tyres capable of some limited offroad stuff then the SIRAC's are the way to go.

Most of the new Yamaha XT660 Teneres are in fact fitted with Michelin SIRAC's.

The Anakees are primarily designed as a road/tarmac tyre NOT as an occasional offroad tyre. I would estimate useage at -

Anakees - 90% Tarmac 10% Offroad
SIRAC's - 70% Tarmac 30% Offroad

Obviously it depends on what you intend to do doesn't it - :mchappy:

The Bridgestone Battlax BT45 are awesome road tires for the XT. I've had them on for the past 5000 miles, the rear is at about 50% tread, the front will last another 15000, it's at about 75%.

It also uses the "Dual Tread" construction, meaning a stiffer compound in the centre and a softer compound on the ouside. The result is a long lasting tire that won't square off as easy, but retaining exellent cornering characteristics.

If anyone is familiar with Deal's Gap in North Carolina here in the US (318 curves in 11 miles :eek3:), the pegs will scrape hard before challenging just how welded to the ground the tires are.

I wanted to switch back to Bridgestone TW's from Metzeler Tourances, but is there a world shortage of them?? I've spent the past 2 weeks phoning every tyre place I can find for some TW101's with no luck.

I've just spent quite a bit on the two XT's so because I couldn't get what I wanted, I decided to go for something 'cheap' to tide me over for a while.

I decided to try a VRM163 Vee Rubber. NEVER heard of them before until a few days ago. I wanted a 120/90 - 21 rear, but they didn't have one in stock and persuaded me to have a 130/80 - 21 instead. They look pretty robust - Vee Rubber : The Pride of Thailand - but no idea how they will perform. Don't tell me how crap they are, because I've already had them fitted. I was desperate.

TW's are around 120 euros each here in Spain, but these cost me just under 300 euros for four tyres, fitting and balancing. Doubt I'll get the 15k miles I've just had out of the Tourances, but I'll let you know how they perform.

Oh, and while they were being fitted, I had the chance to drool over the new Tenere. Mmmm, me want .....

many tires on many online sites show OUT OF STOCK!

Just out of curiosity - what pressures are you all running for road use???

38 psi, front and rear for street.

Sizes?
 

My '89 3AJ Tenere has a 120-80-18 on the back at the moment but the online shop has just sent me a 120-90-18 by mistake. I don't imagine this will be a problem, but I wanted to check what sizes people are running and whether anyone thinks this will be a big problem. Thoughts?

cheap engine still for sale
 

Don't know about tyres but my 1VJ engine is still for sale if you'r interested. Can't send a private message as I don't know how to do it. Mail me: tenere99@live.co.uk :thumbup1:

Isn't that a bit high???

I don't know the XT that well

It will wear in the centre, and quickly. It will also reduce your grip level.

Heat causes tyes to wear rapidly, and though a high tyre pressure will reduce the deformation of the tyre, and thus the build up of heat, you will also lose grip. Tarmac viewed through a magnifying glass is pretty rough, composed of peaks and troughs. The tyre pressure has to be low enough to allow the tyre to deform, and mould itself into these peaks and troughs. This gives more rubber in contact with the tarmac, called the contact patch, which gives grip. This is exagerated off road, as the tyre has to mould over ruts and rocks to get grip, hence lower tyre pressures for off road use.

OK, so heat wears tyres out, so how come a tyre that's over inflated will wear quickly then, if it's not flexing so much and building up this nasty heat?

Looked at under a magnifying glass, you can see what's going on.

The tyre will bounce over these troughs and peaks, and any stones, or surface irregularities instead of moulding into them. What this does, is allows the tyre to leave the surface as it bounces - so there goes the grip. When you lose grip, you allow the tyre to slide across the tarmac, scraping rubber off it, and building up heat. And heat wears tyres.

With over inflation, the contact patch size is reduced, as the tyre stays round, and doesn't deform into a decent contact patch, so there is less tyre in contact with the road, but it's still carrying the same weight of bike and rider, and therefore having to work harder to find grip. Less rubber on the road gives less grip. We're not talking broadside, tyre smoking, squealing slides, but the effect is the same on a much smaller scale, and over the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of revolutions the tyre makes on a journey, thi pretty quickly adds up.

It's worth experimenting with your pressures, to suit your load, riding terrain and style, but a couple of psi at a time is a big enough step to make.

Yamaha and the tyre manufacturers have given their guidelines, having tested them properly, and a couple of psi more or less would be as far as I would deviate. I think 25 psi front and rear for fast tarmac riding, or heavily loaded is what Yamaha reccomends, and 18 or so for one up / mixed riding.

I've been doing more research and the AVON Venoms look like the best 'road only' option for the XT.:thumbup1:

You can get them in 21" and 18" and even with white walls if you are that way inclined (they are mainly used on Harleys - excuse my language!!!:nono:)

HD gets respect!
 

Some HD guys really ride!

11000 miles in 11 days - madness!!!
Are these guys sadists????

No, they're masochists (sadists do nasty things to other people, not themselves)

You are obviously more into the S&M scene than me - I stand corrected!!!:blushing: