Think I've heard something like, thats its because the front tyre is beeing pushed, and the rear tyre is pushing.

Dunno if its true or not.

My favorite combo on my 1990 XT600E is the Kenda K270 130/80-17 Rear and a Cheng Shin C858 90/90-21 front, don't make fun of my Chinese tires!

They pretty well on all surfaces, pavement cornering is very respectable, and you can get them off the internet for $70USD a set shipped to your door.

I personally would'nt fit TKC80's for any road use ,you don't have the best brakes so tyres are very important .
I fitted these to my XT when touring South America and a very good off road tyre with occasional road use and they look the part .
But when these were worn out all I could get were Metzler Tourance and what a superb tyre .
Towards the end of the trip I was doing as much on road as off and were very good for both which is why I have them fitted to my XT here in the UK .
So conclusion , go for Tourance .

I have the TKC 80's. they're a fine tire on road, IF you have good throttle control and arent expecting the kind of grip that a race slick offers.

offroad, they're good but in gravel, as I learned today, hard packed gravel to be exact, they feel slippery. may have to do with my having 30lbs in each tire, but I also require stability on road.

nb. In your photograph it shows both patterns pointing the same way.
What do they look like on your bike?[/quote]

as long as the direction arrow on the side is going the right way, dont worry about it.
the photo is just a photo from a brochure, its unlikely the photographer even knew there was right and wrong way round

Well I'm quite happy with the TCK80's both on and off road, turn and grip quite nicely, though the centre blocks on the tyre are wearing quite quickly as they've had a fair bit of tarmac use with my other bike being off the road.

after logging some extra miles riding my XT offroad and more yet on paved tarmac, the TKC80 tires have INCREDIBLE grip on tarmac in leaning for me. thus far I've ridden this thing like a sportbike, and it simply wanted to lean more. no slipping, sliding, uneasy feel, or protesting. I honestly like how it handles.

I'm still forming an opinion on how they feel offroad, althoguh I did some light trail riding and they seemed to handle where I went very well. the bike had a bunch of extra vines on it, but the tires pulled on through like it was nothin.

2003 xt600e
 

Hi,
I need new tyres for my XT600 for the first time. I ride 100% tarmac, but the state of London roads does makes some of it pretty off road like!
But I do ride all weathers-rain, hail, snow-(everything except showers of frogs so far) & I do regular motorway runs at 70-90mph. Am looking at Metzler Tourance-any thoughts from the more experienced welcomed-
Many thanks

Current tyres are Dunlop Trailmax F 90/90-21 & R 120/90-17

google heidenau K60 tires. they're something like a 50/50 street and dirt tire.

Had Metzeler Tourance fitted in the end. Many thanks to bacardi23 for posting link to tyre reviews, very useful.

Tried them all, well most of them and ...
 

I've ridden my XT nearly every day for the last three and a half years plus, covering in excess of 68,000 kms, in all weather, on all surfaces and usually loaded.

Having had Bridgestone TrialWings, Metzeler Tourances, Vee Rubber and now Heidenau, I have come to the conclusion that it is all a matter of personal choice, riding styles, climate and how your bike is loaded.

Personally I thought that the Tourances were rubbish, gave little confidence in the wet and due to their tread pattern (or lack of it) were pretty useless off road. The only good thing about them was that they wore consistently and were both shagged at 8,000 km.

Unlike a lot of riders I liked the Trailwings as a true dual sport tyre with a road bias. I made my way through several sets and loved the feed back they gave, particularly in the wet. The rear usually lasted 8,000 km and the front 16,000 at a push. And not too much road noise to boot.

Vee Rubber (that was all I could get hold of at the time), initially was an excellent dual sport tyre with a road bias, but after 5,000 km they were getting a little unpredictable. Changed both the front and rear at 8,000 km.

After pushing my last Trialwing combination to 10,000 and 16,000 km, I have switched to Heidenau with a more aggressive pattern for off road work. I have to say that these tyres have exceptional road manners given their tread pattern and the off road grip is also in the same league. The only downside is the road noise, but I can live with that given their all road performance. So far they have covered a little over 3,000 km and appear to be wearing slowly.

As I have said before, a tyre that suits one rider could instil fear into another. So workout what you want out of a tyre, do your research and make your own decision.

PS, I always buy my tyres from these guys MyNetMoto they ship anywhere (and everywhere when requested) and are pretty cheap to boot.