K60/TKC80 combo info, please.

[TomInOregon]

My original tires wore out quicker than I expected (I had hoped to get another 3-4,000 miles out of them), and I need to replace the rear, so I will do both at the same time. I have been looking at the K60 rear, TKC80 front combo for a while and was planning on going with that combo, but have concerns about rain performance. Now, all of my motorcycles have been street bikes with street tires, so I know nothing about how knobbies work. How does this combo compare to the stock NC700X tires for comfort, noise and handling on dry and wet pavement? Right now my riding is almost exclusively commuting with an occasional road trip with my wife. I am hoping to change that and would like to start by getting more capable dirt tires, but still need to commute year round. I am planning to do the WABDR and Prudhoe bay trips in the next year or two. I know both of these can be done on street tires, but would probably be easier with these.
I can make quite a few trade-offs to gain off-road performance, but I just don't know how these compare to street tires or what the trade-offs are. My commute is 35 miles of twisties and 35 miles of highway a day. My stock tires slip a bit on corners once in a while when it's rainy and I would like to at least equal if not improve grip in the rain.
From OCR's tires that fit thread, it doesn't look like there are very many sets of tires that have both front and rear sizes available for the NC. Looking for feedback on the K60/TKC80 combo (street use in particular), characteristics of knobbies in general vs. street tires, and any other useful information.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[TomInOregon]

I just checked again in the daylight and my rear tire isn't quite as bad as it looked last night in the semi-darkness. The center is squaring off, but it's still usable for a little while. I am still looking to replace it though since it's not wearing evenly any more.

 

[TomInOregon]

I'm going with TKC80's front and rear. Hopefully they will last a while and perform OK in the rain. If I get 8,000 miles out of them I will be happy. That will be long enough to see if I like and want dual sport tires or stick with street tires. I got a front and rear for $310, but will get hammered for $120 mounting and balancing. I need to learn how and get the tools to do it myself.

 

[L.B.S.]

I'm going with TKC80's front and rear. Hopefully they will last a while and perform OK in the rain. If I get 8,000 miles out of them I will be happy. That will be long enough to see if I like and want dual sport tires or stick with street tires. I got a front and rear for $310, but will get hammered for $120 mounting and balancing. I need to learn how and get the tools to do it myself.

I have heard both good and bad about the Heidenau tires; good that they last a really long time and are relatively decent in mild off road conditions, but bad that they have an extremely stiff sidewall, making them a real bugger to mount up to the rims (specifically the rear) and that they can be very squirrelly in the wet, due to the harder rubber compound.

I went with TKC front and rear. The good being that they are pretty awesome off road, present no difficulties in mounting, and are predictable with nothing too sketchy feeling in the wet. I agree completely with all these claims. The down side is that the rear is consumed quite quickly due to a softer rubber, and as (almost) always- more knobs = less tread surface contact = faster wear.

My present tires have near enough 12K km's (7,500 miles +/-) on them, and the front is fine for many more, but the rear is due for a change prior to any long next trip. It's still within my personal boundaries for ok to ride on, short local off road trips and no real highway slab droning over 1K (km's) in distance.

Being thoroughly pleased with my TKC experience, I already bought a new rear to put on, when I finally change out the existing one.

 

[hojo]

I had the Heidenau on the front of a previous moto and didn't find it difficult to mount, in addition, the life span of the tire was outstanding. I just put on a Pirellit MT 60 RS on the rear and have been happy with it, as soon as the front OEM tire wears out (won't be long) I'm putting on the Pirelli on the front as well.

 

[TomInOregon]

Thank you for the information. I would have liked to try the TKC70s, but they won't be released until the 2nd quarter of the year.

 

[bamamate]

My 2 cents.....

Knobbies on the road: at any given time you have less rubber in contact with the road and you are riding on tall blocks of rubber so stopping distance will increase and you can feel them squirm when pushed in the corners. You can still drag pegs with them but I don't push them near that hard because with less rubber on the road I don't believe you have much 'room' for the tire to handle imperfect roads. Also grates and grooved pavement feels even worse with knobbies.

Knobbies off road: Makes a huge difference having knobbies off-road. I picked up 10mph using the Full Bore M40 (same as Shinko 705s (80/20 tire)) and another 20 mph going to TCK80/Kenda Big block combo (more of a 60/40 tire).


If you don't like the knobbies you may want to look at a 90/10 or 80/20 tire. Those are still very good on road and do OK off-road as long as it is dry. They don't do good in mud or sand.

It is going to be a compromise either way so you have to decide where to make the compromise. For me with the large aggregate used on our gravel roads, I felt the more aggressive tires were worth it. I do have a spare set of rims with the Full Bores mounted that I swap to when I'm going to do a lot of road driving.

 

[Old Can Ride]

My 2 cents.....

Knobbies off road: Makes a huge difference having knobbies off-road. I picked up 10mph using the Full Bore M40 (same as Shinko 705s (80/20 tire)) and another 20 mph going to TCK80/Kenda Big block combo (more of a 60/40 tire).

I agree with Bamamate, the TCK80 front tire and the Kenda Big block rear tire has been the best I have tried combo for off road riding. I also agree that in the rain on the pavement any off road tire will slide straight though the red light. On the road the TCK80 front and TCK80 rear combo does work the best, but no where near as good as a street tire.

 

[TomInOregon]

I'm loving these tires so far. They definitely add some vibration and road noise, but not enough to be a problem. The traction is much better than my old tires, but then they were well worn. They also maintain traction on the long sections of mud on the road where logging trucks pull out and leave trails for 1/4 mile. Hopefully they will last long enough to be cost-effective.

 

[bamamate]

Good here they are working out well for you. Didn't realize you are in logging country. Those log trucks can dump some mud and gravel on the road. That can be scary on a street tire where the TCKs handle it a lot better. I was expecting a lot of noise and was surprised at how quiet they are for an aggressive tire.

 

[goodvibes]

I've been running the Heidenau/TKC80 combination for seven thousand miles now. Just returned home this week from a Christmas journey to So-Cal and Mexico traveling with my gal-pal who is running street tires. Through the twisties and in the wet I must tippy-toe because the TKC80 does push even at what I would consider normal speeds. But, in the gravel, where this combination was intended to run, they are wonderful and confidence inspiring--the NC is a great gravel road bike. I think that the best choice of tires is a matter of what your intended immediate journey will be. Now that I am home I am switching to Pirelli Scorpion Trails and putting the Heidenau/TKCs in the tire rack until my next off-road adventure.

By the way, my overall average gas mileage--bagged up and with tall windscreen--was 55 mpg.

 

[Old Can Ride]

Like goodvibes, I have two sets of tires for the different uses. Most times I run the street tires and for trips that are going to be a lot dirt I put on the TKC80's. I will say that the Kenda Big Block and the Heidenau do the best in full time dirt use. The TKC-80 does do better than the Kenda and Heidenau in the rain and on the pavement. On the pavement I will always take a street tire over the off road tires. For the most part the manufactures are correct when they list the percentage of usage and purpose of the tires..

 

[TomInOregon]

Street tires work better for the highway portion of my commute, but the TKC80s are (so far) much better for the twisty portion due to the possibility of mud, gravel, tree boughs/branches and other debris that appears periodically. I notice a bit of flexing of the large blocks when cornering, but it's predictable and it never feels like it loses grip, where my OEM Battlax tires would occasionally slip the rear just a bit.

 

[TomInOregon]

Now I need to acquire everything I need to change tires myself at home (and clean out the garage to make room to do it).

 

[Old Can Ride]

Attached is the ebay list of tire changers. Scroll down to look at the various types to see which servers your needs the best.

Motorcycle Tire Changer | eBay

 

[Bullseye]

I have ran knobbies (T63) in the rain..(all 10 days last years holidays) on my old KLR when I went to Vancouver Island and Alaska. I never had an issue or a worry...just a little noisy for highway.

I have the TKC80/K60 combo on my NC now. Put it on right off the the showroom floor. I haven't had a chance to ride in rain yet (only 9500 kms) but like it so far. I have travelled into BC and all over Alberta and like how it handles. I just get abit "butt-tightening" on loose gravel but if I just stay loose on the grip and keep good throttle, its all good. I might play abit more with tire pressures to see if it helps. I had the K60's(front & rear)on the KLR when I sold it and it was awesome on gravel.
Not sure what I will try next for tires...I like the K60/TKC80 combo BUT I like to try differnet tires every time I change just to see the differences, so will see ..... !!!

 

[skeedaddle]

Has anyone considered a 705 rear and TKC80 front for just gravel and hard pack trails? Seems the 705 is getting good mileage reports and should be more wet pavement friendly than the K60.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtp-wMlhS18