Knobbies

[Rob Nye]

So...

How many of you have never tried out a pair of TKC's on your GS?

If not why?

[marchyman]

A pair? Nope. Until this last tire change I was using a TKC-80 front and a Trail Attack rear. Before the Trail Attack rear was a Tourance rear. Kind of the best of both worlds. Reasonable mileage and good enough handling on the road and extra confidence on the trail.

Currently have the K60 front and rear. Next front will be another TKC-80.

[glenfiddich]

I swap back and forth seasonally with my tire changer -- TKCs on now and will stay until the snow is gone and the mud dries up -- so I guess once in a while was the best choice out of the options given.

[Beemer01]

These rock for tough roads and are OK on the highway - tread life is the compromise. I wore out the rear tire in ten days - but I was on the Campbell, Dempster and Dalton.

[Rob Nye]

How many miles did you do on the rough roads?

:edit

Sweet photo.

[Visian]

i am a two-sets of wheels kinda guy, on the R80G/S and HP2e.

for the oilhead, i do what marchyman does, a TKC80 front with Tourance rear. this works remarkably well. however, i typically only do this when planning a long tour with some off-pavement mixed in. otherwise two Tourances.

this summer the front TKC80 went the entire 8,200 mile distance... but it was hammered by the end.

ian

[colt03]

I now have two sets of wheels and tires, The TKC 80's give me much more confidence off road than the Tourances did. For the street I just got through trying some Z6's. I replaced the Rear Z6 when out in Redmond, so I didn't have to worry about the cords showing on the ride home.

[rmarkr]

Not sure if I fit in here - with a 650GS single.
Use TKC's both ends, but will probably go with (Visian's idea) rear Tourance for longer (mostly asphalt) hauls. The rear will only last perhaps 4k miles on 50/50 roads, the front twice as long.
The TKC's perform remarkably well on twisty asphalt, and as a bonus tend to start sliding at their limit - a nice warning!
I'm keen to try a Heidenau on the back.

[statdawg]

I predominantly use Tourance tires, my reasons are.

# 1. I have more confidence on my side wall on fast pavement and twisty back roads..

# 2. Tourances seem to be just fine with the 80 % of the dirt and fire roads here in Pennsylvania. However if its steep, with large loose gravel and muddy a steady throttle and smooth braking doesn't always work.

* Tourances have limited me in my recent exploration, GS ride scouting and in wet conditions riding on my farm.

I would say I am a 85 % road rider and 10 % off roader, the other 5 % I am usually out of bounds with another rider to help if need be. My solution would be is to ride with more off road minded people but I like going slow instead of a rally type riding. Also on the fire roads there are some blind corners that may have threatening oncoming trucks to ATVs.

[mcmxcivrs]

Can't really vote accurately with the given choices, I run knobbies (TKCs) all the time on the only set of wheels I have for my GS.

I am planning to try a rear K60 though for better wear and lower cost; $320 for 4000 kms with the TKC is a bit hard on the budget.

[Semper_Fi]

I voted once in awhile as I place to swap out the Anakees I have for more agressive riding with the TKC 80's I have.

However i can see how much of a pain in the but that would be in the long run and am seriously considering a second set.

[AKBEEMER]

I wore out the rear TKC in about 3000 miles running about 40% on dirt. I now have Saharas mounted. Better on the road then the TKCs, capable on dirt roads and with 4000 miles (about 2000 on dirt) on them they appear to wearing better too.

[Rob Nye]

Not sure if I fit in here - with a 650GS single.

Sure you do!

I have a F650 GS Dakar

[marchyman]

this summer the front TKC80 went the entire 8,200 mile distance... but it was hammered by the end.

A front TKC-80 with too many street miles:



That tire was 9,933 miles old.

[testinglogin]

I ran TKC's once on my own bike. They were fantastically confidence-inspiring off-road, especially in mud that normally worries me. They did fine on the highway and were OK on twisties, but I had to dial it back a bit. The problem, as everyone knows, is tread life on the highway. On a trip I did fine with a few hours of highway and all backroads. Going home I did 600 miles in one shot, and it seriously squared off the rear tire. Since then I've stuck with Anakees but I was reminded recently how they aren't great on a muddy fire road.

I'd love a second set of wheels so I could swap back and forth easily.

I also ran knobbies once on a BMW-owned bike at "Motorrad Days" and they felt just as good on a 1200GSA as they do on my PD.