Ooh la la la la! New Shoes for pretty!

[sportsguy]

5 days from purchase to arrival!

Bought the tires via Amazon and 2 days later they shipped.

3 days later they arrived, about 3 days ahead of schedule. ::008::

Really impressed with the turn around on these puppies.

Can't wait to try these out, see what the ST feels like on them and how they feel in the dirt and on the daily commute.

I have experience with knobbies, so it'll be interesting to see how this bigger, heavier bike behaves on these rubber bands as the latter half of this PNW winter wraps up, letting us enjoy wet roads littered with leaves, grit, gravel, dirt and branches.

The K60s made a noticeable difference on forest service roads, letting the bike feel more stable, so I expect these will be a bigger step in that direction, with a commensurate loss of performance on road...to a point. The Pirellis on my KTM actually perform pretty good on the street...and are excellent in the dirt, so I expect a similar balance from the TKC 80s on the ST...for a few thousand miles...

 

[snakebitten]

They're beautiful. Aren't they?

 

[Nimbus]

I just got a set of the same tires last week. They're sitting in my entryway looking butch.

 

[greg the pole]

what brand are they?
Not kenda big blocks I hope. If they are prepare to pull them off after 1500km of hard riding, due to the rear tire wearing out. ::26::

 

[BAILEY]

Very nice!! Congrats on the new shoes.

 

[EricV]

what brand are they?
Not kenda big blocks I hope. If they are prepare to pull them off after 1500km of hard riding, due to the rear tire wearing out. ::26::

Looks like TKC80s from his comments. Your estimate could be about right. The Kenda BB have an old and new version. I've exceeded 1500 miles on the old version so far, but yes, they are not highway tires! Great in the dirt though. >

 

[snakebitten]

I'm way past 1500 on this latest BB. Just past 2600. She'll make 3000 easy. Maybe winter helped?

Oh, and miles, not kilometers.

 

[sportsguy]

TKC 80s.

Miles, not KMS - I gave up the metric system 4.5 years ago, so I don't even know what 1500 kms is any more. Like 25 feet or something...?

 

[escapefjrtist]

Christmas in February...looks good Duane! Interested in seeing how long the TKC's last up here in the PNWet.

--G

 

[sportsguy]

Christmas in February...looks good Duane! Interested in seeing how long the TKC's last up here in the PNWet.

--G

My money is on around 3500 miles or so - between commuting and distance traveling, the pavement will be tough on these between dirt encounters...

 

[Firefight911]

I've never been able to see 3500 out of the rear. Front, yes. Rear has always been dead at 3000 miles tops. Usually a tick over 2500 for my use.

 

[snakebitten]

Could depend on speed limits on daily commute.
I'm rural, but the commute is 45-55 mph limits. I am thinking it adds about 500 miles to the lifespan of a street ridden knobby.

That, and I put some effort into being smooooth on tarmac. Not slow, but smooth.

I don't think I can ever mount anything more street than the Heidenaus. I think I would be having to pick this pig up outta ditches and empty lots everyday.

 

[greg the pole]

Looks like TKC80s from his comments. Your estimate could be about right. The Kenda BB have an old and new version. I've exceeded 1500 miles on the old version so far, but yes, they are not highway tires! Great in the dirt though. >

I'm twisting too hard. That was on my vstrom 1000 to boot.

 

[Reveille]

Anyone try running a TKC80 front and K60 rear? I plan to do the 2014 great river gravel ride this May and it is a 4 hour road trip to get there(think drone) then 2 days of gravel, dirt and B roads then 4 hour drone back. Thinking this combo might be good but unsure how stable mixed tires will be on the highway. I have 4000 miles on the Tourance EXP's currently but they are squirmy on gravel, ride able but squirmy. The EXP's in loose stuff like sand makes for some nice pucker moments.

 

[EricV]

Anyone try running a TKC80 front and K60 rear? I plan to do the 2014 great river gravel ride this May and it is a 4 hour road trip to get there(think drone) then 2 days of gravel, dirt and B roads then 4 hour drone back. Thinking this combo might be good but unsure how stable mixed tires will be on the highway. I have 4000 miles on the Tourance EXP's currently but they are squirmy on gravel, ride able but squirmy. The EXP's in loose stuff like sand makes for some nice pucker moments.

I haven't tried TKC-80s. You might consider a TKC-80 front with a Kenda Big Block rear for that trip. They won't be tires that last particularly long with street use, but they will do fine on the 250 mile slab runs, handle the gravel very well along with dirt and B roads and get you back home with plenty of tread left. Or even a Kenda BB set. Not sure how much more aggressive the TKC-80 is over the BB front.

If the budget is there, consider a set of tires for that event, then something else after for your 'normal' riding, if your normal riding is more street than dirt. If the budget will require you to leave these tires on for the duration, you'll get a much better lifespan from a set of K60s, while giving up some gravel/dirt/sand props.

 

[Reveille]

I haven't tried TKC-80s. You might consider a TKC-80 front with a Kenda Big Block rear for that trip. They won't be tires that last particularly long with street use, but they will do fine on the 250 mile slab runs, handle the gravel very well along with dirt and B roads and get you back home with plenty of tread left. Or even a Kenda BB set. Not sure how much more aggressive the TKC-80 is over the BB front.

If the budget is there, consider a set of tires for that event, then something else after for your 'normal' riding, if your normal riding is more street than dirt. If the budget will require you to leave these tires on for the duration, you'll get a much better lifespan from a set of K60s, while giving up some gravel/dirt/sand props.

Thanks for the reply. ::003:: Budget is open but I don't want to be wasteful either. I have the Central ADV rally in August and I bring the S10 plus the TE310 for that to cover all variety of riding oppurtunities. My riding around my home is mainly straight farm roads with a decent amount of gravel if you look for it. The tourances are surprisingly stable on the gravel unless it's really loose so K60s would be just fine for the riding close to home but for the type of stuff I ride on the rallys, well I wouldn't expect the K60's to make muster. I had Karoo 2 MCE on my TE310 but I quickly removed them and sold them to a buddy with a KTM 640. I do some long road rides, in excess of 200 miles on weekends and I have been very impressed with the Tourance EXP so far, they are grippy and are smooth well into triple digits ::019::. I may remove them and re install them after the gravel ride. Are the Kenda big blocks hard to spoon on? I have a tire guy local but @ $20 a pop it gets expensive. I try to mount all my tires myself in case I have to do it road side. It looks like I have some thinking to do.

 

[snakebitten]

Try em all.
Melt a set and spoon another on.
On a Tenere, tires are truly consumables. It c o n s u m e s them.

 

[twinrider]

With all the stop and go traffic, Japan is not easy on tires. But my front Anakee 3 lasted 14,000 km. The back still has a lot of meat left, probably will get another 3-4K out of it. On road grip is awesome dry or wet, dirt grip ain't bad either. ::008::