oilfield_trash said:
Right now my bike has the OEM Metzler Tourance tires on it. I've got to ride it from Houston to Ouray for the event. That's ~2400 highway miles round trip roughly. I'm just wondering what tires folks are running and what is most appropriate for the highway miles and the rides planned for the rally. Thoughts?
You have three choices:
1. Decide to ride street and keep an oem style tire, or go even more street oriented such as a PR3 Trail, or equivalent. You will be limited to well maintained graded dirt on good weather days in Ouray, but Cinnamon/Animas Forks would probably be within your scope for a taste of dirt. There is plenty of top shelf street riding in the area to keep you busy for the duration of the rally, and a tire like this will maximize your street/sport riding. As well, you are going to encounter some very good street riding once you are north of I-40, on your way in and out. If sport riding is your priority, this is your choice. My biggest concern with this type of tire is that I don't know that it can take the pounding from the rock on the jeep roads in this area, hence my suggestion to limit it to well graded paths.
2. Decide it's a dirt ride. Recognize that TX and half of NM are flat and straight and tire choice won't matter much. Go with a heavily dirt oriented tire such as a TKC-80, or equivalent. Most folk say they can get 4k miles from a set, so you should make your round trip, but you might do better to try to have them mounted somewhere out west so as to have maximum tread available in the Ouray area. Recall that these tires are speed rated to 99 mph, and are not going to be sporty on the street. Personally I don't think the trail conditions warrant this choice, but to each their own. Specifically: I have never encountered deep extensive mud or deep sand in this area. It's probably possible, but I am thinking we won't see it.
3. Compromise. A decent street tire with pretty good dirt potential is the K60. It is good for plenty of miles so you can mount in Houston and still get great dirt performance in Ouray. You will lose some street performance, but this tire will still allow significant fun on street rides, and is adequate for whatever you will encounter on the dirt roads in the area. To be clear, we are talking: Rock, loose rock - cobbles to gravel, wet rock, steep rock, shelving rock, stair steps in rock, and more rock. As well: moderate mud, stream crossings, potential for snow, hail and thunderstorms. Speed rated to 118 mph. For me, this is the no brainer choice, but some folk really don't like the bias ply feel on the street.
Good luck with your choice.