V Strom 1050XT v KTM

[Steve Bass]

Biker9090 said:

Bob_Defly said:

When you are looking to replace, I highly recommend the Mitas range. Great grip on and off road, and very good longevity.

I double checked and they're definitely battlax A41.

Most I would do is light gravel stuff and the odd bit of dry mud so totally lost as to what is suitable....

I recently fitted Conti TKC70 Rocks to the 1190 and for a tyre rated at 60/40 road/dirt they're mighty impressive on the road in wet and greasy conditions.
I found tyres rated 90/10 or 80/20 were hopeless off road with minimal tangible benefits on road over a more off road suitable tyre.
Really can't fault the TKC 70, far nicer on road than the 80 but really good grip in the dirt where the front isn't sliding from under you in anything other than flat dry dirt track...
The standard tkc 70 is rated as a 70/30 fwiw but I'm not sure anyone would ever feel the difference.
And in my humble experience, if you want to go off road, be prepared for conditions to vary. A 90/10 like the trail attack will clog the sipes on anything remotely moist and you're in trouble. All tyres are good to great on road, most are poor to dangerous off road.... equip yourself reasonably or not at all... dry tracks can become wet very quickly and if the tyre is not made to manage it you'll be in misery pretty quickly...

Edited by Steve Bass on Tuesday 30th April 16:36

[Bob_Defly]

Steve Bass said:

Biker9090 said:

Bob_Defly said:

When you are looking to replace, I highly recommend the Mitas range. Great grip on and off road, and very good longevity.

I double checked and they're definitely battlax A41.

Most I would do is light gravel stuff and the odd bit of dry mud so totally lost as to what is suitable....

I recently fitted Conti TKC70 Rocks to the 1190 and for a tyre rated at 60/40 road/dirt they're mighty impressive on the road in wet and greasy conditions.
I found tyres rated 90/10 or 80/20 were hopeless off road with minimal tangible benefits on road over a more off road suitable tyre.
Really can't fault the TKC 70, far nicer on road than the 80 but really good grip in the dirt where the front isn't sliding from under you in anything other than flat dry dirt track...
The standard tkc 70 is rated as a 70/30 fwiw but I'm not sure anyone would ever feel the difference.
And in my humble experience, if you want to go off road, be prepared for conditions to vary. A 90/10 like the trail attack will clog the sipes on anything remotely moist and you're in trouble. All tyres are good to great on road, most are poor to dangerous off road.... equip yourself reasonably or not at all... dry tracks can become wet very quickly and if the tyre is not made to manage it you'll be in misery pretty quickly...

Edited by Steve Bass on Tuesday 30th April 16:36

Agree on all the above. I found the combo of TKC80 on front and Mitas E07+ on the rear gave me the best 50/50 performance.

[Biker9090]

Bob_Defly said:

Agree on all the above. I found the combo of TKC80 on front and Mitas E07+ on the rear gave me the best 50/50 performance.

Forgive me if I'm talking total crap, do the likes of the TKC70 or 80 have much of an effect on the road based handling? Like am I likely to despise it in wet weather or find it a pig to turn?

[Alex@POD]

Biker9090 said:

Forgive me if I'm talking total crap, do the likes of the TKC70 or 80 have much of an effect on the road based handling? Like am I likely to despise it in wet weather or find it a pig to turn?

I had TKC70s on my Africa Twin for maybe 8000 miles, I was very happy with the grip in most conditions, it's only when it got really cold (near freezing) that they got a bit less reliable.

[Bob_Defly]

Biker9090 said:

Bob_Defly said:

Agree on all the above. I found the combo of TKC80 on front and Mitas E07+ on the rear gave me the best 50/50 performance.

Forgive me if I'm talking total crap, do the likes of the TKC70 or 80 have much of an effect on the road based handling? Like am I likely to despise it in wet weather or find it a pig to turn?

Everything is a compromise. So yes, with a semi-knobby on the front, you won't be cornering like Rossi. And you might feel some vibes from the tread. Although the 70 is much more road friendly than the 80. I chose the 80 as I was doing a lot of dirt riding, so needed the assurance is wasn't going to wash out on me.

[KTMsm]

Biker9090 said:

Forgive me if I'm talking total crap, do the likes of the TKC70 or 80 have much of an effect on the road based handling? Like am I likely to despise it in wet weather or find it a pig to turn?

Assuming you are riding in the manner of usual V Strom riders I honestly doubt you'd notice a difference

I'm shocked how well far more off road biased tyres handle on the road

[Steve Bass]

KTMsm said:

Biker9090 said:

Forgive me if I'm talking total crap, do the likes of the TKC70 or 80 have much of an effect on the road based handling? Like am I likely to despise it in wet weather or find it a pig to turn?

Assuming you are riding in the manner of usual V Strom riders I honestly doubt you'd notice a difference

I'm shocked how well far more off road biased tyres handle on the road

From my experience, the TKC 80's are a significant compromise. Their heavy blocks wear quite quickly on the road and become quite unnerving once squared off as leaning the bike transitions from the squared block to the side wall, especially on the rear. For reference this was on my old 1190 Adv in East Africa so quite well loaded up and with generous amounts of speed thrown in i actually rode up from Johannesburg on Metzler Tourances and changed tyres in Malawi as that was where i was needing the 50/50 tyre. But the 80's, whilst being epic off road, were a bit sketchy on road and I wouldn't go that route again, I just don't see the benefit. For serious off road i'd go to a full knobbly and sacrifice road performance as a good dirt tyre is better on road than a good road tyre is for off road.. if that makes sense..
By comparison, the TKC 70's are far less compromised and I can hoon with abandon on my current 1190 Adv with fantastic dry and wet grip and confidence but they're only a small step behind the 80's in terms of off road grip and confidence. At the performance level of the 1190 the 70's are amazingly stable and predicatable and offer no real compromise in real world conditions. If I venture off road they have tons of grip in the loose or damp tracks around my house and feel very confidence inspiring (for a 200kg + Adv bike in the dirt!)

I can recommend them without reservation and I've tried a few

Edited by Steve Bass on Thursday 2nd May 16:22

[Biker9090]

said:

Thanks.

Am I looking at night and day difference to the A41s currently on it?

[Steve Bass]

Biker9090 said:

said:

Thanks.

Am I looking at night and day difference to the A41s currently on it?

If they are the OEM fitment, then I'd say yes.
For some reason the OEM tyres, like for like, are far inferior to the ones you and I buy from retailers. On some bikes, I've taken the original tyres off within 50 miles of getting the bike they are so nasty....

[KTMsm]

Steve Bass said:

From my experience, the TKC 80's are a significant compromise. Their heavy blocks wear quite quickly on the road and become quite unnerving once squared off as leaning the bike transitions from the squared block to the side wall, especially on the rear. For reference this was on my old 1190 Adv in East Africa so quite well loaded up and with generous amounts of speed thrown in

Hence my reservation that he rides like other V-Strom owners

[Bob_Defly]

Steve Bass said:

A good dirt tyre is better on road than a good road tyre is for off road.

Quoting for wisdom

[Biker9090]

Done a bit of research and they look good. Seems to be between them and the Dunlop Mutants at the moment. Tbh the oem a41s are OK but would prefer a bit less "riding on marbles" feeling.....

[Killboy]

Steve Bass said:

From my experience, the TKC 80's are a significant compromise. Their heavy blocks wear quite quickly on the road and become quite unnerving once squared off as leaning the bike transitions from the squared block to the side wall, especially on the rear.

Agree. They are also very sketchy on wet tarmac. I run them as my preferred tires as they are generally awesome, but have a set of conti road tires if I don't need the off-road ability.

[Steve Bass]

Biker9090 said:

Done a bit of research and they look good. Seems to be between them and the Dunlop Mutants at the moment. Tbh the oem a41s are OK but would prefer a bit less "riding on marbles" feeling.....

You won't regret either.....
And from memory, my Gs1250 has A41's as oem fitment and that marbles feeling in the rear was so disconcerting I sold the bike after 3000kms. OK, I wasn't enamoured with the bike itself but the tyres pushed it over the top. I posted about it some years ago....

[Biker9090]

Getting on really well with the bike so far. Just passed the 1100 mile mark in about 3 weeks.

Still pondering the Nitron shock for a bit better comfort and control.....

One question, any idea what these lines are on my chicken strips? Only noticed it today after I (relatively) started pushing it a bit more. Tyres felt fine I just can't remember seeing horizontal lines like that.....

[archie456]

It looks like chain lube and/or mud that has been centrifuged from the rim.