That marshmallow road was the bruce highway.Sometimes that contains a fair bit of dirt depending on road works.I was shocked it lasted .
What about metzeler karoo 2.....not the (T) 140/80-18? I used the front tire and i think it's a pretty good alround. Anyone that have used the rear?
Rear is good but VERY soft, low mileage - very similar to a Conti TKC80 but softer. Front is fine as it lasts better.
Ok, good to know....thanks' On my ktm 690 enduro i had before the husky, i had the Motoz tractionator desert 130/90-18 Good tire with good milage. Exelent on sand & gravel. Ok on pavement.
I've also used the regular Karoo on the front. Works fine, but very low mileage. However I think I paid about 80 bucks or less for it. I'm pretty happy with MT21s front and back.
Finally wore out the factory Karoo (yes I know that's sad, some of you have worn out your bike) and plan on ordering a Michelin T63 to replace it with. The tubed / tubeless thing has me a bit confused. The Karoo has tubeless stamped on it. Some of the tires mentioned frequently in this thread, Michelin T63, Dunlop 606, Heidenau K60, do they use a tube? Is there anything else you need to do other than buy a tube when going from tubeless to tubed?
You can use a tube in a tubeless tyre but not advisable to try and use a TT tube tyre for tubeless application (although I have done it with a T63 once before). Sidewall construction tends to differ.
Ok, maybe what I am missing here is that there are tubes inside the factory Metzler tires? Because they were stamped tubeless I assumed they were
For a wheel to be tubeless it needs to have a tubeless rim (or conversion - not really recommended) - mostly found on BMW's and some newer generation large adventure bikes.
Bit the bullet and ordered Shinko 705's Didnt realize I was running a Metlzer 6 Day extreme on the rear....WTF
Pirelli Rally 120 / 100 - 18 now mounted. It is as wide as the Karoo but it is a higher tyre. First ride was in rain on wet tarmac .....scary slippery. But its' brand new and i wasnt' surprised over that. Yesterday i have some trail riding and the Pirelli did the job very well. Excelent on sand and gravel an did the job in the forest and mud. Feels a little lika an MT21. It's a lot harder than the MT16 i had before so i had to get down in air pressure to get good grip. Will get some more miles on it and get back to you. The best soo far is on gravelroads.
Yikes!! Way to bury the bike. Now I wished I'd have ordered one in 120 instead of the 606. Oh well, I'll try that one out then get the other one. I got a 140 rally awhile back and it was way too big - took it off and sold it to a guy with a 950/990. I'm going back to the front rally when this mich desert is done. It got pretty worn down in the Grand Canyon ride. It has about a thousand miles on it now and looks to be about a third worn. That's a way better looking tire than the 140 rally - WTF????
Yeah. ..totaly diffrent pattern. My freind has the 140 size on his 690 and it is huge. The 120 is high....you will get some more groundclerence with it I think it will be perfekt on dry stony ground and sand. Will do the job on all other surfaces to i think.
Hm. That tire looks VERY similar (enough to be the same, from memory) to the Pirelli XCMH that I am running on my DRZ. I wonder if there is some difference in tire naming internationally? The XCMH was a pretty decent tire, wore well and hooked up ok. I was never completely pleased with its performance when leaned over and on the gas though, especially as it got older.
Youre' right about that, they look very similar. You can bye the XCMH here Sweden and europe to. I think the Rally has bit diffrent compound and it looks like the side is a bit diffrent to. The rally is pretty expencive here...about 180 $ best price online.
They are just a little less than a D606 here, just under $100 USD. I got a D606 130-90 and mounted it up - probably one of the toughest tires I have had the pleasure of spooning on. Bead and sidewall is very stiff making it hard to get the rimlock and valve stem in. I know some gurus say to put the tube in the tire first, then spoon the first bead on but that's too complicated for me. It looked like a huge tire 'till I got it mounted up, now it's not much bigger than the small-looking T63. A LOT more tread (knob height) though and looks to be a true knobby offroad. Time will tell I guess. Scorpion Rally in 120 next time. Front too. The Michelin Desert front has a thousand mile on it now, about a third worn which is fine. It's not as good as the rally on road but I'm thinking a hair better off. Never had the bike handle easier in sand. Otherwise it's about a wash. I'm happy with it, but when time to replace it a rally is like $72 and the desert about $110, so it just wouldn't be worth the extra. Still really happy with the bike. It's been extremely dependable and a joy to ride. Performance is excellent.
Okay, put about 350 offroad miles on the 606 rear with some high speed hiway sweepers thrown in and I think I have found my new favorite tire. It just flat works everywhere and not even as noisy as the t63 on road. Offroad grip is just outstanding. We'll see how many miles I get, but it almost doesn't matter. It's really good.
Just fitted a Dunlop geomax enduro 140 80 to the bike. Wow, It is so much fun, Bike handles great now. I think it is going to wear pretty fast on the road but I don't care. :-) Lifting the front end to get over Trees and rocks is no problem now.
