TKC80 (yes another thread about them!)

[icenian]

I know TKC80s are popular with people who ride off road, but I always assumed they were a bit of a liability for someone like me who sticks to tarmac; even if it is often mud-encrusted, gravel-strewn, falling-to-bits back roads. (And then there's Edinbuggered streets, which barely count as tarmac.)

Question 1: if you get caught in snow, will TKC80s really help? Road tyre tread clogs instantly, including so-called dual-purpose types like Tourance or Anakee. I guess a TKC80 won't clog, but are they really good enough to let you get away with a heavy bike like an Africa twin in the snow?

Question 2: 99.9% of the time the road aren't covered in snow but are covered in greasy muck. How much will I regret having semi-knobbly like a TKC on, in those conditions? I don't really want the reassurance of being able to get home if it snows, at the cost slithering round every roundabout...

Yeah, I know it's half way through February now, but we could get snow for weeks yet up here, and I'm about to get some new wheels; trying to decide whether to stick TKCs on them (and keep old wheels with road tyres) or swap road tyres onto new wheels (in which case I don't need to buy new tyres just yet). Eventually I could have 2 pairs of wheels and swap between them.

[Steve T]

I went the TKC route on the Alp before the weather got really white and I'm glad I did.
Yes, they are better on snow covered roads than the likes of the Anakee and Tourance's.
As for all other road conditions - depends on how you want to ride with them fitted. I've never had a problem, handling wise, with TKC's fitted and riding the way I ride on "normal" condition roads, but thats me & my way of riding.
BUT - I have found this latest set to be wearing rather rapidly when compared to the last set that I fitted to a previous @. After some 1500 miles riding in various road conditions, they've lost enough rubber off of the blocks that when I ventured onto some really sticky, peaty ground on the weekend, the tread blocks filled up straight away, and left me with a mud filled slick .

If you've got two sets of wheels, then the option of knobblies on one set and normal road tyres on the other is the way I'd go about it.

Just my ramblings, as normal.

Steve T

[Annette]

Question 1: if you get caught in snow, will TKC80s really help? Road tyre tread clogs instantly, including so-called dual-purpose types like Tourance or Anakee. I guess a TKC80 won't clog, but are they really good enough to let you get away with a heavy bike like an Africa twin in the snow? Yes they are. I found them much safer in the snow than Tourances. Much better grip and this was on a heavier BMW R1150GS.

Question 2: 99.9% of the time the road aren't covered in snow but are covered in greasy muck. How much will I regret having semi-knobbly like a TKC on, in those conditions? I don't really want the reassurance of being able to get home if it snows, at the cost slithering round every roundabout... Personally I never found them losing grip on the roads, even in the wet. But everyone has different experiences. The only problem I found (and I know better so this was my own fault), was accelerating to overtake and the back end kicking out just a little bit on the white lines. Apart from that, I have ridden with TKC80s in torrential rain and never had a problem with them.

I used to ride all year round, in all weathers. My personal preference was for Tourances. They give the best all round, road riding grip and are OK for light off road use (they are rubbish in the mud but OK on gravel). When I was doing the mileage to warrant 2 sets of tyres a year, I had Tourances in the winter (when I generally only road ride) and TKCs in the summer as I ride on and off road.

[anton88]

i'm on my second set and love them.

i'm a bit heavy on the throttle, so have to constantly remind myself to take it easy in the wet. - in ice/greasy conditions i take it EXTRA carefull, as there is no warning - more so from the front - it just goes.

Off road great.

In summer on a dry road i can really crank the @ over - just about to the outside nobbles on the front

[Rubberchicken]

As above, in the dry they're very good, for a knobbly. Obviously it'll never fully compare to a road tyre with twice the rubber on the road, but it has a good go at it.

Things to keep in mind:
They drift a bit in the corners. Can feel odd at first, but it's just the knobs bending, it hasn't let go yet.
They're noisy. You'll rattle a bit.
And the front tends to cup badly which leads to even less rubber on the road, so take it easy on the brakes.

Can be a bit tricky in the wet, especially when worn. See above, the amount of rubber on the road.

[Warthog]

TKCs.

Not bad at all for a knobbly, in terms of tarmac grip. As already pointed out, a road tyre will give you better road grip. For me, I'd rather get road tyres for road riding. I also had TKCs on a R1150GS for a long trip. Predictably, they could not deliver the grip that my Michelin road pilots had previously and so did start to give under hard cornering, but they did allow for excursions down trails and tracks as our trip sometimes offered.

So other than the reduced grip at the more demanding end of the riding scale, the other down side is abyssmal service life. About 3000 miles for a rear about 8000 for a front.

My opinion:
As the first poster later said better in snow, but not worth fitting on the off chance of snow. TKCs are not a "beat everything" tyre. They are good, but so are others.

If you ride on roads, I'd say get a road tyre. If price is an issue, get BT45s.

If you simply like dual-sport tyres and are happy to live with the short comings for the looks and the options should crappy conditions arise, then also consider the Heidenau K60. Dry grip said to be as good, wet grip a bit worse, but you should be talking it easy then anyway. Off-road they are as good, and mileagewise they are much longer lasting. On top of that they are about 65% of the price of a pair of TKCs...

Transalp K60 rear

Transalp TKC rear (even on sale its more expensive!!)

[Paul-S]

"consider the Heidenau K60. Dry grip said to be as good, wet grip a bit worse, but you should be talking it easy then anyway. Off-road they are as good, and mileagewise they are much longer lasting. On top of that they are about 65% of the price of a pair of TKCs..."

I use these all the time - have done many trails in North Wales and the Peaks on them and hooned round a local motocross track on many occasions both wet and dry. They have stiffer sidewalls than TKC so are more stable and the bike can be cornered much harder and leaned over further as the tread wraps round the tyre like a sport bike road biased tyre and as they are radials they do not deform when under pressure. The TKCs would tuck in at extreme lean angles due to the profile of the front

I have not had any wet grip problems and rode throughout winter in the snow and compacted snow, on these without any grip problems, whereas last year I rode the TKCs throughout winter.

Big differences, benefits of the K60s are the superior handling - TKCs get a weave on at speed whereas the K60s do not move about at all

So you get the best of both worlds a tyre that behaves like a road tyre on the road but will handle offroad situations.

Mileage wise they are a much harder Enduro compound than the TKCs so I get around 3000 miles out of a front and I'm up to 6000 miles on the rear and there's still 6mm tread left. Other people would get much more from a front than a rear but my low front mileage is just the way I ride (late turn in and no brakes and constant smooth throttle!)

The TKCs were done in 4500 miles for both front and rear

Mototyres have sold these but can be sourced elsewhere

They are harder to fit than TKCs due to them being radial and having much stiffer sidewalls

Laslty the K60s don't make as much noise as the TKCs, which get very buzzy and tingly on the hands at motorway speeds

If you're at a meet somewhere you can ride mine and see what you think

[icenian]

Thanks for the opinions everyone!

People seem divided on grip on wet tarmac. I found a good thread on Heidenaus (thanks for the tip, Warthog) too, but that also seemed divided between people who thought they were fine and others who said they were lethal in the wet. That thread stopped a year or so back so I'll post and see if anyone has changed their mind one way or t'other.

Wet grip bit of a concern, as I ride on wet roads all the time, and only on snow if I get caught out, maybe a couple of times a year. I don't especially mind less grip, bit the idea of them letting go with no warning when they do go is a bit alarming.

One thing I like about the AT (on road) is the fact that there's a really easy transition between grip and sliding, on Skorpions, Anakee and Tourances at least. You know there's never lots of grip (compared to a good road bike) but it always seems to warm you very politely if you are pushing a bit too hard. The OE tyres (T66?) used to let go suddenly, which was a bit of a nightmare.

[icenian]

just asked for prices from local tyre fitters, and they got back to me saying their supplier said not to use Heidenau under any circumstances because they are such awful tyres

of course, their supplier can't offer Heidenau but can offer Contis...

[Paul-S]

They can't be that bad if BMW have chosen them as EO fitments to their adventure range

The differences and divided opinions could be down to 'experience but lack of confidence or commitment' and training

There are a lot of experienced riders out there but not many trained riders

I could never see a need for me to put dual sport tyres on mine

Best way would be to find somebody near you who has them and try them out