Tkc 80 Tubeless
 

Hi,

Need advice on tubeless (TL) and tube tire (TT).

Just bought TKC 80�s for my xt660z ABS. Unfortunately I ordered wrong back tire, TL instead of TT.

Should I send it back or keep it and use it with the tube?

Called a local mechanic and he said that I should keep it and use it with tube.

Btw. back tire size is 140/80-17, I have read couple of threads and seems that it should be fine with one size bigger.

Thanx

Keep it and use it with tube. You have to use a tube with any tyre for the tenere as it has spoked wheels.

I've used both TL and TT tyres on my tenere. No problems at all.

The tire is Q rated, which means max 160 kmh ( constant speed in 1h....or something). I have read somewhere that you should drop the speed 1 rate (130kmh) if you use tubes in tubeless tires.

I mean, its actually possible to do 130 kmh for 1h if you are doing long trips on good roads.

Hmm, should I be concerned?

I shouldn't worry. The speed rating of tyres is a maximum over a constant prolonged period. The chances of you doing 160 km/h for more than a few minutes is extremely unlikely on an XT, especially on TKCs! ;)

I have run a couple of TL 140/80 (Q) TKCs on mine with tubes, never a problem. However, what I did find is that at motorway cruising speeds (110-130 km/h) they wear out and square off a LOT quicker than the S and T rated 130/80s I have also used. FYI - the 140 TKC is only available in TL fitment.

I wrote a detailed account of TKCs and their speed ratings vs wear vs performance here.

Thanks, I actually read your thread and made a decision to send it back. Thanks for checking the recommended tire pressure on tkc�s for the tenere. Will start with 2.0/2.25.

Got the new 130/80 yesterday, will mount them myself.

I wonder if its really needed to balance the TKC�s ?

I wont be able to do it myself.

Yille, have you fitted your back tyre yet ?
Just a word of caution about balancing. I fitted a new Pirelli MT90 rear tyre the other day without balancing it and my bike nearly threw me off when I reached 117kph !
Then I tried to balance it myself by supporting the wheel on it's axle and rotating the tyre on the rim. A piece of weight was also clipped onto a spoke for balance.
Though it was much better, the bike started hopping again at about 124kph.
Eventually I took it to a tyre place and they balanced it on a proper machine. Now the bike is smooth to 160kph +.
On the front I run a TKC80 and it also has quite a few added rim weights for balance.

tkc 80 balancing
 

Hi with ref to balancing look at your original tyre it should have a red mark on it, mine was near the balance wieghts on the rim, mark the rim with some chalk at that point. if you look on your new tkc 80 rear there should be a red circle/crayon mark on the tread at the heaviest point. replace in same position as the original. My front tkc 80 has a red mark on the side of the tire. I did as above and have had no balance problems. As a double check before you put the wheel on put the spindal through the wheel and give it a spin it should not stop at the same place every time

Hi, I fitted the tire the other day, unfortunately I did a rookie mistake, pinched the tire. Hardest part was actually fitting the ABS cover and trying to hold the spacers in place, so I decided to take it to the local yamaha dealer.

After reading your post I think it was quite a good decision, they balanced it so there is no shaking. Actually it feels like the scorpion back tire on paved roads.

I was thinking of changing the front tire on my own but since its a bit more important to balance the front tire (dont want more shaking than whats there) I will leave that also to the dealer.

I have at least tried it now, good to know when on long trips.

Hmm....

@keithy2, might have look at the front tire and give it a go :-)

Sorry about the pinching of the tyre. Better to be careful there.

I suppose if one replaces the old tyre with the same new tyre, one could possibly get away without balancing by positioning the new tyre so the index mark is in the same position as the old tyre as Keithy suggested. But after almost being thrown off my bike when it started hopping from an unbalanced back tyre, I won't take any chances again.