I've used Conti TKC80's, Pirelli MT21's, Michelin T63's and a Karoo2 front/ Dunlop 908RR rear on my XR650R, and of all of them, I'd say the TKC80's were the best compromise for dual sport riding.

None of the above are especially good in wet mud mind you, but in dry dirt-road and desert conditions, both the TKC's and the MT21's were great, although I only got around 3000 miles out of each rear.

The T63's were very nice too, but wore out in under 2000 miles - can't really recommend them for big distances.

The Karoo2 front was a bit ponderous at first on the road, was ok in the warm weather in southern Europe, but I could never 100% trust it, especially on the dirt/gravel covered tarmac... the TKC is far better as a front hoop in my opinion.

However, the Dunlop 908RR (not the regular 908 which is basically a motocross tyre) was an excellent DS tyre - I got over 4000 miles out of it before it was shot, and that included some pretty heavy duty off-roading in Morocco, and loads of highway miles... The tread is a series of crossing up the middle of the tyre, so there is quite a lot of rubber in contact with the road, and the round shoulders mean it's predictable when lent over too. It probably would be that good in wet mud either, but in dry sandy/gravel conditions it hooked up really well and never felt like it was going to let go without letting you know...

I've also used Michelin Deserts (with mousses) for rallye raid, and they wear surprisingly well too for such an aggressive tyre - they are expensive though - twice the price of the T63's for example.

However, the main problem with getting the 'right' tyres for the 660Z is going to be the 17 inch rear rim... you can get the Karoo and TKC in that size, not sure about the others though...

Based on that limitation, I'd definately reccommend the TKC80's as the best do-it-all DS tyre... that's what I'll go for once the OE rubber has worn out...

xxx

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