Just wore out my second set of Sirac's on the the Tenere so it was time to try something new. Looking at prices on the net i thought i'd try some Avon's Distanzia's as they were about the cheapest. But then i had a thought and did a bit of looking about on the net and realised goldentyres do a version of the tkc80 or e-90's. this was good news as i have a good contact for my enduro tyres, so i gave him a ring and he had some in stock. i popped round to have a look and came home with a pair of tyres for the xt660z - and yes i paid for them before anyone says anything!

anyway they are all fitted and ready to roll so here are a few pics. i'm hoping to lead a geo & standing stone rideout soon so i'll be able to see how the cope on the wilts downs :woohoo: clay !!!

I'll be doing an update on how they feel on the road. i must admit i'm a little worried about road grip as they feel pretty hard as they are now.

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check out www.redbikejohn.com for all the latest race reports from the CHEC and enduroland.

hi John, they are very like michelin t63's, lets hope they don't wear as quickly, what kind of price and please keep us informed as to how long they last.

thanks bernard

Just been for a short 30 mile road ride to get rid of the gloss on the tyres and to see what they are like.
now i don't have much to compare them too as i've had two pairs of OE sirac's on the Tenere. however i did have a set of swiss army tyres on for a while.

ok first impression as i started the ride:

The bike felt stable enough. easy movement from side to side for about the first 5' of movement but a little hesitant after that as it reaches the next set of knobs.

Front felt ok and this feeling got better and better as the ride continued until i had full confidence to brake hard if needed - unlike the army tyres as i aslways felt it would get ugly if i needed to stop in an emergency.

At 40 you get the sensation of the knobs drumming on the road and more than normal vibes though the bike. this is to be expected from a tyre with such large knobs though.

At 50/60 odd this tractor like feeling goes away.

The Tenere's power output wasn't enough to spin the rear up on the tar which was one thing i was worried as they are on the hard side and its not a 'road' tyre.

I took it very easy on the ride but they seem to tip in ok on bends and there were no scarry moments.

All good so far, much better feeling riding the bike than the swissa army tyres. Bit daft that i got them though as i do 50 miles to work and back each day on the M40 :blush: anyway can't fault them so far but i can't help thinking i got a bit carried away when i should have bought some 'road' basis tyres and simply fitted the army tyres when i want to go trail riding.

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check out www.redbikejohn.com for all the latest race reports from the CHEC and enduroland.

You might want to fiddle with the tire pressure. I often run the T63 (indeed these GT's look identical) on 22psi even on tarmac just to put some extra rubber on the street. Provides more grip and traction on surfaced an unsurfaced roads.

HJ

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Riding the Mad Mule !! ... no more... went orange...

yes that is one of the things i was going to ask - pressures.


anyway i had another short ride over to slough to check out the ex george white shop (waste of time) and i'm getting to grips with them now.

The front is simply fantastic, feel just like a road tyre and i have full confidence in hard breaking.

The rear - still taking it easy but no 'moments' so far and feels fine but i'm just being cautious.

Got them cranked over to about 1cm from the edge of the front and 2cm on the rear. To be honest they handle better on the road than they have any right to, concidering the size of the knobs!

I was going to going for a trail ride today but ended up taking out a triffid roae out the front garden!

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check out www.redbikejohn.com for all the latest race reports from the CHEC and enduroland.

�150 for a pair delivered, pm me if you want them

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check out www.redbikejohn.com for all the latest race reports from the CHEC and enduroland.