Here you are some of the best tire makers and links to their sites for those who want to see them:

Metzeler :
Tourance
Enduro 3 Sahara

Pirelli :
Scorpion

Michelin :
Sirac
Anakee

Continental :
TKC 80
ContiEscape

Bridgestone :
Trail Wing 42 (rear)
Trail Wing 41 (front)

cheers for that, think i will go for some conti TKC80s at the moment for my off roading

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Plough on

I have the tkc80's. I don't know what you have read about them but from my experience they are pretty good.

The contis have bags more traction offroad than the OEM Saharas my bike came with. I can wheelie in the dirt (sometimes) and they grip the road quite well in both wet or dry. (They seemed to have more grip than my old Saharas under heavy rear brake)

They are not really meant for high speed and they have been known to develop a weave above leagal speeds.
You can reduce this by adding one notch of preload to your rear shock. When travelling two up I have not noticed any weave, but I have had the front wheel let go a couple of times, but only on very tight corners and at silly lean angles (and low speeds, thankfully for my underwear).

The other thing that can be unnerving is they turn into corners quite fast. I have heard it explained as the "Edge of the cliff feeling". You will know what I am talking about when you get them fitted. Don't worry about it. You get used to it (I find it exciting).

The rears wear faster than most but that is the price you pay for grippy nobbys.

Enjoy!

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Everything you need to know is here.

i have got the TKC80 on my Tenere. Good traction off the road as long as the mud is not too deep or too sticky. They don't seem to clean themselfs very well.
On the road i am not too shure about them. Specially in the wet. Strangely the front seems to be holding better than the rear. Needs warming up to be at its best. Does not like low air pressure, rather a notch too high. Does tend to fall into corners. Surprises you at first but trust it.
Good tyre.

Rob

Just ridden a long way on TKC80s. Found them to offer good grip on dry offroad and tarmac. Good up to about 90 mph even if bike loaded heavily. Mine are about 70% worn after 5000 miles.

I've run TKC 80s on my Super Tenere for a couple of winters and got about 4500 miles out of rear. So when the OEM Metzeler rear wore out on my XT660R in about 4000 miles (along with TWO punctures!) eventualy stuck with what I know and put as set of TKCs on. I havn't done much off-road with them but on road find they inspire far more confidence, more so in very poor road condition (mud, lose gravel, ice etc.). If they do break traction they recover grip in a very predictable way.

TKC80 ok
MT21 better

What tyre sizes are you guys using?
I have a new Tenere on order, with a 17" rear rim, is that same for the other XT bikes?

Timpo.

yea it is indeed. The full size is a

130/80 17

Ive just got myself a set of the TKC80s and they do look very good, hopefully gonna get them fitted this weekend and take an hour or so on sat morn up to some fun, if you know what i mean.

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Plough on

just got a Sirac (rear) for my XTR like it better than the oem Tourance!