Anyone tried these on a Tenere (couldn't find much using search)? Buddy has had them on a 650 Dakar and speaks very highly of 'em.

Looking for new tyres for a trip through Patagonia - 50% tarmac / 50% gravel/dirt trails. They need to last at least 10k km.

We've been offered a choice of MT60 or Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara.

Cheers, JD

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www.roja45.com

MT60s are quite an old tyre spec and you may be better off with Heidenau K60s or TKC80s/T63s/karoos .

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ex XT660X Tenere, now XT1200Z Super Tenere

In my experience the Enduro nor the TKC nor the T63 and certainly not the Karoo2 rear will last 10.000km unless you'll be very gentle on the throttle.

I'd suggest Michelin Sirac as long as you don't go much more 'off-road' then gravel roads.




or if it has to be Metzeler and you want it to last long: Tourance

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

I think Sahara 3's are probably the modern equivalent - Metzeler & Pirelli being the same

Rob

I'd agree... in fact if you are riding a mix of tarmac and dirt trails, I doubt any bike tyre will last that sort of distance, certainly not offering anything like grip by the end...

As a comparison, I used TKC80s pretty much the whole time I was in the USA, and reckoned on about 4000 miles (6500kms) from a rear, and around 7000 miles (11250 kms) from the front - so with any luck you'll get away with just one front tyre on your trip?

But there is no problem getting a tyre while you're on the road - if all else fails, just pre order one and get it shipped to a DHL (or similar) office at approximately half distance?

You have to remember tyres are consumables... and hey, what if you trashed one on a sharp rock or pothole etc - you'd have to hunt for a replacement then anyway?

Have fun!

Jx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

Thanks for all the replies, all welcome.

The reason I asked about those 2 tyres specifically is that they're in stock at the bike shop, can be fitted immediately, and are cheap (in general, tyres are much cheaper in se Asia than South America). I probably could get other tyres ordered or couriered around, but that requires planning and organisation (definitely not my strong point!). I'm not sure where I'm gonna wake up tomorrow, let alone where I'll be 3 weeks Tuesday!

Couriering tyres around sounds expensive. Anyone done this?

Tyres are consumables of course, but if I can consume them every 10k km instead of every 6k km, then it gives me extra cash to spend on other fun things... such as reg/rects for example... ;-) We haven't suffered a single puncture on either bike so far on the trip, so I'm not gonna lose any sleep over shredding a tyre.

The MT60s on the 650 Dakar have so far covered 12k km from Eastern Turkey to Malaysia, and are probably good for a few more. I guess we must be gentle on them then, although it was mostly road work to be fair.

Incidentally, I'm on Anakee 2's on the Tenere at the moment. They've also done 12k km and they are at most two-thirds worn. A good hard-wearing road tyre, and great in the wet (err, handy in the middle-east!), but truly hateful on the loose stuff.

At the moment though, my need for tyres has been superseded by my need for clutch plates!

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www.roja45.com

Good luck with all that then!

My point about tyre wear was really that if you use anything that resembles an 'off-road' tread pattern (ie. wider spaced knobbles) both on and off tramac, then the wear is typically accelerated as the knobbles/edges get worn on the dirt, and the the heat generated by the higher speeds back on tarmac increases the wear as the loose rubber comes off... significantly reducing [useful] tyre life?

That is not to say you couldn't still ride on them for many more miles (hell, if you can't see the carcass, it ain't Mondo Enduro!), only that the off-road grip will be significantly diminished... you'll also probably find that the tyre 'squares off' much more, as the centre knobs wear down on the road - making a smooth transition from upright to leant over more sketchy, particularly towards the end of the life of the tyre?

That said, these had done the best part of 5000 miles:



As for shipping... what I mean is you can get pretty much any bike shop to mail order you some tyres to any address (be it a hotel, workshop or DHL office for example) within a few days... once they start wearing to the point to want to change them, just get online or go to a local tyre/bike shop, and get some sent to where you'll be?

Just don't be too brand precious!

Jx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com