So today when I looked at my blog I noticed the count down was at 5 weeks, 5 days. Where has the time gone???
For the past few months I've been riding on Continental TKC80 tires to see what sort of life expectancy I could get out of them. Most of my riding has been on pavement so I figure it will give me the worse case scenario as I should put more dirt/gravel miles on the set in Alaska. So far I've got 3,300 miles on them and they aren't to the wear bars yet. So my expectation of 3,500 miles per set should be on par.
With time ticking away I went online to Southwest Moto Tires and ordered 2 sets of tires, 1 pair of TKC80s and 1 pair of Metzler Tourances. Grand total $562.80. Ouch! But then again that should be worth 14,000 miles of smiles.
The plan is to spoon on the Tourances just prior to June 21st and ride them to Alaska while carrying the TKC 80s. Sometime before I leave Fairbanks I'll switch over to the TKC80s and carry the Tourances. Then before July 18th, when I meet up with Reagan, I'll switch back to the Tourances and dispose of the TKC 80s for good.
I'm looking forward to putting Tourances back on the bike as they are much smoother in the twisties. That's not to say the TKC's haven't been fun but I'm still not used to the wobble from the knobbies while in fast corners with aggressive lean angle. Parts still drag, just not as often.
Only 5 weeks and 5 days left. I'd better get back to work!
For the past few months I've been riding on Continental TKC80 tires to see what sort of life expectancy I could get out of them. Most of my riding has been on pavement so I figure it will give me the worse case scenario as I should put more dirt/gravel miles on the set in Alaska. So far I've got 3,300 miles on them and they aren't to the wear bars yet. So my expectation of 3,500 miles per set should be on par.
With time ticking away I went online to Southwest Moto Tires and ordered 2 sets of tires, 1 pair of TKC80s and 1 pair of Metzler Tourances. Grand total $562.80. Ouch! But then again that should be worth 14,000 miles of smiles.
The plan is to spoon on the Tourances just prior to June 21st and ride them to Alaska while carrying the TKC 80s. Sometime before I leave Fairbanks I'll switch over to the TKC80s and carry the Tourances. Then before July 18th, when I meet up with Reagan, I'll switch back to the Tourances and dispose of the TKC 80s for good.
I'm looking forward to putting Tourances back on the bike as they are much smoother in the twisties. That's not to say the TKC's haven't been fun but I'm still not used to the wobble from the knobbies while in fast corners with aggressive lean angle. Parts still drag, just not as often.
Only 5 weeks and 5 days left. I'd better get back to work!
