Is it unanimous that the Michelin T66 tires suck?

[johnnyadventurepants]

I haven't heard anybody say any good things about these tires, but that is the only tire I have ever had on my 99 Tiger.  I still have lots of tread life left on them, but I am chomping at the bit to get some TKC 80's on her.  I will admit that they are mostly for looks (can't believe what they do for a bike's looks), and I have to at least try them once.  I guess I want to know what differences to expect.  Are the TKC 80's just as good on road? better?  (comparing to T66's, I know they won't be better on road than most other tires) I don't ride extremely hard on or off road and there are probably better tires for me, but they look so sexy! :shock: I guess my main problem with the T66's are they just don't feel good in the rain, at least when it is cooler out.  Looking forard to any comments. :D

[Mustang]

You are not going to like the life span of the TKC's for the price .
If you don't do any off road more serious than a fire or gravel road the TKC's are kinda overkill don't you think ?

I got two words for ya METZELER TOURANCE

[JetdocX]

For the price, my money goes to the Michelin Anakees.  Best tire so far, IMO for streeting and occasional dity foray.  If I did more offroad, the TKC's would be my tire for sure.  I now have a pair of Conti Trail Attacks on my Steamer and am not impressed so far.

[johnnyadventurepants]

Have you guys run T66's?  I have a hard time getting rid of tires with plenty of tread on them.  In your opinion, are the tourances/anakees night and day better than my t66's?

[JetdocX]

Don't know never ran them on anything I've owned. Sorry.

[Captscottreeh]

I replaced my stock T66s w/ Avon Distanzias and could'nt be happier.While my offroad is limited,I do ride aggresive on the asphalt and feel that the Avons are sticky enough for me.Plus.....I think the Avons look cool. :)

[Mustang]

T66 's have been discontinued for quite some time now so I will venture to guess that you have been riding on tires that have hardened with age and yes there is a night and day difference between NEW T66 and metzler tourance .

The t66's sucked from the git go and I only ran the set that the bike came with before trying several brands (Dunlops, Pirelli's etc) and for me the Tourance is the one that gives the best combo of performance and longevity.

[TigerTrax]

I have had Tourance, Anakee, and now Distanzias:

The Distanzias are quite nice. I kind of equate them to a Dunlop for a very nice ride.

Unfortunately Anakees have been hard to get since Metzler changed the Tourance to a new compound and less tread thickness. Estimated mileage dropped considerably and costs went up. ( I have HEARD/not confirmed they are/will be building the old Tourance again.(??)

I would get 12-13,000 miles on Tourance or Anakee rears. I doubt the Distanzias will do that... but we'll see. My measure is 10,000 miles. Anything over that is ++. ( Here in MidWest we do not have 'chip rock' roads: Smooooooth concrete & asphalt, straight without any interference from curves, and an occassional bug!  
Favorite: Anakee

[Mustang]

Unfortunately Anakees have been hard to get since Metzler changed the Tourance to a new compound and less tread thickness. Estimated mileage dropped considerably and costs went up. ( I have HEARD/not confirmed they are/will be building the old Tourance again.(??)

 
Favorite: Anakee

the Tourances were never discontinued ....they are still the # 1 tire and they are listed on their website even , the Tourance EXP was developed in addition to the line to provide a more sporty grippy tire for those that wanted more performance than a standard Tourance . The EXP is also a street tire thus the shallower tread and different tread pattern .
http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/web/catalog/moto/moto_catalogoDett.page?categoria=/catalog/moto/enduro_street&vehicleType=MOTO&menu_item=/products/catalog/enduro_street

and Sothwest Moto has em in stock http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=Tourance
and here
Motorcycle Superstore http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com//2/29/393/DEPT/Dirt-Bike-Motocross-Dual-Sport-Tires-Tires.aspx?P=0&F=235
and Chapparral has em too  http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Chaparral/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=458&gift=False&0=assets%2Fhtml%2Fd%5Foffroad%2Easp%2CnavId%3Dd%5Foffroad%2A0%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D%2COffroad&1=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D453%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D0%2COffroad%20Tires%2C%20Wheels&2=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D3782%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D1%2COffroad%20Tires&3=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D155%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D2%2CMetzeler%20Offroad%20Tires&mscssid=6CCE707AEB14435698A9A23843ED7EA3
MAW Online has got em too http://www.mawonline.com/newsite/metzeler-tires.htm#TOURANCE_DUAL_SPORT
edited : 1/2/09

[Yukon]

:)

[Mustang]

. :shock:

[93TigerBill]

Don't want to inflame the situation, but..
I thought that the T66's were superseded by the Anakees.
I found that my T66's 'went off' i.e. went hard after a period of little use, and this was why I needed new tyres.
Wanted to fit Pilot Roads to the bike, but couldn't get a smaller-section rear, so fitted Anakees.
I do long distance (Hi Russell!) rather that any dirt work at all, and I'm happy with the Anakees.

[Advwannabe]

Gidday Bill,

I know I've defended Anakees on this forum in the past, but recent experiences have forced me to change my tune.

After I bought the Daytona recently I was finding Tigger's handling a bit strange. I'd always been happy with the Anakees but had noticed that although the rear tyre was Scrubbed all the way to the edge the front tyre was nowhere near, even though the bike was getting to peg scraping angles.

Decided to give the Tourances another try, front tyre scrubbed all the way and the bike feels a lot more secure on initial turn in. After 2000ks on the new rubber, gravel road performance is about the same.

All this is subjective of course, but it does suggest the profile of the Tourances are better matched to the Tiger's chassis.

FWIW I've never heard anyone say anything good about T66s and havent heard that they are available for some time.

[johnnyadventurepants]

Thanks for the responses so far.  I think the biggest problem with my tires are that they are original.  I just bought the bike with only 5k miles on it.  I have put 2.5k miles on it so far, and really enjoy it, but I can tell the tires can be better.  10 years probably does wonders for motorcycle rubber.  I think the Tourances are probably the best tire for me, but my gut tells me that I am going to get tkc 80's.  They just look so good!  I have read a lot of peoples postings about their mileage, so I am not in the dark about that.  Everybody says the rear wears out way faster.  Do you think that a 2:1 tire ratio is in the ballpark for the tkc 80's?  (I would order 2 rears and 1 front) That way, I could try new tires once the both rears and wear out and not be stuck with 85% tread on 1 front tkc.

[JetdocX]

My ratio on my F650 was about 1.75 to one.  A few more skids and who knows?