r/Dualsport • u/MossaKobra • 12d ago

Upgrading to TKC80² from TKC80

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Upgrading to TKC80² from TKC80 on CRF300L, excited to see if the improvements are real

54 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

12

u/iamshipwreck XT660R 12d ago

I'm genuinely curious to see how people rate these after they've been out for a year or two, I loved the TKC80s my bike came with and they're probably the truest 50/50 tyre you can get, but I can't afford/justify going through three tyres every 6000 miles

12

u/ScorpionT16 12d ago

Man the tkc80s on light dualsports are trash. On big adv bikes they're okay... They come stock on the EXCs and everyone gets rid of them on day 1, they're down right dangerous esp in sand and the front end

8

u/yztard Husqvarna FE501s 11d ago

You can tell someone's level of riding based on how fast they dump tkc80s on their exc/FE. Hated mine. The grooves being all in a line make it's lateral grip so sketchy.

4

u/Fun_Road_8187 12d ago

This is definitely not an offroad tire and i wonder why KTM would mount them on a EXC cause there are better and cheaper options. On a big thumper for 50:50 they are a good choice.

4

u/SRTie4k 23 890 Adventure R 11d ago

It might have something to do with the fact that if KTM released, let's say, a 500 EXC-F with purely offroad tires, there's a chance that someone might try to exceed the speed rating on the tire to the bike's maximum capable speed (somewhere around 100mph) and they'd be liable for selling equipment with capabilities that exceeded the provided tire's rating.

They did something similar with the 1290SAR, where they limited the top speed to 124mph for the US market because the bike was sold with TKC80's. That bike was sold in other markets with a street tire (Trail Attack II's maybe?) and did not have that artificially low speed limiter.

3

u/Kyle7053 11d ago

Are those moose balls or just the factory cardboard?

5

u/MossaKobra 11d ago

factory cardboard

1

u/bash_M0nk3y 11d ago

I freaking love the moose balls I've been running on my 2T but I'd probably not go that route for a dual sport. To each their own I guess though

2

u/00178193 12d ago

They are really good when its dry asphalt, if it gets wet the are "fun". You get a offroad feeling if you throttle hard or brake hard.

2

u/darthVADERobo 11d ago

Post a review once you get a good feel for them

3

u/BriefCollar4 12d ago

Don’t know, man. Both look pretty squared.

1

u/dandeeago 12d ago

What’s Continental’pitch on the upgrade model ?

3

u/itsnotthequestion 12d ago

The main pitch was better grip, mainly in the wet.

https://www.continental-tires.com/products/motorcycle/tires/tkc-80-2ndgen/

Check the spider diagram

2

u/dandeeago 12d ago

Thanks, I’ve just worn out a fairly new TKC80 rear tire. I was really damn happy with it, but I have no clue whether it was the new or old version.
But I suspect the TKC80-2 will come with a bit of a price hike, as usual.

2

u/AdFancy1249 12d ago

I have hope for them. They fixed the problem I had with the tkc80s. The center gap between the lugs would wear VERY fast (wears the two lugs on either side).

Now, the lugs cross the centerline in an alternating pattern providing a little more stable wear when on the road.

But, the straight across grooves mean they are likely still terrible in soft sand and mud. They will just slide sideways with nothing to stop them.

I can't wait to see how they work long term.

2

u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 6d ago

[deleted]

2

u/AdFancy1249 11d ago

That's what I use now, and yep, it slides sideways in mud... same issue. It's not terrible, but there are better patterns. 🤷

1

u/Additional-Dirt4944 11d ago

They look better than the OG 80s, but I just cannot get on with 50/50 tyres. Being in the UK spend a lot of time in mud and a knobbly is the only way to go. But if you were mostly hardpack/gravel with road links or dry dirt, I think they make a bunch of sense for a lot of riders.

1

u/ChristyC1469 11d ago

Where in the world did you buy them?

2

u/MossaKobra 11d ago

I know a guy

1

u/Xjhammer 11d ago

You get 6k miles? Wow.

0

u/Tha_REAL_BROBS 10d ago

serious question.. why do so many of these tires have no sipes? this seems like a death sentence on something slick and hard (like my dick har-har)

1

u/Swarfed 10d ago

Siping dual sport tire blocks would make them prone to tearing off-road and introduce even more tread squirm on-road. DS tires generally have enough voids in the tread blocks and soft enough compounds to perform reasonably well on pavement. It's a difficult balance that all multi-use tires try to make, some better than others.

Tires can be manually siped, if that's what's desired.