“We’ve ridden with Continental TKC80 tyres through snow, sand, gravel, tarmac, through all weathers and conditions around the world and they’re our number one motorcycle tyre of choice.”
By Andy Davidson
Mad or Nomad - RTW motorcycle travellers
Snapshot
- Price: £300 approx for pair
- Time tested: 10+ years
- Miles tested: 100,000+
- Testing conditions: Worldwide
- Our best mileage recorded: 12,500
- Functionality: 5/5
- Durability: 5/5
- Value for money: 4/5
- Total score: 5/5
- Where to buy UK: sportsbikeshop.com
- Were to buy USA: revzilla.com
TKC80s on a round the world trip
I’ve been running Continental TKC80 tyres for over ten years and on hundreds of motorcycles. So they were my first choice of tyre for our round the world motorcycle trip.
We left home on 1st January 2018 on a Yamaha XT660R fitted with Contis. And we’ve continued to fit them as often as we can get our hands on them.
In 2023 we swapped the XT for two Honda CRF300Ls and shipped the bikes to the USA. We rode the CRFs 45,000kms from the USA to Argentina using only Continental TKC80 tyres.
How they handle
The 80s look aggressive, but they’re actually quite soft rubber and a proper 50/50 tyre and that makes them fantastic all-rounders and the perfect tyre for big motorcycle trips.
They’re surprisingly good on tarmac, especially considering their big knobbly look and style. The rubber and big contact patches do make the tyre want to run in a straight line, but after a bit of wearing in, use and familiarity it’s easy enough to turn in on sharp and sweeping corners and the lean angles are quite impressive.
On the 300s, we only feel a slight wobble when hitting 70mph, but this is probably more due to the weight on the bikes and their low capacity than the tyres.
But where these tyres really excel is on the rough stuff. They offer a very planted feel on most off-road terrain. We’ve run them through countless different conditions from mud (the big gaps between the blocks make for excellent self-cleaning), sand, gravel, snow, ice and so on. It’s as if the tyres are able to adapt to anything and always inspire confidence no matter the ground.
Durability
In the USA and Canada we covered over 8,000 miles on Continental TKC80 tyres. By the end, the front had loads of life left in it – perhaps another 2,000 miles more. On the rear, the middle band of rubber blocks had worn down, but there was still plenty left on the sides – I’d guess about 1,500 to 2,000 miles more at a push.
We would have got more out of both, but had to cover a lot of miles on long straight asphalt roads in Canada and this wore them down fast.
We fitted a new set to each bike in Colombia to see how many miles we could get out of them and both front and rear made it to Punta Arenas at the bottom of Chile – that’s 10,500 miles on primarily off-road routes.
At that point, the fronts were very worn and we decided to swap them for part-worn tyres to make it the 2,000 road miles up to Buenos Aires.
At 11,200 miles I swapped out my back tyre as I had already pushed it far enough. But Alissa’s rear TKC80 made it all the way back up to Buenos Aires – in total covering 12,500 miles.
Note, that while it’s seriously impressive mileage, we got these distances on low powered Honda CRF300Ls with minimal luggage. The heavier the bike and the more aggressive you are on the throttle the less the mileage.
Negatives
The only downside to the TKCs is the price tag. They are expensive and can be hard to source when you’re on the road. But, between you and the ground are two tiny contact patches of rubber and so you need to be confident and trust in the tyres you’re using, so for me, they’re worth the price.
Round-up
We’ve used Continental TKC80 tyres through snow, sand, gravel, tarmac, mud, rivers… through all weathers and conditions, all over the world and they’re our number one motorcycle tyre of choice.
They offer excellent feedback both on and off-road, can be pushed for high-mileage, are planted and an excellent all-rounder making them the ideal rubber for round the world rides and big adventures.
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Do you have any questions, tips or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
excellent website. Well done.
Chris
Thank you very much Chris, kind of you to say and much appreciated!
Cheers,
Andy
I used the TKC 80’s on my GSA for many years and was always happy with them.
What dimensions do you use on the crf300l?
140/80 rear?
80/90 front?
Hi Nicola, great to hear! How many kms are you getting on yours on the GSA out of curiosity?
For the CRF we use:
Front – 90/90/21
Rear – 120/90/18
Cheers,
Andy
Not more than 3000km really.
But that’s if you avoid Highway at all costs:)
Fair enough. On our little CRF300Ls we just managed to get 20,000kms out of one set!
Did you notice a rise in seat height with the tkc80 in those dimensions?
I was thinking to stick to the original tyre dimensions for that reason because usually the knobbly type tyres are a bit taller anyways.
Hi Nicola,
Yes, I’d say it raises the seat by 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. I got those sizes because they were what was available, i’d be happy to stick to OEM sizes on the next set I can get.
To be fair, OEM sizes would be better for Alissa anyway as she needs her bike a little lower.
So, yeah, stick to the standard sizes if you can.
Cheers,
Andy
I discussed with chatgpt. Result is: The Continental TKC 80 tires you use are 2,4 cm bigger in diameter compared with the originals and make your CRF300L seat 1,2cm higher. But the TKC 80 tires are not available in the original size of Honda. That’s the point. Your choice is very good and the look is supercool.
Hi Ben, yeah, they do raise the height ever so slightly, it’s negligible though for us. These tyres have performed really well – out of our last set from Colombia to Ushuaia we got 17,000 and 20,000kms out of them – and that was with the majority of the ride off-road. That, with their performance makes them the perfect tyre for us.
Cheers!
Andy
I’m planning to travel from Warsaw, Poland, through Russia to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. I’m very keen on building the Bartang-Pamir-Wakhan corridor. Which should I choose: the Mitaş E07 or the Continental TKC80?
Hi Serdar, thanks for reading and for your comment. You have a brilliant trip ahead of you!
The route you described is around 5-6,000kms. From Russia to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan you’re looking at primarily road – Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will be off-road.
As you mentioned Bartang, I’m assuming you’re looking for some decent off-roading too and enjoy riding off-road.
So in this case, I would definitely go for the TKC80s.
Mitas E07s are good tyres, i’ve used them a lot. You can get a higher mileage out of them too. And if you were to say you were riding to the Pamirs and then riding the Pamir Highway for example and only want light gravel – then i’d be tempted to say Mitas would be a good choice.
But the TK is a much more dual purpose tyre – and I personally prefer it over the chevron style pattern. It’s a far better off-road tyre and as you’re looking to ride the Wakhan, Bartang etc. I would opt for it.
And if I was riding that route right now – I would definitely choose the TKC80.
I can get around 17,000kms max out of the TKCs. So I think you’ll be fine for the journey – it’s just a shame you’ll be putting 5,000 road kms on them first.
Hope this helps and let us know which you choose!
Cheers,
Andy