TCAT for the big bikes

I ride a KTM Super Adventure and consider myself an eager amateur dual sport rider.

I've tackled some rutted, rocky rides and want to take her to the next level with a week long trip in the dirt. I'm north of Newmarket and was wondering if there are sections of TCAT in Ontario that would be manageable for a week long trip.

I fitted a set of TKC70's at the end of last season so hopefully these tires will be suitable. I've already discovered the hard way that TKC70's aint the best in the mud and leaves.

I've ridden a section of the TCAT a few years back, you can read about it here: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2861365

I personally would not recommend a large adventure bike, but than again I do not know what your abilities are.

I recall dropping my bike a few times on the trail where there was a steep hill climb with a huge wash out. It was a battle to pick up the little Sherpa fully loaded with all my gear, can't imagine a large adventure bike.

There is also the fear full rail trestle north of North Bay which has rotted out ties and no railings on either side. I crossed this very slowly with both feet out the sides and clutch slipping my way across (would never to that again!).

My recommendation would be to make sure you ride it with others and not alone!

I have a friend with an 1190 adv who installed the TKC70s on it this past spring. What he discovered was:
1- they were not nearly as stable at high speeds on the road compared to the trail attack IIs,
2- they were utterly useless on any off road terrain that wasn't gravel or extremely hard packed dirt. One hint of mud and they packed right up. One tiny bit of moist grass and he was down on his side. Traversing roots or riding along an incline on either side proved to be very challenging with the combination of the bike's weight and the tires' lack of bite at the sides.

I think that one week for the Ontario TCAT sectio. Is perfect, I'm planning to lead a a group of us on it this coming spring but be prepared as Hardman stated and definitely consider more aggressive tires. Having said that, the TCAT is so well mapped that it wouldn't be too difficult to either identify the challenging spots and ride around them over alternative routes or run into them unknowingly and then back out and around them. Depending on your timing, you're welcome to try to coordinate with us and run it together though many of us will be on smaller proper dual sport bikes for it - some will be on bigger adv bikes too, you won't be alone.

Thanks for the info guys... it's also good to hear some real world feedback about the tkc70's since I've only done a small bit of mud on them and the picture above showed the results.

I ride with a newer group called SCAR (Simcoe County Adventure Riders) so I won't be alone.They have a facebook group.

I'll keep you in mind alon.

One of our group has suggested James Bay this summer but the videos I've seen of that lead me to believe it'll be flat gravel roads for days...

With respect to James Bay, contact Bruce Wilson on this forum - he's got a ton of experience riding there and back and leading tour groups. From what I've heard, it's a nice ride but more like how you've described it; flat, straight and far.

Hey Barekat ,
where is the new group you mentioned SCAR Simcoe County Adventure Riders page.
on a search I found https://www.facebook.com/sgpcharityadventureriders/
but doesn't appear to be Simcoe county

Thx

Here's a link for you: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SCARriders/

Anyone have info on how much longer the TKC70's would last over the TKC80's? If it's not significant, definitely get the TKC80's. I feel like I can ride over anything with these on my CB500X. Riding with Alon helped a noob like me learn a lot.

Alon, you just jogged my memory here.

I recall the rail trail section is about a 100 kms long and instead of gravel being laid down along the tracks back in the day, the railway company used slag from the surrounding mines in Sudbury. Not only is this stuff extremely hard, it has very sharp edges as well and by the time I finished riding the rail trial, my knobs were ground more than half down on a brand new rear tire.

Some of the sections are very well packed and you can ride at a fairly decent clip, but the majority is very loose which had me standing and leaning back to keep the front wheel from plowing in (just like riding loose sand). I eventually got tired and bored of riding like this and decided to drop down onto a road which followed along side the rail trail. After about 10 kms or so (which gave me a good rest riding) the road began to meander away from the rail trail at which point I hopped back on the trial and continued into Capreol.

Nice thing about the TCAT, you can always hop on and off as you please.

Thanks, I know the stuff you're referring to Hardman, it is very hard on tires when riding at speed...I've got a few big bike guys who want to do this ride in the spring, I agree with you when I'm looking at the maps, most challenging areas offer an easy path to either gravel or pavement alternatives and we can pick specific points to meet up and continue on...

I had a pair of TKC80s on a F800GS. I made it from Toronto, through Labrador, Across Newfoundland, and all the way to Halifax via the Cabot trail. There was still some life left in them, but I swapped out the rears at this point, as it would be iffy whether or not I’d make it home on them from Halifax. We rode a lot of fast pavement, especially down 401. I’d say they would last over 5,000Km no problem if used in such a way. I never hit any serious off-road sections, aside from the big, wide and heavily rutted Trans-Labrador highway. I was happy with the performance of the tires.


As for the TKC70 – never used them, but they don’t look very useful. They’re so mild for off-road that I’d just go with street tires, as I don’t see what advantage you would get off-road with that. Perhaps the carcass is a bit tougher to better absorb rock damage. Although I’ve done gravel on street tires (on street bikes) enough times, and I’ve never had any issues.

Correct - the TKC70 is not useful for off road other than gravel and very hard pack. It is essentially Continental's attempt to provide slightly better off road capability compared to their Trail Attack II (with larger grooves to clear mud better) and better on road manners than their TKC80 but in reality, it's not very good. On big bikes, if the TKC80 is too much of a knobby and the TKC70 isn't enough, there are alternatives that do seem to work very well on big bikes over various types of terrain and riding. The Heidenaus are very popular but questionable in terms of their off road abilities and the Mitas E07 are extremely good - good off road and very good road manners plus they last very long. The only issue is that in Canada, they're currently only available from www.mx1canada.com

I'd say TKC80 is fine on big bikes (if you consider F800GS big, which I do ha! ). There is a mild shake at very low speeds, as the tires falls from knob to knob. Above 15 Km/h you don't really notice much difference. Just when you're starting/stopping moving. You can lean the bike over as with street tires. i was actually pleasantly surprised. The only downside is longevity. You'll get 5-6000Km vs. 10-15000Km with more street oriented tires. Now if someone could make a TKC80-like tire that lasts 10000Km, we'd be in business!

Check out Mitas - in addition to the E07, they offer more knobby type tires which many have reported as being very good and lasting long...

I think my TKC80 will last 10,000 kms on my CB500X due to lack of power, but we will see.

Check out the Shinko 804/805 combo. Getting good reviews on adv rider, claims they're as good as tkc80 and last longer. Ymmv. I haven't tried them yet. I'm going to go with the Shinko 805 rear and the tkc80 in front as they come in my stock size.

Michelin T63
Try it.
Good tru 50/50 tire.

Those won't fit on a 1290SA

Got the front tkc80 and rear 805 mounted. Thanks Todd at Mission Cycle for the great service as always. Can't wait to try them out.

to any one whos planning a TCAT trip this summer/spring, could I join along as that's a trail ive been wanting to get out too for the last couple years.