Wilsons Sandbox

John, The trick will be finding a rear tire that will last 9000 miles; your selection will be very limited. A dedicated touring tire may be the answer if you are not going to stray far from pavement or gravel roads. Others on the list will have more info on the best ones available. For reference, I was only able to get 6000 miles out of my rear Avon Distanzia in touring trim (YMMV). You will have a greater selection when choosing a front tire. Personally I have had good experience with the IRC GP110 mounted backwards. It is a good front tire as long as things do not get too technical or muddy. The Michelin Deserts while great in Dakar would probable be overkill just for gravel roads IMO. YMMV, John Lyon --- johnglime wrote:

> In the midst of planning a summer trip to AK, I am > realizing that my > current tires aren't going to make it there and > back. I am looking > for advice as to a durable, flat resistant, good > gravel road tire > that will last 8000-9000 miles. My initial thoughts > were the > Michelin deserts or the Avon distanzias. Any > experience with these > or other tires you recommend would be appreciated. > Or those of you > who have made the trip, what was your tire > situation? > > Thanks, > John

===== John __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25 http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash

I got 15,000 Kms (9000 Miles) out of a set of Distanzias. They are great on gravel roads when new, but towards the end I wouldn't have wanted to stray too far from the asphalt. For a trip, such as you are planning, I think the Gripsters would be better. I replaced my Distanzias with those, and they seem to last about the same. Just have a pump and a tire gauge with you so that you can air up on the asphalt and down when in gravel. You will get up to 33% more mileage out of them that way. On the road I run 28/32 and it seems to work fine. you can then drop the pressure to 20/24 if you encounter gravel roads, as you will on your trip. Gorm L. BC, Canada johnglime wrote: In the midst of planning a summer trip to AK, I am realizing that my current tires aren't going to make it there and back. I am looking for advice as to a durable, flat resistant, good gravel road tire that will last 8000-9000 miles. My initial thoughts were the Michelin deserts or the Avon distanzias. Any experience with these or other tires you recommend would be appreciated. Or those of you who have made the trip, what was your tire situation? Thanks, John List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Avon gripsters will outlast the Avon distanzias, especially when comparing the front tires. Your mileage may vary. Conall

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "johnglime" wrote: > In the midst of planning a summer trip to AK, I am realizing that my > current tires aren't going to make it there and back. I am looking > for advice as to a durable, flat resistant, good gravel road tire > that will last 8000-9000 miles. My initial thoughts were the > Michelin deserts or the Avon distanzias. Any experience with these > or other tires you recommend would be appreciated. Or those of you > who have made the trip, what was your tire situation? > > Thanks, > John

Avon gripsters will outlast the Avon distanzias, especially when comparing the front tires. Your mileage may vary. Conall

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "johnglime" wrote: > In the midst of planning a summer trip to AK, I am realizing that my > current tires aren't going to make it there and back. I am looking > for advice as to a durable, flat resistant, good gravel road tire > that will last 8000-9000 miles. My initial thoughts were the > Michelin deserts or the Avon distanzias. Any experience with these > or other tires you recommend would be appreciated. Or those of you > who have made the trip, what was your tire situation? > > Thanks, > John

------------------------------- I was happy with Gripsters on my Alaska trip. I rode 7200 miles from central Montana to Prudhoe Bay. The rear tire had 8000 miles on it when I changed it. It probably had another 1000 street miles left on it. A rear tire should be easy to find on your return through Canada. Take extra break pads. I put in new ones before I left and had my old ones set out to pack but forgot them. The new rear Galfer Black lasted 5000 miles. Whitehorse had none in stock. If they had had the pads, the pads would have been expensive. I was told by the Canucks I was with that everything was expensive in White Horse. It's a government city and there is little competition. I avoided using the rear brake as much as possible all the way to Prince George. Good people can be found at the Kawa dealer in Prince George. Harvey A15 ------------------------------------------------- --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "johnglime" wrote:

> In the midst of planning a summer trip to AK, I am realizing that

my

> current tires aren't going to make it there and back.

---------------------------------------------------

> John

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Stu" wrote:

> I may be wrong, but I thought altitude makes an engine run fat

(rich)? Altitude definitely makes fuel-air mixture richer. Aircraft have a mixture control which is used to lean out the fuel-air mix as the aircraft climbs. Optimum mix is about 14 parts air to one part fuel on air cooled engines which normally must be run richer than liquid cooled ones because the extra fuel helps cooling. Richard Korpela A15 Chapleau, ON