Continental TKC 70 rocks

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jonathan
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Continental TKC 70 rocks

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Hi....in my search for tyres for the AX1 I found the above TKC 70 Rocks, which sits somewhere between the 80 and the original 70. It looks like the 'ideal' tyre for the type of riding I intend to do and is advertized in 130/80 17 size, which will fit my new rear rim. I got in touch with Cambrian Tyres, who are the official importer of conti motorcycle tyres and the retailer said that this size hasn't actually been manufactured yet and isn't showing up on their current technical spec list. It's advertized all over the internet, and a quick search on Ebay.De threw up plenty of results, so I was wondering why the confusion. Any of you euro folk tried this tyre on a suitable bike yet?
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scrambler
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Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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jonathan hat geschrieben: Mo Aug 24, 2020 2:57 pm Hi....in my search for tyres for the AX1 I found the above TKC 70 Rocks, which sits somewhere between the 80 and the original 70. It looks like the 'ideal' tyre for the type of riding I intend to do and is advertized in 130/80 17 size, which will fit my new rear rim. I got in touch with Cambrian Tyres, who are the official importer of conti motorcycle tyres and the retailer said that this size hasn't actually been manufactured yet and isn't showing up on their current technical spec list. It's advertized all over the internet, and a quick search on Ebay.De threw up plenty of results, so I was wondering why the confusion. Any of you euro folk tried this tyre on a suitable bike yet?
It was available once, but is now apparently almost sold out https://gb.mynetmoto.com/shop.cfm/tyre/ ... tyres.html

From this review https://www.bike-on-tour.com/testberich ... c70-rocks/
Nevertheless, the TKC70 rocks has not lost any of the advantages of the TKC70 on the road, offers a high level of grip there too and, thanks to its very good wet performance, is very interesting for long-term and year-round drivers who more or less regularly drive on unpaved roads ....
Few tires manage the compromise between good on-road and decent off-road performance as well as the Rocks.
Sounds like exactly what you're looking for :)
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jonathan
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Registriert: Fr Sep 13, 2019 12:11 am

Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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spoke to the sales guy at Continental UK and apparently due to COVID production for the 130/80/17 has been halted. :( It's currently available in two sizes with more to come 'at some point'...so it looks like my unicorn tyre search goes on. Shame as it sounds like it would be just the thing I was looking for.
jonathan
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Registriert: Fr Sep 13, 2019 12:11 am

Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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scrambler hat geschrieben: Di Aug 25, 2020 7:11 am
It was available once, but is now apparently almost sold out https://gb.mynetmoto.com/shop.cfm/tyre/ ... tyres.html
Well....I tried everywhere in the UK and was about to give up and go for something else, but I followed your link and (wonders never cease) they had two left in stock! I even emailed the company just to make sure, before placing an order.

It seems strange that UK retailers are saying they haven't even made them yet, and a German franchise has two in stock. :?

I'll wait to see what is actually delivered before celebrating :lol:

So I may well owe you another big Thankyou Scrambler or if they send me a standard TKC 70, I'll scrub your name off my Christmas card list ;)

It feels like it's been off the road for so long now that anything black, made of rubber and vaguely round will do for the time being
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scrambler
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Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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jonathan hat geschrieben: Fr Aug 28, 2020 2:23 pm It seems strange that UK retailers are saying they haven't even made them yet, and a German franchise has two in stock. :?
Continental is still a German brand (although they hardly produce here any more, of course), so I expect them to be available here first. In any case, I keep my fingers crossed that the right one arrives. I'm curious how your experiences with the TKC70 rocks will be - unfortunately I can't test them all :) .
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jonathan
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Registriert: Fr Sep 13, 2019 12:11 am

Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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scrambler hat geschrieben: Fr Sep 04, 2020 8:57 am
jonathan hat geschrieben: Fr Aug 28, 2020 2:23 pm It seems strange that UK retailers are saying they haven't even made them yet, and a German franchise has two in stock. :?
Continental is still a German brand (although they hardly produce here any more, of course), so I expect them to be available here first. In any case, I keep my fingers crossed that the right one arrives. I'm curious how your experiences with the TKC70 rocks will be - unfortunately I can't test them all :) .
You're still on my Christmas card list :D Went out for a meeting at work this morning and the tyres were waiting for me when I got back this afternoon. Hadn't had time to take a proper look yet but will post some pics when I get them on the rims. I'll do a proper write up when I've got some miles on them.
jonathan
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Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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Well....she's up and running and the new wheels and tyres are finally on. :D My main concerns were how the larger diameter of the rear tyre would affect handling/steering and whether I'd got my sums right for the rear hub conversion spacers, as far as chainline and rotor alignment.

I'm pleased to report that the alignments are spot on. with the rear spindle torqued to Honda spec everything spins freely, just the usual light binding associated with disc and pads. The chainline is about as good as I can gauge without a lazer tool and runs quiet.

handling wise it's difficult to tell. I'd only had a few hours riding time on the bike before I stripped it down so I didn't have enough time to get properly acquainted with it. This was also on the original (as in oem fitted) tyres which were worn and the suspension based on the previous owners' settings.

It feels very planted, banks over with very little resistance and seems stable in a straight line up to 80 mph (c120 KMH indicated). Incredibly easy to ride. The steering does feel lighter than I like but I'm still experimenting with front and rear preload settings, tyre pressures and the TKC 70s are still brand new. Overall, for a first shakedown ride I couldn't be happier. No bangs, pops, whirrs, scraping noises, wobbles, shakes usw.

I asked a friend of mine to take it for a test ride for a second (unbiased) opinion and he came back with a big smile on his face. He loved it. He asked me if he can have it if I die of Covid :lol: I shouldn't laugh...

now to bed everything in and get some miles on it before our hapless leader and his bunch of incompetents impose more restrictions on our freedom :roll:

Stay safe
jonathan
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Registriert: Fr Sep 13, 2019 12:11 am

Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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IMG_20200912_150739.jpg
first pic just before the shakedown ride. Should give you an idea of the rear tyre profile (130/80 /17) in relation to the stock front (100/90/19). This is on a 3.5 inch rim, which I thought was pushing it a bit, but clearance is fine side to side with a good 10+ mm between the shoulder and the chainguard. I'd be wary of running it at sub 15 PSI pressure but I can't imagine I'd do this on rims without bead locks anyway. Still experimenting with pressures but I need more miles on them to get a proper feel for what suits the bike. I think I'm going to retrim the seat in 'space blue'. I like the oem colour scheme (red seat, red gaiters) but the original cast rims are white, as were the forks before I took them back to alloy. Blue seems to go better with the rims in my mind.

The little decal on the radiator shroud is a bit of a joke. I reworked the graphics font from the RD04 Africa twin, and it now reads 'Lancisha Twit'. For those who aren't familiar with the UK, Lancashire is the county I come from and a 'Twit' is a name given to someone who's a bit of an idiot. There's a double meaning also. I think the AX1 looks like a little owl from the front having small twin headlamps and in the UK 'Twit' is the name we give to the sound a tawny owl makes as in "Twit-t-woooo..."

Interesting owl fact: When you hear the 'Twit-t-wooo' of an owl, it's actually two owls, male and female...Males go 'Twit', females respond with 'T-woo'

Yet another interesting owl fact: In Japan, owls are considered to bring good luck, safety and protection, so the Japanese give each other owl-related gifts when people travel or move house etc. I thought it was quite apt for a motorcyclist so I designed the second logo based on Kanji (traditional Japanese calligraphy) and it says 'Little Owl' ....I've got one on the other side of the swingarm.

I'll take a pic of the Rear tyre next to the original for comparison. I did weigh both rims and tyres before I put them on to see what the difference is but I'll have to dig out the piece of paper I wrote the figures on. There wasn't that much of a difference which came as a surprise :D
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scrambler
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Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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jonathan hat geschrieben: Sa Sep 19, 2020 12:50 am
handling wise it's difficult to tell. I'd only had a few hours riding time on the bike before I stripped it down so I didn't have enough time to get properly acquainted with it. This was also on the original (as in oem fitted) tyres which were worn and the suspension based on the previous owners' settings.

It feels very planted, banks over with very little resistance and seems stable in a straight line up to 80 mph (c120 KMH indicated). Incredibly easy to ride. The steering does feel lighter than I like
Glad to hear that it all works out. The light steering feeling is perfectly normal for a NX250 / AX1. We simply have forgotten how it feels to drive a 130kg bike instead of the usall iron pigs they called adventure bikes these days :D Even for me after all these years it is always a change when I drive the NX250 again after a few weeks break. At first I always drive embarrassing serpentines until I get used to the light steering. It is important that it runs steadily straight ahead at 120km / h. Even if you pull the handlebars for a moment, it must not start swinging. Shimmy on the other hand is in my experience rarely an issue.
jonathan hat geschrieben: So Sep 20, 2020 10:30 pm first pic just before the shakedown ride. Should give you an idea of the rear tyre profile (130/80 /17) in relation to the stock front (100/90/19).
Looks great - one of the best NX250 / AX1 restorations I've ever seen. The spoked wheels also fit perfectly optically. No more worries about tires - at the moment there are real delivery problems with the original tire.
If you want, take a few more detailed pictures and present your little owl in the picture forum viewforum.php?f=11 Don't bother with the Google translator - English is fine ;)
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jonathan
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Registriert: Fr Sep 13, 2019 12:11 am

Re: Continental TKC 70 rocks

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Will do. The problem is my 'phone is a museum grade samsung galaxy so the camera is terrible. A mate of mine with a decent smartphone comes round quite frequently so I ask him to take a couple of snaps every now and then. With hindsight I should have taken more pics of work in progress but more often than not, when I'm in the middle of fixing things I forget to document it.

I've been doing the AX1 restoration alongside trying to resurrect my old VW Kombi, so time has been shared between the two. The AX has been much nicer to work on. At some point in time I'd love to make the trip over for the Treffen. I met a great bunch of German riders on the Isle of Man last year (they all seemed to love old Laverdas 8-) ) and I promised to visit (Baden area) so it would be good to combine the two, assuming we don't get banned from international travel the way things are going.
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