[jimku]

Go with "grip"

Yupper, I want grip like super glue.

[gizzo]

I ride a lot of twisty, kinky mountain roads here in Ideeho, and almost every ride at least one corner "sneaks up" on me and makes my butt pucker.  So I definitely want tires that will corner well and brake well.  And by corner well I mean "Oooooooh Shiiiiiiiiiit" corners.  You know ... the ones usually followed by Bang Ding Ow.  And on the roads I ride, if I lose it, it's often a hundred foot drop straight down into a shallow river lined with boulders ... or into a vertical cliff face of solid rock.

Maybe it's not a bad idea to go do some rider training in that case? CSS or similar is a good investment. Might help reduce those "oh shit" moments. Modern tyres are awesome and most people never use all the tyre has to give. I've smashed plenty of "fast" guys on modern supersports with hypersport rubber on my old TRX850 with Dunlop Roadsmart III (sport touring). Obviously there are also plenty of guys faster than me, too. I get rounded up by crew on 300 ninja's and classic road racers on really skinny rubber. Difference is they've done training and know how to ride, and what a tyre can give.

[GlennF]

You basically need to find a TUBED low profile tyre with the same profile as stock  (100/90-18 tyre at the front and a 130/70-18 tyre at the rear I believe )  If you know what you are doing you can potentially play with the profile a smidgeon (110/80 on front instead of 100/90 for example) but it will definitely effect handling, usually detrimentally.

The K70 are probably not suitable as they are old school "square" profile tyres not low profile.

If I owned an interceptor I would likely try to shoehorn on the same MT60s adventure bike tyres used used on the v7 Rough -  though I actually have no idea if they are available in sizes to suit the Interceptor.

[jimku]

Well, the more training you get, the better you think you are, and the faster you ride, and it doesin't reduce the "Oh Shit" moments even a little bit because bad corners will still "sneak up" on you.  More training, especially "go fast" training just thurns OW  into  OW.   I know because I once left a two-lane blacktop at 90 mph and ... it hurts like hell and it hurts for a looong time!  It took 10 years to stop walking like that stiff-legged deputy Chester on Gunsmoke.  I have zero interest in learning "knee-dragging" techniques because the bike just isn't designed for that and is pretty much incapable of performing in that envelope even if I am.

And I flat will not ride a bike with tube tires.  No way.  Those roads have looong stretches up to 100 miles long with no service whatsoever including cell service to call roadside assistance.  I have NO INTENTION of EVER spending two hours crawling around in the dirt, laying my bike down in the gravel just to get a front wheel off, and packing around 40 lbs of tire irons, tubes, etc. just to swap out a punctured tube.  I spent six long months searching for a good source of tubeless alloy wheels for the Interceptor and wouldn't have bought the bike if I hadn't found one

[GlennF]

Handy calculator if you are having trouble getting the right profile:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=100-90r18-110-80r18

[Bilgemaster]

"...Speaking of those OEM Pirellis, I am led to understand from some online review I can no longer now exactly recall, that the ones shipping on the new 650s are actually specially made to slightly lesser specs for Enfield than the "real original Pirellis", which, among other aspects, are said to have a tad more tread depth and hence wear a bit longer."

Sounds like the recent FortNine video...

https://youtu.be/Tv97i_-V7hA

Thanks Mattsz! That's the one. That FortNine channel just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? The production values are often just WAY finer than you'd expect for a moto-vlog...even sort of "artsy". And the presenter "Ryan Fort9" (aka. Ryan Kluftinger) gives it all just the right twist of good natured Canadian snark.

Formerly known as "Canada's Motorcycle", I've often wondered why they chose to rename the company "Fort Nine". Frankly, it's a little too reminiscent of this cursed and dreaded place. But it turns out the moniker had typically Canadian and characteristically "nice" origins.

[gizzo]

Well, the more training you get, the better you think you are, and the faster you ride, and it doesin't reduce the "Oh Shit" moments even a little bit because bad corners will still "sneak up" on you.  More training, especially "go fast" training just thurns OW  into  OW.   
 

You are so wrong.  A good training provider will listen to what you want to work on and focus on those things. Training isn't all about knee dragging and wheelies. They are fun, though.  You can choose to work on your roadcraft and corner reading which I can promise you do indeed reduce the OH Shit moments, because the corners no longer sneak up on you. 

If you're not prepared to improve your riding skills, no amount of sticky Tyre is going to save you because you don't know how to use it. Get some BT45's and enjoy a nice ride,  excellent cornering and long life. They'll still be hanging on long after you've run out of testicles and talent. They're very good. More tyre is a waste. If you can't drag pegs, they're all you need and more than you can use.

Training rocks. It's made me safer, smoother, faster and more aware. I save the fast riding for the track. If you're not prepared to improve your skills and hope that super sticky tyres are going to save your arse,  you're more likely to smear yourself over a cliff face than to get a puncture miles from home.

Do what you want. It's your skin.

[mattsz]

And the presenter "Ryan Fort9" (aka. Ryan Kluftinger) gives it all just the right twist of good natured Canadian snark.

I do loves me some Canadian snark...

[jimku]

You are so wrong.  A good training provider will listen to what you want to work on and focus on those things. Training isn't all about knee dragging and wheelies. They are fun, though.  You can choose to work on your roadcraft and corner reading which I can promise you do indeed reduce the OH Shit moments, because the corners no longer sneak up on you. 

If you're not prepared to improve your riding skills, no amount of sticky Tyre is going to save you because you don't know how to use it. Get some BT45's and enjoy a nice ride,  excellent cornering and long life. They'll still be hanging on long after you've run out of testicles and talent. They're very good. More tyre is a waste. If you can't drag pegs, they're all you need and more than you can use.

Training rocks. It's made me safer, smoother, faster and more aware. I save the fast riding for the track. If you're not prepared to improve your skills and hope that super sticky tyres are going to save your arse,  you're more likely to smear yourself over a cliff face than to get a puncture miles from home.

Do what you want. It's your skin.

Well, for a younger rider you're probably right.  I am 71, have been riding all my life, and have gotten MUCH wiser than I used to be.  I ride well within my capabilities and watch every training video I can get my hands on, and put it into practice.  I haven't had a corner "sneak up" on me in years.  I practice my low-speed weaving / turning / stopping / swerving skills on a weekly basis in a big parking lot.  I have taken advanced rider training through the STARS program and practice that as well ... in a parking lot.  The street isn't the place to "practice" that stuff in panic mode.  Actually my main concern for great grip is for high speed braking / swerving ... a deer jumping out of the brush ... or a boulder going "plop" right in front of me off of an overhanging cut, ... and by "high speed" I mean 65 or less on two-lane black top.  Or some idiot suddenly turning hard in front of me in an intersection or unexpectedly slamming on their brakes in city traffic.  And on the freeway at 70 / 75 anything can happen.  I am a VERY defensive driver / rider, but still, shit happens.  One time I was about 6 car lengths behind a semi tractor (just the truck, no trailer) doing about 75 on the freeway in Phoenix.  No other cars in sight, clear sailing.  In about a quarter second he was doing cookies down the freeway, going round and round swapping ends, all over three lanes.  Another time some redneck's camper shell blew off in front of me ... damn near bought the farm on that one.

When I see videos of some Bozo dragging knees on a highway I always have one thought ... "Hmmm a nice size rock in the knee cap might smarten him up some".  And when I see some clown pulling wheelies on a street or freeway in my mind he just lit up a big neon sign on his back that reads "IDIOT".  To me those people are hand-grenades with a loose pin.

[axman88]

I ride a lot of twisty, kinky mountain roads here in Ideeho, and almost every ride at least one corner "sneaks up" on me and makes my butt pucker.

I haven't had a corner "sneak up" on me in years. 

So you are saying that you only ride every few years?

[Breezin]

So you are saying that you only ride every few years?

Nice interception sir!

[jimku]

So you are saying that you only ride every few years?

Apparently you get yourself in trouble every time you ride?  Need training wheels?

[twocoolgliders]

Play nice now boys, play nice....

[jimku]

Play nice now boys, play nice....

Just good-natured poking and jabbing, all is good.  I appreciate his wit and sardonic sense of humor. 

[wildbill]

…….or you can just go out and take a nice leisurely ride and be very thankful you can do that!