Seriously, if you're only going to ride on ashphalt, then there are better road tyres out there in 21/17 sizes. Get a quote on Continental Trail Attack, Bridgestone Battlewing or Dunlop Trailmax TR91. There are other road only tyres too, but I have tried all these and they are all extremely good on the road.

I had Distanzia on my 1150GSA for 2k miles and wasn't impressed, but that's just my opinion and on a completely different bike. They used to be very popular on XTX five or six years ago (but a 17" front behaves very differently to a 21"). The OE Tourance on the Tenere were OK, dodgy on white lines and road imperfections, but lasted fairly well and did the job. Not tried a Conti Escape.

You can fit a TL tyre no problem, but obviously with a tube!

At the end of the day, you'll get a million and one opinions on tyres (all different), so you just have to bite the bullet and try a set out that takes your fancy/fits your budget and make your own assessment...

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