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I have put almost 9,000 on my bike sense the first of the year. It came with Metzeler
Tourance and they need to be replaced. I have only about 1/8 inch of tread and I have 3 plugs in the rear. Tourances are do great on black top and OK on dry gravel but have no traction in mud, even small mud patches can cause problems.

I am interested in a more aggressive tire but not full knobbies. The two I am looking at are Metzeler Karoo tires or Continental TKC 80. How do they wear? Any comments would be welcome, pro and con. Are there any other tires I should consider?

I am running TKC80's on my weestrom and have been very pleased so far. A little over 1000 miles and very little sign of wear. Most riding has been flint hills gravel. Most say to expect at least 3000 mi. rear and double that for the front.
Britt.

ajayhawkfan wrote:I am interested in a more aggressive tire but not full knobbies.

The way you ride your "pig", you might want to consider full knobbies!!!!!

I have read good things about the TKC 80s (except the price ... ouch).

What size rear wheel does the "pig" have?

Are you going to mount up these tires yourself or have it done?

I just took a look at the TKC and Karoo tires ... pretty aggressive ... that is good!

I seriously doubt you will get anywhere near 9k miles out of any tire that is more aggressive than your stockers. No free lunch, all is a trade off.

Another tire to consider is the Dunlop Rally Raid (18" rear only, no 17" ... not sure what the big GS uses for a rear tire). The front might be a bit aggressive, but nothing to keep you from mixing tires. For a lot of review and pictures of that tire:
http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=152976 (good pics and mileage info on page 11)

All of these can be priced/bought at:
http://www.swmototires.com/
Buy at least two tires and get free shipping.

Dunlop Rally Raid:


TKC 80:


Metzler Karoo:

safiri wrote:

ajayhawkfan wrote:I am interested in a more aggressive tire but not full knobbies.

The way you ride your "pig", you might want to consider full knobbies!!!!!

I have read good things about the TKC 80s (except the price ... ouch).

What size rear wheel does the "pig" have?

Are you going to mount up these tires yourself or have it done?

I thought about full knobbies but was afraid I would have to change them as often as I did my oil and I do ride black top about half the time. Maybe I am wrong but hoped I would be able to get more miles on a 50/50 tire. If I am wrong please correct me.

My pig's rear tire is 150/70 x 17, tubeless. I can't find many choices and the choices are all pricey.

I will have to have the tires mounted. I don't have the tools or skills to do that.

My wrenching skills are limited to adding gas, oil, checking tire pressure and plugging tires (I am very good a plugging tires). Years ago when I had a YZ250 and a DT360 I could do a little work on them. Now I would not know where to start.

On a more aggressive tire I would be surprised if a 1200GS could go more than 5k miles. The weight of the bike causes a lot of the wear. As well as the torque and horsepower.

XR_Nut on this forum recently sold his GS, which he rode quite aggressively. Send him a PM and ask what tires he chose and what mileage he got out of them.

A Pirelli Scorpion AT might also work, but is less aggressive than the two you are looking at: (Similar to the Tourance, but less expensive.)

Just reaching the end of my first set of TKC's. I loved them. Used thier full postential at WestFest with Advrider. They don't last if you have to use them on hot pavement for long miles though. I rode 927 miles home crossing hot Oklahoma and Kansas at 80mph and it took a toll on them. I figure I am a bit over 3k miles and might be able to squeeze another 1k from the rear.

A money saving idea on Advrider is to use the 130/80/17 vs. the 150/70/17. It is $40 cheaper and does better on dirt/mud. It is only 20 mm norrower. There were several members that said they did this on GS's and Vstroms with no negative effects. The way I look at it.....if you buy the smaller size you basically get the third tire free with the savings.

Good Luck

Got a 2007 R1200gs Adv myself. Ordered it with tkc80s and picked it up last November at MAP in Wichita. The original rear tire lasted 3500 miles which, was used on 80% tarmac and 20% flint hills dirt roads. The bike now has 5600 miles and the front tire probably has another couple of thousand miles left on it but, not more. The back tire wore steadily until about 3300 miles, then it went off quick. The tkc's are pretty good for a street tire and works ok in the dirt. I've been in axle deep mud ... just go like hell and you'll get thru it. They're kinda noisy around 40mph-ish in town however, they do quite down at highway speeds. Pretty stable around 110, too. I'll probably stick with knobby's on the thing since, it just looks right with those kind of tires.

Wil

Thanks for the advice. I am going with the 80's. I am having them installed on Friday. I was told I could get anywhere from 3000 to 6000 miles. I hope 6000 but I expect I'll be changing the rear tire every time I change oil.

My bike was burning oil at an alarming rate but, it seems to have stopped since I put mobile1 15w-50 extended life oil in it. [For you none beemer guys, they do use car oil since the motor's more like a car's instead of a motorycycle's ... mainly no wet clutch.] I'm gonna change oil every 6000 miles so, yeah it'd be nice if the tires lasted that long. Getting back to the tire subject; I believe the Metzler Sahara 3's the only tire between the tkc80 and tourance for the gs; kinda like a 50/50 tire. I got around 3700 miles [to the cords] on 'em on a ktm640adv. I like 'em for a dirt road tire but, never had 'em on the gs adv. As far as other 50/50 tires, I just put Pirelli Scorpions on a ktm950se [yeah blasphemy ... so what]. It's my puttin' around bike ... my version of a Starbucks crusier. Not much choice on tarmac or 50/50 oriented tires for that bike. Just the opposite problem with the gs adv. Come to think of it, I don't have any bikes in my garage that don't have knobby tires.

Wil

I liked the Sahara tires but did not see them in my size. I also like the Karoos but was told they would not wear as well as the 80s.

I'm not happy of the thought of having to buy 3 or 4 rear tires a year but I guess that is the price of riding that bike the way I do.

I know what you mean ... Surely them tire manufacturers can make a knobby last 10,000 miles on a big d/s. It's a racket for sure. Getting back to the tire selection thing; my 950se came with karoo(T)'s and the rear tire lasted some 1400 miles ... and that was babying it. I didn't like the rear but, the front was pretty good [other than getting a big head shake at 90 on a big sweeper on I-235]. The thing I have noticed about the tkc80 on the gs adv is that it's not cupping or showing abnormal wear like other knobbies I've used on other bikes. Looks pretty decent for 5600 miles. I figure two rears and one front ought to do. I forgot to mention that I got lost around Cheney lake [with a gps even] and got into some deep sand. Same thing as mud; stand up and go like heck. They work surprisingly well in sand. Also, I forgot to mention, that if they have a weakness it's going up or down hill on flinty gravel and rocky ledges at slow speed. The bike can be a handfull, there. It's so heavy at trials bike speed.

Wil

ajayhawkfan wrote:I'm not happy of the thought of having to buy 3 or 4 rear tires a year but I guess that is the price of riding that bike the way I do.

A few years back I bought a tire changing stand and MC attachment at Harbor Freight for a total of $80. I drilled some holes in the garage floor and inserted some mollies that take lag bolts. That way I can bolt it down, but move it to the side when not in use. Best money spent for saving my back and time and money.

Order up tires from swmototires.com, mount them yourself. Save a lot of money, get it done when you want. I can mount the stand, take off a tire, swap tires, put the wheel back on the bike, and move the stand in way less than two hours. The more tires you do, the more time you save. You are going to spend that 2 hours just taking the bike (or wheels) to a shop.

If you are running knobbies that only are going to last 3 - 4 k miles, you probably don't need to balance them. (I have a homemade balancer setup that works very well ... although adapting to a single side arm rim would require a machinist making a mount for it.) I don't balance knobbies. I do balance my street bikes, but those tires should last me a lot more than 5k.

I would be happy to host a "change your tire" event at my house sometime. I learned the hard way ... Tracy and I experimented until we figured it out. Lots of time savers along the way, too.

Thanks for the offer. Please let me know the next time you are changing a tire. I'll bring the beer.

I would like to see you do it and what tool are needed. I can plug a tire as fast as anyone but I would like to see how to get a tire off the rim so I could patch one from the inside while on the road.

Hey ajayhawkfan, if you're considering a balancer, you might check out what bmw has listed in the latest service manual on cd. I believe it's dated 02/07. Looks like they got everything a guy would need to change out tires on a r1200gs. Anyway, our bikes have 5 hole wheels with a big hole in the middle and the earlier models like the r1150gs had 4 hole wheels and a smaller hole in the middle. Also, from doing some research on truing/balance stands, mixing and matching various brands of bmw wheel adapters may or may not work for any particular stand. I liked the K L stand [from california] but, they don't make adapters for beemers; bummer. Another thing to consider; I use them commercially available plastic rim saver thingys on normal dirt bike wheels but since the bmw spoked wheels have that generous lip on the edge of the rim, they don't work. Haven't figured out how to keep from scratching up the pretty anodizing or powder coating or whatever it is, on the gs wheels.

Wil

On my street bikes, for rim protectors, I use plastic pieces cut from Baby Wipe tubs. Originally I scavenged these from the recylcing center. Now, with a 6 month old, I have a few boxes.

As to balancing, here is what I use for wheels that are "normal":
http://home.everestkc.net/malsin/Motorc ... _setup.htm

If anybody wants to make one of these, I ordered a bunch of bearings a month ago and added some skate bearings to my order (they come in 8 or 10 packs, you need two).

For single side arm wheels, like on my K bike, I have used one of these from Harbor Freight. You can either use it as is, or modify it so that you can hang the cone from the ceiling. Unlike car tires, which are wide and require dynamic / 3 dimensional (both sides of rim) balancing, motorcycle wheels are narrow and only require static / 2 dimensional balancing.

On sale right now for $10.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=91939

Are 2 tire irons all that is needed to remove a tire from the rim? Are there any secrets in doing it or is it just like a car? On a tubeless tire will a hand pump set the tire bead or is something more powerful needed?

My onboard tool kits usually consist of three tire irons, one a 10" spoon and two 8" enduro size. They're also what I use in the garage. From what I've experienced, three works good for me. If you need more, you're probably doing something wrong. I wouldn't say there's a secret to changing motorcycle tires but, there's certainly a technique to it. A guy could learn the hard way or take the easier route by watching and learning from someone who's fast and good [of course if you're fast, you're usually good] at it. I'm neither but, manage to do it without too much grief and mimumally scratch the rims. Getting the opposite side bead in the center wheel channel's a must do, for sure. I don't know if a hand pump or co2 cartridges could set the bead on tubeless tires. I do see where you're thoughts are on the question though.

Wil

I am on a tire search myself from my "new to me" DR650. I purchased the bike about a month ago. It had the original worn out trail wings. I wanted something more aggressive as the bike has a mind of its own in hardpack with gravel turns. I tried a new set of Karoos front an back. They are way better than the trailwings but still not good enough for me in the turns.

The karoos are wearing quickly as I am riding them about 50/50. With 1000 miles on the tire they are over half worn. Wear occurs quickly on the rear if you heat it up on the highway at 70 mph plus. I am betting I will get around 1500 to 1700 miles on the back unless it cools down around here soon. I have measured rear tire temps as high as 146 degrees depending on the pressure I am running.

What tire combinations are folks running on 650 class bikes here in the KC area?

Thanks
Rob

Well, I thought I'd add a post here instead of starting a new thread for this.

Anyone know of any dual-purpose (10%off 90%on) tires offered in a 120/70/17 - 160/70/17 combo? Or something close to that. I've finally found a bike the wife is comfortable with (Bandit 400), but I'd like to get something a little more aggressive for occasional dirt/gravel use. I know the Scorpion Synch's come in that size, just didn't know if anything else did.

Also, any reviews on the Synch's that you guys can point me to. I know they come stock on the Buell XB12X.

Ian