Tyres - Continental Trail Attack

Having read several items on the Continental 'Road Attack' (for 1200GS); and being aware of the 'Trail Attack', I approached the manufacturer for some information/clarification.
Others may also be interested in the response which describes the differences:

My original message:
Your Road Attack tyres have been greatly praised, including for use on BMW R1200 GS. You have introduced Trail Attack to suit such machines, building on the Road Attack's reputation.
Apart from the obvious difference in tread pattern, please explain:
1. Are there any differences between 'Road' & 'Trail' Attacks (compound, wear characteristics etc)?
2. For a BMW R1200 GS which tyre would:
. a) perform best in terms of grip, feel etc?
. b) give greater mileage?

3. Which tyre would you recommend for R1200 GS?

The reply:
The main differences between the Road-Attack and the Trail-Attack are performance and durability. The rear 150/70 VR17 Road-Attack has a 7.4mm tread depth compared with the Trail-Attack which has 8.4mm and a slightly harder compound.
In terms of recommendations for your machine the Trail-Attack would be my 1st choice, with the Road-Attack as the more sporty option.

Got trail attacks fitted last week had always been a tourance man up till then, gotta say love the Conti's great feedback excellent grip wet/dry so it's a big from me time will tell on wear rate etc

I posted a thread on this recently.

I fitted Trail Attacks to my 07 GSA recently and have had a big ptoblem with a front end "shimmy" at between 30-40mph and a lot of vibes through the bars at higher speeds.

I had the front wheel re-checked by the tyre fitter who confirmed that balancing was spot on but the shimmy still persists.

I'm not impressed at all and have now lost confidence in the front end on fast bends, so will be going back to Anakees very soon.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced a similar problem

I've been running on Trail Attacks (on an 06 12GSA) all through the winter (in pretty disgusting Welsh weather!) and whilst I'd agree that the front-end does not feel as planted at low speeds (ie. slow maneouveurs around mini-roundabouts, 90deg turns into sidestreets) as Anakees, I don't think I could classify it as a shimmy ... its not that bad, but it is noticeable.

I've experimented a bit with tyre pressures, thinking that maybe the TAs are more sensitive. They do have a more rounded profile than the Anakee, so they definitely feel to tip in to a turn more, which I've always put down to the feel at slow speed.

In a bend above that speed (ie. open road), I've no problem at all with feel. Conti recommend 2.2bar front and 2.5bar rear, how are you running yours?

As to the other diffs, tread depth I was aware of, its obvious on sight and the slighter harder compound is I think an issue for me ... whilst it certainly helps the wear rate (my rear at 3.5k is nearly untouched, where an Anakee was nearly gone), it would explain my niggles about the TAs taking a while to warm thru on the road from cold. I'm much more circumspect when I set out in the mornings for about 10 miles, whereas an Anakee seemed to be up to temp in 3-4 miles.

In hindsight, I can understand the Conti thinking of taking it into the Tourance (EXP?) category by stretching the distance, wear and capitalising on the RA performance---but I think all-round I'll probably try the RA next time round, it'll resolve the niggle of cold performance, maybe settle the front a little with more grip and I'll just have to replace them a while earlier with less tread and softer compound.

smartr said:

I posted a thread on this recently.

I fitted Trail Attacks to my 07 GSA recently and have had a big ptoblem with a front end "shimmy" at between 30-40mph and a lot of vibes through the bars at higher speeds.

I had the front wheel re-checked by the tyre fitter who confirmed that balancing was spot on but the shimmy still persists.

I'm not impressed at all and have now lost confidence in the front end on fast bends, so will be going back to Anakees very soon.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced a similar problem

Click to expand...

I'm so glad you posted this - I thought it was me. My 1150Gs came with Road Attacks and gave horrible feedback at about 15-20 mph. Shimmy, wander, wobble ... but horrible. So I checked everything thinking it was a mechanical fault. The tyres were not new so I replaced with Tourances and it is a different bike.

I had a set of Trail Attacks fitted 1200 miles ago to my 07 GSA. The rear is well and truly squared off after a two up weekend trip to France. I'm quite dissapointed in the wear rate, would have expected a heck of a lot more mileage than that. On the plus side prior to the squaring off the handling was excellent.

Thanks for the info Elemental. I hope you will let us know what you think of the Trail Attacks if you decide to fit them.

I've just fitted Trail Attacks as a replacement for Road Attacks. I loved the Road Attacks. Will keep you advised on how i get on with the Trail Attacks, but first impression is that they are fine. Will do some experimenting with pressures - currently using 2.5F/2.9R, which is what I used with the Road Attacks.

Thanks for the info Silvermog,

I've tried different preasures on both front and rear which has made little difference to the shimmy. The tryre fitter has given the tyre a good look and can't see any obvious external fault/bulging etc so I'm wondring if there is an internal fault (unlikely). Probably going to put it down as a bad experience and go with Tourance or the Anakees. Just a bit anoying to have wasted the best part of 200 quid!!

Done 5k on Road Attacks.

V pleased with them to begin with, but not quite so happy with combination of grip/confidence/wear through the Winter. The rear really squared off quickly on last Oct. Scotland jaunt.

So considering the T As as a replacement. I do know you're supposed to replace with matched pairs, but having read the first few posts, was wondering about keeping the R A front (no real probs., and not much wear) and putting new T A on rear.

Anyone tried that? Opinions?

Interesting to see how the new Anakee 2 will turn out to be starting June. I'm thinking about the TrailAttack by Conti, but the new Anakee promises to be 29% more durable.

Anakee2

Found this link thanks to a post by a member on a Dutch forum.

After a blast to Wales and back, plus a few twisties, my thought on Trail Attacks are:-

On same presures as Road Attack (2.5, 2.9) the front felt a bit skittish. On one-up pressures (2.2, 2.5) they felt much better. They do seem to be more sensitive to pressure change sthan other tyres.
The front feels rather vague at slow speed (i.e. less than 20 mph). This was disconcerting, but once over this speed they felt absolutely fine.
The rear has squared off noticeably after 750 miles. Disappointing.
You can still read the writing in the tread on the front.
They felt fine in the wet.

All in all, they're ok, but of the tyres I've had on GSs, I wouldn't rate them as highly as Bridgestone Battlewings or Road Attacks.

I think I might try the Avon Storm rear and similar front next. But then Road Attacks felt so good ot me Imight just stick with those.

Conti TA front wheel shimmy

Anyone recently having front wheel shimmy between 30-50 mph with Conti TA fitted? I have tried over inflating to 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 bar and it seems to get better but I am concerned about overinflating and losing footprint. Any thoughts, ideas, feedback?

Send it back...

Plenty of info on this....

Continental UK have recognised the problem and have swapped many for this KNOWN PROBLEM!

I have had two swapped via busters.. Contact the importers, they will ask for it to be returned to the supplier who will swap it..

Roger.

Shimmy/Weave

I had some Conti Road Attacks fitted on my 12GS and found that there was a weaveas a decelerated off throttle from 50ish - 35ish.
I tried various pressures and had the balancing re-done but with no imrovement.
Back to the supplier with them, who sent them back to Conti.
2 weeks later I had a full refund. They did not say tho if there had been a fault or what it was.
Good old Tourances are back.