Bike Magazine Tyre Test
- Thread starter APE
- Start date
You seem confused between looks, grip, tyre life and whether they will work in the wet. What would you have done before the Bike article unsettled your mind?
It is very easy. If you have no intention of going off road, beyond a gravel car park, get a set of road biased tyres, 020s or similar (or a pair of the road / off road hybrids, if you want to look chunkier).... Of course they will all work in the wet.
Tyres are like oil. They all perform well, unless you are riding in GPs where the manufacturer will build you several dozen just for you. I took a 1200GS on a trackday at Rockinham ('fast' group) with the Dunlops fitted. Worked fine all day, damp in the morning, then very warm. Worked fine on the basic ride home too.
Wapping,
I'm not particularly confused - well, no more than usual, according to the nice nurse.
However, I am not over familiar with the various tyre options for the GS. I went through two sets of 020s on my last bike - a Sprint ST, so I'm familiar with road/sport-touring tyres. Since I have bought a GS I would really like to do a bit of light off-roading this summer and therefore I do know that I want a pair of on/off road (dual-sport?) tyres - even though most of the time the bike will be used on the road and since a lot of that is on London's slipperiest I want maximum grip - particularly in the wet. I don't care about whether mileage achieved is 5,6 or 7,000.
So I looked at all the wise words on here (n members, n+1 opinions) and realised that the most popular choice (by far) was the Tourance, the least (by far) was the TrailWing OE fitted to my bike also that there are BattleWings, Distanzias and 607s to be considered.
Then came the BIKE test - where the Tourance and Battlewings came out realtively worse off than the Distanzias or the 607s. And of those two, the 607s look to have a lower void ratio than the Distanzias - so maybe are more road orientated. But it didn't mention performance in the wet and I know from experience that my 020s gripped like wotnot to a blanket in the wet, so maybe the Battlewings are better in the wet if they use the same technology as the 020s? All I was after was some advice from people who had tried them.
Maybe it doesn't matter since they are all basically the same?
Regards
Happyhenry
Time to move to higher ground?
I'm not particularly confused - well, no more than usual, according to the nice nurse.
However, I am not over familiar with the various tyre options for the GS. I went through two sets of 020s on my last bike - a Sprint ST, so I'm familiar with road/sport-touring tyres. Since I have bought a GS I would really like to do a bit of light off-roading this summer and therefore I do know that I want a pair of on/off road (dual-sport?) tyres - even though most of the time the bike will be used on the road and since a lot of that is on London's slipperiest I want maximum grip - particularly in the wet. I don't care about whether mileage achieved is 5,6 or 7,000.
So I looked at all the wise words on here (n members, n+1 opinions) and realised that the most popular choice (by far) was the Tourance, the least (by far) was the TrailWing OE fitted to my bike also that there are BattleWings, Distanzias and 607s to be considered.
Then came the BIKE test - where the Tourance and Battlewings came out realtively worse off than the Distanzias or the 607s. And of those two, the 607s look to have a lower void ratio than the Distanzias - so maybe are more road orientated. But it didn't mention performance in the wet and I know from experience that my 020s gripped like wotnot to a blanket in the wet, so maybe the Battlewings are better in the wet if they use the same technology as the 020s? All I was after was some advice from people who had tried them.
Maybe it doesn't matter since they are all basically the same?
Regards
Happyhenry
Time to move to higher ground?
Happy Henry,
I too live in (central) London. It doesn't rain that often.
Here is what I have found:
Dunlop D607 a good tyre. Decent life, stable in the wet and worked well enough on trackdays. I used them on a 1200GS down some unmade roads in Morocco - gravel, pot holes, loose surface etc. (what I guess you might call 'light off-roading'?) and they were fine.
Bridgestone 020. A godd tyre, working very well wet or dry. Had these on my Blackbird too. Would have been happy to use them down the roads mentioned above.
Michelin Anakees got these on a 12GSA. Not a bad tyre but I do not find them as good as the Dunlops. Under load, at over 80 / 90, they seem to squirm a bit when cranked over but nothing dramatic. No problems in the wet. They have a slightly more chunky tread pattern than the Dunlops: maybe it's that (or maybe I just imagined it)?
I too live in (central) London. It doesn't rain that often.
Here is what I have found:
Dunlop D607 a good tyre. Decent life, stable in the wet and worked well enough on trackdays. I used them on a 1200GS down some unmade roads in Morocco - gravel, pot holes, loose surface etc. (what I guess you might call 'light off-roading'?) and they were fine.
Bridgestone 020. A godd tyre, working very well wet or dry. Had these on my Blackbird too. Would have been happy to use them down the roads mentioned above.
Michelin Anakees got these on a 12GSA. Not a bad tyre but I do not find them as good as the Dunlops. Under load, at over 80 / 90, they seem to squirm a bit when cranked over but nothing dramatic. No problems in the wet. They have a slightly more chunky tread pattern than the Dunlops: maybe it's that (or maybe I just imagined it)?
Wapping,
Thanks for that. I agree it doesn't rain much here, but it is at the moment!
I guess I'll have to plump for one that I fancy and see how it suits.
Is the social meet at Blackfriars worth a trip?
HH
Thanks for that. I agree it doesn't rain much here, but it is at the moment!
I guess I'll have to plump for one that I fancy and see how it suits.
Is the social meet at Blackfriars worth a trip?
HH
My guess that for those who only ride in our wonderfull roads, most tires are better than us 
In which case, wear rate and "feel" become more important than 1 second off a 30 mile lap of your favorite road
all IMHO 
In which case, wear rate and "feel" become more important than 1 second off a 30 mile lap of your favorite road
all IMHO
My guess that for those who only ride in our wonderfull roads, most tires are better than us
In which case, wear rate and "feel" become more important than 1 second off a 30 mile lap of your favorite road
He shoots, he scores!
In one.
JIm
Registered user
I'm about to change my front to a Tourance, I have an Anakee on the rear which will be replaced with a Tourance when worn, has anyone had experience of this mix and match set up, or can see any problems?
thanks
Jim
thanks
Jim
I`ve mixed and matched Anakee`s and Tourances on both my old 1150ADV and my 1200ADV and you shouldn`t have any problems.
I`m sure some smart arsed BIKE test rider will come up with some bullsh*t comment about "feeling the difference at a high lean angle at Redgate" but I don`t think it`s a problem in the real world
. I wouldn`t mix Traillie type tread with road tyres though i.e a Tourance with a B020.
I`m just changing mine at 11500 miles. Have an original fit Anarkee on the front and a 6500 miles Tourance on the back which is still OK but won`t do the trip to Mugello!
Tour`nces going on because I think they are better on mileage.
I`m sure some smart arsed BIKE test rider will come up with some bullsh*t comment about "feeling the difference at a high lean angle at Redgate" but I don`t think it`s a problem in the real world
. I wouldn`t mix Traillie type tread with road tyres though i.e a Tourance with a B020. I`m just changing mine at 11500 miles. Have an original fit Anarkee on the front and a 6500 miles Tourance on the back which is still OK but won`t do the trip to Mugello!
Tour`nces going on because I think they are better on mileage.
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