Continental Road Attack tyres

[mulletd]

Find below, an email that I have just sent to www.conti-tyres.co.uk

Can anyone answer the questions that I have raised in the absence of a response from Continental? I shall, of course, post their reply should one be forthcoming.

"I have spoken to a number of Dealers within my local area with the intention of purchasing a pair of Continental Road Attack tyres for my BMW R1100GS.

Whilst a few have stated that they can provide me with these tyres, the vast majority have stated that they are not on sale yet and will not be available until at least summer 2006.

My questions are these:

1. Are these tyres for sale in the UK in the correct spec/compounds?
2. If not, and I am being offered imported foreign spec tyres, are these still safe and legal to use on UK roads?
3. If the tyres on offer are not UK spec, what are fundamental differences, in order that I can make an informed choice?

I await your reply with interest,

Regards, Steve"

 

[Le singe]

Go onto English eBay, motorcycle spares, then search 'Tyres Continental', there's an eBay shop selling them in pairs for £131 delivered, considerably cheaper than here in France.
I'm ordering 2 sets to be collected on my next trip to the UK, when I spoke to the chap he had 13 fronts and 12 rears of the size for the GS with the alloy wheel conversion. All brand new and 100%.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

why would a tyre differ between countries in the EU ?

is this normal ? i 've never heard of it before.

 

[mulletd]

Differing Compounds

I imagine that tyres destined for the meditteranean countries would have a harder compound so that they last longer in the (slightly!) warmer climate. Therefore, I also imagine that tyres bound for the colder climates of northern Europe are softer so that they warm up and grip with a lower average temperature.

I am willing to be told that I am incorrect, but I imagine that a sports tyre designed for use in greece would have to be a harder compound than the equivalent tyre designed to run at the same tyre temperature in sunny old blighty, otherwise it would probably have a significantly reduced lifespan compared to the british tyre.

 

[mulletd]

Response from Continental Tyres

Hi Steve,

I'm sorry to tell you that the Road Attacks in 150/70 R17 69V and 110/80 R19
59V are definitely not available yet. We were initially told that we would
receive our first delivery in either January or February of this year but
the latest information from the factory is that due to the runaway success
of the new Sport Attack tyre they have had to step up production on that
tyre and delay the launch of these two new sizes of Road Attack by a couple
of months. We're now hoping to have them in during April or May.

I'm afraid that the tyres that some dealers have promised they can get for
you are non-existent. They've not even been manufactured yet!

Finally, and although the point is largely redundant in the light of what
I've just told you, I can assure you that the Road Attacks sold in Germany,
the UK, Turkey, the USA, Malaysia, etc, etc are all the same specification
and compound. After all, they all come from the same factory.

Best regards

Bryn Phillips
Technical & Sales

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

never assume - never 'imagine'

its just false info

 

[mulletd]

Other tyre options

In light of the above, and having done numerous searches of this website, I think I'll have to stump up £200 and have Alan Jefferies shoe-horn some Michelin Pilot Roads onto my loose wheels. Its £40 more than a pair of Dunlop D607's/Bridgestone 020's, but they do appear to be the recommended pure road tyre of the moment.

A dealer suggested that I try Avon Azaro St's for approx £170 as an alternative. Has anyone tried these and what do you think?

Any other recommendations/thoughts?

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

In light of the above, and having done numerous searches of this website, I think I'll have to stump up £200 and have Alan Jefferies shoe-horn some Michelin Pilot Roads onto my loose wheels. Its £40 more than a pair of Dunlop D607's/Bridgestone 020's, but they do appear to be the recommended pure road tyre of the moment.

Have a good search on the site on tyres, make yourself a coffee and sit back and read

FWIW I've not heard much good said about the Pilots so not sure where you get the above opinion from.

Fav. pure road tyre still seems to be 020's with D607's coming in a respectable 2nd (not the longest lasting dual purpose but grip and feedback up there with pure road tyres)

Andres

 

[mulletd]

Which is best

I understand that tyres, like bikes and women etc, are all subjective. But I understood the consensus of opinion on this d/b to rate the Michelins slightly over the Dunlops which were slightly better than the Bridgestones. That addded to the guide which is available here tipped me towards the Michelins:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32096

My biggest problem with the Michelins are price (expensive). I prefer the look of road tyres v dual purpose (that's Dunlop out then!) and the Bridgestones get mixed reviews.

If anyone rates the Avons then they may just have the edge for me (better looking and a similar price to the Dunlops/Bridgestones), otherwise I suppose the jury is still out.

Steve

 

[franco]

I just got a pair

Fed up with the TKC80s now, they wear out too fast and I was a bit excited on the autoroute the other day with some Italian git sitting right on my arse as I was apparently taking too long overtaking, so I accelarated up to 180km/h and the bike went into a huge wobble I know they're only rated to 160k/h but I would have thought an extra 20 wouldn't hurt...They're nearly as bald as me anyway so time to go.

Roadattacks were 207 euros including delivery for a pair. They look great. I'll let you know how I get on with them..

 

[PASO]

Had a pair fitted to my R1100GS for a couple of weeks now they are very good

 

[mulletd]

Thanks for the updates

Had to bite the bullet a few months ago and put Michelin Pilot Roads on mine. Can't say that I'm a good enough rider to tell the difference between road tyres in a blind test, but they're much better than the Enduro 4's that were on previously.

If they are top dog when I next get round to putting on new tyres then I may give the Conti's a go.

 

[franco]

.

Had to bite the bullet a few months ago and put Michelin Pilot Roads on mine. Can't say that I'm a good enough rider to tell the difference between road tyres in a blind test, but they're much better than the Enduro 4's that were on previously.

If they are top dog when I next get round to putting on new tyres then I may give the Conti's a go.

If you pay the postage, you can have mine when I'm finished with them. Seriously. Round here, I find I wear out fronts as quickly as rears, and the side always wear more than the middle, as I don't do much motorway with the tyres..So the middle will be good as new

 

[littleredrooster]

......and the side always wear more than the middle, as I don't do much motorway with the tyres..So the middle will be good as new

OMG, bliss. Where do you live???



Yes, I know it's France, but where's the Cote d'Azure?

 

[franco]

Yes, I know it's France, but where's the Cote d'Azure?

The Nice part, near Nice

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=cote_dazur@262

 

[franco]

Wow!

I got the Roadattacks fitted this morning. The bike is transformed! First thing I noticed was the smoothness of the ride and the lack of road noise you get with the TKC80s. They lean more naturally into bends and offer good levels of grip. In order to scrub then in a bit I went for a scoot at lunchtime to put 100kms on them before starting to give it large. On the way home, I took the sublime RN7 which runs through the Esterel mountains and is one of the twistiest roads around, superb. I'd taken this road home last night with the TKCs just to get an idea of the difference. The handling with the new tyres is awesome, reminded me of when I'd put smaller wheels on my old GS1100 and fitted MEZ4 tyres. Much easier to turn into bends, holds the road like it's on rails now. Completely unperturbed by white lines or ripples in the road which previously had the TKCs twitching, (though never scarily so). Whilst the TKC80s could be pushed so hard you could scrape the pegs, it always felt a bit on the edge, and in the wet, they didn't inspire confidence at all. The Roadattacks get the Franco seal of approval, and given the huge tread depth, I expect they'll last a lot longer than the TKC80s too. So, it's not exactly fair to compare a pure road 'sports tourer' tyre with an offorad tyre, but having said that, I won't be putting TKCs on again. The difference on road is simply awesome. Whoo-hoo. The TKC80s do look the business on the ADV especially, but the wacky tread pattern on the Roadattacks goes some way to making up for the lack of knobbliness. Recommended, and a 200 euros a pair delivered from www.mynetmoto.com, why the hell not?

Here's a pic of them on the bike...completely dusty with the gravel on the drive...

 

[newman7096]

Anyone got any feedback re wet performance of these as most tyres grip quite well in the dry!

 

[StooL]

Keep us posted with wear rate. I'm on BT 020's just now and fancy a change but not if they're not going to as last long (which isn't very long).

My 020's only last about half the miles of the Tourances I had before but once you make the move to sticky rubber you're loathe to go back. I'd hate to be lying in a ditch with my tourance clad 1150, wishing I'd paid a few bucks more for 020's.

 

[franco]

.

Anyone got any feedback re wet performance of these as most tyres grip quite well in the dry!

Not yet, but it usually rains here in November, so I'll let you know Just kidding, it's raining now, but I'm taking the car tomorrow as I've got to carry all sorts of guitar gear as we're playing at a mate's party tomorrow.

 

[newman7096]

Not yet, but it usually rains here in November, so I'll let you know Just kidding, it's raining now, but I'm taking the car tomorrow as I've got to carry all sorts of guitar gear as we're playing at a mate's party tomorrow.

The things you find to do when its raininig eh!