Dual Purpose/Off Road tyres

[Rhodie]

Just back from an 8 day blast from Bangkok thru to Laos and then following the Meking river into Cambodia via Phnom Penh and out through Battambang and Pailin. Laos was a breeze on my OE Dunlop Trailmax, but the roads in Cambodia can best be described as barely acceptable/unfinished and bombcratered dirt/mudchoked roads. Combined with it being the monsoon season it soon became clear that the dunlops were far from ideal and at times downright scary.
Apart from loosing the GS's sorry excuse for a rear mudguard - the dealer here volunteered to put in a warranty claim when he saw the sheered-off plastic remnants. The problem bikers here face is the lack choice due to the unavailability of different tyre companies.
Dunlop and Continental are not available in Thailand; but certain Metzeler & Michelin tyres maybe available.
The Metz Karoo has been suggested, but if memory serves me right these were slagged off 4 being downright dangerous on wet tarmac in the UK biking press. I see that Metzeler also make a Sahara & an Enduro 3 tyre that look more dual purpose than the Karoos. Does anybody have any personal experience and/or advice on any of these tyres on a heavily laden 1200GS?
Michelin are also availably and the new 06 1200GS are now shod with Anakees which look very similar to my Dunlop Trailmax.
Does Michelin make a similar tyre to the Continental TKC80 which riders on the sister ADV US site appear to favour.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated as I have to go back on an even longer trip in ten days time and want to try and get the bike properly shod in for the trip.
ATB
Rhodie

 

[marcus]

Way too jealous of your adventures to want to offer any positive comment!



Good old Tourances give good mileage and some off tarmac grip.



Monsoon season? Find the nearest 5 star hotel and sit in the bar until it clears, surely

 

[Mouse]

The Metz Karoo has been suggested, but if memory serves me right these were slagged off 4 being downright dangerous on wet tarmac in the UK biking press.

Probably because the journalists involved thought they were riding a sports bike.

The Karoo is quite a knobbly tyre, so obviously it won't have as much grip on tarmac as a tyre with more rubber in contact with the road. But I've never found it dangerous, you just have to remember to ride at a speed appropriate to the tyre.

You might find the Karoo T (as fitted to the HP2) is better on tarmac as it has larger knobbles, hence more rubber on the road.

 

[Rhodie]

More Metzeler Muddles

Cheers Mouse,
I had gathered something along the lines of your post re the Karoo T.
Looking on Metzeler's site the Sahara Enduro 3 looks a little less radical - any experience with these? It appears
It may all be rather moot as there is only one importer and it depends what they have in.
ATB
Rhodie

 

[The Bede]

Good old Tourances give good mileage and some off tarmac grip.

Monsoon season? Find the nearest 5 star hotel and sit in the bar until it clears, surely

Tourrances have left me unconvinced ... some off tarmac grip perhaps ... sweet fanny adams on tarmac grip ... tres slippy back-end and my front is looking pretty sad after a mere 2000 road miles, be surprised if it outlasts the rear. How hell did they get such a good reputation amongst other GSers I've met?

 

[ovenpaa]

Cheers Mouse,
I had gathered something along the lines of your post re the Karoo T.
Looking on Metzeler's site the Sahara Enduro 3 looks a little less radical - any experience with these? It appears
It may all be rather moot as there is only one importer and it depends what they have in.
ATB
Rhodie

I didnt know these were still available. I ran the earlier Sahara maybe 8 or 10 years ago on a 500 Rotax and I have the Sahara 3 (if that is the same thing as the Sahara enduro 3) on my current CMX500 Rotax in enduro trim. They are fine on tarmac, and OKish on dry off road stuff but hopeless on wet muddy tracks and seem to wear quite quickly. I run 18" and 21" and have never tried them on anything bigger than 500 so it is not a direct comparison, all I can say is they are OK but not outstanding in any way.

BTW they are bloody cheap in Germany, mine were under 80 quid a pair delivered.

 

[Rhodie]

Thai Lack of Choice

Unfortunately we are poorly served by importers here in Thailand.
But I have managed to get a set std Karoos.
ADVrider readers swear by Continental TKCs.
BMWThailand - who are the only big-bike importer - are bringing bikes in but unable to replace OE tyres. My early 06 GS had Dunlop Trialmaxes - newer versions are being brought in on Anakees. HP2 Karoo Ts can only be replaced by std Karoos etc.
I'll let you know how I fare.
Thanks for the help.
Rhodie

 

[MATKAT]

Heidenaus

here we go again , do yourselves a favour, search the site for Heidenau tyres www.mynetmoto.com join the ranks of tarka, MMM and others and save yourselves money at the same time. a front and two rears delivered for £135.00. Work great on the road, brill' of it, wear better than TKC's as good as Tourances, what more do you want
Take a ride round Europe and you will find many many discerning SG riders on Heidys

 

[ianran]

here we go again , do yourselves a favour, search the site for Heidenau tyres www.mynetmoto.com join the ranks of tarka, MMM and others and save yourselves money at the same time. a front and two rears delivered for £135.00. Work great on the road, brill' of it, wear better than TKC's as good as Tourances, what more do you want
Take a ride round Europe and you will find many many discerning SG riders on Heidys

pleaseSorry for hijack but pm'd you MATKAT for details of tyres

 

[Hew]

Rhodie
Try the German company in this thread http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76558&highlight=cheap+tyres

They will probably ship to Bangkok if you are paying by credit card so you will be able to get TKC's

 

[Rhodie]

Karoos Update

Thanks guys for all the comments.
I will be ordering in for future travels.
Just to let you know that my son [14] & I just got back from 11 days travelling thru Laos & Cambodia and the Karoos made it possible.
In parts the rains were horrendous and a universal choice just wouldnae have made it. The Karoo Ts would have made an ideal choice as there is quite a lot of tarmaqc in between the red roads. On the std Karoos I noticed a distinct weave at 130kph - but 2up fully laden I think that was fair enough. On Dunlop Trailmaxes 1up fully laden I was getting 160kph. This was on tarmac - on red rds we were down to <10kph and paddling in parts!
In Laos we had 4 "offs" whilst travelling on a section of the old Ho Chi Minh trail. The first was due to my not turning off the ABS - we mercifully ended up in a coffee bush.
The third was the worst, when a kayak would have been the only viable option of making any safe headway down the torrent raging down the smooth rocky road.
But all in all a great way of showing the fella vistas new, courtesy of the GS.
Cheers and thanks for the help & advice.
Rhodie