Dual Purpose Vs Road Tyres - Dunlops View

[Rasher]

I enquired about the difference between the "latest" Dual Sport Tyres and Road Tyres on the BMW GS to Dunlop, a mate of mine who raced on Dunlops tells me this chap is knowledgeable and straight talking.

My query was if the how the road orientated Dual Purpose Tyres match up to the Roadsmarts - Universally praised as being as good a Sports Touring Tyres get with great grip (wet or dry) and good mileage.

I also pointed out some owners like to retain the "look" of the bike which can be a consideration, so if the DP tyres are almost as good I may prefer that option, for me offroading would be no more than maybe the odd track, this is what I got back....

I know what you mean about keeping the 'look' of the bike, but if all of your riding is done on the road forget image and go for the RoadSmarts. No question. They really do improve the GS's chassis performance.

When you think about it, a tyre is a compromise. It's not a word we like in
the tyre industry but that is essentially what a tyre is.

If you want off-road potential with a more rugged tread design then on-road
performance will suffer a little.

As if by chance, Ian Jubb has just reported in this week's MCN on the
RoadSmarts I supplied for his GS:

"Finally with some free time I can now try out the new Dunlop RoadSmart
tyres. In the first 500 miles of use they have turned the GS into a much
more usable road bike. I've been bowled over by the improvements that two
bits of rubber have made. The bike actually turns, drops into corners with
far less effort and seems to wallow less when going through them."

However, if you want to keep the image we have just launched our
replacement for the D607, the Trailmax TR91. You can find information here:
http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.eu/dunlop_euen/mc/tyres/on_off_road/Trailmax_TR91.jsp

This is the state-of the-art on/off-road tyre of the moment and it benefits
from some of the technologies used in the RoadSmart. If was adventuring in
Morocco or in eastern Europe I'd have these fitted without question. They
really do have off-road ability and yet are very good on the road as well,
wet or dry.

However, in the areas of dry road grip, wet road grip, on-road handling
response and tread life, the RoadSmart will win every time. Not by much in
grip and handling, but it will win. In mileage, as you have experienced,
RoadSmart is very durable and will out-last TR91. But having said that, of
the on/off-road tyres, TR91 is one of the longest-lasting, it just won't
last as long as RoadSmart

All the best

Bryn Phillips
Product Support Manager, Motorcycle
Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd

Also see here:

http://www.dunlop-tires.com/dunlop_uk/mc/tyres/on_off_road/index.jsp

 

[Wapping]

What are we meant to be looking look at?

That Dunlop produce two different tyres?

That Dunlop think that each tyre is great?

That you know someone who once raced on Dunlop tyres?

That you are going to fit one (or both) to your run o'the mill 1200 GS as, when and if you buy it?

 

[Giles]

Thanks for posting that .....

 

[C-J]

I think the point is that if you don't go off road on your GS (cos your twat suit might get dirty or summat), then use road tyres, not dual purpose.

 

[rodsharp]

Thanks Rasher

 

[Giles]

Trailmax TR91



SuperBike magazine say ...

March 23, 2010 - Jon Pearson
As it is with many tyres in the Adventure bike sector you have a choice to make when buying your tyres – more road orientation or more of a trail type (a long way from off-road but a definite jump away from a road tyre in terms of tread depth, land/sea ratio and stability). Much like the new SportSmart road tyre the TR91 aims to cover a broader church and blanket multi-terrain uses of this type of bike.

The TR91 tread pattern has been designed with good depth and off-road ability but is clever enough to still put a decent 'footprint' on the road at high lean angles. The large block pattern across the tyre surface increases stiffness (stability) while a 'cross groove' shifts water very efficiently and improves off-road drive grip.

Conditions were bitterly cold but on both a BMW 1200GS and Yamaha XTZ660 feedback from the front tyres was high, and that's never a bad thing on a giant trailie. The downer for many Adventure trailie bikes, literally, can be the skinny front tyre not gripping enough and coping with all teh weight of the bike. While I can't say I was “pushing the front” or any of that nonsense, it did instil plenty of confidence.

The rear too delivered plenty of rider confidence at full lean and on the power, most noticeably across some heavily worn road surfaces where the Tarmac had broken up. I expected a slide but it didn't come form the big Bemmer's back-end.

Dunlop makes great claims for the improvement of the Trailmax's off-road capability compared to its rivals but sadly (due to freak snow conditions) there wasn't a chance to do any off-road testing.

It's fair to say technology has improved tyres a great deal lately but it's also fair to say we're used to seeing it more on sport/road and track tyres. In this hotly contested sector (yes, I know it sounds overblown but the Adventure market is not only a biggy in terms of physical size, the BMW R1200GS has been one of the UK's biggest selling bikes in recent years) it's tempting to think things are standing still and not progressing. The Trailmax TR91 proves that's not the case at all.

Clever tread patterns, stable and grippy front tyres, great wet performance and strong rider feedback are all great qualities for a tyre which will be asked so much of by the people who use it.

Retail prices should be around the £175 a pair mark. Check out more Dunlop info


MCN say ....


MCN's Michael Neeves travelled to France last week to test the latest Dunlop Trailmax adventure tyres. Here are his findings...

•Save £££s on motorcycle tyres
Dunlop Trailmax TR91

Designed for: Sport touring and trail riding.

What’s its USP? It’s designed for adventure machines, from the BMW R1200GS to the Yamaha XT660Z Tenere.

Riding impressions: If you’ve got a dual purpose trail bike and you ride only on the road, you’re best of with a conventional road-going sports touring tyre for the best grip and stability.

If you plan to go off-road too, you’ll need dual purpose tyres like these with bigger tread blocks.

Dunlop’s new Trailmax TR91 has a new tread pattern, construction and compound, the latter of which has added Silica for improved wet-weather grip.

We got to test them at their launch in cold, but dry conditions, and they performed excellently with good cornering grip and stability at full lean and in a straight line, although we didn’t get to try them against the competition.

Dunlop claim improved wet weather grip, off-road grip and improved mileage, but we weren’t able to test this.

Sizes: 110/80 x 19, 100/90 x 19, 90/90 x 21, 150/70 x 17, 140/80 x 17, 130/80 x 17

Rivals: Michelin Anakee, Metzeler Tourance EXP, Pirelli Scorpion, Bridgestone Trailwing, Avon Distanzia

Cost: £172 (per pair), Inc VAT, fitted on to loose wheels. FWR tyres (www.fwr.co.uk)
Verdict: Very capable dual-purpose road rubber.

 

[Rasher]

I think the point is that if you don't go off road on your GS (cos your twat suit might get dirty or summat), then use road tyres, not dual purpose.

Oh bollox, just realised I am gonna look a real Dick in full leathers, suppose I need a twat suit now as well.

Or perhaps keep the leathers so at least they match the tyres, could always put a couple of Repsol stickers on the BM and hope nobody notices.

 

[Giles]

Or you could bite the bullet and take it off road! Start on simple stuff, a few easy byways, take a trip to Salisbury Plain .....

 

[Rasher]

Not sure what off-road means?

I like the sound of it, but it is a road bike and I don't wanna trash it, if I wanted to do that I could buy a crosser or something, certainly not an £8k road bike.

For bumpy lanes I cannot see me needing more than road tyres.

Does anybody really ride a GS "off-Road", as in not on a road, but over untraveled terrain?

Even if I could find somewhere to legally ride off-road on the GS, surely these places are not really suited to 200kg motorcycles and the damn thing would be stuck within minutes, even with "Dual Purpose" tyres.

I do not even know of any unpaved roads in the UK, but they do hold interest for me and I may ride down some when next in the Alps, but again do I need Dual Sport tyres for that? Having already ridden the Umbrail Pass (including the unpaved section) two up on my ZZR 1400 I think I can safely say the GS on Roadsmarts will be fine.

In fact I wish Dunlop would just put the TR91 pattern on a Roadsmart tyre, call it a TrailSmart and solve everybodies problem!

 

[Giles]

Does anybody really ride a GS "off-Road", as in not on a road, but over untraveled terrain?

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155714




Probably 1/3 of the bikes on here are Gs's.

I do wonder if this is the bike for you ......

 

[davidblythe]

Or you could bite the bullet and take it off road! Start on simple stuff, a few easy byways, take a trip to Salisbury Plain .....

or maybe start off with the southdowns way a nice gentle ride and when really brave try Cambodia near Plastow in West Sussex (prefer my DRZ then)

 

[Rasher]

I do wonder if this is the bike for you ......

I think so, the off-road thing is just (maybe) an added extra, the bike has been bought to stop 125mph cruising speeds and the frustration of what seems like mega congested roads with cars reversing at me! At GS speed my licence is safer and I enjoy riding at the slower pace.

The bike just needs to get me out and about on a variety of roads (and for a longer riding season compared to the sportsbike) and off to the Alps for a fortnight once a year - in more comfort than the sportsbike.

What I call off-road is really unpaved roads of the smooth variety, from watching Long Way down it appears just an inch of mud stops the 1200 dead in its tracks anyway, and even bumpy gravel roads will destroy the bike in no time, that is not a criticism, just an observation of its true abilities.

It seems the Dual tyres are coming along nicely though, some good posts here, but even the Dunlop man happily admits on-road performance is still significantly better with a Sport-Toruing tyre (despite what the marketing people tell you)

Just need to wait and see if I fancy "off-roading" at all....as this is off topic I will ask that question elsewhere.

 

[Merv]

Where do u cruise at 125 mph?

 

[Rasher]

Where do u cruise at 125 mph?

On a ZZR1400 wherever you damn well like, that is the problem, in the time it gets the GS to struggle up to the ton the ZZR has zapped past 150 and into 12 points and a 12 stretch territory.

Today I was mainly on roads the ZZR would never get out of first if used in anger

 

[DutchBryn]

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245609

I bought the set of TAs, largely on the promise of their reputed longevity.
The cracking that has just appeared on my front tyre is likely only cosmetic,
the tyre suuplier said he has been in contact with Conti, as he has seen many similar cases. "Conti", he says, "will do nothing about it".

The front tyre is not condemmed as unusable, and I'm not pannicking about it.
It is however, unlikely to stay on the bike as long as I'd planned.

If Conti et al cannot produce their funky-looking-blocky tyres without them cracking within 3k klicks (not miles), then pure road tyres do seem to the way to go - at least for my purposes: no off road useage.

 

[red line]

conti roadattack2 runs circles around RoadSmarts

 

[Beemerman59]

You will always get loads of different opinions when asking about tyres. My personal experience having now had sets of Battlewings, Roadsmarts and the current Conti Trail Attacks is that all of those do what I need a tyre to do wet or dry. The difference for me comes down to two things only. The Roadsmarts turn in much quicker than either the Wings or the TA's. This makes the bike more flickable and takes less effort in handling the bike into corners. It's liveable with and unless you have tried the Roadsmarts I'm sure most would be happy on other rubber. The other thing for me is cost. A set of Roadsmarts cost me about £50 more than the TA's hence why I'm trying them out just to see if the cost saving is not impaired by loss of grip for my style of riding.

My current thinking is that having tried three different sets I will probably return to the Roadsmarts as the handling for me is far superior but I should point out thats not about grip levels, it's how it makes the bike feel to ride.

Mines a 1200GSA by the way.

 

[red line]

just replaced the trailattacks...the best choice so far, have tried all the others and found them the best...now on road attack 2's

 

[The Nutter]

So does anyone know which really is the best tyres for a GS then?

 

[bose]

So does anyone know which really is the best tyres for a GS then?

Yep what ever you can afford an feel confident on !!!! my paersonal choice is michelin anakee 2s best all rounder for me ,even if its a blocked tread it can still grip like a road tyre,gives plenty of miles too an even wear for £200