Road tyres?

[Udders]

Ok it's another tyre question! But what choice do I have to replace my Tourances on my 1150 GS for 100% road touring tyres? The only time my bike will be going "off road" will be when it's going across my gravel drive! I want something that has a decent milage in it but also a bit of grip in the dry for when I feel like a bit of a blast.

 

[wessie]

Conti Road Attacks - it's not often I keep the same tyres for long but I had a pair fitted in 2005 for a trip to Croatia and all replacements have been the same.

Very good for touring, commuting and larking about on a sunny day.

My bike is a year 2000 R1150GS

 

[ELIMINATOR]

I realise that we all ride differently, but what mileage are you getting out of these?

 

[monkeyboy]

I've got a pair of road attacks on at the moment. They're really really nice, especially in the wet. They give a lot of confidence I find...but... the front tyre has worn very strangely, possibly due to a lot of hard cornering/braking whilst loaded on a recent trip. It is really only about half worn but it now feels terrible - like it has little bulges in it. At low speed its difficult to keep in a straight line even. Nice when they're new though. I guess I've done about 8k on the front and got maybe the same out the back. I was fully loaded all the time and in 'play' mode at least half of that. Thinking about it - I guess it's a lot more than 8k. Lima to Alaska to NY, maybe 10-12k. Perhaps I should give them more credit. I would certainly reccommend them anyway if you want to go that way.

I've just bought a pilot road off ebay to replace it with, see what that's like. TBH the Tourances are so good anyway and the bike doesn't have enough grunt to overpower them so I'd run them as they give a lot better mileage than any of the other sports tyres.

 

[Boxergs]

Personal choice

This subject comes up more often than (which Oil)

Seems to be purely personal choice....I've gone from Tourance (old style) to Road Pilot (good performance...less life) to Heidenau's...noisey....to TCK80's....cheaper, but wear quicker...back to tourances

I got the TKC's last December as the winter was almost upon us...glad I did as they were much better in the snow and hard packed ice etc but as soon as it warmed up then they wore quickly......saying that I still got 9k out of front and rear....(must be riding style/weight).....just replaced as squared off/bald and started to slide in wet due to a reduced contact patch on road.

Was thinking of trying Dunlop Road Smarts but fitter reckoned I'd only get half the mileage out of 'em (I do approx 15k a year) so have gone back to tried and tested Tourances again...they feel great!...expecting to get around 12k out of em but hope the winter is not as snowy as last year..

Again, personal choice....everyone gets different mileages but as I say, probably based on riding style/weight/type of roads used then Tourances are hard to beat as an 'all rounder'...some people rate Battlewings and Annakees but never tried 'em

 

[wessie]

I realise that we all ride differently, but what mileage are you getting out of these?

On my mix of continental touring and commuting I have found a rear will last at least 6k if you do a lot of motorway miles (squared mine off riding up the autobahn from Croatia to S.Wales). The last rear lasted about 8k as it was used for more mixed use. It still wasn't at the wear bars but I was off on holiday so treated myself to a new pair. Front seems to last 2 rears.

Apparently there is a mk2 tyre out with even deeper tread.

 

[Sleepy]

On my mix of continental touring and commuting I have found a rear will last at least 6k if you do a lot of motorway miles (squared mine off riding up the autobahn from Croatia to S.Wales). The last rear lasted about 8k as it was used for more mixed use. It still wasn't at the wear bars but I was off on holiday so treated myself to a new pair. Front seems to last 2 rears.

Apparently there is a mk2 tyre out with even deeper tread.

I have the Trail Attacks fitted, which according to some? are the same as the Road Attacks, but with a deeper tread..

 

[JoeC]

I am in the same situation and am thinking of going over to BT020 (F) & BT023 (R). My friend, who does a lot of motorway mileage, swears by them (good swear words that is) and says that they last ages. They have worn really well, gives a lot of confidence and he enjoys the twisties with them. He sais that he would more than likely stay with them when he comes to replace them.

 

[AdzRoche]

Ive just replaced my worn Tourance EXPs with Conti Trail Attacks! For me they are fantastic, i had my toes draggin the tarmac within 10 miles of the shop (1200GSA) Lots of convidence wet/dry dont matter they grip! I dont think i will fit owt else for road riding! Fit em and enjoy em!

 

[tyclyd]

Tyres

I cannot fault the Bridgstone BT501 and BT 502, just for road use, and I get around 5000 per set.

 

[robc]

Just my opinion but after trying loads of different tyres on different bikes I've found that the best road tyres are the Tourances. I just can't fault them although they do take a bit of getting used to.

Great grip in all weathers and I get 15,000 miles from a rear and 20,000+ from a front.

I've got Pilot Road 2's on my RT and they are more than half worn after about 4,000 miles.

Regards

Rob C

 

[FatAl]

In the six years I had my GS1150 it was shod with Metzeler Tourance (original fitment) which I replaced the pair at around 9000 miles with Bridgestone 020. The Tourances gripped OK and were long lasting, and fine as a dual purpose tyre, but as I intended to use the bike for 100% tarmac use I felt that the extra grip and feedback from a pure road tyre would be more beneficial, hence the 020's.
I had two sets of 020's replaced as a pair after about 6000miles of wear on each set. They were excellent wet or dry and gave no nervous moments. The last set of tyres I fitted were Conti Trail Attacks, I bought these as they were a lot cheaper (local tyre place had them on special offer) than the 020's, and I suppose they looked a bit more chunky on the bike than a pure road tyre. The Contis again were excellent, they wore well but I sold my GS before they needed replacing so I can't comment on mileage other than they had plenty of life left in them after nearly 4000miles.
The problem with tyre reccommendations is that it is all very personal. We have different riding styles, ride different roads and have different expectations of the tyres, some folk prefer mileage to grip or vice versa. Finding a compromise may be difficult.