Tyre Test

[sven]

trail attack 2's are very very scary in the wet. Wear great, but mine are halfway worn and will be off when bike is out again as they are the worst tyre ive had on a bike when ground cold or wet.

My bike came with TA2's and I thought they offered excellent handling and good grip in the dry, but agree they could be a bit scary in the wet.

I then fitted Michelin Pilot Road 4's which were good in the wet, but understeered in comparison and were very puncture prone.

It's now on Metzler Tourance Next's which are also slightly slow steering, but they seem to grip OK and will hopefully be more puncture resistant

 

[RickSkye]

Having had 2 Multistradas before recently getting a new triple black (absolutely no regrets either!!) the tyres I will put on as soon as these wear out are the Pirelli Angel GT. they were on my first multi and lasted 10000 miles, the first 3500 being two up going to Croatia and back. I found the Angel GT had almost the same feel as the Scorpion, better in the wet and MUCH better mileage. Very little squaring off and great feel.
Just my pennyworth.

Which scorpians did you have?

 

[EVskiy]

My Metzelers torrance next have now done over 8k and I still got around 3.5mm on the rear to the wear marker and 4.5mm on the front. Love them over stock Anakee III. (hum drum noise killed my enthusiasm on the bike. Just to tell you a story, I owned my GS LC since March 19th this year and on May 23 I was joining fellow british bikers in France for a week long tour of Europe. GB-Italy-GB. I had very little experiance with geared bikes, especially heavy ones and not to forget with 9 times more power than my previous bike (ok it was a scooter), a 2015 Honda NSS Forza 125, Which I sold about a month after purchasing GS. Now, I had only about a 1.2mm of tread left on the rear of my Anakee III's and having asked if I could make it to Italy and back without going in to elegal zone, the answer was that it was very likely not. So I ordered my Tourance Next following mine great things being said about them, this was very tight in regards to timing My local BMW dealer wanted over a £100 more than I could get them online and of cause it was + fitting. so I ordered them from tyre leader and a great discount and these were delivered to the dealer for me to to get them fitted on Saturday first thing in the morning, I barely put down 20 miles on them before loading the bike with heavy panniers and setting of early on Sunday morning to a Lidl carpark in the middle of France. The tires performed faultlessly, considering these were green and Sunday morning was damp on the road followed by a heavy shower nearer Folkestone. I felt very confident through out the trip even with a little experience and a bike that weighed over 300kg fully loaded and 78kg of me atop of it. I will definitely buy these tyres again but wouldn't mind giving Karoo's a chance now that I am more confident and familiar with the bike.

 

[Flipper_Man]

No Michelin Pilot 4's ? Had 4 rears in a row on last GSA LC. Not sure what I've got on the new GSA LC but noticed tread going quickly and not hit 2.5k yet...

 

[nathanthepostman]

Has anyone have an opinion on the TKC70 or Anakee Wild on the GSA LC? I'm just about to order one and was thinking of going for the TKC 80's first the replace for the 70's or Anakee Wild.

Pls share your views

Thanks

I've been running the Anakee Wilds and whilst not a great road tyre their off road performance is exceptional, certainly much more bite at the front end. I was in Wales trail riding on them the other week and downhill when you'd expect the front to be wanting to wash down into the gulleys it kept its line. I've been impressed with the longevity as well. Almost up to 4000 miles; the front is barely touched and the rear probably has a good 500 miles left in it. And that's with a lot of motorway miles as well. I actually find the bike well planted on the road. Even up to and above 100mph I don't find any weave. Roll in is a bit abrupt, or can be. They rumble at lower speeds and the noise at anything above 40mph an hour is intense, though with ear plugs I've tuned it out.

I'd say the Wild is definitely the more aggressive tyre than the TKC80 and certainly the Karoo3, but it's lasted longer than the TKC80 and it's better off road than both. If you're doing a lot of off road it's an easy choice to make.

The TKC70 I tried before that and really liked it. Good stability, handled to me like a road tyre and off road as long as the dirt was compact it was fine. They lasted two up 6000 miles across America with a bit to spare. So was really happy with them. But comparing the TKC70 to the Anakee Wild is like comparing apples and oranges. Different tyres for different uses. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Madsplash]

Great stuff guys! Some really useful views here, I think I will keep the TCK80 on the original order as I do not fancy the Anakee 3 and tyre tread calls for replacement TCK70 might be the way to go.

I might as well share a bit of my experience. On my 2013 GSA (air cooled) and my previous GS I always had Metzler Tourance. They were really good but I wanted a difference but after having ready a bit about the Tourance Next I was left in doubt of changing and decided I would remain with the original choice.
However for some reason I could not find them anywhere and was informed that metzeler didn't make them anymore. So after a bit of research I decided to look for some Michelin's Anakee II which believe it or not were not available in UK and were ordered from France. Anyway cut long story short... They are brilliant, great behaviour on the dry or wet road, ok for light offroad but above all they have done 4000 miles and I think they still have plenty to give! Unfortunately they are difficult to get hold of and their replacement are not on my shopping list.

Once again guys... Many thanks for your advise and views.

Regards

 

[Flipper_Man]

No Michelin Pilot 4's ? Had 4 rears in a row on last GSA LC. Not sure what I've got on the new GSA LC but noticed tread going quickly and not hit 2.5k yet...

Annakee III's........are what are on mine and not lasting...

 

[J biker]

Just had Roadsmart 3s fitted today. Only done twenty miles so cant realistically comment yet (new tyres always feel better..). Will review them after my Spain trip in a few weeks.

Road 4s were good, but, rear squares off quick and is almost in sticky rubber territory for wear rate. Fronts I found last 2 to 1 rear. Front started to scallop on the edges (Scotalnd trip!) and maybe a slightly vague feel up front. Outright grip was always great wet or dry. Certainly much better than the pseudo enduro type tyres it came on by a HUGE amount for road use.

 

[asnore]

I tend not to agree with the review. Had Tourance Next on my bike (Tiger Explorer) and after that I am on 3rd pair of Annakee 3, way better performance on wet roads and way more grip in the corners, side compound just glues to the tarmac, could not wish for a better tire. Both wear out similarly at 10k km for me.

 

[Neil W]

Anakee 3's that were on my 1200gsa WC were shocking in the wet and not that good in the dry plus extemely noisy , the rear was worn out at 3500 miles (that was the one out of three rears fitted that wasn't written off by punctures when they had covered less than 800 miles between them)

 

[looney]

Pirelli Scorpion 2: 9400 miles. A bit lacking through the last ~2000 miles but had to get home somehow . Brilliant tyre - on my 2nd set now

 

[Madsplash]

There are lots of guys (especially in the USA) reporting a wobble on the front wheel using TKC 70. Has anyone felt this issue in our roads? Or could it be the kinda of pavement they have in the States?

 

[telbenj]

There are lots of guys (especially in the USA) reporting a wobble on the front wheel using TKC 70. Has anyone felt this issue in our roads? Or could it be the kinda of pavement they have in the States?

Exactly that I hated them, they had good grip but weaved at speed will not be having another set

Terry

 

[andylel]

There are lots of guys (especially in the USA) reporting a wobble on the front wheel using TKC 70. Has anyone felt this issue in our roads? Or could it be the kinda of pavement they have in the States?

I hear this occasionally. I have had six sets of TKC70 on 2 WC GS's and 2 WC GSA's and never experienced a wobble. I am not know for hanging around! I am wondering if there must have been either a dodgy batch of tyres or some other factor that causes the wobble.

 

[Rederic]

There are lots of guys (especially in the USA) reporting a wobble on the front wheel using TKC 70. Has anyone felt this issue in our roads? Or could it be the kinda of pavement they have in the States?

I have had them on mine and there is most definitely a weave from the front when you get a wiggle on, I was in contact with continental tech guys who said they have never heard of it before and suggested trying different tyre pressure's
So being a knob I got a second set thinking I had just been unlucky with the first set
But no there is a weave there on the second set and its unnerving, its a shame as there a good tyre otherwise

 

[Madsplash]

So the guys on the otherside of the pond seem to be right! Maybe a TCK80 on the front and a TCK 70 for the back? Any one tried this?

 

[telbenj]

I have had them on mine and there is most definitely a weave from the front when you get a wiggle on, I was in contact with continental tech guys who said they have never heard of it before and suggested trying different tyre pressure's
So being a knob I got a second set thinking I had just been unlucky with the first set
But no there is a weave there on the second set and its unnerving, its a shame as there a good tyre otherwise

I was one of the first in the country to have a set and conti gave me a very good quality bike cover as they used a couple of my pictures. Unfortunately the best bit was the cover.
I even went back to my tyre fitter and had the balance checked. It's a shame because they look good and the grip was very good.

I can't believe continental haven't found the issue during testing, I would say they are fully aware.
I have the Avon trailrider on my bike and they are fantastic.

Terry