Tyres- Road biased or off road?

Beemer

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I've got an 03 1150 GS which is currently fitted with Tourances. I'm quite keen on having the ability to do a little off road stuff but I'm not confident in the Tourances as they're predominently a road tyre. I'd be interested to hear comments/experiences from anyone that has an Adventure with the more "nobbly" tyres in respect of the "nobbly" tyre on the road. I presume they're not quite as grippy in the wet? If this isn't the case then your input would be welcomed.
Cheers
Steve
 
Someone is going to point you to the Tyres FAQ thread and as I'm up early, I suppose it will be me!

To answer you more specifically, I have an Adventure. It came with Metz. Tourances, I swapped to Conti TKC's because I thought I might need them last December, (crossing the snowy wastes of the Pyrenees. As it happens I only saw snow at a distance!).

Since then I've kept to TKC's and in 10,000 miles I'm on my third rear and second front (both recently fitted).

They are ok in the wet, they will react to studs and over-banding in the wet a bit like some pre-radial (biased-belted) tyres used to. They will skip off the stud but will grip the tarmac. If you have never experienced this, it is alarming at first but you soon realise it feels more dramatic than it actually is. The rear will square off quite quickly if you spend a lot of your time on dual-carriageways etc. and the front can 'cup' quickly in these circumstances too.

If you avoid major roads whenever you can and take to tracks and trails they will give you a lot more confidence than the more road biased alternatives. If the tracks get muddy only a true "knobbly" is better.

Tyre choice is a bit like bike choice. It's a personal thing. Get the tyre that suits your use of the bike and what you feel comfortable with.

(Cue Tarka, "Fashion victims, wannabe's etc." rant) :)
 
I now run 17", so have really road biased tyres, but keep the spoked wheels with TCK's for off road.

I think exactly the same as Gotterdammerung.

TCK's very good off road - nice and progressive.

On road - same. A little disconcerting at first, but always there, and nice and progressive. Went 2000 miles to Hebrides and back, and they were spot on...
 
Thanks guys, I'll be sticking with my Tourances I think. Mind you, I'd love to have the luxury of another set of wheels with some off road tyre, one day maybe.
Steve
 
MikeP said:
Tyre choice is a bit like bike choice. It's a personal thing. Get the tyre that suits your use of the bike and what you feel comfortable with.

(Cue Tarka, "Fashion victims, wannabe's etc." rant) :)

:hapybnce: :hapybnce:


...Saves me posting a rant about 'Urban Overlanders' fannying about with alloy panniers/sheepskin seatcovers/Tour X helmets/GPS/feckking TKC 80`s to ponce around outside the local BMW Dealer`s cafe on a sunny Sunday.... and then to whinge about 'vibration induced whitefinger' or poor cornering ability on wet roads when they`re two up at high speed on tarmac with off-road tyres..... :D :D
 
I recently replaced my tourances with TKCs as well for the same reason: I want to take the bike offroad.

Offroad dry: great tyres, lots of confidence
Offroad wet: not tried out yet
Road dry: great tyre, great cornering (a lot shorter than tourances), bike goes down a lot more in bends. More vibration but still ok. 10% higher fuel consumption.
Road wet: tricky. Slow in the corners, especially roundabouts, tail breaks out easily on cornering and acceleration. Careful driving.

Cheers

T
 
Couldn't agree more with what has been said about the TKCs. IF you have your bike for more of a play thing, then these tyres are a good compromise. If you use it every day for commuting, i.e. all road, then Tourances are the way to go.

Having said that, there is no better advice than to use them. They are relatively cheap and don't last that long so if you don't like them you can always take em off and sell 'em on...

I'll be doing that when winter kicks in.... There are teh Bridgestone BT14s (I think to try next)...

Suck it and see, you might like them...
 


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