tyres

Well I went for Avon Trailriders again

Superb in the dry, Very good in the wet

If you push them hard at low speeds, in the wet they occasionally squirm, but that may be just the road itself

Arsey said:

And if you’re a shit rider and don’t want to go at 138 mph everywhere but would rather enjoy the scenery yet still get some feedback then avoid the TA3s.
The TA2s were much better , as are the Pirelli Rally STRs.

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The TA2 were a great set as you say , personally the new 3 has improved traits that the 2 had but more . The lack of feed back I can’t see as the new and the old set have brilliant feel with rider connection with the road . The new set for me and to add many others who have , and now use the 3 , once they changed realised the the 3 has improvements that you would expect from an evolving brand . Not tried the STR on the GS as have seen bad wear on them and also not as sure footed from what others have said when riding similar roads . Rode with them on the 1290 but they felt a bit wooden. But we are all different .
Thank god

stick said:

The TA2 were a great set as you say , personally the new 3 has improved traits that the 2 had but more . The lack of feed back I can’t see as the new and the old set have brilliant feel with rider connection with the road . The new set for me and to add many others who have , and now use the 3 , once they changed realised the the 3 has improvements that you would expect from an evolving brand . Not tried the STR on the GS as have seen bad wear on them and also not as sure footed from what others have said when riding similar roads . Rode with them on the 1290 but they felt a bit wooden. But we are all different .
Thank god

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It’s bizarre.
I had TA2s for years on everything from Super Enduro 950 to 1290R to Africa Twin etc etc.
Loved them.

Put TA3s on my ATAS and not a fan.
Don’t get me wrong, they are ok but something I don’t like about them.For me the front is a bit vague.I wanted STRs ,which I had on previously but couldn’t source a front 90/90-21 in time for big trip so went with the TA3s.
The STRs felt so much better.
I also put TA3s on my 701LR,as Pirelli don’t make a 140/80 rear in the STR whereas Conti do.
They feel different again than on the ATAS but still something missing.
But, as you say, we are all different.

i've got ra3 on my vstrom 650. ok, not the power and the weight of a gs. the front is ok but the rear has fekt as if it is squared of from the very start. i did email conti regarding pressures and said they felt squared off and the reply was that they probably are.

jags said:

i've got ra3 on my vstrom 650. ok, not the power and the weight of a gs. the front is ok but the rear has fekt as if it is squared of from the very start. i did email conti regarding pressures and said they felt squared off and the reply was that they probably are.

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Yep that’s the r same feeling I had with the RA3 on the GS , the front was not that good either as the profile is a bit round for my taste .

Arsey said:

It’s bizarre.
I had TA2s for years on everything from Super Enduro 950 to 1290R to Africa Twin etc etc.
Loved them.

Put TA3s on my ATAS and not a fan.
Don’t get me wrong, they are ok but something I don’t like about them.For me the front is a bit vague.I wanted STRs ,which I had on previously but couldn’t source a front 90/90-21 in time for big trip so went with the TA3s.
The STRs felt so much better.
I also put TA3s on my 701LR,as Pirelli don’t make a 140/80 rear in the STR whereas Conti do.
They feel different again than on the ATAS but still something missing.
But, as you say, we are all different.

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I feel the same as you ref the TA3, they do grip very well but it has to be done on trust rather than feed back. They do last well, the longest lasting rear to date, 6,000mls.
I still think the PST2 is the most feely tyre and best for british roads and last well, great in the rain etc.

The Pirelli STR is a completely different tire as in more off road oriented and thus is neither good on or off road...
I remember a few years ago a german magazine tested all the street oriented tires on a test track a gave real numbers as in time/speed for each tire instead of subjective feedback...Unfortunately I can't find the magazine anymore but I remember a few things from the article...The Conti RA3 was the "fastest" tire with the highest corner speed/grip.The then all new Conti TA3 was the quickest steering and had the most tread debt.The Michelin PR5 was critizised for high speed stability and high tire wear especially on the front.The Michelin Anakee Adventure was also not really good at anything but not really bad at anything either but loud.The Bridgestone as the other OEM 1250 tire was stable at high speeds but not really good at anything else.Suprisingly the oldest tire in the comparison the Metzeler Tourance Next was pretty good and for some reason the Pirelli Skorpion Trail 2 as it's 3 year younger cousin would have been even better but for some reason was missing in the comparison...I myself like the PST2 the most from all GS tires until the CTA3 took it's place for quicker steering and less wear/more mileage especially on the front.Now I will try the CRA3 to see if it is even better but at what cost in more wear ? I know Stick likes the TA3 better than the RA3 but I want to find out why...

That Road 5 front on the picture has over 2k miles on it, mix of fast road / motorway / general pootling
True, it will run out before the rear by the looks of it as did the Bridgestones A41's that came on it new
This may be down to the bike, I don't know, never had a front wear faster than the rear on any other bike
If it goes 2 fronts to a rear I'll be happy with that but I will definitely be having the same again

HGS it is amazing that the CTA3 front tire will last 12K miles while the PST2 was toast at 6K miles...The rears are good for 5-6K miles on both...And the rears on the 1200 lasted roughly 3K miles longer than the 1250 as TORQUE is the enemy of rubber...

I just want to add that for the new season there are 2 new tires coming out for the 1200/1250GS...
Metzeler/Pirelli will have a new Tourance Next 2 which will be the GS tire replacing the origional T-Next that came out in 2012 for the then new 1200GS-LC as also topping their PST2 that bettered the Tourance-Next in 2015 when it came to handling and mileage.
As also a tire that will be good for track-days will be available in GS sizes the Sportec M9RR...
All we need now is 170 hp and a liitle more ground clearance to take advantage of the additional stick...
No word yet if the R01SE will be available in GS sizes too but I guess with the new Tourance and M9RR Metzeler/Pirelli will have the whole spectrum between road and track covered !