Tires for a 5000 mile road trip

[bloodline]

Mostly slab, gasp.

Planning a 2 up trip around California and across the US in late June. Don't have enough time to do a lot of dirt travel, but I do want to hit a few highlights so i need dirt capability but I'd say it's a 90% slab trip.

At this point, I'm thinking about just putting on another set of Tourance exps although based on my current set, I'm not sure they will make 5000 miles. Opinions?

I need all weather, 90% slab, high speed tires with enough dirt capability to take a few detours along the way.

 

[HoebSTer]

The Bridgestone's that came on some of the Tenere's may be a better choice. Some say the Conti Trail Attack is a good tire for lots of slab. ANother one guys on the VSTrom forums use are Anakee 2's and get 8-10k miles on them. These of course are just a few. I would run the K60's I hae on mine for a 5k road trip.

 

[bloodline]

I'm going to buy some K60s. Just not sure that is the right tire for a mostly slab, mostly fast trip. I suspect there will be several days of 400-500 miles at 80mph.

 

[~TABASCO~]

If you might have any questions on the K60's just give us a ring....

 

[jajpko]

If you are doing 90% slab and high miles, I would go with the Conti TA's. Or the Bridgestones. If you stay on hard pack dirt both should do well. If you go on gravel, the Conti's in my opinion are not that good, but great on pavement.

 

[bloodline]

how about the k76 Heidenau? anybody try it?

 

[Don in Lodi]

My EXPs are at just over 7500 miles and still usable. For a tire that will not wear the center out on hi-miles pavement and still hook up on dirt you can go with some of the more open tread street tires. I was giving thought to the Metezeler 880 until Jaxon was able to grab me the last set of K60s in America. The 880 has plenty of gripping edges with that pattern. If front end washout is a concern on dirt, go more aggressive up front and more street out back. A front 50/50 should be able to make the trip, the rear is the one that wears away on pavement fastest.
Drop us a note when you're passing through Northern California. There's close to a dozen of us with-in a hundred miles of Sacramento. We'll do dinner or something.

 

[bloodline]

Thanks. Once I get the route figured out better, I'll start a thread and hopefully be able to post regularly from the road.

 

[dcstrom]

how about the k76 Heidenau? anybody try it?

I've been waiting for that too - Bloodline, I think you should be the guinea pig... Based on the mileage I'm getting out of the K60's, there's not much doubt they'll go the distance...

 

[Rainbow Chaser]

I'm one of if not the most senior (old) folk with a tenere and 90+% of the time I ride alone. For this reason and the fact a fully loaded tenere is very heavy I stay clear of sand and mud. I put Pilot 3 trails on for my 90/10 purpose. Pretty much the same as Pilot 3s with a different tread compound. When I ride with someone it's with a K16 driver and he runs Pilot 3s, we can't see any difference in the tread of front or rear. This is one great street tire and the trail version is advertised to have longer mileage capabilities, we will see about that.

 

[markjenn]

The non-EXP Tourances have an excellent reputation for longevity - some have reported 10K+. Most any 90-10 tire will generally go 5K if you're not pushing too hard, but you're two-up, which will be tough on your rear tire. Tourances probably give you your best shot at completing the trip with adequate tread margins.

Battlewings are good 90-10 tires and the best deal I've seen lately - under $200 a pair. They'll probably go 5K too, I bet the Tourances would be less worry the last 1K or so.

- Mark

 

[zartenere]

have anybody tried mitas e07?

 

[Yamaguy55]

I have the Bridgestones as OEM fitment. They are holding up pretty well, and have good traction for both pavement and hard packed off road. Surprisingly good on non-pavement. I fully expect 5K plus out of them.

When they are done, my current plan is to replace them with these: http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tire-catalog/off-road-adventure/dual-sport-adventure/tr91/

Here's my thought process: I don't plan on doing much single track, I have a bike for that. The Tenere is just too heavy for me in that role. I've proven to my satisfaction that it will do it, but I'm not interested in dropping a heavy bike in the nasty stuff. The Euro guys seem very happy with the TR91s, especially on wet pavement. The Bridgestones are a bit squirrely on damp cold pavement: I can feel the rear squirm around. So I'm looking for a 90/10 tire that handles cold wet pavement better than the BattleWings. If you live/ride in a warmer/dryer area, this might not be a factor. We have a lot of steep mountain roads, some north facing in shade all day, so after a rain or during morning rides, wet patches or complete wet roads are easy to find around here.

 

[Rasher]

Have a look at this magazine review of both road and dual purpose tyres, the Dunlops did well here, and according to everything I have read the new TR91's are even better:-


http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/tyres/bike_r1200gs_tyres_1.jpg

http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/tyres/bike_r1200gs_tyres_3.jpg

http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/tyres/bike_r1200gs_tyres_4.jpg

http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/tyres/bike_r1200gs_tyres_5.jpg

http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/tyres/bike_r1200gs_tyres_6.jpg

http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/tyres/bike_r1200gs_tyres_7.jpg

TR91 Info:-

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Products/productsresults/Tyres/2010/March/mar1610-dunlop-trailmax-tr91-review/

http://www.superbike.co.uk/viewers/viewcontent.aspx?contentid=1537&catid=products&subcatid=tyres&longtitle=Dunlop+Trailmax+TR91

 

[jim a]

I used non EXP tourances only on a GS1200 for 60,000 mi and got 10,000 mi + on the rear and 15,000 mi on the front riding about 95% paved surfaces. I love them!

Jim A

 

[bloodline]

Thanks Rasher. Good article.

 

[EricV]

Hmm, how to put this? Articles are great, but that's not real world use. You're specifically asking about a 5k road trip to the Western US. I can offer that I know from actual use that the Conti Trail Attacks will easily get double that mileage on the rear. I have seen NO ONE ever report actual mileage on the TR91s yet. Certainly not in the US.

My main riding hobby is endurance motorcycling. I ride ~35k a year lately. My wife does the same on her own bike. She rode the Iron Butt Rally last year on Conti Trail Attacks. One set. I brought the partially used take off to the finish that we swapped out at the start. She didn't need it for the short 350 mile ride home after the rally. The Conti TA was squared off good and proper by then, but in no danger of running thru to cords. We swapped the used tire back on a couple of weeks later after riding it a bit more.

@Rasher - Worn out that oe tire yet mate?

 

[Rasher]

I can offer that I know from actual use that the Conti Trail Attacks will easily get double that mileage on the rear.

Granted road tests tell little about life, but just cos you get a laod of miles from a tyre does not mean someone else will do the same.

One thing that varies more than anything is tyre mileages, I burnt the OE rear out of my ZZR1400 (ZX14R) in under 1500 miles including running in, I know other owners who killed the same tyres in as little as 800 miles, yet some owners managed 6k+ from them.

What I could tell other owners is switching to Roadsmarts got me over 4k from a rear, again I could not gaurantee they would get 2.5 times as many miles from the same switch, but I was sure they would see a great improvement (as other owners who made the same change proved)

Comparing new tyre to OE tyre can be handy on new models as most owners have experience of the OE tyre, although saying that in the UK the bikes came with several different tyres for some reason?

 

[EricV]

Granted road tests tell little about life, but just cos you get a laod of miles from a tyre does not mean someone else will do the same.

You're right Rasher, but I'm talking about the same weight and same roads and same kind of riding the OP is concerned about.

<comments questioning your experience deleted before posting>

 

[Rasher]

You're right Rasher, but I'm talking about the same weight and same roads and same kind of riding the OP is concerned about.

But my point is I would get 4k out of a Roadsmart on my last bike when touring two-up, others could get 6k or 7k - same bike, same load, same use, same tyres - very different mileages. Everyone rides differently, and riding style can make a huge difference to tyre wear.