ROAD ONLY tyres for BIG TRIP

[Tippo]

I agree with Don's suggestion of shipping the bike to the West Coast and riding the Great Plains only once. This is a big country and the middle part is flat, hot, windy, and not too interesting. (I hope I haven't offended anyone.) If you end up with a plan that requires you to change tires I suggest you order them in advance from a dealer. In the middle of summer you may have trouble finding the size/brand of tire you want. Members here will help you select a good shop.

Jeff

 

[Rasher]

Most road tyres will give good - excellent dry grip, in Recent Years the Pilot Road and Roadsmart series have been generally regarded as the best by far in the wet with the laurels flip-flopping between Dunlop and Michelin with each tyre launch.

I find it hard to judge mileage accurately as my riding can be so different from one set of tyres to the next on the S10, my Strom is currently doing the same 80 mile Journey every day so once it kills of its Tourances it would be interesting to see how other tyres compare, however I will probably just keep chucking part worn leftovers from the S10 at it.

 

[Bappo]

Can't argue with the old school Tourance tires; not the ones with extra names after the Tourance part. Close to 9000 miles on mine so far and there is a LOT of tread left. Anakee 3's suck. Nothing wrong with K60's either. I got 12k miles out of my rear and the front is in the shed waiting another rear when I go back to the K60's.

 

[Rasher]

Can't argue with the old school Tourance tires;

::026::

I find they feel a little vague when really cranked over, but they have never let go on me, and they feel really good in the wet, not that I push things in the wet, but a lot of tyres feel horrible in the cold and wet even when riding steady, where the Tourances feel very safe and secure.

I also suspect they are the only "Dual Purpose" tyres still on the market with any more off-road ability than a pure road tyres, the Tourance EXP's closed the blocks right up so much I doubt they would give any more grip in the dirt than Roadsmart or Pilot Road. The Trail Attack, PR4 "Trail" and Tourance Next just look like road tyres to me.

A great choice for anyone who does a little bit of light dirt riding and can live without the ultimate in tarmac performance, they do seem to last quite well and (in the UK) are a bit cheaper than the newer tyres on the market.

 

[jimmy z]

~


Well, that's cool news, Jimmy Z! Thanks! ::008::

I'll have to put the 880's on my "will fit" list for the Super Tenere. Nice to know the option is there if a really, really long trip comes up on the horizon. Appreciate the warning on the wet weather characteristics, too. That's an important point.

That said, the ME880's should get wear like iron on a Super Tenere! How many miles do you have on your set, Jimmy Z, and how long does it look like they'll last?

Thanks again!

Dallara




~

Only 1,500 miles so far.Still look like new.Im 6'7" and weigh 275,have large jesse's wifes 6' and weighs(ya right),point is we put a lot of weight on bike,the reason for reinforced rear.Hopin for 10K on rear,will report back in coupla months as to wear and mileage.Jim

 

[timothy.davis]

I just replaced my original Battlewings at 12,000+ miles, ninety percent two up riding with a combined weight of 360 pounds for passenger and myself.

 

[XtreemLee]

Stock B-Stones @ 10K+change...

 

[frez]

In hindsight I'd stay away from the Pilot Road 4 Trails. I've done just over 3000 miles on them and the rear looks like it will be finished by 4000 miles. The Tiger Explorer forums suggest that I am not alone in burning through the PR4 Trail rear tyre quickly. I'm going to fit a standard (non trail) PR4 rear as a replacement as the front is still good and see if that improves things. I can't complain at the grip which is great, but I can't be changing tyres every 4000 miles either.

 

[Geekay]

In hindsight I'd stay away from the Pilot Road 4 Trails. I've done just over 3000 miles on them and the rear looks like it will be finished by 4000 miles. The Tiger Explorer forums suggest that I am not alone in burning through the PR4 Trail rear tyre quickly. I'm going to fit a standard (non trail) PR4 rear as a replacement as the front is still good and see if that improves things. I can't complain at the grip which is great, but I can't be changing tyres every 4000 miles either.

Damn - i've just fitted a set of PR4s for my euro-tour at the end of the month.

ah well - i'll see how they get on.
g

 

[Koinz]

In hindsight I'd stay away from the Pilot Road 4 Trails. I've done just over 3000 miles on them and the rear looks like it will be finished by 4000 miles. The Tiger Explorer forums suggest that I am not alone in burning through the PR4 Trail rear tyre quickly. I'm going to fit a standard (non trail) PR4 rear as a replacement as the front is still good and see if that improves things. I can't complain at the grip which is great, but I can't be changing tyres every 4000 miles either.

I put a pair of PR4's on mine as well - probably 2K miles on them. My rear is the standard, not Trail version. Seems the trail has a softer center to them than the regular pr4's.
I'll have a better feel for them by the end of the month. Going on a long ride to Kentucky for 10 days beginning the 10th of july

 

[superjet]

I am in the Seattle area and have a motorcycle lift, No Mar tire changer and balance set up. If you need to change the tire (tyre) in this neck of the woods, you are welcome to do it at my house.

I am watching this thread closely. I am leaving on a 5K mile slab trip and will need new shoes before I leave.

 

[toompine]

Heidenau K60's will easily go 10,000 on the rear, probably 15 - 18,000 on the front. Will give you really good road grip and the bonus is they work off road too. They are not road racing tires but are surprisingly aggressive and grippy on pavement too and good wet tires. They do buzz a bit at lower speeds and can wander on grooved surfaces but I am on my third set and other than running really grippy, three compound tires they have become my default choice. 38,000 miles on the Tenere and all but 6,000 of that on Heidenau K60's

 

[twinrider]

I tried Anakee 3s and managed to get 8700 miles out of the front and a whopping 12,500 out of the back, with them handling well to the end because they didn't square off. That is great mileage in a country with a lot of stop and go traffic that requires heavy use of the brakes so I've decided to run them again

They aren't perfect. They do howl a bit at high speeds (earplugs help with this), and they aren't as sticky as the Metzler EXPs but I haven't had any grip dramas and they work decently on dirt as well.

 

[Donk]

I've had good luck with PR3s on my sport touring bike, great grip and mileage. Just got PR4 Trails for the Explorer. Super tire or tyre but too new to give a mileage report.

 

[iridemotorbikes]

Your trip sounds great, when are you guys heading over to the States?

FYI- My last set of Metzler EXP Tourances last 8100 HARD commuting miles-

Hello. Help please !!.. I could do with some help in selecting the right tyres for tarmac only, for my recently acquired brand spanking new Super Ten ZE ( with the electrifying new suspenders... which are great ). Along with some friends we are doing a 3 week trip touring the USA, 400 to 500 mile days. A once in a lifetime trip for me. Our bikes will be shipped to the east coast, we then ride to the west coast, go down the west coast before riding back to east coast. Approx 10,000 miles. I want to start the trip with new tyres in the hope that I will need only one tyre change on the trip. To achieve this I need a tyre that can go 5000 miles before changing. Can anyone out there come up with first hand experiences of tyre mileages for our bikes. As I never venture off tarmac Sport touring tyres with their good in the wet and dry capability obviously are appealing, and would ordinarily be my first choice, but I am worried that the rears might not get the mileage. I weigh 238 lbs, plus 30 lbs of luggage will be on board. I wont be hooning around too much, mostly with my chilled touring head on. The bike now has OEM Bridgestone Battlewings which I am reasonably impressed with, but to date have only put 1500 miles on this bike. I would be happy to replace with these if I knew they would do the mileage( they look OK but I have been caught out like this before ).
Any suggestions (helpful ones) greatly appreciated.