Tire suggestions for 5000 mile trip

[cory1848]

I am prepping the bike for a roughly 5000 mile trip in 3 weeks and needs some tires that will go the distance. Currently on the stock Tourance EXPs but after only 3400 miles I will be lucky to make it to 4000. I like the tourance but the distance makes them not an option. Since I have the go anywhere SUV of motorcycles, I need the SUV of tires. Must be able to take long highway stretches (trip starts with 1800 miles of slab) then mountain roads, small amount dirt roads but nothing severe (80/20 maybe, no mud) and be good in the wet/rain. Most importantly must be able to handle fully loaded with passenger and gear.

Here are the options I am considering...
Regular Tourances - Heard the non EXPs get better mileage
Mitas E07 Dakar - Wonder if this is overkill with a 50/50 but I like the reports on long wear and wet traction
Shinko 750 Radials - Ran these on my Tiger 800X and I liked them but heard mixed reviews on the Tenere fully loaded. Would they handle the load and distance?

Brands I have ruled out -
Heindenau 60 - Concerns with wet weather traction
TKC 70s - Price point and mileage reviews

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks!

 

[BaldKnob]

Mitas will most likely be your best option. I use the 704/705 but for that ride, the rear would be toast around 4-5000 miles. The Michelin Anakee rear is a solid 8000 mile tire and very good in wet conditions.

 

[cory1848]

Mitas will most likely be your best option. I use the 704/705 but for that ride, the rear would be toast around 4-5000 miles. The Michelin Anakee rear is a solid 8000 mile tire and very good in wet conditions.

Which Anakee? 2/3? And is that good for dirt roads, light gravel?

 

[corndog]

That's an Anakee 3 in the picture. I have run two sets of them. Great tires.....buttt, I get 8,000+ on the rears but only around 6,000 on fronts. My roads are pretty good and I ride smooth.

I am now on a set of TKC 70. The front is wearing well at around 3,000 but the rear is well on its way to the grave at 6,000. It may go 7,000. I mounted them at different times. The front shakes a little under decel. All in all a good tire but wear below my expectation.

These numbers are all miles on the same roads.

The Anakee 2 is my all time favorite but Michelin saw fit to discontinue it.

I think I am going back to the Anakee 3 and live with buying extra fronts. They wore very evenly and were smooth. Great wet and dry road manners. Good enough for posing on dirt trails. Fronts are easy to change also.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Mitas will most likely be your best option. I use the 704/705 but for that ride, the rear would be toast around 4-5000 miles. The Michelin Anakee rear is a solid 8000 mile tire and very good in wet conditions.

I got a lot of miles out of the Anakee 3 and took them off before they were worn out. Absolutely hated the noise, the bike leans into corners farther than they have shoulder tread, and they were miserable in mud.


Am on the TKC70 now and far better than the A3 ever was, but the TKC70 has it's own quirks and I won't buy them again.


I'll planning for Mitas after this set.

 

[2112]

I fitted a set of TKC 70's just before I went on a 1,750 mile Euro tour. The front has negligible wear and the rear has resisted squaring off on the German Autobahn's surprisingly well. I estimate at least 6,000 from the rear and probably 8,000 from the front. They suit the bike and my riding style well, great in the wet or dry with good feel and a nice neutral turn in. No noisier than a pure street tyre to my deaf lugs ! These are remarkable through road gravel and horse poop etc, truly amazing how much grip you get on general road debris (of which Northumberland's roads are covered in at the moment). I've just been out today on it and did a couple of single track roads in the Scottish borders which were strewn with gravel and they never missed a beat.

 

[groundhog]

I've just done a 2300 mile trip on a pair of new Tourance Nexts and can hardly see any noticeable wear. They also gripped superbly in all (road) conditions and were particularly confidence inspiring in the wet. It's my first experience on Metzelers and providing the wear rate continues to be good I will be sticking with them ::008::

 

[BaldKnob]

I got a lot of miles out of the Anakee 3 and took them off before they were worn out. Absolutely hated the noise, the bike leans into corners farther than they have shoulder tread, and they were miserable in mud.


Am on the TKC70 now and far better than the A3 ever was, but the TKC70 has it's own quirks and I won't buy them again.


I'll planning for Mitas after this set.

I never really found them to be very noisy tires. Earplugs make a big difference with this bike so maybe that kept the howl down. Absolutely terrible in muddy situations. My big gripe is the front tire wearing so quickly.

Think you're gonna like the Mitas!

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I put Mitas E07 on both bikes just before our trip out west. At 5,222 miles had a deer do a close up inspection of the tires. The deer noticed there was still more than 50% of the tires left at that point. All but 40 or so miles were done on hardtop. Some of it at maintained speeds of 83 MPH (gotta love Wyoming and South Dakota speed limits),. A huge amount of it done in rain, some in hail, little in sleet, and tiny amounts in what could have been freezing rain (31.5 degrees and raining).

Tires are fantastic. I'm done searching for anything else. These are now my favorite tire for anything I could ever want to do.

 

[hoak]

Caveat: I have NO experience with different tires on the Super Ténéré, and only just reached break in mileage. I have however some experience with a range of rubber on a heavy road bike, a Kawasaki Concourse, and some of the best wearing and most forgiving tires I've had are Continentals.

I have a buddy in the Netherlands that rides a BMW F800GS; he's a giant almost 7' tall, heavy (he's at a GVW of an average Super Ténéré rider one up with gear) , heavy on the throttle and brakes, high mileage rider/explorer that goes through tires faster then toilet paper. I suggested he try something like the Continental Trail Attack 2 and they're the longest running rubber he's had on the bike, some of the most versatile and says he'd go with them again.

His experience mirrors mine; Continental tires across the range are harder compound tires, they are not grippy like sport tires, but their over all integration of tread design, compound and layup makes for a tire that behaves very well, is very forgiving -- gives you a lot of notice that traction is approaching the event horizon on just about all surfaces and conditions, and they seem to last longer then just about anything that goes on two wheels.

I'm a little wary of Mitas tires, as there have been a lot of cracking issues discussed on several forums of like this thread here (only one I could find quickly)... This may be down to a bad production run, or just a specific model tire, but it's concerning that it's been raised in more then one venue.

I'm biased toward reliability and durability over all other considerations of performance though; so hard wearing, well behaved rubber is more important to me then other aspects of performance. There are a couple threads on the ADV forums that also discuss the number of miles and behavior of various tires on heavy and heavily laden ADV bikes.

 

[Rasher]

The Stock Tourances might make it 20% further, but they are ancient tyres and not nearly as good as some alternatives, I have been running the old Tourance on my V-Strom as they were on the bike when it was bought - they are OK wet or dry, but not great.

I have used Roadsmart 1 and 2's on my Super Tenere (and old GS) and they grip very well wet or dry, hot or cold. They also last much better than Tourance EXP's which I also struggle to get 4k from, and with a two-up long tour thrown in I top 5k from the Roadsmart rears.

At launch time both the Roadsmart 1 and later the 2 won several magazine tyre tests, to start with the Pilot Road followed by Pilot Road 2 was THE sport touring tyre, then the Roadmsart appeared and offered more grip wet and dry, the PR3 seemed to knock that off top perch, then Dunlop brought out the Roadsmart 2, so Michelin brought out the PR4....

...and on it goes, I think the other premium tyres in this sector are probably close in the real world, Pirelli, Metzeler, Bridgestone etc. and we fitted Road Attack 2's to the Mrs TDM900 last year, but I would say it is wearing faster on her lighter less powerfull bike, and she does not ride as hard as I do.


Having spent years on Roadsmarts I stick to them as they are what I know work well for me, and in the UK they tend to be a little cheaper than Michelins.


I think most the "Adventure" tyres with a 90/10 road / offroad bias as they like to put it are not really much better off road, or much worse on it, but will probably wear a bit faster.

 

[motodoc42]

I have about 3k miles on Metzeler Next. Tread depth 7.8mm. I am very pleased with them.
Motodoc42

 

[cory1848]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and opinions. Ruling out Shinkos and regular tourances due to mileage concerns and age.

Thinking Tourrance Next or the Mitas E07s... Leaning towards the Mitas due to concerns with rear mileage reports of the Next and squaring off.

 

[AdvToorer]

Why mount new tires only to burn them up on the slab on the first leg out? How about doing install along the way? Lot's of dealers with appropriate tires in Denver area or have your tires delivered to installer of your choice.

 

[cory1848]

Why mount new tires only to burn them up on the slab on the first leg out? How about doing install along the way? Lot's of dealers with appropriate tires in Denver area or have your tires delivered to installer of your choice.

Won't have the time and cant depend on waiting on a dealer. This is one reason I was looking for a tire that wouldnt burn up in the first leg. I just put an order in for the Mitas. With all of the research it seemed like the best all around tire for the trip.

 

[Stampy]

I swear by the original Metz Tourance, just got 8k miles off a set and still had a little left. Replaced with the same before a 3k trip round Eastern Europe.
No problems with grip, wet or dry.....

 

[oldbear]

I've had good luck with the Tourance and with Pirelli Scorpions. The Scorpion's are my favorites.

 

[low drag]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and opinions. Ruling out Shinkos and regular tourances due to mileage concerns and age.

Thinking Tourrance Next or the Mitas E07s... Leaning towards the Mitas due to concerns with rear mileage reports of the Next and squaring off.

Are you passing through Denver?

 

[cory1848]

Are you passing through Denver?

Yes, staying overnight near the airport. My wife is flying into Denver and from there we continue on 2up.

 

[low drag]

Yes, staying overnight near the airport. My wife is flying into Denver and from there we continue on 2up.

Tons of places to get a tire while here then! Just depends if you want to remove the wheel yourself or have them do the entire job.

Performance Cycle will separate you from a lot of your money, they are a huge selection of gear.