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Anyone have experience with Metzler Karoo 3 tires?

Pjohnson387

New member
I have a 2013 R1200GS and the wife has a new 2014 F800GS Adventure and I don't like the stock tires on either. I want a good dual sport tire that is more road oriented but does well off road as well. The Heidenau K60's aren't available yet for my 1200 but I'm not sure I really want a 50/50 tire either? So I ordered a set of Metzler Karoo 3 tires for both of our bikes today and am hoping I made the right choice! Has anyone used these yet and what have your experiences been?
 
I just had the Karoo 3's mounted but haven't tested them out yet. I will this weekend. They were recommended and given a great review by a few GS Giant friends.
 
I've got about 6,000 miles running a Karoo 3 front/Heidenau K60 rear. The biggest issue I've had is road noise from the Karoo 3. The tire howls above 60mph and does not seem to get quieter with higher speeds or more mileage. It's enough to be annoying. Can't attest to real off-road prowess (from the tire or me!) but it does fine on gravel. It's held up to on road conditions fairly well. Not noticeably slippery when it's wet (unlike the Heidenau) and seems to stick pretty well on the road cornering. It is wearing quite well for completing almost all of it's 6k journey on roads which were mostly interstate. I have the rear and will mount it if/when the Heidenau ever wears out. :p
 
I was out yesterday breaking in my new Karoo 3's both on and off road. While, yes, they are louder than the Tourances, I didn't find it to be an annoyance. There was no squirreliness like I felt with the Anakees. They handled the straight roads, twisties, and gravel roads well. My driveway is GS worthy and I had no problems whatsoever. In fact, we did three water crossings yesterday and I didn't experience any slickness at all. I'm really liking them.
 
I was out yesterday breaking in my new Karoo 3's both on and off road. While, yes, they are louder than the Tourances, I didn't find it to be an annoyance. There was no squirreliness like I felt with the Anakees. They handled the straight roads, twisties, and gravel roads well. My driveway is GS worthy and I had no problems whatsoever. In fact, we did three water crossings yesterday and I didn't experience any slickness at all. I'm really liking them.

How are they holding up mileage wise? I'm hoping they will last longer than the TKC80's.

I switch back and forth between the K60's and the TKC80's.

If they fall in between the two mileage wise I would be satisfied.

Thanks for any further info you choose to share!
 
Don, I wish I could tell you! Sadly, I haven't had much riding time this year. Although I'm heading out tomorrow for a week of GS'ing. I'll let you know.
 
Don, I wish I could tell you! Sadly, I haven't had much riding time this year. Although I'm heading out tomorrow for a week of GS'ing. I'll let you know.

And Tracy how is the wear on the tire, I'm looking into a new set as well, currently having the K60 good miles no doubt, every tire has the pro and con for that matter, mean reason for a change is the fact that I can not change the rear tire on the side of the road by my self, so brings me to next question, and maybe you know is the wall from the Karoo 3 softer than from the K 60 ?

see you

Michael
 
I'm running the front K3 on my F800GS (still have the Heidi on the rear). They are noisy as others have stated, and not as good as the TKCs in mud and soft dirt (was running these before), about the same on asphalt and gravel. They will also likely not last longer than the TKCs, which means 2500-3000 miles on the rear and maybe 5k on the front.
It's a good tire but IMO the TKCs are better and typically a little cheaper also.

You won't get a good off-road tire that sticks on the street and wears well. The Heidis are scary in the wet and not even close to the TKCs off road, but they last long.
 
My rear is wearing as expected. I didn't expect much. :cry

At about 2200 miles the center is noticeably worn. I'm hopping I can get 5K out of the tire. Maybe not.

As far as handling goes the tire is fine. It took about 100 miles for me to get used to them (the turn in is quite quick, especially when new) and another 1000 miles to forget all the bad things I read about the tire on the internet. They've been fine on dirt roads, paved roads, wet (paved) roads, and tar snakes. The front does like to follow road imperfections a bit more than some other tires.

For the riding that I usually do I'll probably go back to the Anakee III -- assuming that they ever become available again. The rear Anakee in the wethead size has been unavailable for months. The Anakee is not as good on dirt roads as the Karoo 3, but the tire life makes up for that. If I wasn't so lazy I'd swap tires as needed.
 
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My rear is wearing as expected. I didn't expect much. :cry

At about 2200 miles the center is noticeably worn. I'm hopping I can get 5K out of the tire. Maybe not.

As far as handling goes the tire is fine. It took about 100 miles for me to get used to them (the turn in is quite quick, especially when new) and another 1000 miles to forget all the bad things I read about the tire on the internet. They've been find on dirt roads, paved roads, wet (paved) roads, and tar snakes. The front does like to follow road imperfections a bit more than some other tires.

For the riding that I usually do I'll probably go back to the Anakee III -- assuming that they ever become available again. The rear Anakee in the wethead size has been unavailable for months. The Anakee is not as good on dirt roads as the Karoo 3, but the tire life makes up for that. If I wasn't so lazy I'd swap tires as needed.
Thanks for the report. From various reports I read it sounds like life on the front is 6k or so with about 4k on the rear. I'm ok with that, but what I don't want to compromise is dry pavement cornering... do they get around corners ok at more serious lean angles? And lastly how is the noise?
 
I find noise to be subjective. The pitch of the noise is often more objectionable than the actual noise level. People complain about Anakee noise -- I never noticed any. I sometimes hear noise from the Karoo 3, but it doesn't bother me. The Heidenau K60 noise drove me crazy. So I'd put the noise someplace between Anakee and Heidenau and not objectionable to my ear. YMMV.

I'm a medium fast rider. In any given pack I'm typically slightly ahead, but the really fast guys pass me like I'm standing still. With that description of speed I find the Karoo 3 fine. I've not pushed them enough to lose traction. Again, YMMV.

The tires were scary the first 50-100 miles... a combination of new tire slickness plus the drastically different turn in characteristics compared the tires that had just come off the bike.
 
I am seeing some pretty significant wear on the Karoo 3's. Mainly in the rear tire. The front tire, I really can't see any wear. I will be surprised if I get 3000 miles out of the rear tire. Seems like I just got the tires mounted and I am already looking for another tire. I will say that I really do like the tires outside of the wear issue. I originally had the Anakee III and while they were great on the road, there was little to desire on gravel roads. The Karoo 3's handle great on both. Unfortunately, I can't afford to keep replacing the rear tire every 2500 to 3000 miles. I am looking for something else. I have been told the Metzler Tourance would be a great tire, but I can't find the size I need.
 
My rear karoo 3 lasted just under 5500 miles. The front is still on the bike. I currently have a Conti trail attack on the rear. I have a set of Anakee III waiting for the next tire change so I'm probably good for the next 18 months. After that?

The Conti TKC-70 should be out and well reviewed by then.

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Understand an old thred to the Karoo3 question but had a set of K3's on the GSW. At around 7500 mi replaced the rear in Tuscon to begin the AzBDR. Estimate still 1000 or so left on it. Up to that point 6K of e 7500 was pavement. Had just been all over the Redwoods off road and the K3's worked well. Put the new TKC on the rear for the AzBDR and it was fantastic but I only got a total of 2200 miles on it, the last 1200 or so all pavement getting home. The front still decent tread when scraped for road tires.

I estimate the Karoos will get you 3X plus what a TKC will. Ill put another set on when the road tires come off next month and run them on the IdBDR this summer on the way to Nationals. With current snow pack, it may be well before Nationals, and before smokey bear shuts down the woods. Not looking good in the NW at this point.
 
Got about 4.6K miles on my Karoo 3s. Love 'em. Use them on an 2013 F800GS. Rear wearing really good, still have plenty miles on it. Front looks like it's barely worn. Good traction on wet pavement and gravel/dirt. Do start to "sing" at higher speeds. For me that's not an issue. Only thing I've noticed is when hard cornering on pavement you get a bit of a "falling" feeling for an instant until the side tread grips. Once you get used to it, it's no problem. When it's time to replace them, I will go with them again. And, I will heartily recommend them.
 
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