New tire question

I'm a new rider who just purchased a 2009 F650gs. I need new tires and not sure which to buy. I will be using it only on paved roads, no off road riding. The worn out tires are Metzeler Tourance. Any suggestions on a better alternative or should I buy a new set of the same tires? I know my options are limited. I would really appreciate your feedback. Thanks

Welcome to the forum!! Hopefully people with current experience will drop by.

One of the ways I like to search the forum is to use google. I typed this into the google search box - site:bmwmoa.org tires f650gs

I found several threads, though some of them maybe be a number of years old. See if you can get a little background there and then wait for others to provide more current input.

HTH...

Michelin Pilot Road Trails are some well performing street tires that come in sizes for your 650

I have run them on a 12GSA on mostly road cross country trips twice. My buddies with more agressive tread tires poked fun at times...but after they saw the miles I got on a set , they left me alone

And BTW, Welcome to the Forum

20774 said:

Welcome to the forum!! Hopefully people with current experience will drop by.

One of the ways I like to search the forum is to use google. I typed this into the google search box - site:bmwmoa.org tires f650gs

I found several threads, though some of them maybe be a number of years old. See if you can get a little background there and then wait for others to provide more current input.

HTH...

Click to expand...

Good idea. I'll give it a shot.
Thanks for the feedback.

henzilla said:

Michelin Pilot Road Trails are some well performing street tires that come in sizes for your 650

I have run them on a 12GSA on mostly road cross country trips twice. My buddies with more agressive tread tires poked fun at times...but after they saw the miles I got on a set , they left me alone

And BTW, Welcome to the Forum

Click to expand...

I've researched several different tires but I haven't seen the Michelin Pilot Road Trails. I'll definitely check them out. Thanks for input.

aldall said:

I've researched several different tires but I haven't seen the Michelin Pilot Road Trails. I'll definitely check them out. Thanks for input.

Click to expand...

Here's a link to Michelin for that tire: http://motorcycle.michelinman.com/US/en/tires/products/pilot-road-4-trail.html

My wife had a 2009 f650gs and is now riding a 2013 f700gs and this summer will go over 100k miles on BMW motorcycles. During this time we have tried several of the different tires available for this model, I run the pr4 on my r1200r and would love to run the pr4 trail on my wife's bike but it is not offered in the proper size for the rear wheel. This bike takes a 140 and they only go to 150 which fits the f800gs,I spoke with the Michelin tire rep about using the bigger tire and he said not to.
Our riding is only on pavement and primarily in Michigan which means that our tires tend to wear to a flat profile since we have almost no twisties. We have ridden all over the country but most of the use is on straight roads. The following are the tires that we have used.
Bridgestone Battle Wing - original equipment, ok decent wear nothing special.
Michelin Anakee 3 Front tire developed a strange wear pattern took them off before the rear was worn out.
Continental Trail Attack 2 Liked the tire and it wore well but after the profile wore flat tread on sides gave unsettling feedback when we were doing twisties.
Metzeler Torrance Next is the tire we are using now, it seems to work well and we will probably stick with them.

Our riding style is conservative, pavement only, mostly straight roads with twisties on trips (dragon etc.) we check tire pressure every ride.
Hope that this info is of some help, I almost never post on forums so I hope I have done it right.

Don't know if the size works on a 650, but my F800ST is on its third set of Michelin Pilot Road 4s. The bike came with Metzlers but they quickly began to cup in a strange pattern and to make noise (whine) at speed. I tossed the Metzlers and switched to PR4s and have been happy with the result: no cupping, no noise and IMO good mileage. Good luck.

Gil F. said:

Our riding style is conservative, pavement only, mostly straight roads with twisties on trips (dragon etc.) we check tire pressure every ride.
Hope that this info is of some help, I almost never post on forums so I hope I have done it right.

Click to expand...

Your doing fine
Your checking the tire pressure is a great idea.
Gary

My current tires (for an F800R ridden only on pavement except for an occasional short stretch on some maintained dirt roads that we have around here) are Michelin Pilot Road 4. Love them. My original Metzelers probably were first-rate tires, but I waited too long to check their pressures after buying the bike, and when I did wise up and put a gauge on them I found they were badly underinflated. They didn't last long. My "local" (only two and a half hours away!) service folk were boosting the PR4s. I took their advice and have been tire-happy ever since.

I trusted the word of the dealer who assured me that the bike would leave his place with all pressures and levels carefully verified. Don't trust ANYONE re those things! Check them as soon as you're alone with the machine. I'm an old bicycle racer and should have known better. Tire pressures are a big deal. Check them often.