2012 r1200gs tire question/s

If you had to have a set of tires waiting for you in Fairbanks to make a trip up the haul road, then be able to get you back as comfortably as possible to Az., what's the tire/s you have waiting for you to be installed.

I've read the older threads through, but there's newer rubber compounds and tires available now and looking for the more learned members opinions on what THEY would have waiting for them, expecting the worst of the loose gravel/mud, but having to then get back to Az. before replacing them with a 90/10 set of Tourances as I will use to get to Fairbanks that are on the bike now.

I realize there's no "best" for everything tire, and I'll deal with noise home on the hard surfaces without worry if the tires chosen give me a margin of error on the haul road should we experience the worst possible rain/mud/etc. 1/2 way into that road going north.

Keep in mind I have NO experience on dirt/fire roads/mud etc and don't have the time to get the experience before I head out in 6 weeks. I know there's some great tires available, just not sure what my best bet will be to have waiting on me in Fairbanks.

Thanks,

As I understand it from your other threads you are only going to the Arctic Circle. The circle is only 115 miles up the Dalton and a significant portion is paved, although it is often in rough condition. I’d go with something like a Tourance, Anakee or Battleaxe. If the road is dry, then they will work fine; if it is muddy, then wait a day. Your biggest challenge is encountering a maintenance operation. They grade the road and it becomes like potting soil. If that happens, then stop and let a few trucks go thru to pack it down. If you want a more aggressive tire that will make it home, then use a Heidenau K60.

Which tread 50/50? 70/30's? etc on those suggestions would you recommend? Would the Avon trail rider be a tire you'd consider?

It thought it was 197 to the circle, hmm.

Your post got me to look at options other than the tires I ran last year up the Haul, Pirelli Scorpion Trail II. Since you stipulated that you wanted distance as well as function, I could find no other tire that I feel would fit the bill. I rode my Pirellis from NC to Coldfoot to Anchorage with side trips along the way. The Motorcycle Store provided a required service and spooned on another pair of Trail IIs which got me back to NC with tread to spare. I had no issues with wet or dry, gravel or dirt. They are not as aggressive as others but they are a good compromise. My other choice would be the Avon Trailriders based on my experience with other Avon models. I suspect they would be comparable to the Pirellis. I hope you have a great trip. Mine was.

Doug

The first three are all 90/10 tires, although the Tourance is the most aggressive. My wife and I have been on the Dalton several times on Tourances and I recommend them. No doubt that you’ll want something like TKC80s if it gets muddy but it will be iffy to get home to AZ on them. I just took Avon Trail Riders off my GSA. Good tires for the Dalton but I only got 4,400 miles out of the rear.

One thing you could try is running a TKC80 on the front and a Tourance on the rear. Riding on a loose surface is 80% about keeping control of the front tire and a TKC80 on the front should make it to AZ.

The Circle is at mile 115 of the Dalton. The start of the Dalton is at mile 73 of the Elliot HWY (all paved). The start of the Elliot is 13 miles from Fairbanks. Circle is a total of 201 miles fro Fairbanks.

Last fuel before the Dalton is at mile 5 of the Elliot (Hilltop Cafe). Last fuel before the Circle is on the north side of the Yukon River crossing at mile 60 of the Dalton.

I would think the answer would be ...

... same as the tires you left home with.

You want the same best performance going North and South I imagine.

lkchris said:

I would think the answer would be ...

... same as the tires you left home with.

You want the same best performance going North and South I imagine.

Click to expand...

I like the Tourance on the bike now, but I was going to swap out for the Avon Trailriders when these were skinned out anyway, just to try them based on reports from riders who've run both.

akbeemer said:

The first three are all 90/10 tires, although the Tourance is the most aggressive. My wife and I have been on the Dalton several times on Tourances and I recommend them. No doubt that you’ll want something like TKC80s if it gets muddy but it will be iffy to get home to AZ on them. I just took Avon Trail Riders off my GSA. Good tires for the Dalton but I only got 4,400 miles out of the rear.

One thing you could try is running a TKC80 on the front and a Tourance on the rear. Riding on a loose surface is 80% about keeping control of the front tire and a TKC80 on the front should make it to AZ.

The Circle is at mile 115 of the Dalton. The start of the Dalton is at mile 73 of the Elliot HWY (all paved). The start of the Elliot is 13 miles from Fairbanks. Circle is a total of 201 miles fro Fairbanks.

Last fuel before the Dalton is at mile 5 of the Elliot (Hilltop Cafe). Last fuel before the Circle is on the north side of the Yukon River crossing at mile 60 of the Dalton.

Click to expand...

akbeemer,

The Tourance or T "next" would be your choice?. I have the next on the bike now, I may just stay with that tire up there. Just attempting to be perfectly clear which Tourance you're talking about and which you'd recommend sir.

Thanks

Be sure to check where your Tourance was made. The Chinese made models are some of the worst tires I've ever ridden on in the dry, and WAY worse in the wet.

I installed one on my 1200GS and removed it after 2000 miles.. It was awful, and more than once had me sliding where I shouldn't have been, and had never had issues with other tires. It was wearing fast, but wasn't sticky.

Last summer I got to watch my wife's rented 700GS slide out from under her on a slight corner in the rain, in Croatia. She had followed everyone else through the corner and was actually going slower than the crowd had gone through it, and it was like the bike jumped out from under her.. No brakes were touched, and she was steady with the throttle, also. I looked at the tire, and it was Chinese. Nothing was hurt badly other than pride, but the trust of that bike as soon as it sprinkled was gone for the remainder of the vacation.

Beware.. Metzeler will tell you it's the same tire as the German made tires, and because of that, I'll never buy another Metzeler tire. They're better than the Brazilian tires from Metzeler, but not much.