2009 GSA Tire wear and head light suggestions.

[cousinchickenlegs]

First time trying this type of thing.
It won’t hurt will it?
2009 GSA. Really like this bike. A lot.
Issue 1: front tire. Currently running Anakee 3. Love the way it works but mileage is low, 8,000+- and funny wear, almost cupping on the sides. Any suggestions towards higher mileage and better wear. All on road, do pack heavy.
Issue 2: Let there be light. For a longer period of time. I’ve been using Sylvania H7 but they seem to not last as long as I would like. Once again, any suggestions for something heavy duty for longevity. Brightness is not so much a factor due to Clearwaters in the auxiliary position but would be a plus. Has anyone gotten away with 100 W bulbs and not destroyed anything?
Thanks, Gary

 

[omega man]

Welcome to the forum!
I will add a bit to the title for clarity.
Good luck.
OM

 

[GTRider]

If you are riding 100% street then most any of the modern road tires should work well. If you tend to pack heavy you might consider the GT variants in those tires, at least in the rear, as they are designed to carry the heavier weight of the GT bikes. I see a lot of GS bikes wearing 100% street tires.

For bulbs, Osram is my go-to: https://www.amazon.com/Osram-H7-Halogen-Headlight-64210L/dp/B007WU1HF8

Best,
DeVern

 

[Talmadge_W]

Issue 1 - have you been leaning into a lot of cross winds lately? I find that long sessions of leaning hard to go straight cups the outside lugs on my front (GSA) but a full day ride straight & level at correct pressure often smooths them out. Just a thought.

Issue 2 - I feel your pain but not sure there is a solution. Have had 3 GS/GSAs and they all ate H-7 like popcorn. Once spoke with a PIAA technical rep who said that the H-7 design is prone to failure due to vibration and he couldn’t understand why BMW chose it for these bikes. I’ve resigned myself to always carrying a replacement that I can swap out in random parking lots across the country.

 

[cousinchickenlegs]

Thanks for the replies everyone. After poking around and talking to a few people I’m gonna give Dunlop missions a shot, they seem to be delivering mileage and performance.
52184, thanks for the tip on the Orsam-H7’s, will grab one for the next change out.
Have a safe’un.

 

[StLouRider]

I have the Dunlop Missions on my 2012 GSA. I’ve got 10,000 miles on them right now. But they are toast. I went up to Alaska, the Dempster to the Arctic Ocean etc.. The roads up there are really rough, tough on tires. I’m very impressed with the durability of the tires. They are a bit pricy, but they got the job done for me. I also found they can be very slippery on tar snakes. More so than other tires I’ve run in the past. I found they were fine on wet roads. I’m not a real aggressive rider in the twisties though, especially in the rain.

 

[pauls1150]

Maybe convert the headlight to a LED setup?
ex: https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/48-Platinum-H7-LED-Headlight-Bulb_p_86.html