Adventure Tires

[DENKAR55]

I own a R1200GS Adventure.
When I purchased the bike it had knobby tires for 75% off road. The tires are almost at the point of replacing.

I don't ride off road that much except hard pack roads..... no serious hard riding. I have my wife on the back, 95% of the time...

My question is, can anyone recommend a front and rear tire that is more for asphalt but still can use off road on hard pack dirt roads? The knobby tires lasted around 5500 miles.

If possible I would like the tires to last a bit or a lot longer than this. Any recommendations?

Thanks ahead of time!

Dennis Trovato

 

[junkjohn]

My 2008 GSA came with Bridgestone Battle Wings that where pretty good for a little off roading, and I liked them better on the road than the TKCs I have now.

 

[146023]

Adventure tires

I ride a 2015 GSA. I currently use Pirelli Scorpion Trail II front and rear. They are a 90-10 tire and are fine on hardpack dirt. Not so much in loose dirt. I am on my third set for this bike and average 12K rear and 18K front. I have used Michelen Anakee III's with similar mileage but they are not great in the rain. I don't think you could got wrong with any of the major brands that are 80-20 or 90-10 for the road with price being a factor. Good Luck.

 

[donmoe]

Dennis,

I've mounted Michelin PR4 Trail front and GT rear on my 2015 GSA, since I ride mostly pavement. I've ridden them on gravel, hard-packed dirt, and even a rocky trail. I got along just fine in those conditions. I wouldn't want to ride them in mud or deep sand, but I avoid those condtions in any case. I also really like the solid feel on rain-slick pavement. The rear GT lasted nearly 9K miles and front Trail has 14K and still has some tread depth remaining.

Don

 

[Visian]

My question is, can anyone recommend a front and rear tire that is more for asphalt but still can use off road on hard pack dirt roads? The knobby tires lasted around 5500 miles.

Check out Mitas E-07 tires.

What year is your bike? If it's an LC model, I don't think Mitas fit.

If you have an LC bike, I would suggest the Conti TKC70 or Michelin Anakee III.

Be sure to check out the GS Giants... they'll steer you in the right direction...

Ian

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[ROBERTSI]

tkc70

Your style of riding seems similar to mine.
I'm very happy with the Continental TKC70. I find that they stick good on pavement and they handle well off road, although, they are not a serious off road tire. I'm expecting good thread life.

 

[marcopolo]

My 2015 GSA came with Michelin Anakee III's, which are described as a 90-10 tire, i.e., 90% on-road. I rarely go off-road, and when I do, it's hard-packed gravel, fire roads etc. The Anakees have been fine, and I replaced the originals with another set of the same. I'm about to put my third set of tires on the bike, and they will, once again, be Anakee III's.

 

[bikerfish1100]

my 2016 GS came with Anakees. lasted about 7K. Thought they were okay, but not great. The Michys hated the tar snakes of southern UT. Replaced those with the Scorpion Trail IIs. Love 'em on road, and have been fine on mild off-road jaunts.
Just bought a 2nd set to replace the current ones. Planning a road ride x-c this summer, so wanted another road-biased tire for that trip. Close to 5K on 1st pair, and they still look to have quite a bit of life left on them.
Best price i found (2 days ago, about $300/pr, free shipping) was from Arizona Moto.

 

[bmwbob51]

Tires

I have a 2014 GS and tend to burn through rear tires every 3500 to 4000 miles. I ride mostly street, but always on the lookout for a good (dry) fire roads. I tried the Heidenau K60 Scout and still burnt through it faster than I liked. Continental TKC 70s work great street and dirt, although I did have some chunks come off from rocky roads. But these tires are pretty expensive and I ride about 20000 miles a year. So my current tire is a Shinko 705 at $100 for the rear. I'm skeptical of any cheap tire, but the reviews were positive. So far I have no complaints! I haven't been on any fire roads yet due to all the rain, but on the street they seems great! They do have a more pronounce fall in (not a bad thing), but hold the line well once settled and I got used to it quickly. I'm not dragging pegs, but riding pretty fast pace and no loss of grip rain or shine.

 

[jodysgsa15]

I have a 2014 GS and tend to burn through rear tires every 3500 to 4000 miles. I ride mostly street, but always on the lookout for a good (dry) fire roads. I tried the Heidenau K60 Scout and still burnt through it faster than I liked. Continental TKC 70s work great street and dirt, although I did have some chunks come off from rocky roads. But these tires are pretty expensive and I ride about 20000 miles a year. So my current tire is a Shinko 705 at $100 for the rear. I'm skeptical of any cheap tire, but the reviews were positive. So far I have no complaints! I haven't been on any fire roads yet due to all the rain, but on the street they seems great! They do have a more pronounce fall in (not a bad thing), but hold the line well once settled and I got used to it quickly. I'm not dragging pegs, but riding pretty fast pace and no loss of grip rain or shine.

Also on a GSA 2015-

Shinko 705's Are a Great Tire for 80/20.... I know a lot of you think I'm Nuts.... But I just put on Trail ATTACK 2's, and A totally different feel,
from The Shinko's of course.

The Shinko's don't buzz or numb the Hands on the Road.... plus off road on Game lands and forest roads were a trooper...
Ran them 8,000 miles, up 9,000, Handling was Just as good or Better than K70's.

My K70 front tire turned to crap, and started to have hairline splits or cracks choppy, in the knobbie,,,, I was really disapointed..after 7,000 miles for the Front.

Conti trail Attacks 2 are on my beast now, so time will tell, but to be honest...... I Rather have the Shinko's 705's on for Spring off Roading..
the Attack 2 are more Road Oriented, similar to Anakee 3's which were squirrely in wet soft spring thaw conditions.

For the Money, Shinko 705's are worth a try at least.... the Tread is similar to the Tourance....

As with many tire reviews, there is no perfect tire for everyone's needs,,,, it becomes a preference.... and what matches your style of Riding......

 

[pglaves]

As with many tire reviews, there is no perfect tire for everyone's needs,,,, it becomes a preference.... and what matches your style of Riding......

And what matches where you ride on pavement. Many tires stick very well in the southwest on abrasive chip sealed roads that do so less well on nice machine laid asphalt. And some tires that last for quite high mileage on that smooth asphalt wear rapidly on more abrasive chip sealed surfaces.

We got a lot better tire mileage when we lived in eastern Kansas than we do now in far southwest Texas.

 

[mojoman]

Tires

My 2015 GSA came with Michelin Anakee III's, which are described as a 90-10 tire, i.e., 90% on-road. I rarely go off-road, and when I do, it's hard-packed gravel, fire roads etc. The Anakees have been fine, and I replaced the originals with another set of the same. I'm about to put my third set of tires on the bike, and they will, once again, be Anakee III's.

I am in Canada and my 2017 R1200GS also came with Michelin Anakee III's. Perfect for me.

 

[john657]

I second the opinion on the Shinko 700 series. I run them year round and they are smooth and quiet. Great on road and quite good on hard pack trails. I switch to TKC80's for the BDR trips such as Idaho and Washington though.

 

[pch123]

Your style of riding seems similar to mine.
I'm very happy with the Continental TKC70. I find that they stick good on pavement and they handle well off road, although, they are not a serious off road tire. I'm expecting good thread life.

Had 3sets of tkc70. ON TWO GS.
Far superior tyre to Anakee 111
Great on road or off. No noise like the front Anakee
Anakee,s are mediocre street tyres.

 

[hankhoward]

Dennis,

I've mounted Michelin PR4 Trail front and GT rear on my 2015 GSA, since I ride mostly pavement. I've ridden them on gravel, hard-packed dirt, and even a rocky trail. I got along just fine in those conditions. I wouldn't want to ride them in mud or deep sand, but I avoid those condtions in any case. I also really like the solid feel on rain-slick pavement. The rear GT lasted nearly 9K miles and front Trail has 14K and still has some tread depth remaining.

Don

What made you decide on a GT rear instead of a Trail rear? Have you tried the Trail rear with the Trail front?

 

[donmoe]

What made you decide on a GT rear instead of a Trail rear? Have you tried the Trail rear with the Trail front?

Hank,

When I'm on a lengthy tour, I usually have the bike loaded down pretty well with luggage, tools and myself. On my previous sport-touring bikes, I mounted PR4GT tires front and rear and have been happy with the handling etc.

When I decided to replace the Anakee-3s with PR4s on my '15 GSA, the Trail was the only option for the front due to the 19" rim, but I stayed with the GT on the rear. When the current rear tire is next up for replacement, I may very well mount a Trail since I got such terrific longevity from the front Trail, replacing it just last week after nearly 18K miles! The rear GT has typically lasted between 7K and 9K. Recently I had to replace the rear after only around 2K due to a double puncture from something I ran over. At that time I should have considered the rear Trail, but didn't from habit...

Don

 

[OGOBRacing]

Near the end of last season I put a set of TKC70s on my '14 r1200 GS (Not A). The other day I took a little 253 mile loop. I rode everything from scenic byways, back road twisties with enthusiasm, 46 miles of Forest Service road that included packed dirt, gravel, rocks, washout, running water and mud. At one point I even had to ride up a ditch to make it around some equipment. Much of the trip back was on super slab running at about 80.

The 70s performed admirably in every setting. I don't know if you could find a better do everything tire. Certainly a dedicated street tire would allow you to push more on the pavement and in the mud and the ditch a knobby would have been a better choice, but 70s did everything.
T