I am one of the ones that experienced head shake with the original T-Nexts. While they still had a few thousand miles on them, I replaced them with Karoo 3's at the recommendation of my friend/dealer/huge GS guy. He considers these the best all around tire for the GS. First impressions - The first turn scared the crap out of me. Going from the smooth low profile to the more aggressive, higher profile tires was a big change. They turn in very fast and had a bit of an abrupt transition. They were loud had significant vibration. Fast forward 100 miles - Smoothing out nicely. Straight line pretty smooth, but they do sing a bit like the AT tires on my truck. Does not bother me. The turns are also smoothing out, but still a bit uncomfortable. 500 miles - Did some light dirt in the desert. Hard-pack and a bit of sand they were fantastic. Can't judge deep sand because I suck at it and cannot blame the tires for my poor skills. 1,000 miles - I am very happy with these tires. I am not one of those canyon bomber riders but I do push it a bit. These tires are good on the road for me and transform the bike on the dirt. I do agree these are the perfect tires for the bike as it is intended (marketed) to be ridden. That said, I am glad that they did not come stock on the bike as they did take significant getting used to. Recommended... if you can live with the AT tire buzz.
How does the tread life look? I keep flipping between buying these and another set of Anakee3's. The A3 fits my riding style but I really like the look of these and I can use all the help I can get in the dirt.
I agree with OP, great tires. I have had them on my 2014 GSAw from day one. 1500 miles and I would say they (rear) are just about 3/4 done which is not that great, but I will admit I'm heavy on the throttle (wheelies). Front tire looks like it only has about 300 miles on it while the rear is pretty much done in my eyes. I don't like to ride with a tire to wear bars as performance sucks in the dirt. I have ran heidenaus for the past 36k miles on my last GSA and I will say these Karros' are much better in wet conditions and cornering, but really lacking in milage. Rear [/URL][/IMG] Front [/URL][/IMG]
Damn, too much commuting and long distance riding to make those work. I'd just get to where I'm going and they would be bald. Guess I'm trying the K60s. Thanks!
I installed Karoo 3s on my 1150GS last July. After 9000 miles, the front tire has 1/4" of tread in the center and the rear has almost 1/8". The tire edges have much more tread (chicken strips). Of that 9000 miles, I estimate only 1000 off-road. I rode the COBDR in dry and wet pavement, dry dirt, sand, slick deep mud puddles ( I dropped the bike but my buddy also dropped his Dakar with TKC-80s), six inch deep water crossings and wet CO dirt. I also rode about 200 miles of dirt roads near Big Bear CA and just southeast of Death Valley. The tires performed very well. They were initially louder than the Tourances they replaced (especially evident with the panniers on) but got much quieter with a little wear. It's time to replace the rear tire now. I'll definitely buy them again. My 2 cents worth, JP
It never seizes to amaze me how different people's tire wear is. I usually find myself on the very short end of the reported mileages, likely because I ride 2-up a lot and also don't think much about tire wear when I ride...
I got 2000 km out of a rear...and it was completely and totally worn out. Probably 50/50 dirt (mud, sand, rock etc) and road. No 2 up. So mileage really does vary, I'm about 1250 miles and JP is looking like he will nearly get 10 times that.
I thought I heard they changed the rubber compound on these tires? Is it possible that the mileage variances are because of that? I put a set on last summer, and was real happy with the handling. But the rear was gone in about 1700 miles. The front is still going strong with over 5k on it. No cupping like I would see with. TKC by this point. So I will put another on the front, but will have to hear about a change in the rear before I try another.
My take... Noisy, but I wear earplugs, the rear is ready for replacing at 5200 miles, front still looks good. Overall; very pleased and will continue to use them until something better comes along.
9,000??? :eek1 I do ride a bit on the throttle but my word how did you manage 9,000 miles??? Please tell me what tire pressure you are running front and rear. I have been running 39 front 41-42 rear.
Have not heard this and there is no indication of it on the Metzeler Web site. They claim 30% more than the Karoo 2 so 2000-ish miles is about right.
I wonder if some of the variance may be what is considered worn out? Dirt guys shed their knobbies when the height of the knobs are still twice what a street tire comes with new. Geof
I spend a lovely Sunday doing twisty back-roads. I continue to be impressed how well these handle on the street, especially on broken pavement. Almost 2K miles on the tires. Front looks new and rear showing some flattening due to a thousand miles of slab. I have not tried them in the rain, but otherwise completely satisfied. Still recommended.
Got the K 3's on my LC GS, did about 3800 miles on an 18 day trip down Baja and Northern Mexico. After about 400-500 miles of break-in they are awesome with a capital awesome on asphalt. Excellent on dirt from day one. Like it's been said before, they sing a little on pavement, but that is to be expected. Great on sand, rocks, mud, water crossings etc etc. Did about 450km of gnarly twisties between Chihuahua and Hermosillo (Copper Canyon and Basaseachic are in that route) and the tires displayed outstanding grip. I guess the performance is due mostly to the composition of the rubber so a shortened life span on the rear tire is to be expected. My rear tire is about 65-70% gone while my front still has about 65-70 percent life left in it. All things considered I recommend these tires for the 1200GS LC.
I just mounted Karoo 3s on my GSW. What are the street tire pressures used to get the good wear some are reporting?
Thanks for that. This is what I have run the Conti trail attacks and Metzler Next's at. Probably a good starting point.
Sounds like a miracle unless riding on smooth tarmac and 10% throttle!! Even then, will depend a lot on temperature and tire pressure. Curious to know more details. I was never able to take more than 4,000 miles from my K2´s or TKC´s. Will try K3 as soon as need to replace tires.