tires for R1200GS Adventure?

What are the factory tire options for the R1200GSA? Can anyone comment on the street handling of the GSA with street-oriented tires?

I've heard the street manners of the GS and GSA are quite different, primarily due to weight and tires. The latter is easily addressed.....does it make a dramatic difference?

I like the amenities of the GSA but don't plan significant off-road excursions.

Then you should consider an RT.

When I bought my GS ADV in early 06, BMW's web site said they all came standard with TKC-80's, but mine actually came with some crappy Dunlop street dual sports - maybe a D607 nor something? I cooked those in a few thousand miles and went to Metzeler Tourances, which wire good on the street and very good on dirt Forest Service roads. I then switched and went through a couple of sets of Anakees - these were my favorite tires on that bike - sticky and grippy as a high performance street tire on the street, capable on hard-packed dirt, but of course not much good in mud or other more technical loose dirt type stuff.t

My 08 GSA came with Bridgestone Battle Wings...Local talk was I would be disappointed with the tires...They would wear out fast...And just work anywhere...I bought a set of Metzeler Tourances and have them in the garage for the change...FUNNY THING is those BS tires work very well on the street, I have ground the center stand down on both sides without any trouble at all...I removed the center stand for more corning clearance...Rode the bike offroad, hard pack is good, gravel roads are good, even almost got stuck in a mud hole about 12" deep and the side grooves got enough to get me out...I have 7,200 miles as of today and not quite to the wear bar on the rear, front has another 5K in it...I ran 42-44psi in rear and 32-36 in front...Offroad I ran 28 front and 34 rear, mainly for less tire bounce off rocks and I still could drive the 80 miles back home without much trouble...

My 2008 came with Tourance EXP

Battle Wings is what I got with my GS. I expected a not so good performance, but honestly they are quite good ! After 4000 miles there is plenty of profile left for at least 2000 miles on the rear and more for the front. I used them in wet conditions too, no problemo. My next set will be Conti TA's. These are also used by the BMW factory as a standard tire, suppose to have better grip on dry and wet roads, longer life and not unimportant... they look great.

Pleasantly surprised with their performance on an "08 through 5500 miles.

Thinking of Conti's next?

Anakees have somekind of silica (sp) mixed in the compound. It may be common, I don't know but for me, they have been OUTSTANDING!

TKC80's on the dirt are outstanding, and, the are pretty darn good on pavemnet too.

Mark
07 GSA

Not necessarily. The OP didn't mention his physical stature but the GSA is a great "big guy" bike and my knees wouldn't fit into the tank indents on an RT. My offroad riding is limited but I have yet to find another bike with the ergos to fit me like my GSA.

As for road oriented tires, I am really happy with the Conti TA's.

If you want the best of both worlds road and off road I dont think you can go past Hiedinou K60's.( prob not spelt right) They have been a little hard to get of late but are just becoming available again. The 150's are recommended for the gsa but I have run 140's without noticing too much difference. 140 are $100 cheeper here in Oz.

If I was doing all black top I prop would not own a GSA however if I did Anakee's would be my choice. Good grip on tar and I have got about 15k out of a rear. hopeless in the mud though. Found they wear better the tourance.

Ev'rything's a compromise.

I like the Metzler Tourance on my GSes. That said, I just finished wearing out a Michelin Pilot Road rear on my 1150GS that came on a parts bike I bought last year. It rocked on the asphalt , but it was definitely a compromise on FS roads.


I finally finished wearing it out Sunday -- on asphalt and dirt/gravel/mud.
Chris

I went from the K60 originals and liked them but got tired of waiting for the new one so I put on a set of Conti Road Attack 2's to see how they are. I've only got about 60mi on them but they seem to be pretty good so far. It's a bit of a change going from the squirmy tread of the K60's to the more stable tread of the RA2's. I may need to have my front wheel trued up. I'm not going to be doing any major offroad stuff for a while because of work so I'm just gonna use it as a commuter and backroad scratcher because that's all I have time for.

Greetings all,

So I've only ever used Metzeler's Tourance EXPs since day one, owing to the fact that the dealership here only supplies Metzeler (Tourances, EXPs and Karoos)

Then just yesterday I came across an ebay listing for FullBore USA tires. They look to be just slightly 'knobbier' than EXPs.. so I looked up the website too, but the pics weren't all that great.

http://www.fullboretires.com/adventuretouring.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20065855128...viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&vxp=mtr

As you can see from the pics, I'm someone who rides long and far on highways, just to get onto tracks and paths less travelled.





And 2 out of 10 times, I get stuck.... badly.

Could these FullBores be the missing link between the EXPs and Karoos? A tire that handles more than decent on the road, and rock steady offroad? Not to mention cheaper too.
And perhaps might not even melt off as fast as how I've heard the Karoos and even the TKC80s do...

The tire details as on the Ebay listing were correct, i think... : 110/80V19 & 150/70V17
Anyone has experience with these? Would love to hear from ya.

Cheers,
Jerome

What was wrong with your Multistrada? Sounds like a better bike for your riding habit.

That said, back to tires. Let me summarize the thousands of posts on tires for you: Metzler Tourances or Michilen Anakees are great proven street tires that should get you between 8k and 10k per set, I've run both and really have no preference between the two. Continental TKC80 or Heidenau K60's if you plan to do lots of gravel. Again summarizing the thousands of threads, TKC's are the winners on gravel and I have to agree, I did the TLH on my first set of K60's and while I got a lot of miles out of them for a dirt oriented tire, I prefer how the TKC's handle on both the street and the dirt. My experience is that the TKC is good for about 4k, while the K60 will last you about 6k as 50/50 tires.

While the GS is a bit nimbler than the GSA, they are both tall and relatively heavy, making them more to handle in the curves...that said, you can scrape pegs with confidence on either, particularly if you are on Tourances or Anakees. Don't listen to the comments about GS/GSA's "smokin" crotch rockets in the twisties (clearly that's a driver to driver issue...if it's not some fantasy being lived out on this board...there is LOTS of misinformation around here).

Plenty of people (probably the majority) use both bikes mostly, if not exclusively, for street...they like the look, the ergonomics, the luggage, the community, whatever...my suggestion is to ride a bunch of different bikes and figure out what is right for you.

Have fun with whatever you decide...

Ditto here. Bought it for the fit more than anything else. My off road skills are limited and I am a relatively new rider with just a few years of experience. I wanted an RT, but found I didn't fit it, or the vast majority of motorcycles on the road today.

My 2010 GSA came with the Tourance EXP and they seem pretty good for the street to me.

08 gsa,tourance exp, 65,000 klms, this bike is only ridden one or two times a week, saturday into my restaurant in port douglas, about fifteen klms away, but the other dsy is my day of freedom,could be a quick spin up to cooktown 200 odd klms bitumen ,a cup of coffee on the wharf and back down the coast road, dirt , another day could be up to the tablelands, bitumen, these roads are among the very best motorcycle roads in australia, very nice curves,in face these curves on a female would be stunning,I have ridden with world champions in both road and dirt, and classify myself as adequate,love those metzelers.

sorry for the mistakes, I am lying in a awkward position, broken ankle, on christmas day, on my sons wr450 trail riding,

I'm a huge Metzler fan, but I want to try a set of Heidenau K76s when I get back from my next trip. I have heard that they handle well and milage is better than Tourances.

If you're primarily on pavement, get a set of Continental Trail Attacks and hang on.

A bit expensive, but long lasting, large contact patch with the road, deep channel for rain/water distribution.

I'm with this guy on tires. I stick to the pavement for the most part.