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Tire experts speak up!

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Tourmeister said:
No kidding... I've tried following his "fat and slow" self through the woods... I couldn't even keep him in sight unless he stopped to wait for me.
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Huge difference in the woods and what's being discussed here. 500 pound bikes intimidate me.
 
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On my 1090R, I run the TKC80 on the front and the MotoZ Tractionator Adventure on the rear. The bike still handles the pavement fairly well and it will tackle all but the most extreme off road. I've bounced the bike off of a lot of rocks, hit really rough hills and gone through a fair amount of mud without issues. The Tractionator will outlast the TKC80 rear 'almost' three to one ! ! !
 
bigdave-gs said:
On my 1090R, I run the TKC80 on the front and the MotoZ Tractionator Adventure on the rear. The bike still handles the pavement fairly well and it will tackle all but the most extreme off road. I've bounced the bike off of a lot of rocks, hit really rough hills and gone through a fair amount of mud without issues. The Tractionator will outlast the TKC80 rear 'almost' three to one ! ! !
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Need a rear tire on the V-Strom. Where did you get your MotoZ?
 
235140


JMZ's gravel bike (left) before he went full ADV on the Super Ten.
I'm running K60s on the light bike but will probably go back to MT21s. On an ADV bike I'd be more concerned about the life of the tire than traction since overall performance is compromised by the weight of the bike anyway.
 
Meriden said:
On an ADV bike I'd be more concerned about the life of the tire than traction since overall performance is compromised by the weight of the bike anyway.
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This is kind of where I've ended up as well.

If you want more reading, there is always this thread as well:

www.twtex.com

ADV Gravel Riders - What Tires?

After doing a fair amount of gravel and dirt riding in the last week or so, I'm starting to wonder if I should get some new tires for the bike. It came stock with these: As far as I know, they seem fine on the street. I've had them up to 115 mph and all good. But when I go off pavement...
www.twtex.com www.twtex.com
 
Meriden said:
On an ADV bike I'd be more concerned about the life of the tire than traction since overall performance is compromised by the weight of the bike anyway.
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My experience on 1150 & 1200 GSs is that the performance is REALLY dependent on the front tire more than the back, unless you get in deep sand or nasty mud, then the back starts to matter. The big bikes really want to push the front end out from under them. I've run everything from more street biased adventure tires to the full TKC 80s. I regularly ride on hard packed gravel, dirt, and some sand. I find that having the TKC 80 front makes a world of difference in how the bike handles, so much so that I will gladly give up longevity for that performance. On the rear, I have been using the Shinko 805s because they have decent longevity and performance, but they aren't expensive. I don't like to pay more than $150 for a tire. Some of those other tires are $200 or more and I am not convinced they last that much longer or perform that much better. The Tractionators seem to be real popular, but the rear for my GS would be $228!! I think I paid $135 for the rear Shinko 805. The Tractionator would have to be a MUCH better tire and last a LOT longer for me to justify another $93 for it.
 
Tourmeister said:
My experience on 1150 & 1200 GSs is that the performance is REALLY dependent on the front tire more than the back, unless you get in deep sand or nasty mud, then the back starts to matter. The big bikes really want to push the front end out from under them. I've run everything from more street biased adventure tires to the full TKC 80s. I regularly ride on hard packed gravel, dirt, and some sand. I find that having the TKC 80 front makes a world of difference in how the bike handles, so much so that I will gladly give up longevity for that performance. On the rear, I have been using the Shinko 805s because they have decent longevity and performance, but they aren't expensive. I don't like to pay more than $150 for a tire. Some of those other tires are $200 or more and I am not convinced they last that much longer or perform that much better. The Tractionators seem to be real popular, but the rear for my GS would be $228!! I think I paid $135 for the rear Shinko 805. The Tractionator would have to be a MUCH better tire and last a LOT longer for me to justify another $93 for it.
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When I had my 04 1150GSA, I ran a TKC80 on the front and a original Tourance on the rear. I could ride off road in dirt, gravel and fairly deep sand with little issues. On my 1290 SA-T, I run the original Tourance front and rear and get up to 8000 miles out of the rear. On my 1090R, it came with the TKC 80 front and rear. I got 1400 miles out of the rear. I put the Tractionator on it and it has 2200 miles on it and you can't really tell it's started wearing yet, so I'm expecting 4000 miles at least from the Tractionator. I ran one 805 on my 950SE and got a little less than 1000 miles out of it then I switched to the Dunlop 908RR. I would get around 2000+ miles out of the 908RR. Dunlop doesn't make the 908RR in the size for the 1090R rear. If this Tractionator will get up to 4 times the wear on my 1090R, I'm willing to spend $228 for it. I replaced my 950SE with the 1090R. I ride it just like I did the ol' 950. It serves as my "dirt bike", so it is ridden by the same guy with the same right hand off road, so only time will tell ! ! ! :rider:
 
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I also like the E-07. When I needed a new tire, the 07 was out of stock. I'm currently running the Tractinator Adventure. Both are great 50/50 tires.
 
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