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1250 GS Tires?


Twisties

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I haven't had a GS before and am not very familiar with the tire offerings.  My bike will be due for tires when I get back from Torrey next week.  It came with Anakee Adventures, Michelin's middle of the range (street - 80/20 - 50/50) adventure bike offering.  I have been impressed with their performance in street and light dirt riding.  I don't feel like I'm giving up anything in street riding.  I rode the bike up to a trailhead that had moderately steep rocky conditions and a lot of mud puddles.  Grip was surprisingly good.  Frankly, the whole bike surprised me with how well it handled the situation in Enduro riding mode.  I have no idea how many miles the tires have gone as the service records for the bike show that the prior owner had the dealer mount used tires before he turned it over to them for sale.  I'd get them again, but am having a little bit of sticker shock at the price.  

 

Sharon's 1250 has the Bridgestone A41's (OEM).  They are Bridgestone's 100% street offering in the adventure bike range.  I found them fine on the street.  I haven't ridden it on dirt, and worry that they would not be very good.  I don't intend to ride a lot of dirt with this bike, I have a dirt bike for that.  But I do want confidence on general dirt roads, in construction zones and the occasional combined street/dirt ride, like when I used it to get to the trailhead I mentioned earlier.  Bridgestone's price for their AT41 (80/20 tire, not the A41 Sharon has) is considerably better than the 80/20 Anakee Adventure's.  I have no experience with their AT41.

 

Bottom line, I guess I want an 80/20 tire where I won't feel I'm giving up street performance on dry road in sporty riding conditions.  That's top priority, and second priority is dirt road performance/grip.  What tires do you think do as well (or better) as the Anakee Adventures, or do you think the Anakees are worth their top dollar price?  How about the Bridgestone AT41's?  

 

 

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I'll agree with Tewks.  My dealer recommended the Dunlop Trailmax Missions when I asked about a longer lasting tire for my ride to the UN without giving up performance.  I knew my regular choices wouldn't make it there and back.

 

Performance in the dry was on par with the Michelin Anakee Adventures on the road.  Off road its better than the Adventures.  I also rode in some serious downpours with the Missions and they handled it great.  No slips.  I'm at 7700 miles on this set and they're barely past halfway worn.  Most of that riding was to and from the UN on the highway so they've squared off a bit.  The only negative I had was they seemed to be more sensitive to tar snakes.  Yea tar snakes are always slippery when hot, but it seemed worse with these.

 

With Michelin Pilot Roads and the Anakee Adventures I'd never see anywhere near the life I'm getting with the Missions.  Over time less tire replacements means less money spent.

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7 hours ago, BrianT said:

The only negative I had was they seemed to be more sensitive to tar snakes


One hundred percent on that! I hit one last week (can’t believe it was the one and only time with these tires) but man, pucker moment big-time! :classic_biggrin: After that, I purposely hit every one I could find in that short section of road just to desensitize myself. 
 

edit… I guess I lied in my first statement! :D

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I've always used the 90 /10 tires on my GS. My 2016 game with Anakee 3s and I installed Conti Trail Attack 3s Pirelli Scorpion Trail 2s and Bridgestone A41s.  My favorite road tire was the Scorpions and by far my least favorite was the Bridgestones. All were about the same on the very mild dirt roads in the local area.  The Bridgestones were definitely cheaper but were a bitch to mount and just don't have the grip when compared to the other offerings.  My R1250GS had the Bridgestone A41s when I picked it up and replaced them with the Scorpions before riding it.

 

The Scorpion on the front of the R1250GS had a vibration, turned out to be a large bulge in side the tire. Returned the tire to Revzilla with out issue. Just one of those things it didn't sour me on Pirelli.  Decided to try the Dunlop Mutant on the front and mounted it before leaving for FART.  Rode the Dragon while the road was wet and was definitely impressed with the grip of the Mutant.  Also rode about 30 miles total of gravel road at FART, the rear Scorpion and front Mutant are really street tires but did ok on the gravel. If I was anything other than a infrequent rider off road I would definitely choose a different tire combination than any of the 90/10 tire options. 

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Thanks all!  I've enjoyed the Dunlop Roadsmart III's on the RT, and the Dunlop Trailmax Mission sounds like what I'm looking for.  Unfortunately, they seem to be out of stock.  I guess I won't have any major rides after Torrey for a while, so maybe I can wait.

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For mileage the Dunlop Trail Mission are hard to beat. I put on a set to go the Alaska, 100397 miles. The front tire still looked great, the rear squared off,  but still had 3mm of tread depth left. It handled all the dirt we threw at it. We did the Dalton Hwy up to the Arctic Circle and back. They did get dicey behind the grader and water trucks, but that was like riding on banana peels for miles on end. The down side if there is one is lean angle and wet roads. End grip is suspect in the wet.

 

 For sport touring and really pushing it the Dunlop Mutants stick very well. That said I doubt I will get 4-5K on the rear.

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On 9/20/2022 at 1:51 PM, Twisties said:

I haven't had a GS before and am not very familiar with the tire offerings.  My bike will be due for tires when I get back from Torrey next week.  It came with Anakee Adventures, Michelin's middle of the range (street - 80/20 - 50/50) adventure bike offering.  I have been impressed with their performance in street and light dirt riding.  I don't feel like I'm giving up anything in street riding.  I rode the bike up to a trailhead that had moderately steep rocky conditions and a lot of mud puddles.  Grip was surprisingly good.  Frankly, the whole bike surprised me with how well it handled the situation in Enduro riding mode.  I have no idea how many miles the tires have gone as the service records for the bike show that the prior owner had the dealer mount used tires before he turned it over to them for sale.  I'd get them again, but am having a little bit of sticker shock at the price.  

 

Sharon's 1250 has the Bridgestone A41's (OEM).  They are Bridgestone's 100% street offering in the adventure bike range.  I found them fine on the street.  I haven't ridden it on dirt, and worry that they would not be very good.  I don't intend to ride a lot of dirt with this bike, I have a dirt bike for that.  But I do want confidence on general dirt roads, in construction zones and the occasional combined street/dirt ride, like when I used it to get to the trailhead I mentioned earlier.  Bridgestone's price for their AT41 (80/20 tire, not the A41 Sharon has) is considerably better than the 80/20 Anakee Adventure's.  I have no experience with their AT41.

 

Bottom line, I guess I want an 80/20 tire where I won't feel I'm giving up street performance on dry road in sporty riding conditions.  That's top priority, and second priority is dirt road performance/grip.  What tires do you think do as well (or better) as the Anakee Adventures, or do you think the Anakees are worth their top dollar price?  How about the Bridgestone AT41's?  

 

Twisties:

 

I am also fairly new with GS.  I've ridden tour company GS's in Europe and liked them.  Just got back from a 2-week Beach's tour of the western alps (Switzerland, Italy, half a day in Germany and mostly France).   It was moto-heaven and a real workout.   I loved it.   My ride was a 1200 GS on Metzler Tourance II.   They're OK, no issues, but street grip wasn't as good as it could have been.   I slid a little with big lean angles.  They're very progressive though.   I think that's why tour groups use them.   That and incentive plans for these groups from Metzler.   

 

My '22 GSA came with Bridgestone A41.   They seemed to stick OK on the street, but noise from the front tire tread was the most I've ever experienced on any bike/tire combo.   Horrid!    I  bought a special piece that surrounds the forks and a handlebar storage bag , both from Wunderlich to deflect the noise from the tires.  They helped maybe 20%.  

 

After the 600 mile service, I had some Continental Trail Attack 3 installed.  These are the tires of choice of a friend of mine who I've ridden a lot with.    OMG, what a difference.   They are silent and they really stick.   I used them on dirt and forded a half-doze streams that ran over roads in Missouri with these tires.  They worked great.   Street performance is as good as any street tire I've used on my RTs in the past (I've owned 4 RTs over the years).   Just a great tire for GS.   On a solo trip to CO (Top o' the Rockies Rally), I had scheduled for a new set of TA3 in Ft. Collins.   I arrived at the appointed day and guess what?  Someone in the office forgot to order my tires.    They were all set to sell me a substitute and I walked out.    Now, I've done 1000 miles of high speed interstate at 90+ degrees on tires that were half-gone when I started the trip.   

 

I rode the wee out of those tires up in the passes and great paved roads around Peyonia...some of the best in the country, imho.  I returned to the rally one afternoon and someone noticed the cords starting to peek out of my rear tire.   Next day, I was off to Grand Junction for a new rear tire at about 7,000 miles. 

 

They didn't have any TA3s, but they had a Continental TKC70 rear tire.   It's a little more "dirt" than the TA3...TA3 is 90/10, TKC70 is 80/20.  I decided to try it because it has a continuous center rubber area.    I kept the original TA3 front tire on the bike because it had plenty left.    

 

Well, it worked.  The sacrifice in handling was minimal.  I rode that combo on a couple more twisty days and then rode it home on interstates.  It's not noisy and handles very well.  I've still got that combo on the bike and I've still got the barely used set of Bridgestones in my garage.   

 

The Dunlop Trailmax meentioned here is also a stellar 50/50 tire but it's not going to have the street chops of the Trail Attack 3 or TKC70..  Depends on what you're doing with your GS.

 

I've just given you 3 ways to go....TA3, front and rear,  TA3 front / TKC70 rear and TKC 70 F&R.   If you want to get more dirty, I'd go with Dunlop Trailmax.50/50.    They seem to be the bomb for 50/50 tires.   

 

I'm not liking street-only tires for my GSA these days.  I had a couple of weird punctures on my last RT on not that old tires.   I think tires that are 90/10 give you more puncture resistance.   A rear puncture isn't super dangerous, but it sure can ruin your weekend if it can't be quickly plugged.

 

 

 

Have fun!

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On 9/20/2022 at 2:51 PM, Twisties said:

I haven't had a GS before and am not very familiar with the tire offerings.  My bike will be due for tires when I get back from Torrey next week.  It came with Anakee Adventures, Michelin's middle of the range (street - 80/20 - 50/50) adventure bike offering.  I have been impressed with their performance in street and light dirt riding.  I don't feel like I'm giving up anything in street riding.  I rode the bike up to a trailhead that had moderately steep rocky conditions and a lot of mud puddles.  Grip was surprisingly good.  Frankly, the whole bike surprised me with how well it handled the situation in Enduro riding mode.  I have no idea how many miles the tires have gone as the service records for the bike show that the prior owner had the dealer mount used tires before he turned it over to them for sale.  I'd get them again, but am having a little bit of sticker shock at the price.  

 

Sharon's 1250 has the Bridgestone A41's (OEM).  They are Bridgestone's 100% street offering in the adventure bike range.  I found them fine on the street.  I haven't ridden it on dirt, and worry that they would not be very good.  I don't intend to ride a lot of dirt with this bike, I have a dirt bike for that.  But I do want confidence on general dirt roads, in construction zones and the occasional combined street/dirt ride, like when I used it to get to the trailhead I mentioned earlier.  Bridgestone's price for their AT41 (80/20 tire, not the A41 Sharon has) is considerably better than the 80/20 Anakee Adventure's.  I have no experience with their AT41.

 

Bottom line, I guess I want an 80/20 tire where I won't feel I'm giving up street performance on dry road in sporty riding conditions.  That's top priority, and second priority is dirt road performance/grip.  What tires do you think do as well (or better) as the Anakee Adventures, or do you think the Anakees are worth their top dollar price?  How about the Bridgestone AT41's?  

 

 

 

My 2021 GSA came equipped with Michelin Anakee 3s. I ride solely on pavement, and the Anakee 3s never felt well planted to me. I gladly traded them out at 6,700 miles.

 

I switched to a set of Michelin Road 5 Trails. They have been excellent tires. Much more quiet (especially the front tire) compared to the Anakee 3s, and improved handling. I currently have 10,000 miles on the tires, and they probably have another 2-3k of mileage left. However, since I average 1,000 miles a month and getting a good weather day in mid January to ride from middle Georgia to my dealer in Asheville, NC can  be a challenge, I am changing them out next week. 

 

Both my dealer and I have had problems finding the tires I want (Michelin Road 6 Trails). I managed to find the Road 6 Trail front tire online. The dealer found a Road 5 GT for the rear. Plan ahead -- tires seem to be a somewhat scarce (and expensive) commodity right now.
 

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I checked out the M Road 5 Trails and consider them road tires and nothing else. My riding will be 99% road and 1% dirt road/off road for the time being. I don't ever see myself thrashing/trashing my GSA off road but DO want decent tire performance when things get dirty. Like you I want great road performance but that's what's lacking with the Anakee 3's that came on my GSA. I'm about to embark on a 2K +/- trip to Hill Country that I anticipate will take me close to the end of the Anakee's. What to do.....what to do....

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  • 4 weeks later...

The main advantage to a 90/10 over a pure street tire is puncture resistance, not really extra dirt grip from the treads.    I've ridden dirt/gravel on Michelin Pilot 3,4 and 5s on several different RTs over the years.   Not really any better or worse than other bikes with 90/10 and even 80/20 and 70/30 tires.  (Yes, I think Conti actually calls their TKC 70 a 70/30 tire.)  

 

If it rains, the whole game changes.   None of these tires we're talking about are good on mud or sand.  Only a few 50/50 tires can do even decently in those sorts of conditions.   The rest, you should think about camping until things dry out.  Dunlop Trailmax Missions are the best 50/50 for off-road these days.  They are almost good enough for mud and sand.  They give long miles too, but they're not very sporty on the street.  ...Good tire to go to Alaska on.  

 

That said, I've had 3 rear street-only Michelin Road GTs get punctures far before their time. The Road designs from Michelin are lighter in weight than almost any other street tire and it may affect their ability to resist punctures....or it may just be all street tires.  I don't know.  

 

One of the punctures, a Road 5, really put a dent in my Memorial Day weekend...  Out in the middle of moto-heaven on asphalt, going fast on a gorgeously curvy and empty road....well, almost empty, I heard a noise and then the dash lit up.   Low pressure.     Patch would not work.  No tows available on Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day Weekend from AAA or BMW Roadside or Progressive, who is usually the best of them.   I ended up limping the bike 25 miles to Lacrosse on the flat rear tire...and didn't damage the rim or even the TPMS device.    I went 20mph the whole way in 2nd gear using cruise control on US 14, which is straight and smooth.   

 

Another Michelin Road somehow picked up a rusty nail not much bigger than a staple.   Tiny!   Should not have been able to penetrate this tire, but it did.  It happened at a commercial camping spot in Missouri.  I was parked in the cut grass 1 foot off the pavement.  No construction or nails anywhere nearby.  That one was easily patched and I was on my way.  I did some spirited riding soon after.  Having a plug in the rear tire was not confidence inspiring, but it held perfectly and I put a thousand more miles on it before finally changing it at the end of the season.  I traded that bike for a new GSA in the Spring.  Dealer put new tires on it anyway.   

 

Rear tires need to do 3 things really well for me to like them.  1. Hold their shape after miles of interstate.   2. Not pucture easily.   3. Corner and handle well from beginning of life to end of life. (This seems to be related to #1, but not always. Tire construction matters.)   It's also nice if they don't slip much in the rain and that they last 10K miles or so, but honestly, I could be happy with 7K so long as the other things are covered well.   For these reasons, I've begun using good 90/10 tires rather than street.   The 90/10s are just as fast...maybe slightly less ultimate grip, but they lose traction a bit more progressively which gives me more confidence in them rather than less.   

 

So far, the Conti TA3 is my favorite, but I haven't tried Michelin Road Trail, nor had I heard of them until reading the post above.  I think either would be the bomb for an RT or a GS that's used mainly on the street.   Yes, I'd put 90/10 on an RT.   

 

Avoid Bridgeston A41 though...extremely noisy 20mph to warp speed. People riding with me could hear them!

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