Tire experts, I need you

I have a burning desire to get a pair of knobbly tires for my 1200GS. I plan on fitting them before any major altercation with rough stuff, such as GS Challenges, Overland trips and our Sunday club rides (just kidding about the last one! ). I can then take then swap them with my "road" tires when I'm back to commuting, Zwartkops track days, etc.

I'm currently running Metzeler Tourance tires in front and back, and I was wondering what to consider as a knobbly alternative:

1) Heidenau's?
2) Metzeler Karoo's?
3) Continental TKC 80's?
4) Other?

The Tourance tires made it up Sani pass, but I (I mean my clutch) would have appreciated better grip!

In the past I've seen all the GS Adventures factory fitted with the TKC80's, but more recently they are on the shop floor with Karoo's. I would also appreciate your opinion on where to buy, at what price, etc.

Fanks!

I am no expert but this is my humble opinion

Take the TKC's

Proven reliability. You do not want troubles with tyres because you wanted to save a few hundred bucks

Also check with BMW wheteher the specific tyre is approved for your bike. Otherwise you might loose your warranty

I let my fingers do the walking and I am happy to share my findings...

Continental TKC 80	Front	Rear	Total
Moskay's	R1556	R2065	R3621
Bavarian	R1560	R2115	R3675
Full Throttle	R1600	R2150	R3750

Metzeler Karoo	Front	Rear	Total
Moskay's	R1193	R1852	R3045
Bavarian	R1194	R1852	R3046
Full Throttle	R1400	R1800	R3200

The general consensus is that it's either a TKC 80 or a Karoo-T, with the TKC 80 obviously having the benefit of a longer track record.

It was very pleasing to see that Bavarian is very competitive as far as tire pricing is concerned (likely because it's not BMW branded )

So with pricing sorted, I would prefer that Bavarian fit my tires - especially because of the tire pressure sensors and that jazz.

Let me know your opinions on this!

Thanks for the info Marnus!
I have no opinion on this (as I'm somewhat blonde in this regard) but will forward this to my technical supervisor!
He's also in line for knobblies on the 1200GS..
Knobblies a must for Country Trax?

Any reason why no Heidenau's on your list?

Technical supervisor hey? That the guy with the heavy hand?

I've seen enough pictures of Heidies delaminating, which could likely have been a bad batch, or poorly ridden in, or whatever. But at this point I trust them only as far as I can throw them and would not "feel" safe knowing they are the only thing between me and the tar/gravel. (Ok Drix, you can start breathing now... ). Don't get me wrong - they look very nice and they fill the gap between road & off-road tires nicely (much like the 800GS fills the gap between the 650 and the 1200!). They just need to earn a good reputation first before I'll place my life in their hands...

Knobblies for Country Trax? No, I don't think it's a requirement at all. The way I look at it is to have your bike configured for training as close as possible to the way in which you are using it. Training on a CRF is not money wasted at all, but the training is certainly more relevant when done on a GS if you are riding a GS.

I hardly EVER deflate my tires for off-road riding (except halfway up Sani pass!!!), because I've been training myself to become more comfortable handling gravel with harder tires, and in the same way I would be very comfortable doing Country Trax with my Metzeler Tourance tires. I'm considering fitting knobblies only because I plan to push myself into more technical terrain in future, and would prefer to train that way so long. I have dreams to go up north some time in the future

Marnus wrote:Technical supervisor hey? That the guy with the heavy hand? ...

lol that's the one!

Marnus wrote:.. I've seen enough pictures of Heidies delaminating, ...

yep.. will wait a while.
So: for good balance - financial and otherwise - we've decided on TKC's front and Anakees at the rear...
(he needs a birthday pressie anyway!)

Live your dream Marnus.. life is short.

Marnus wrote:
I've seen enough pictures of Heidies delaminating, which could likely have been a bad batch, or poorly ridden in, or whatever. But at this point I trust them only as far as I can throw them and would not "feel" safe knowing they are the only thing between me and the tar/gravel. (Ok Drix, you can start breathing now... ).

Hehe, how did you know..?

Knobblies for Country Trax? No, I don't think it's a requirement at all. The way I look at it is to have your bike configured for training as close as possible to the way in which you are using it.

Your theory makes sense, but the focus is on doing and mastering the exercises with confidence - which is less if you don't have knobblies. And because the exercises build on each other you have a cumulative degrading learning experience, sometimes falling short of those breakthrough moments.

It is more important to use the heavy GS, but you want the best grip possible.

My humble opinion.

Knobbly front and dual-sport back is great combo for general riding (as I'm doing), but for the course I would recommend knobblies all round. Trust me, you'll enjoy it once you've done it!

I hardly EVER deflate my tires for off-road riding (except halfway up Sani pass!!!), because I've been training myself to become more comfortable handling gravel with harder tires, and in the same way I would be very comfortable doing Country Trax with my Metzeler Tourance tires. I'm considering fitting knobblies only because I plan to push myself into more technical terrain in future, and would prefer to train that way so long. I have dreams to go up north some time in the future

I'd like to have your opinion after the course - please debate it with Jan?


Karoo vs. TKC: On my Dakar I got 6,000k out of a rear Karoo and 9,000k out of a TKC - meaning the last 2,000k on both you've actually lost the knobbly effect. I would not put Karoos on a 1200 from a cost-effective point of view - the only place I found them better was in sand. And I would trust a TKC more around a corner on tar, but the Karoo is not bad. The Karoo is much louder, but then I have never selected tyres, and definitely not knobblies, for noise reasons!

Drix, good to see you back and posting. And thanks for your advice and point of view... And trust me, I'll be doing a lot of debating with Jan hehehehe