Tyres

Seems to be the norm for a subject these days.

Ok, suppose I want to take the XJR on a long trip. A *very* long trip,
one that may not have many places to get tyres sorted.

And suppose I wanted to have something other than my usual Sport Touring
(BT, AV) tyres as 7k rear 10-12k front is a tad limiting.

Given that the only options I research come up with the usual BT/AV
Sport Touring stuff, anyone any ideas what I can look at ?

Could I get knobblies for example ?

 

Best alternative I can think of is the Continental Road Attack - they
have a very deep tread pattern to help longevity.

Nick Sanders reckons he was getting 7k from a rear on his R1 when doing
his round the world thing.

 

(SteveH) wrote in :

I've got Road Attacks on the GS. The seem to last a long time. As Steve
says, they have a deep tread pattern. Decent grip too, tested in very wet
conditions in the Swiss canton of Aargau & Bitche in Moselle.

The other tyre I was impressed with, although probably not available any
more, was the Pirelli Dragon sport touring tyre. IIRC, it had a much deeper
tread than the BT57/020 I had used before on my VFR.

http://www.pirelli.co.uk suggest something called the AngelST which is a
new one on me.

 

Its an option, I'll have a gander

Yer, but he is a skinny runt

 

Avoid knobblies or anything similar if you want durability. There are
road-legal knobbly type tyres such as Continental TCK-80s and Metzeler
Karoos but they wear quickly if subjected to much road use. They are also
not very good for the bike's handling on the road. You won't find a
long-life knobbly type road tyre. If manufacturers wanted to extend the life
of such knobbly tyres they would need to increase the tread depth - which
would mean "taller" blocks, which would deform even more when under load,
making handling on the road even worse.

I have Continental Road Attacks on the V-strom. 5,000 miles so far with
loads of tread depth left on the rear and the front looks hardly worn. They
make the bike handle a bit better than the BT Trailwings that it came with
from new (the BT Trailwing might still be worth considering for your trip as
it is more dual-purpose). However, the better handling on the v-strom is
probably because the Road Attack is a more road-oriented tyre. Continental
also do a "Trail Attack" that might suit your purposes as they have a 1mm
deeper tread and slightly harder compound than the Road Attacks but some
people say they don't handle too well at low speeds. Metzeler Tourance might
also be worth considering or Michelin Anakees.

 

Sounds like sir may need to consider carrying a spare somehow?

 

Its an option, we are fitting panniers to the Aprilia and will just have
the Ventura back on the XJR. Therefore I could fit a spare rear over the
rack/seat/ventura if necessary.

 

Dunno, Jean's Peg has done over 10k on its originals which are some sort
o of halfway knobbly/road tyre thing

I think that is a teeny bit lighter and less power (assuming 650) than
the XJR.

Ta, bet I can't find one of the above to fit though

 

I doubt it. And on an XJR you aren't going to get that far off the
beaten track.

This couple managed just fine: http://www.ultimatejourney.com/

Good site for inspiration and tips. Even their cost breakdown is
pretty comprehensive. You guessed it, Europe was the place they spent
the most money.

 

Not going to know we we will be at any given time. (other than when we
leave).

Will be happy to hang around for a few days in civilistaion if/when needed.

 

Exactly.
It will stay on tarmac mainly, but I know the roads will be rough in
places. If we need to get up in the hills we will leave the XJR
somewhere and go 2 up on the Peg

And many others, but I'm not taking a BMW

Hence why running away

 

I have knobblies on my new acquisition.

Fair scared the shit out of me when I lost the front on a wet corner.

Knobblies not good for the road, m'kay ..

Paul.

 

Ugh, can't wait to get them off the Tiger. Fucking awful, and wear
like bastards on the motorway.

HTH

Paul.

 

As others have said, Road Attacks are probably a good choice. However
longevity will depend very much on how you use them. Long trip
presumably means extra weight, so jack the pressures up to stop them
overheating. Accelerate & brake very gently & you can probably double
the life of the tyre.

You probably could (assuming you're thinking of Karoos/TKCs), but
they're really not pleasant on the road, & the heat caused by the knobs
moving around mean they're unlikely to last too well. Don't even think
about using 'proper' knobblies, I tried one on the back of my R80-GS
once & killed it in about 10 miles on the road (all the knobs ripped
out the middle[1]).

[1] You can just about make it out in this pic:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30265935&l=24e8cafe4f&id=135707324
6

 

They're not that bad, probably the best of the big trailie tyres. If
you think they wear quickly, don't try Anakees whatever you do.

If you never go offroad, Road 2's are your best bet.

 

I liked Wessie's CRA's [1]. My Tourances are squaring off as i'm using
them on the airport commute, which isn't the twistiest route known to
man :/

Paul

[1] Tyres are mentioned so often now, we might as well go to TLA's ...

 

YTC#1 wrote:

Bugger - I was forgetting it was a huge lardy thing needing a180/55-17 tyre
on the rear!

 

I won't be on motorways.

Got a really unhelpful reply from Yamaha UK. I may post it.

 

Its is big, and it is lardy, but I lurve it.

 

m'kay