Tires for F650GS Twin

Got a Tech Question? Know something about BMWs?

Moderator: JimVonBaden

Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby Luna » Sun Feb 24, 2013 8:16 pm

I'm starting to look for replacement tires for the Baby GS and was wondering what ya'll were running on yours. I love the feel of the BattleWings on the street, but they really suck for even the light & occasional off-road forays that I do. So I'm looking for something that will have better traction for off-road, but don't want to sacrifice my on-road traction either. I've been reading some good things about the Anakees and Tourance; anybody out there riding on these?. I also know to stay away from the Heidenaus due to poor wet pavement traction.

Give me your thoughts.......
Laura Moon

Image
French kissing life square in the mouth.... :D
2014 Honda GL1800HPNA
User avatar
Luna
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 171
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:42 pm
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby Chiba » Sun Feb 24, 2013 9:48 pm

I think you'll like the Tourances. They're a good blend for on/off road. If I did any off-roading at all (dirt roads, gravel, etc. not hardcore stuff) I'd go with Tourances.
BMW MOA Digital News Editor www.bmwmoa.org
- 05 R1200GS - 98 K1200RS + Hannigan Classic sidecar -
User avatar
Chiba
The FUNNY One
 
Posts: 6464
Joined: Sat May 06, 2006 8:01 pm
Location: Mechanicsville VA

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby stevebmw » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:58 am

I've loved the regular Tourances (not the Tourance EXP) on my R 1150 GS since I bought it. They're wonderful for street and good enough for me in off-pavement situations. For real off-road (as opposed to dirt roads), you'd want something a bit chunkier. The new Michelin Anakee 3 looks pretty cool, with an all-new tread design they say works well for on- and off-pavement, but I don't have any experience with them.
Steve Anderson
2002 R1150GS
Morton's BMW Motorcycles
Your HQ for GS fun!
Fredericksburg, Virginia
540-891-9844
steve@mortonsbmw.com
http://www.mortonsbmw.com
User avatar
stevebmw
Board Viking
 
Posts: 2645
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Locust Grove, Virginia

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby PhilAger » Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:49 am

Hi Luna,

I've "pre-ordered" new Metzler Karoo 3 tires for Mrs Membership. They're due to be released "soon" but we need them for Karen's (and Lisa's) MotoMark1 training in April in NC... [-o<

Karen is by no means an enthusiastic dirt rider (a la Bob Higdon - I Hate Dirt!), but I want her to have good traction for her forthcoming 2013 adventures! She's worth it, "Isn't she?" :wink:

Here's the link I found for the New Karoo tires. http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/metzeler-karoo-3-tires

We've both run the Heidenau K60s successfully -- we both coped with significant stress along the Bureau of Indian Affairs Road #2 in the Badlands last year [note much loose sand]!
And I got over 14K miles on my K60s - with still more tread left (but no longer optimal for wet weather riding)... =D>
Image

You guys have to decide how much "Off-Roading" you're going to do together; then you pick the most appropriate tire... :mrgreen: I love my TKC80s, but I'll save 'em for Real Dirt...

We'll report back what she thinks of her new tires after her off-road confidence course in mid-April. From there we're headed to St Augustine is search of National Park Stamps, so we
need her tires to be trustworthy both On & Off the highway! :lol: I think I'll get new Heidenau tires for my bike - They Worked Very Well Pour Moi! :D
See Heidenau here: http://heidenautires.com/dual-sport-tires/k60scout

Sláinte! (Gaelic)
Phil & Karen
2010 F800GS,
2009 F650GS,
2009 Kawasaki KLX250S,
2008 Honda CRF230L, and
1975 R90S.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
“…And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space,
‘Cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” – Eric Idle’s The Galaxy Song
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Dm7sQ1C1E&feature=related
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
PhilAger
 

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby gastone » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:08 pm

Luna wrote:I'm starting to look for replacement tires for the Baby GS and was wondering what ya'll were running on yours. I love the feel of the BattleWings on the street, but they really suck for even the light & occasional off-road forays that I do. So I'm looking for something that will have better traction for off-road, but don't want to sacrifice my on-road traction either. I've been reading some good things about the Anakees and Tourance; anybody out there riding on these?. I also know to stay away from the Heidenaus due to poor wet pavement traction.

Give me your thoughts.......



I cursed the heidi's for a long time because of their performance on wet surfaces. I've come to the realization that they are a compromise if I want a long wearing DS tire. On Tourances I could still get a pretty good lean in the rain without fear of washing out or losing the rear. Heidi's not so much. So now I slow down in the rain on the heidi rear. No problems. I've got it paired with a TKC front for a little better bite on unpaved surfaces.

In dry weather the heidi's were terrific. Once warmed up, they stuck like glue on pavement. The real upside is that I put over 10k on my K60 rear under pretty harsh riding conditions. Spirited riding both on paved and unpaved surfaces.

I've also tried the Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires and under no circumstances would I recommend them. Terrible on pavement (they slip even when warmed up and on dry asphalt), not very good on gravel or hardpack (had a hard time getting them to bite out of a turn). I've heard they are good in mud and sand though so I guess that's something...

Best of luck in your search for the elusive ideal tire. Let us know what you discover.
Garrett

2007 G650xChallenge
User avatar
gastone
Member
 
Posts: 123
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:02 pm
Location: Fredericksburg

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby landofjeremy » Fri Mar 01, 2013 2:49 pm

I've been on Anakee Adventure 2's for 30k miles. I'm afraid to try anything else because these tires are really great on pavement and give the feeling of control on gravel and fire roads. I don't do much off-roading (F650 GS single) but the times I have, they've felt great. Haven't experienced any loss of traction in the rain either.
JЄrЄϻλ
650GS BLACK

Image
Support freeform radio!
User avatar
landofjeremy
GO GIANTS!
 
Posts: 2114
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:36 pm
Location: Centreville, VA

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby Luna » Sun Mar 03, 2013 2:37 pm

PhilAger wrote:
Karen is by no means an enthusiastic dirt rider (a la Bob Higdon - I Hate Dirt!), but I want her to have good traction for her forthcoming 2013 adventures! She's worth it, "Isn't she?" :wink:



I'm right there with Karen when it comes to riding in dirt - a sometimes necessary evil though!

Thanks for your input - I'll check out the info on the Karoos!
Laura Moon

Image
French kissing life square in the mouth.... :D
2014 Honda GL1800HPNA
User avatar
Luna
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 171
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:42 pm
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby Luna » Sun Mar 03, 2013 4:29 pm

Thanks everyone for your inputs! I've decided to go with the Anakee 2's as I feel they fit my riding style the best and have better reported tread life.

Hopefully I'll remember to pop back here in a few months to let ya'll know how they handle :)
Laura Moon

Image
French kissing life square in the mouth.... :D
2014 Honda GL1800HPNA
User avatar
Luna
Frequent Poster
 
Posts: 171
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:42 pm
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby Maria V » Tue May 07, 2013 1:29 pm

Any updates from either Karen or Laura on their tire selection?
Time for me to shop soon. :D
Maria
Retired Presidente
Kermit's Ride Rule: "Don't hit the person in front of you and no whining."
2009 F650GS - "Moose" Veni, Vidi, Vroom!
User avatar
Maria V
Attack Ninja
 
Posts: 5881
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:43 pm
Location: NW Territories of MD

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby PhilAger » Tue May 07, 2013 8:16 pm

Maria V wrote:Any updates from either Karen or Laura on their tire selection?
Time for me to shop soon. :D


Sadly, Maria, we're still waiting for RevZilla to ship the Metzeler Karoo tires that have yet to ship from the manufacturer... #-o

So I/we instead installed new Heidenau K60s on our bikes and rode down to NC for MotoMark1 training. Karen's bike behaved itself apparently.
No one dropped their bikes during the training -- a first for MotoMark.
=D>

It depends on whether you plan to take your F650GS very far off-road... Just depends on your 2013 goals. :wink:

Karen just did wonderfully on Avner's new GS Driveway (it's rather steep and slippery). She was, however, riding her Honda while visiting WV... :P

We've gotten many miles on the Heidi's (me > 14K); they just take a little getting used to because of their 50/50 profile.

We both heard Ron Orem "express emphatic dismay" over Annekee 2's during his tire changing demo, so he doesn't care for their properties... :pokebee:

See you on Saturday at Bob's for the BoD & GMM.

Sláinte! (Gaelic)
Phil & Karen
2010 F800GS,
2009 F650GS,
2009 Kawasaki KLX250S,
2008 Honda CRF230L, and
1975 R90S.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
“…And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space,
‘Cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” – Eric Idle’s The Galaxy Song
View at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Dm7sQ1C1E&feature=related
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
PhilAger
 

Re: Tires for F650GS Twin

Postby Maria V » Wed May 08, 2013 7:08 am

Thanks Phil!
Maria
Retired Presidente
Kermit's Ride Rule: "Don't hit the person in front of you and no whining."
2009 F650GS - "Moose" Veni, Vidi, Vroom!
User avatar
Maria V
Attack Ninja
 
Posts: 5881
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:43 pm
Location: NW Territories of MD


Return to Tech

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests

cron