Early of next month we will go to Norway - it will a long tour (8-10K Km - Multistrada 1260S) with my wife and big luggages. (So we'll be really heavyweight ) I try to find the ideal tyre for this tour - (I don't want to replace a tire on the go). Some types that are sympathetic to me - and are now available in Hungary (basically i like michelin tyres): - Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT - Pirelli Angel GT II - Metzeler Radtec 01 HWM (- Metzeler Roadtec Z8) (- Michelin Road 5 - but no GT version at the moment ) Do you have any experience of a long tour (tire wear)? Which of these would you recommend, or perhaps another type? Thanks for help!
It really depends on how you ride. i do a lot of two up touring, and I cannot get any tyre to last past 3k miles. Guys I know who tour solo struggle to get beyond ~4500 miles. I'm not even convinced I could get a front to last 10k kms In terms of tyre wear what I've tried are all reasonably similar in terms of life. I have no issues at all with the original Pirelli Scorpion Trail (or Trail 2) tyres. Never had any movement or grip issues. They wear just as good as anything else in my experience. I've fitted a lot of PR4s, including GTs. In reality I can't tell the difference between the GT and non GT, and they both seem to wear at the same rate. The big thing I dislike is how the front tyre wears. Other people may not experience this, it may simply be the way we ride. That said, when the tyres are new they are excellent, which is why I keep fitting them I've not tried PR5s yet, so can't comment from first hand experience. A guy I know (highly experienced rider and nurburgring track instructor) fitted a pair of non GT PR5s to his BMW RT and took them off after 100 miles, hated the feel of them, gave him no confidence. I've not fitted an Angel GT for a long time. They gripped well but didn't last any longer than others, and were dearer than PR4s. I've not tried a roadtec either. I would suggest you do a bit of searching to determine what tyre dealers are in the country, roughly where they are, and what stock they carry. Its better to go with an idea of where to head for whilst you have time to plan for it, rather than struggle to figure it out when it becomes a problem. Hope that helps. p.s. consider taking a good tyre repair kit (I use the 'sticky string' kits), and a small compressor if you can fit one in. Plus a 55mm socket for the rear wheel. p.p.s. Just to add, we did a trip from NY to New Orleans ( ~2k3 miles) on hired multistradas. I had told him at time of booking I wanted a new rear tyre fitted due to the mileage. The dealer advised the rear tyre had 'only' ~1k miles on it when we picked the bike up. We didnt even make it half way before the rear tyre was to the wear markers Its easy to underestimate how quickly they can wear, especially if you aren't familiar with how abrasive the tarmac might be. If you like riding leisurely and looking at the sights you will undoubtedly get more miles than we do
The best compromise tyre I have found for my 1200sT is the Metzeler Roadtech 01. I agree with @John W, you are potentially looking at 3 rear tyres for that mileage. I have seen a Roadtech 01 at 6000 miles go from, yeh, that looks okay to polishing the steel wires as they emerged through the rubber after less than 100 miles later. Better poor and safe than stranded. Andy
For me anyways: Roadtrec01-good tires with average wear Angel gt- good wear liked them, more tour that sport Pr4-back tire nice, front had weird wear pattern and I took it off early Dunlop roadsmart 3-rear ok, front weird wear pattern. Mileage average their claims are bogus.
Roadtec 01, got a pair incoming currently although the enduro can't use the HWM due to rear wheel hub.
8-10 k a big ask from any of the tyres, inc the Contis. Never got more than 5000 miles ( about 8 k) from anything. Not that often two up either. This includes a Multi 1200, GS, KTM, Fz1
Continental ContiRoadAttack 3 Avon Spirit ST Bridgestone Battlax T31 Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart III Metzeler Roadtec 01 Michelin Road 5 Pirelli Angel GT II The competition is strong and differences are marginal. Any of these top rated sport touring tire will do. Find to ones that offers the best price or pick your favorite pattern. Anything else is like discussing "who makes the best Pizza?" It's Personal and Biased.
Just fitted my 3rd set of Michelin Road 4 GT ( only because 5GT not available yet). I normally travel with panniers and some form of luggage on top for camping trips. The last two GT have given me 11,000km and a bit.
I have tried many of these, and the longest tire life I get is from the Roadsmart IIIs, by a large margin. My last set I replaced at 9,200 miles and they still had some life left (but I had to do my service anyway). The closest competitor for my was the GTs, but I only got 7500 miles from them.
IMHO, the best tires are the ones you purchased. All others are terrible and to be avoided at all cost.
Well, tires are pretty subjective, but the OP asked for mileage, and that (while subject to different riding styles and surfaces) can at least be quantified. I keep mileage records of every tire I've used, and for me, the RS3s last way longer than everything else. YMMV - literally.
If you are going to Norway are you sticking with the main tourist roads or going a bit more off track. Reason i ask is i did the same trip in 2016 which was about 6000 miles in just over 2 weeks and ended up havng to get a rear tyre while i was there. I normally use Pirelli Angel GT2 but got talked into using Bridgestone T30 by a tyre bloke and regret it. The rear lasted 3000 miles and not even half way through. I should add we were not using the major routes but the parallel older roads which are a lot rougher and also a lot of the old mountain roads and mountain gravel roads that are now almost completely bypassed by new posh tunnels etc. I doubt this would have helped tyre wear as we were also heavily loaded as carrying all our food and camping kit for the entire trip as we were not using hotels at all. I ended up having to source a tyre mid trip and as we were nowhere near a city at the time found a truck service place that also stocked motorcycle tyres albeit only Continental. I ended up with a Road Attack which actually lasted 1500 miles longer than the Bridgestone supposed touring tyre )50% more mileage from the "sports" tyre) Norway is expensive for many things but i found Tyres were almost comparable in price to the UK If i had the choice again i would use Pirelli Angel GT2 everyday for that kind of trip I posted some maps, photos and videos in a thread in the Touring forum if its any help to you https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/norway-june-2016.43457/
I totally agree with subjectivity and focusing more to the OP's concern namely: mileage. Perhaps the "Sport Touring" tires we all know and have are not the solution for this gentleman. If very long term mileage is sought, a pure touring tire would be best if one could be found to fit the Multi. The Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart III which fits the Multi claims to be the longest lasting tire but that's just taking their word for it. Here's their claim: Longevity and Quality Dunlop’s Performance Touring Roadsmart III offers riders an option they’ve never had before: A high-mileage tire that stays closer to peak performance over its lifespan than any other tire on the market. Greater performance over more miles, and greater mileage than any of the competition: The Roadsmart III just opened the door for serious riders to go farther than ever before without compromising performance. Here's a few reviews for what they're worth. http://www.theridesofar.com/2017/03/dunlop-roadsmart-iii-sport-touring-motorcycle-tire-review/ https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/dunlop-roadsmart-iii-motorcycle-tire-review/ I think the best take-away line is this: "With as much importance as Dunlop placed on these tires responding consistently over their projected lifespan, why did they not have sample tires with 5,000 miles on the available to try, so as to display the similarities in handling and feel?"
