tourances last 19478 miles

maxscycle · #1 (**permalink**) 22-Jul-2008, 05:01 AM (417)

06 bmw r1200gs, my factory tourance tires went 19478 miles before I replaced them for an upcoming trip. The old tread measured 4/32 front and 2/32 rear, but not down to the treadbars yet. Close though. I mounted new Metzeler ME 880's in their place and so far like them. Granted I've only rode 60 miles but they were nice miles.
max

Bullwinkle · #2 (**permalink**) 22-Jul-2008, 09:12 AM (591)

Just got back from the Rational Nally, where I replaced my Tourances at the Metzler trailer with Dunlop 607s. I had about 15 thousand pretty hard miles on them, but the Metzler folks didn't have any new ones. I really liked the Tourances, and would have happily gone for another pair.
According to them, Metzler will be phasing out the standard Tourances in favor of the Tourance EXP which is biased a little more to the street end of things. The EXPs have more contiguous tread blocks to reduce the vibration in slow corners that the standard Tourances exhibited.
Heck, if I wanted street tires, I would go for Michelin Road Pilots.

ca1ic0cat · #3 (**permalink**) 22-Jul-2008, 01:37 PM (775)

I got 11,000 miles out of the OEM Michelin Anakee tires. I thought that was good!

I went to the Tourance EXP and have been liking them a lot too. A touch more stable on the road but not bad on gravel / muddy roads.

How do you guys keep the rear from flat spotting? My Anakees had tread left but I didn't have to put my feet down at stop lights any more either. Made life very interesting when running over tar snakes in curves....

Sit · #4 (**permalink**) 22-Jul-2008, 04:10 PM (882)

Indeed, how did you keep your rear from developing the flat spot? My original tourances have of 10K on the and a new set is waiting for me at the dealership to pick up. They still have some tread on them, but with the flat spot on the rear and some scalloping on the front, I am going to change them out sooner than later. What pressure were you running in the tires?

That's too bad they are going to go away from the Tourance in favor of the EXP. Guess I may have to go with a different tire for my next set. I thought having the two choices made sense depending on your riding style.

marc · #5 (**permalink**) 22-Jul-2008, 04:19 PM (888)

The EXP is reported to wear much faster than the original Tourance. I haven't tried one yet so am just parroting what I've read. I get about 10K out of a rear Tourance. The only way I know to keep the tire from getting flat spots is more twisty roads and less freeway.

If the current tourance goes away I'll have to try something else, perhaps the Conti Trail Attack. Best mileage I ever got on a bike tire was commuting on an R80. All freeway. The rear tire had corners on it when I replaced it.

// marc

maxscycle · #6 (**permalink**) 22-Jul-2008, 04:58 PM (915)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sit

Indeed, how did you keep your rear from developing the flat spot? What pressure you running

I didn't. They did flat spot. lots of tread on the edges, just 2/32 on the rear center. 36psi front 42psi rear. 260 pound rider, no passenger. Don't exceed 4000 rpm unless I'm on the interstate.
max

Bullwinkle · #7 (**permalink**) 23-Jul-2008, 09:07 AM (588)

I live in the middle of the prairies, so every tire I have ever had has flat-spotted, and the Tourances are no worse than any other. You just get used to throwing out tires with lots of tread left on the sides...

I run 36-38 psi front, and 40-42 rear. I find modern tires seem to like the higher pressures and give better mileage (tire life as well as fuel economy). These pressures are okay for gravel roading, but I might knock off a few pounds each on dirt trails.

The greatest factors in tire life are weight and speed. Since getting the GS, I find my average speed has declined, 'cause I don't need to be doing warp 7 to get happy.