Hope to buy a new GSA this weekend! So, my question is Knobby tires or not??

[moulin6801]

Hey guys, Hope to buy a new GSA this weekend! Lets see what the offer on my Harley as a trade...
So, my question is Knobby tires or not?? The sales guy told me that I can have either one. He told me that most of the time that he had a GS or GSA with Knobby tires the new buyers ask for HWY tires!!
I think that the Knobby tires looks so cool, but I never rode a bike with one before! My background are Triumph and Harleys!
I am planning to do 60% HWY, 40% Midium/light offroad.
Thanks for the help!

[rcliffor]

Based on your projected 60/40 riding, go with the knobby tires (TKC's ??) Just be careful until you get used to them. My experience with knobby tires is that they can be a little slick on pavement that is wet, or has sand on it.

I suggest you go over to G-spot on Advrider forum---there is a lot of info on tires.

[marc]

The TKC80 are good tires. However, your rear will wear quite quickly and the ride is not the quietest or smoothest. You might be disappointed if those things are important to you

My favorite combination for mostly paved road riding is a TKC80 on the front and a Trail Attack on the rear. The knob on the front gives me a better feeling of control when I go off pavement and the dual sport rubber on the rear gives me reasonable tire life.

[pauleknight]

I was at the BMW performance center taking an off road class and they told me that the knobby tires wear out on the road in 4-5K miles or so

[marc]

4-5 K is for rear tire wear. You can get 8-10K miles on a front, although at the end of that range the knobs are not that great for the dirt (and the uneven wear makes for a slightly rougher ride on the road).

This TKC80 had 9000 miles on it. Note the uneven wear on the knobs. That is typical as the tire approaches its end of life.

[enkil]

I did not have an option here to select my preference tires. Mine came with Conti Trail Attack. So far have done 4100km and happy with it.

[moulin6801]

Hey Enkil, thanks for replying to my post. So, you had the knobbies since new... How do they ride on asphalt?? Can you go at the least 80% on turns that you would on regular tires?? Any time having problems with wet roads? How loud is it? Do you ever wish you had the regular street tires?
Thanks
David

[marc]

Trail attack tires are NOT knobbies. They are the Conti version of the Michelin Anakee or the Metzeler Tourance. The knobbies tires are TKC-80.

The trail attack is great in the dry, OK in the wet. They are not so good in wet dirt.

[RPrunell]

I would recommend the knobby tires. Just take it kind of easy on pavement until you get used to them.

[Quanto12]

I too, would start with knobbies(TKC or Karoo). In my opinion they handle incredibly well both on and off road. That way you can realy try out your new GSA on both road conditions comfortably! Your riding preferences might change once you realise what you can do with the bike!