Need tire recommendations

[Roadkill]

Short version, I have 2005 R1200GS, wear, sidewall punture and availability left me with street tires on the bike which is fine 95% of the time.

I need to replace the existing tires (worn down) and have mag wheels. I mostly use the bike for traveling to work on highways. However, I'm planning on traveling about 1,300 miles on the Transamerica trail this summer (gravel, dirt, mud and snow).

Should I (a) get a set of spoked wheels with knobby tires for the trip. (b) Just get a good set of dual purpose tires mounted on my mags.

[Schtum]

Originally Posted by Roadkill

Should I (a) get a set of spoked wheels with knobby tires for the trip. (b) Just get a good set of dual purpose tires mounted on my mags.

Ideally yes, get a set of spoked wheels with Continental TKC80s. Failing that, just fit TKC80s to the alloy wheels and be careful of big rocks, drop-offs, etc. In the absence of much mud and snow you'd quite likely be ok on dual purpose tyres such as Tourances but if there's going to be a significant amount of mud and loose surface then you'll do better on the TKC80s.

[The Veg]

What parts of the trail are you riding? I know a guy who did, I think, TN through OK on a plain old 'standard' R100 with knobbies on it and did just fine. From what I hear, only a small few parts of the trail in the mountain-states are what you could call 'extreme' and most of it is within the capabilities of just about any bike. Some parts can get quite muddy though.

[Roadkill]

I wound up not getting to go on the trip a job change eliminated my vacation time.

However, I live in a rural area so I went ahead and changed the tires and wheels. I had the spoked wheels installed. According to the dealer swapping back and forth between my mags and the spokes might not be a good idea, given the cast aluminum housing on the rear. So I sold the mags.

I installed the TKC-80's and I am very impressed with how well they handle the street. I have also been pleased with their performance on loose gravel and dirt. I'm going to stick with those. So far I've got around 4,000 miles on them and they still look good. If I can get around 5,000 on them I'll be happy.

Thanks for your help.