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I have A41's too. I changed them at 700 miles after trying several different things to deflect the noise. Continental Trail Attack 3's absolutely fix the problem. Noise is GONE. You can also use any number of pure road tires, like Michelin Road 6. I wanted the extra puncture resistance of a 90/10 tire. RA3s stick to pavement...Very sporty. I finally corded the rear at Top of the Rockies rally in Peonia, CO (Rode there from Chicago) with 7500 miles on it. I took a trip to Grand Junction. They didn't have Road Attack 3's, but they had one Continental TKC70 rear tire. It has a continuous center strip of rubber, so I thought it would be OK for highway use and would maybe give a little more life...much more tread. So...front stayed RA3. Rear went to /TKC70. I love it! The TKC 70 makes a little tread noise when you lean the bike over, but it's not annoying. Handling is still great and I have great confidence that I won't have a puncture with this rear tire. I've had several rear tire punctures on nearly new Michelin Road tires in the past. Now I'm really careful about what I choose for the back. Having a non-repairable puncture in the middle of a riding week is not fun.
 
It's the bike.... I changed out to Road 6's and the noise is still there

Depends which tire you get to start with. I can tell you the Bridgestone A41s were so loud, the guys riding with me could hear them. Drove me bananas. Change to TA3 and the noise was gone.

It's not the bike. Oh, and my riding pal has Road 6 on his GS. No noise like I'm talking about...from just 20mph all the way to 3 digits.
 
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Virdoc: If you have Bridgestone A41's....It's the TIRE. They're really LOUD.
 
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Ok, it's not the bike....my road 6's must be defective, mine still has the noise,, Road 6's did not suppress enough for me to even say "It's better but slightly still there" the difference from Anakee to Road 6's are negligible.....
Wow! I find that surprising, Lenny. TA3 did the trick for me.

Go to Wunderlich.com. Put your bike info in there and you'll get products made for it. There are a lot. There's a kit to block wind and noise from the tunnel area. It helps a little. Also, their handlebar bag blocks some more noise. I use it for a small water bottle and a rag to clean my helmet and get a drink while on long rides.

I got V-Stream's biggest touring screen and the support brackets. Also got Aeroflow's "Aerowings and Handguard Extensions" kit. My bike is decently quiet now. I use musicians earplugs on a long ride. Can hear my JBL helmet speakers just fine with them in and they cut background noise a lot....but for local rides, it's quiet enough.

Good luck! Don't give up. These are great bikes when you get them the way you want them.
 
I have this cockpit cover, as expected, it does nothing to abate the noise. As others mentioned, tires type and road surface are the main causes for the noise. It is the nature of the beast.
I have this cockpit cover and I agree. It keeps some wind off your helmet and face but it's not great for noise. Helps 5%? Their handlebar bag also blocks it a little...maybe another 5%? The Bridgestone A41's are seriously noisy. Especially the front tire...on any paved road surface above 20mph.

My noise issue was solved 80+% by Conti T3 tires. They're really quiet. There may be other tires that are also very quiet. I like these tires a lot. It's not just the bike.

Was surprised to hear that Michelin Road 6 are also noisy. Didn't expect that. I've never tried them, but I have a friend with a 1250 GS who had them on his bike last year. No complaints from him but he wears ear plugs always.
 
Thanks for the information.
It seems that you had experience about tck70 rear and RA3 on the front
What do you think about it?
TKS
chouchris: I'd rather have TA3 on both ends. They're awesome on paved roads. On unpaved, I've never had a problem. I don't challenge myself with long offroad excursions on a 600lb "dirt bike", I'm really unlikely to need knobbies. BDR can wait for my next life.

TKC70 is a 70/30 tire. It's a decent highway tire because there's no real tread across the middle, so it's quiet and smooth in a straight line. You'll hear some tread noise when you lean it over, but it's easy to adapt to that.. They last a little bit longer in back than TA3 but handling is a little vague when they lean over because of the big tread on the sides. They still turn, but not like a TA3 or road tire. I've never used a TKC70 front. The tread is completely different...lots of crossing over in the middle of the tire, so I'm guessing it might be noisy. No experience with that.

Front Trail Attack 3s (TA3s) last forever....fully 2 rear tires = 1 front. Rears? About 5-7000 depending on the rides. I seriously cannot detect any advantage of a Sport Touring type tire over TA3s. They're that good. I used Michelin Roads for years.

You'll maybe get an exta 1000 miles out of a TKC70 rear over a TA3 before it shows cord but you won't like riding it for that last 1000 miles.

I use TA3 but I think Pirelli Scorpion are about the same thing...both 90/10 tires with similar treads. I like 90/10 because they act like sticky sport touring tires but seem more puncture resistant than sport touring tires. High speed road tires use less rubber thickness to keep unsprung weight down. That's not as huge of a concern on a GS. I rarely ride faster than 80mph.

I've had a lot of rear punctures on Michelins. I carry 3 kinds of fix kits for flats and a compressor but I got real tired of using them and changed to TA3. No punctures since. That's not statistically valid, but it's been good. As I said, TA3 corner like demons...Great tire that I've learned to trust over the last 3 seasons.

Also...NOISE. TA3 are pretty quiet. Bridgestone 041 fronts, btw, are the noisiest tire I've ever heard. I have my original 041 rear back on my bike and I'm using it up. I'll pitch the front one soon even though it's less than half gone. The noise isn't worth it. Have a TA3 at the ready for the riding season ahead. It's good to keep one in stock because supply can be spotty during the riding season.

If you've already got a a Road Attack 3 (RA3) sitting around, you could try it with a TKC70. They're sport touring tires not made for the same thing as TKC 70. It won't hurt anything, but might feel awkward with the front sticking while the rear fades away in a sweeper. I wouldn't go off-road for any extended period with RA3. Tread isn't made for that and the thickness of it is that of a road tire, so puncture risk is present.

If you haven't purchased yet, just get TA3 or Pirelli Scorpion 90/10s for both ends of any GS unless you're planning major off-road excursions.
 
I have the A41s on my '23 GSA and don't hear any road noise at all. But it might be due to the Cardo PackTalk Edge and Tool playing through Spotify.:p

The bike is now torn down for winter mods. I'm deciding the right 90/10 tire, even though I'm probably more of a 98/2 rider. Threads like this help a lot.
Red:

Thanks for the nice comment!!! Glad to help. You never know if posts are good or not until someone flames you or says something nice.

I used Pilot Roads on my RTs (4 of them) for many years and loved them. Had an unrepairable puncture (3rd in 2 years) in the middle of nowhere on Sunday of a Mem day weekend. No cell service, no tow trucks. It turned a perfect riding day into a miserable ordeal. I ended up riding over 20 miles on a flat rear tire (20mph, cruise control the whole way...didn't damage rim or pressure sensor...miracle!) (Don't try this at home, kids!)

I tried Trail Attack 3 on my GSA and won't go back to puncture-prone Pilot Roads. These stick just as well and give you a little margin and better confidence on unpaved. They're a little thicker and heavier than Pilots. If you can't find TA3, try Pirelli Scorpion and let me know how they work. I think they're nearly the same tire.

Also, get the V rated tires, not the W, if you can. W is higher speed rating....like 149mph? It costs $10 more and has less rubber/shallower treads. I think the V tires should last longer on a GS with the type of riding I do...you know, normal hooning, not autobahn hooning. ...again if you can find V tires. I have a W on the front currently. Doesn't matter so much on the front because either speed fronts will outlast 2 rears. Have a rear V sitting in a box for spring. I change front when I change the 2nd rear tire. My last front take-off still looked quite good at 15K or so.
 
@Gmachine. I use a local CycleGear for my tires. It's down the road and super convenient to me. The TA3 and the Scorpion are both available within a couple days. Both V rated, which I figured would be the better choice for this bike. The Scorpion was my first choice, but I've been reading great things about the TA3 as well. Decisions.
I don't think there's a whole lot of difference. Go by price or actual availability. Buy same brand f&r.
 
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