Tigger Tyre Guide

[JasonS]

I started this spring with a set of Conti Attack tires on the bike. I had managed to get them last fall and when I was putting them on found they had shipped a rear Road attack and a front Trail attack... sigh....

They lasted about 5000 miles... about what I expect from a rear tire.... sigh...


This is on an '06 Tiger... with full hard bags, tank bag, tank panniers, tent, sleeping bag, Kermitt chair... and me at 270 in full kit. 38f/42r

I rode from Big Bend NP back to Austin, weaving most of the way to stay off the center strip... and of course Interstate riding took its' toll, but those Texas chip'n seal roads are killer on tires. Period. ..... and as much as one hates the CnP, in the rain, those spots that are all seal make us wish for the nasty sharp chips!!

In Austin I mounted a set of Metzler Tourances 38f 42r, at exactly 10000 miles on the bike! I now have 14,700 with a good 2/3000 left on the rear.... and there was a good 2500 miles of Interstate in there.....


The Attacks are great riding and handling tires, no doubt...

The Tourances are great riding and adequate handling tires.

...for my riding style, I do not need the better grip of the Attacks, and the much better tread life makes up for the difference in cost between the two at the time of purchase. I have since seen the Tourances available at costs closer to the Attack.

The Tourances will impart a bit of low speed thumpiness due to the tread pattern, but this is minor... They also are MUCH better than the Attacks in the "other than asphalt" category.

I'll post again when I get to the end of life with these Tourances. Given that they will live out their days not loaded to the scuppers, I suppose I might get 8k fromt he rear... which would be very pleasing to me....

[Tom Herold]

Conti Trail Attack Update:

I'm at 9000 miles on my conti trail attacks and measured my tread depth at 4.5mm remaining this evening. Still in good shape, still doing it's job in the dry and wet stuff.

I like them, but will probably go to the road attack for the rear next since I haven't done but a little off-roading.

[Tom Herold]

Well... I jinxed myself by measuring the rear last week..... I was guessing I'd get at least 11k maybe 12k out of the rear, but took a nice piece of steel rod right through a tread block and ruined the tire..... so the mileage count has ended at just over 9k.

I've ordered a Road Attack for the rear since the Trail Attack on the front's still pretty new.

In all, I like the Continentals. They've performed in all weather and all raod conditions from touring on the interstate to the twisties on teh Dragon's Tail. I'm going to stay with them a while.

[BigMark]

You guys are probably better placed to answer this, Which tyres (if any) are good for long road riding and then riding across Dirt/Sand and general rubble.
We dont get that over in Blighty (just mud) but having been to Both AUS and the US i see there is an abundance..
Reason i ask is that 36 - 48 hours ride away I can be in Eastern Europe or  North Africa  where you can find yourself in the middle of nowhere without a road in sight and even the roads that are around are generally just vague suggestions..  "trying to plan a trip out there"

[wasions]

Well Mark, I'm pretty happy with my combination.  Front - Shinko 'Trail Master' 705, Rear - Michelin Anakee.
I haven't tried any large-lugged tires because most of my mileage is street, but with the 705 on the front, I'm much less apprehensive about dirt/gravel mixes.
Wear with the Anakee is fantastic (I've gotten between 10k and 13k rear and 23k front - but the front was REALLY thin when I took it off).
I now have around 5k miles on the front Shinko with almost no detectable wear.
For road handling, this combination is better than any I've had on the Tiger ('06).  Anakees tended to drift off the intended line whether upright or leaned over.  The Road Attacks that I had last held the line well in a curve, but weaved even more going straight.  They were also awful when the road got wet.
I'm not a peg-scraper, but this combo lets me keep up with any (sane) rider or group.
Over 41k miles on the Tiger.

[matteblack]

In case folks haven't seen it, I found this site very useful:
http://standoutnet.com/extras/mike/moto ... 650/tires/ (http://standoutnet.com/extras/mike/motorcycles/klr650/tires/)

It's a list of dual sport tires suitable for the KLR650, with comments. While the tire size is different, many of the tires are available for the Tiger. What's great about the list is that it has pictures of each tire and a compilation of many different rider reviews from websites such as ADVrider and thumpertalk. Enjoy!

[matteblack]

I have used Mefo Sport Explorer (MFE 99) tires on a KLR before, and really liked them. Decent on the road and not too noisy, but solid on gravel/dirt. Probably more of a 50-50 than an 80-20. Not sure if they would fit on the Tiger, but they do come in 17 and 19". Here is the site:

http://www.mefotyres.com (http://www.mefotyres.com)

[ArchRider]

I have a set of the old Tourances on my Girly and I am wondering how low do people let the tread go on these things before they swap them out.  I have about 3mm down the middle of my front tire and I'm coming up on 10k mi.  I've heard that 2mm is when you should cash them in.  Does anyone use a percentage of the original tread depth rather than a firm depth measurement of 2mm?
And what about the EXP's?  I'm hearing that they are wearing out a lot faster than the old Tourances.  If that's the case, based upon what I am reading here, I may switch to the Conti Road Attacks.  I seldom get out on dirt, maybe some gravel roads once or twice a year.  But since I rifde year round, I definitely need something that is good in the wet (and sometimes a little snow).

[EvilBetty]

Mine were slicks in the middle couple of inches :)

They came with the bike so I'm not sure how many miles were pulled from them.

[Bixxer Bob]

I don't wring the last yard out of any tyre, I run them until the squaring off makes them unpredictable.  The first time a squared tyre squirms on wet tarmac it's junked.

Mine square off because I do loads of motorway miles, but I've found the Pirelli Scorpion Trails I fitted last year to wear well on road, have huge amounts of grip, wet or dry and very neutral steering ie it goes where it's pointed, unlike when I had Anakees which would run wide.  They've done 4k miles so far and still plenty left on them.

[Mustang]

And what about the EXP's?  I'm hearing that they are wearing out a lot faster than the old Tourances.  If that's the case, based upon what I am reading here, I may switch to the Conti Road Attacks.  I seldom get out on dirt, maybe some gravel roads once or twice a year.  But since I rifde year round, I definitely need something that is good in the wet (and sometimes a little snow).

the EXP's didn't replace the original Tourance , they are an addition to the line up , and yes they wear faster but they are made from a softer compound rubber and thus have better road handling capability . Also when side by side the exp looks to have less tread depth which will help it to not squirm around  on the big tread blocks so much . But will also lead to shorter tire life .

The original Tourances are available just about every where on line .

Some people like em , some people hate em , but  I have found that they do wear well . Except that the front tire always seems to cup after about 5k miles but that could be me ..........I use a lot of front brake .

I have tried lot's of different brands of tires over the years on the steamers and other than the dogpile on ADV RIDER about the tread seperating , I found that the Shinko 705's are a killer deal ,less than $125 dollars a set , that's right a set . They are not radials , but tigger liked them and I put them to a 8000 mile test last year on a cross country trip ,no problems they wore exceptionally well , they are on the rims on the bench and can go another season of riding , but I went a different route and put trophy wheels on  the steamer this year , I went with a shinko in the front though cuz it was cheap and fit the 17  inch front rim , and they proved themselves to me last year on any road , any condition , dirt , constuction zone mud , rain , superslab , anything they worked well .

If you read the thread on ADV rider about them though , the general consensus from the same few posters is that they are bad tires and the tread will delaminate and kill you instantly.  

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443226
it's a long read over a 1000 posts to the thread ...............

I have not seen anything happen to them any worse than any other dual sport tire I have used .

now if this rain would let up a little I would go and wear some of that Korean rubber out  :D  :D

[HappyMan]

Anyone have any info on the Pirelli Scorpion Trail?  I love my TKCs and will put another set on after my trip to Bannf?  I liked my Anakees except for the goofy wearing front tire so I'd like to try something new for this trip.

[Bixxer Bob]

Last summer I wanted the new road orientated Scorpion Trails but my tyre fitter put the old type on instead (block pattern similar to Anakees).  I like the old guy so took them thinking I'll try the new type next time.

Look here:

http://tigertriple.com/forum/viewtopic. ... pion+trail (http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,5649&highlight=pirelli+scorpion+trail)

and here:

http://tigertriple.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ion+trails (http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,4907&highlight=scorpion+trails)

Wear-wise they seem to be holding up well, in line with Anakees.  I have to say though the grip and confidence the Pirellis give is superb.  I'll be using them again.

[HappyMan]

Thanks Bixxer. I don't care much about how quickly they wear out.  I like a good sticky tire that works well in rain and for this trip some gravel.  There won't be any heavy off road stuff.

Looks like I'll take a chance on them and let you guys know what I think.

[Colonel Nikolai]

My 96 Steamer has a set of Dunlop Trailmax on them. Just noticed the sidewalls have some hairline cracks in them so I'll be changing them soon. I have no idea how old they are or how many miles are on them, but I've had a couple of surprises with them. The rear is currently about 65% gone. The front about 35% gone.

They look a little off road oriented, which might explain my findings. This is my first bike with any offroad aspirations. Up till now I've run with sport bikes on Dunlop D220 and Metzler RoadTech Z6s. Both of which are awesome road tires.

I've had them come loose in the straights on moderately gravely tarmac. I know Tiggers are powerful but I wasn't hammering it that hard.

I've had them come loose on mildly wet concrete from a dead stop, too. I'm really not a leadfoot, folks.

I've locked up the rear wheel much easier than I thought I should on a couple of occasions

In all of this the Tigger behaved remarkably well and I was able to recover without breaking the bike or myself. I'm not sure my Sprint or my Lightning would have behaved as well.

Hope this helps someone.