on/offroad tyres

[sels1]

I have recently bought a BMW F650. It has road tyres on now, and I want to change to a on/offroad type tyre. Currently running Perelli's on my XT400, which are OK but wondering if anyone has advise on whats best for the F650?
Its mostly used for road riding but still go gravel roads, beach, fireroads etc occasionally

[Motu]

That's an almost imposible question - the bane of riding a dual purpose.You can get from almost a street tyre to a full knob,you just gotta finda what suits you best.With an F650 you won't be going too far off road,your XT400 is a far better dirt bike,so an ''adventure'' tyre should do the trick.I really liked the Bridgestone TW42/43 and TW47/48,well,the rears atleast - they stick very well on the seal,work ok on gravel,but will only be able to do hard pack off road,even grass will defeat them,in mud they are useless,they used to last me 4000km.I had an IRC,still have it,but it gave very poor brake control on gravel,the Metzler Sahara 3 was as good as the Bridgestones,but cost twice as much and wore out in less kms,from the wear pattern it was real stressed out coping with the XLV750.On my XT400 Artesia I've got Kenda K760s,these are an agressive DOT knob and not much good on seal,care is needed.I have just fitted a Chen Shin NHS knob on the rear,but haven't ridden the bike with it yet.On the front no matter what I like to run as agressive a knob as I can,you just need a good knob up there if you go on gravel or off road - the Conti TKC80 is the best around for the front,works on gravel and mild off road,and amazinly hangs on great on seal,but the rear might be too much for the rear,but you can try it - very expensive.

[sels1]

..I really liked the Bridgestone TW42/43 and TW47/48,..

Thanks Motu, good info. Does the TW stand for Trail Wing? I had seen those on a few bikes and was considering them as an option

[Motu]

Yeah,Trailwing is their generic trail bike tyre - gets applied to everything remotely off road.I liked them because they are reasonably cheap and stick very well on seal - the XLV750 stressed it's tyres,it was a heavy bike(hey,I think the F650 weighs about the same) and a lot of grunt,huge engine braking from the V twin and shaft drive,the Bridgestones never stepped out on corner entry like every other tyre I used on the bike,I had a lot of confidence in them.

The TW 301/302 seems to be the latest,looks a better compromise to off road.

http://mc.bridgestone.co.jp/en/produ...ing/index.html

[sels1]

Yeah,Trailwing is their generic trail bike tyre - gets applied to everything remotely off road.I liked them because they are reasonably cheap and stick very well on seal - the XLV750 stressed it's tyres,it was a heavy bike(hey,I think the F650 weighs about the same) and a lot of grunt,huge engine braking from the V twin and shaft drive,the Bridgestones never stepped out on corner entry like every other tyre I used on the bike,I had a lot of confidence in them.

The TW 301/302 seems to be the latest,looks a better compromise to off road.

http://mc.bridgestone.co.jp/en/produ...ing/index.html

Excellent.....thanks - I will probably go for those

[NordieBoy]

Those Conti TKC80's are pretty full on tires :cool2:
I'm getting a 150/70/17 for the rear of the Nordie.
The question for me is what do I put on the front to match it in 120/60/17?

[Motu]

120/60x17 is a wierd sized tyre,dunno if you'd find one in dirt for that size.The TKC80 is sure impressive,but the rear was $275 when I last looked at one,not what I want to pay every 4000km,the TW42s were only $119,and the more dirt you go the cheaper they are.Just seen a pic of Sels1's bike,looks like a 19 on the front,the Trailwings only come in 21 fronts,get a TKC80 for the front and TW rear.

[NordieBoy]

120/60x17 is a wierd sized tyre,dunno if you'd find one in dirt for that size.The TKC80 is sure impressive,but the rear was $275 when I last looked at one,not what I want to pay every 4000km

$178 for a rear

[sels1]

Just seen a pic of Sels1's bike,looks like a 19 on the front,the Trailwings only come in 21 fronts.

Just my luck. Yeah, 19 on the front of the F650.
Just had the XT400 out for a blat up the hills- it had been getting lonely in the shed.

[clint640]

Not sure if they come in a 19" front, but I've been running Pirelli MT-70's which have proven to be a pretty good tar/gravel tire. They're good in the wet & I've scraped my boots through a few corners on dry tarseal, I think the rear was about $140 and has lasted about 6000 km, the front should do twice that.

Cheers
Clint

[Gasman]

Hi Sels1,

I run Trail Wing 100/90 x 19 on the front of my 650, and Pirelli Scorpion S/T on the rear. I've been on all the types of surfaces you mention, but the Scorpions are deficient if it gets wet on dirt - bugger all grip. Great on the road though. I do 70% road work on my 650. On gravel I've had no problems with this combination. Next time round I'll be going for something more off-road for the rear. ANYONE HAVE A SUGGESTION? It must also be OK for road touring, which of course is the dilemma.

There's a brand of off road tyres from the Czech Republic doing the rounds here. I hear they are first class and give 'long' life compared to Jap & Italian brands, plus are sticky on dirt. I can't remember the brand name, but the agent here in ChCh is Dirt Action Services, so I suggest you give them a call.

[Motu]

Mitas - used to be called Barum but Continental now own that brand name.They have a small range covering adventure to dirt,all good - but whenever I'm in tyre buying mode they seem to be off the shelf.They also make Treleborg tyre,Barum are a very well respected name in the tyre industry.tyres

A good discusion on this same subject here...
thumper tyres

[sels1]

,the Trailwings only come in 21 fronts f.

I test rode a F650 in Palmy and fairly sure it had trailwings on front.....?

[Motu]

Like I said,Trailwing is just a generic name from Bridgestone for trail tyres,go through this site and look at all the TWs,some 19s in there.

Trailwings

[sels1]

Like I said,Trailwing is just a generic name from Bridgestone for trail tyres,go through this site and look at all the TWs,some 19s in there.

Trailwings

Aha - all is revealed. Ta.
Some of those are very similar tread pattern to Perallis on the XT - the last one I bought (21") was quite cheap ($50 fitted) Any opinion on Peralli vs Bridgestone?