KNanthrup

Doing a little bit of research and mod prep on a BMW R1100GS that I'm picking up shortly. I have zero experience with bikes that run a 19" front, but I know that it certainly limits my tire choices. The bike will see a fair amount of dual sport use where it will probably wear a set of Anakee's, Tourance, or I also understand that Heidenau K60's are a good option for their price? Anyhow, not too worried about finding a dual sport tire.

What I am curious about... the hooligan in me says that I'm going to need a set of tires on this thing that will allow me to drag hard parts to my heart's content. Hell, I will probably haul this thing along to a track day or two just for kicks. So I'm going to need the best rubber that will perform and is available in the awkward sizes the bike demands (or an equivalent that fits the stock rims).

OEM spec is 110/80/19 front and 150/70/17 rear.

So far it seems like the Pilot Road 3's might be my best option. I also noticed the Pirelli Scorpions are made in those sizes.. and I have seen someone successfully flog a Multistrada on a set of those. Another option might be Avon Distanzas?

Anywho, if anyone has experience with tire choices for these sizes I'd love some input.

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cgt1229

I'm rather fond of the Dunlop 591 SP labeled a "Harley tire". Been running these for years on my 1100 Kat (500+lbs dry).

Nice contact patch at full lean for such a narrow tire. Doesn't last too long, but for $100 can't complain.

Used it at the Ridge back in June with 29 psi cold, it worked great.

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koorbloh

why not go see how those DS tires treat you before you go about needlessly swapping tires all the time?

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Grantizzle

The pilot road 3 comes n a 19" flavor...

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Grantizzle

I'm also fairly positive the distanzia comes in a 19" too.

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KNanthrup

your point is fair enough, but the rubber thats on it has seen very little use over the last 4-5 years so along with probably needing replacement, im a tire nazi anyways

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KNanthrup

Yep, both of these are on my "potential list". I'm also hearing about Conti Road Attacks.... as much as I stray away from Contis I guess they're a decent choice for having a 19" size option. Someone has also told me about Avon Azaro-ST front combined with an Avon Storm 2 rear. Hmmm need to narrow this down a bit.

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Mountaintime

The Pirelli Scorpion Sync followed by the Scorpion Trail were the stickiest that I used. Did trackdays at ORP and PIR with the Syncs. But they've been discontinued in favor of the Trail.

Currently have Pilot Road 3 installed and they also do well.

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GS1200

You can drag hard parts with Tourances. Pilot Road 2's or 3's are a good choice too. My GS wears Tourances year round.

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PeteN95

I run Shinko 705s on my XR650R with a 110/80-19 in front and love them. They grip great on pavement and pretty good on dry dirt. I've run them at PGP, ORP, and the Ridge where I was easily passing people in the 200 level. I run the bias version, but they arre so soft they were chunking on some of the big, fast ADV bikes, so they came out with a Radial version in the sizes that fit your GS.

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james1300

Some tire makers have a 'special' tire for the Big BMW's. Like the Bridgestones, Michlins and Avons. Check to see if a 'Big bike' tire is offered in the brand/model tire your looking at.
Remember, Mullti Strada's are lighter weight bikes than the big BMW. They may not use-up a tire as fast as the BMW.

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Burphel

I just ran my first track day on my Bonnie with a pair of Tourances. No issues whatsoever. No problems with them for street riding, including in some pretty horrendous rainstorms. I don't do much off-roading on the bike anymore, so I can't really help you there.

Pirelli makes Sport Demons in that size that I've used for a fair amount of canyon carving as well. They wear down pretty fast, but if I were to ever get a "track only" tire, I'd probably go with those.

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KNanthrup

It's wearing Tourances now, which I will gladly wear through for testing purposes... but they were manufactured in 2004.. so it's probably not the freshest of rubber.

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