to knobblie or not?
 

Looking for som help / first hand experiences.

I have quite some experience with knobblies (T63 & Deserts) and loved them on gravel,... One trip to Marocco, other to Polar Circle in Lapland.

Next trip we are planning is Syria and Jordan. We have two weeks to cover these countries.
For my girlfriend this will be her first 'big trip'. We have done a month around Spain last year. And we (both!) enjoyed about 300k's of gravel roads. This was a first time for my girlfriend on her F650 GS going on dirt. We had Metzeler Endurance tires. Still she really enjoyed it. Her grandfater would take her to motorcross meetings...

If we have to I can plan the whole trip on tarmac. But as in Spain it is sometimes simply too tempting. I feel that if we go on dirt roads in Syria / Jordan we will need to be able to count on those tires. More then in Spain.

So.... what choice should we make?
The total k's wont exceed 12000.

Options I see:
* go both on serious Deserts and know that they will last for ever and always on dirt roads. But keep it easy on tarmac. And even allow me a bit of fun in Wadi Rum. But hope that my girlfriend can get comfortable with the feeling of these tires.
* go both on less 'die hard' knobblies. T63 or Bridgestone trialwing (301 -302) are options.
* go with the Metzeler Tourance's that we are used to and just take it easy on the dirt tracks... But how do you take it easy once you are on dirt tracks... ;-)
* split tire choice. Get Deserts for myself and less extreme ones for my girlfriend.

Who can give us any advice? We wonna be able to travel 'freely', but I don't wonna make it more stressfull for my girlfriend then needed. On the other hand having knoblies might give her just a more comfy feeling on dirt roads...


Who remembers first ecxperiences, what choices should we make? What are do's and dont's?

[This message has been edited by fireboomer (edited 09 March 2005).]

My wife and I did trans-africa starting Morocco down through Mauri, Senegal etc.

We used Metz Sahara's until we got to the soft sand dirt in Western Sahara and then Mich Deserts pretty much the rest of the way down.

I have huge confidence in the Mich Deserts as there was not a single puncture over 26000km with 2 bikes (did twice tear the front tube valve because I hadn't fitted rim lock - lesson now learned).

They were great in the dirt when you really needed them and it was no issue to take it a bit easy on the tarmac (esp when wet).

Our only issue was that the from tended to wear a bit fast on tarmac - I ended up using Metzeler Karoo on front (not quite as good in the sand and the Desert but much longer life). Rear lasted very well.

My wife had had very little experience, having only gotten her license 6 mths before the start of the trip, and didn't struggle with the Deserts on tarmac at all. She was glad for them on the dirt.

Check out Chris's thread on tyres for other peoples experiences: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000281.html

I wanted to fit knobblies on my 12GS (just to feel what they are like) but my dealer advised against it. “Why?” I asked. He told me that the benefit of a knobbly does not outweigh the benefits of a dual-purpose tyre.
I didn’t want to believe him at first but everyone I know who does serious off-road riding with big, heavy bikes confirms it.

Paved = Dual-purpose are best (Lasting nearly three times longer than knobblies)
Dirt = Knobblies are marginally better (But Tourances never gave scary moments)
Sand = Dual-purpose are best (Knobblies dig and grip – Bald tyres float)
Mud = Knobblies are best (Smooth tyres are scary)
Rock = Equal performance (IMHO)

Most of my riding is on paved, dirt and sandy roads. Since mileage is always an important factor I have decided to stick to Tourances and simply avoid mud whenever I can. Lasting twice as long as a knobbly, dual-purpose will always be my first choice.

I've just returned from 3 months in Canada/Alaska/Arctic Circle/N-W USA. I'd fitted a "knobby" (Continental TKC80) to the front of my BMW R1200GS some time prior to leaving. This tyre was direction-reversed in Alaska after doing 14,900km, and is still on the bike (which is still in transit back to Oz) - with over 31,500km on it, with a couple more thousand km left on it.!

I did about 2,000km of dirt/rock/gravel roads while I was away. Contrary to normal procedure, I did not lower the pressure when off pavement - kept it at 39psi all the time. This tyre handled all surfaces brilliantly. I use a Metzler Tourance on the back, which seems to handle all surfaces well. The Tourance currently has about 16500km on it, with heaps left on it.

Margaret, Tassie, Oz