Laser Chain alignment tool

And I can't sing.

 

dwb emerged from their own little world to say

Verdi likes them on his Tiger and they were fine on my Dominator. Not tried
them on the GS. The Tourances are excellent and as the front & rear do not
wear out at the same rate I have not changed other than to use a Metz
Enduro4 when stocks got low a few years back. Fortunately, tyre companies
have responded to the popularity of this type of bike by a) increasing
supply and b) making sports touring tyres like BT020 in suitable sizes.

they are - and the 1100

 

I'm sure it has some kind of highly technical design feature to overcome
that problem. You can call it 'magic'.

 

That's the question though... why have dual purpose if it's only going to
stay on the road?

Or is that 'dual purpose' handy when you discover a load of gravel in the
road?

 

dwb emerged from their own little world to say

It's all part of the rugged look that attracts a number of people to the
market niche. After a slow start it seems to be working especially for
BMW. Personally, I bought the bike for the very same reason as you:
comfort compared to a sports 600. The fact that I still own it after 4
years speaks volumes on this point.

No. You'll still have the chance of binning it. No tyre is going to grip
very well in gravel atop a hard surface. Although, the higher and more
upright riding position allows you to see these hazards earlier than
when on a sports bike.

The Tourances are very good for dry forest tracks. As soon as mud or
grass is involved they spin up very easily. Living in Wales it's nice to
have the option to ride across a gravel track which can sometimes cut
out a 20 mile tarmac detour. That's why the GSA comes with Continental
TKC80s as an option. They are pukka off road tyres and I know dozens of
GS riders who regularly go green laning using them.

 

Couldn't you do the same on 020's though?

 

dwb emerged from their own little world to say

You could.

I've ridden a TDM850 with 020s[1] on gravel tracks. The GS on Tourances
is much better, especially on downhill corners where the gravel gets
deep. The 020s tend to compact the gravel and spin up whereas the
Tourances will shift the loose gravel and grip.

If you would feel more confident with 020s then change to them. You will
pay a premium and they may not last as long as alternatives. Ultimately,
it's no good having a bike if you lack confidence in the rubber, even if
it is an irrational worry. IMO of course.

[1] actually I think it was probably the BT57 forerunner as it was pre-
1999

 

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/31/aircraft.laser/

 

Because the next time you're riding across Salisbury Plain & you pass
one of those hard-packed gravel tracks winding off into the distance,
you can just hop on it & go for a play without worrying about whether
the tyres are up to it.

The fact a big trailee tyre won't give anymore grip than an 020 on
those kinds of trails is irrelephant. It will however be less likely to
puncture, & the deeper wider tread makes for far more impressive
rooster tails when you give it a handful ;-)

 

Hmmm, reckon they do give more grip, nowhere near as much as dedicated
dirt tyres, sure. But they are acceptable at a push. I've ridden my GS (on
Michelin
T66s) off road on trails, on the Isle of Man. Coming up to Windy corner from
Laxy
and off road around the Port Erin area. Sure once the going got a bit
stodgy and
slippery it was hard work and a bit scary, but I managed it. There's no way
I'd have
tried that on a set of road tyres.

--
Alex
BMW R1150GS
DIAABTCOD#3 MSWF#4 UKRMFBC#6 Ibw#35 BOB#8
http://www.team-ukrm.co.uk
Windy's "little soldier"

 

Tempting, but I think I need to get used to it a bit more before I take it
even vaguely offroad - it's a big and heavy beast

 

I'm happy thus far with the TW's. Just interested for next time round.

Long life and grip would be the two criteria (mutually exclusive to an
extent) - 020's tradtionally have been that though it seems when you put
them on a big, heavy machine the life goes down a bit.

Come on Bridgestone - do a 014 19" tyre

 

On most surfaces, yes, but not on the Plain trails I was talking about.
In fact you'd probably have more grip with slicks on some of them!

There was some rallying on TV this week, and the mud 'roads' were so
compacted you could hear the tyres squealing & see black lines on the
road - quite surreal.

 

I'll be doing another trip over there for the Tiger bunch later this
year - probably around August/September. You're more than welcome to
join us, even though you've got an inferior bike

 

There's a plan - let me know when.

"Inferior" eh?

 

Hmm.. Salisbury is not that far away from where I'm sitting now..

I might be interested!

Phil

 

Get thee over to the Yahoo group in my sig if you want to join our many
bimbles. The next one's to sheep-land in a couple of weeks.

 

Will do. There's likely to be a few gloopy sections too though, so
non-trail tyres will be a no-no I'm afraid.

Well we did ascertain it's an old man's bike did we not...

 

What about a dual purpose one ie a Trailwing? ;-)

Indeed. I've decided I like that feature.

 

Done. And subscribed.

Phil