The parts guy at max BMW ny had studs just around the outside of the tread on his GSA. This way if the bike started to slip or lean, the traction was there. I wanna say he was running scouts.
If you decide to go with the Scouts, I highly recommend putting a couple hundred miles on them on good dry road. They're pretty grippy once the releasing agent is worn off, but they're slicker than snot when new. Take my word for it, learned the hard way.
I ride year round also but I'm to cheep for a second set of wheels and tires so it's Anekees year round so far. The only time I don't take the bike is if there is a major snow storm and the roads haven't been plowed before I leave at 6:00 am and so far, knock on wood its been fine. And yeah salt sucks in the bike!
No ice in Brisbane, Australia. So we got nothing man. I have experienced riding in black ice on the new England tablelands at -8 deg. C. I can say that 2nd setting on the heated grips is worth nothing at that temp. The Heidies went OK on the black ice. Cheers Rob A.
I have continually been impressed with the Tourances on my 2008 GSA. Ridden in temps from 7 - 105 degrees, dry, wet solo, two-up, etc. The Tourances have done great and are totally confidence inspiring. I am pretty careful to get some heat in the tires before pushing it, especially in the cold, so that may have helped keep me out of trouble, but even so, they have been great tires. On top of it, I know I have inadvertently rolled over more than one or two patches of light black ice and so far, so good, not even a flinch. What they do NOT like is mud, packed snow or as I found out last weekend, "pretreated" roads that turn slick-as-snot when the snow finally falls!! I was doing just fine where they left the ( light ) snow on the road, but when I got to the intersections, cloverleafs, etc, which they had "pretreated for safety", I was very lucky it wasn't my Red GSA laying on it's side like the one in the picture ( or worse! ). I definitely found the limit of the Tires very fast and won't be doing that again soon. But, I believe the original post was regarding cold temperatures. Providing the roads are not icy, I have found the Tourances to be a great all-temperature tire.
I am running 36 in the front and 40 in the rear. With that said; I am a little bit "Big Boned" and may weigh more than you. The dealer said to go 36 and 42, but 40 feels pretty good. I am thinking about putting the Tourances back on for this raining winter and the Heidanaus do feel a bit sketchy in the northwest rain and I ride a lot in the twisties. I havent had any issues with slipping but I do not like the feel in the corners.
I'm going to hand sipe some new TKC's that are sitting in my garage before putting them on Gretchen. I might be wrong... Just ask my X... If a man speaks, and there is no woman present,... Is he still wrong? Sent from my party line rotary dial iPhone using Tapatalk
thanks for your opinion. i'm about 85Kg. The tires do feel a bit sketchy but I haven't noticed any loss of traction. the rear tends to break traction on slippery markings (any tire would) but I get the impression that they grip sooner than the tourances after a slip up.
I ride year around in NE Wisconsin, usually run Anakee 2's year around, commute daily UNLESS there is ice, I have a couple of different styles of chains that I will throw on when we have fresh or packed snow, but I am disappointed, we are scheduled for a major snow storm tomorrow but my bike is in the shop getting the brakes fixed! I wanted to "show off" to some of my fellow riders at work . I wish I could afford the Woody's Wheels 21"/18" studded tire solution though...
Looks like the max pressure for the heidenau scouts (150/70 B 17 M/C 69T) is 36psi Think i'll stick to 35 or less.
+1 I hated them and thought I made a horrible tire choice for the first 500-600 miles. The K60s are slick, really slick, before they break in. Then they are great.
no. i tried this winter for the first time on snow. guess what, the bike won't move a bit. i had to get off and push / work the clutch to get it moving. with that middle part the tire has no grip on compact snow. probably the conti TKC80 is the better option or the new pirelli?
