OK after much research I still have a question for any of you that have done some extensive travelling w/ your DL 1000
I am leaving in April on a apprx 10,000 mile loop of the western U.S. I don't suppose any more than 1,000 miles of this journey will be off pavement and nothing serious at that. Should I even worry about any kind of dul purpose tire? Should I just go for some Road Pilots or Coni Road attacks? The Tourance looks nice, do I need it? I just wore out a set of Pirelli Scorpion trail and they wore funny and were loud.
Thanks as alwys for the input.

Oh, riding solo with about 60 lbs of gear

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" Send lawyer's, guns and money "

K7 DL 1000
94 CB 1000 "Big One"

For pure road, Pilot Road 3's are the cats pajamas. Will they serve you well on your off road portion...I haven't a clue. You need advice from someone else.
The original Tourance is a high quality tire that you can't go wrong with. Good for just about everything.

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2009 DL650

I'm sold completely on the Tourance regular tires. I'm about 90% paved and the rest gravel with occasional ventures onto forest access type roads. I dislike slabbing intensely and stick mostly to scenic backroads. I don't like the Tourance EXP tires, they wear faster; and any possible extra stickum doesn't seem to do anything for me.

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Road Toads Charter Member - old guy goes stromabout on a 2007 Vee


States and Provinces I've visited

If your heavy on the throttle and/or downshift a lot I DONT think you will see 10,000 miles on anything but a car tire.

I am running Bridgestone Sport touring bt 023 and so far they are wearing noticeably slower than the Anakee2 they replaced. They are dual compound but cheaper than PR3. I have been on dirt roads, no problem and I think its all the adventure tires are BS if there is mud or sand.

Ask some one about Heidenau that some say would do it and have knobby enough to help on dirt.

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8/2/2013

It depends on how deep the loose stuff is and how slippery the unpaved surface is. The street tires, Michelin Pilot Road 3 and Bridgestone Battleax BT-023 will both be OK on firm unpaved surfaces. (The PR3 might be the better tire for wet pavement. I don't know of anyone who has ridden both for a tire life report.)

You'd better have a contingency plan for new tires somewhere along your 10k mile route. Much of the wear rate depends on the type of aggregate used to pave the roads. Some pavement in some regions is very abrasive.

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2007 DL650A Whee! (SV cam transplant)

Manage the unavoidable.
Avoid the unmanageable.

No matter what tire I decide to mount I will have a plan for new rubber along the route

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" Send lawyer's, guns and money "

K7 DL 1000
94 CB 1000 "Big One"

I've gotten excellent mileage from 880s.

Last front went 22,800 and rear lasted 13,465 miles. ( Both are H rated )

Rear is a Harley replacement, H rated. My understanding is the V rated rear size ( BMW replacement ) wont last as long.

Both replaced just a touch before wear bars indicated.

Non aggressive riding and 38F & 40R psi set before each ride. ( no off road )

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07 DL1000
05 KLR 650
01 Vulcan 1500 ( Sold )
55 CJ5

In my experience, the Heidenau K60 on the rear is the only tire that will allow you to go the distance (10,000 miles or close to it). The Michelin Anakee 2 is a much better tire than the K60 and is second to the Heidenau with regard to tread life (7000 miles). Having said that, I am currently running my third set of original Tourances (best for the buck). I would stick with an adventure tire.

I'd agree with the Tourances for lasting power, but not the noisy, rumbly Heidenaus for pavement distance. With that said, I have 21000 kms on a set of stock TrailWings, and they are just ready for replacement.

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'04 650, and goshdarnit it's fun - matte silver (#9 in the Silver 'Strom Club)
farewell to an '81 KZ550, '83 GPz750, '83 V45 Sabre, R-Reg GT380, '84 GPz550, early '70s DT175, and a '72 Peugeot 102

In general i think most anything is okay on a graded gravel road. I'd make my selection more based on what I liked for pavement.
What I would do is bring along a small portable compressor (along with my tubeless tire repair kit), my favorite tire gauge and when I got to said gravel drop the pressure accordingly. When you get back to pavement whip it out (the compressor) and set it back for pavement.
Your plan to replace tires on the road is likely a good one. I'm not into cheap in general and on tires especially so. They so dramatically affect the bikes handling and your safety so much depends on them that its not the place to try and save money by running them longer than should be.
And, not to start a war as far as I'm concerned no car tires, ever.

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Joe S.
'12 Concours
'11 DL650
'10 Tiger1050
'01 HD FXD
'09 HD XR1200
'79 BMW R100