I�ve just bought my 56reg 660R. I negotiated a price reduction on the worn rubber so I could choose my own brand rather than get what was in the back of the stockroom.

So
1) I will not be going (far) off road if at all.
2) I will be hoonong (sorry officer ) bimbling around the back lanes of the Peak District. i.e. cow s##t, gravel, pot holes etc
3) Dressed in my riding gear I am over 17st (fat basterd)

The bike is shod in Siracs at the moment but the back is squared off to nothing in the middle and untouched on he edges. So the last owner was either a heavy motorway user, very timid or the tyres frightened the crap out of him/her.

My only ride out so far has been on wet greasy roads (snowing here now) so I can�t really comment on how the Siracs feel/should feel.


My other bike is a BMW R1150GS owned for 10 years and always run on Tourances getting at least 9000 front and 7000 rear. Clearly I am happy with them. But trawling past posts some folk don�t like the performance in the wet on these bikes.

Most threads appear to concentrate on more off road tyres that what I am after

SO. Extended ramble over.


What would you recommend please?

I haven't had my current XTR long enough to comment on the tyres (Avon Gripster, seem fine so far), but here are a few observations to start you off:

Anakee 2 on my previous F650GS. Great wet or dry, seemed to be lasting well.

Avon Distanzia on my XT600E. Cheapest out there (at the time), very sticky, great in the wet, but being a soft compound they don't last well. I'll be getting another pair for the 600 when I get it back on the road, as I am very happy with them.

My first XTR had Siracs, can't remember details, but had zero issues.

The 600E came with Trail Wings, which I didn't like at all, but they were wornm to ******y, so perhaps that's not a fair assessment.

These are all road-biased patterns as I ride mostly on tarmac. I ride in all weathers and tyres are something I don't compromise on. Riding style brisk but not foolish, I hope.

__________________
XT660R (2006)
XT600E (1994)
Triumph Trident 750 (1992)
My blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Had tourances and Siracs on mine and found them both brilliant for road work in all weathers, then swapped to MT21's for rallys and offroad riding

__________________



OFFICIAL CRASH TEST DUMMY

I tried these.... While many other bikes love these tyres, my experiences with the Anakees on the Tenere are -:

* Great on dry roads, no more grippy than TKC's though. On moderately wet roads, they were OK...

* On very wet roads, well..... it's possible to spin the rear while moving.

* If you venture onto wet grass - you will get stuck ( SteveD & Stumpydave had to push me off the field)

* They do last very well, I put nearly 1000 miles on them, they still looked new with no squaring, despite 200 miles of motorway riding.

Having said all that, they are supposed to be the doggy danglers on the Tiger, so I'll be trying them again on the other bike.

Riders and tyres are different, my experiences are just that, mine, other riders may like them. For me it's TKC's all the way now, same grip as road tyres they just don't last anything like as long.

__________________
>-------<

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Am still undecided though.
One thing that has crossed my mind while searching through tyre dealer sites is:

The same tyre is sold with different speed ratings, and varying prices.
Given that a faster bike may be heavier would fitting a tyre with a higher than necessary speed rating adversely affect the handling.
ie. Is the higher rated tyre be more rigid so giving some people different oppinions of the same tyre?

Just a thought which could possibly be a load of borrocks.

To be legal, the speed rating of the tyre must be above the maximum speed of the bike. I don't know how the same tyre with different speed ratings would differ between the two. I doubt if the higher-rated tyre would be heavier, though. There are big, heavy slow bikes and very light fast bikes, so making the 'faster' tyre heavier wouldn't make much sense.

Go for the cheapest that has the appropriate rating, is my view.

__________________
XT660R (2006)
XT600E (1994)
Triumph Trident 750 (1992)
My blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

My XTR has had 2x sets of Conti 'escape' and now on Metz 'enduro3'. The 'escape' did well with no issues, although not really an off road tyre - looks like one. the 'enduro 3' are more off road but ride well on wet muddy lanes, I accidently dropped a gear going through a wet bend and it kicked a bit then held ok. I have a set of Metz Karoo's on order for a trip next weekend but the delivery van has cancelled due to snow - so can't comment.

I've got a XTR and hoon around the peaks and I love Tourance. Torance Exp's are better at almost everything on road, but probably worse off it than the std tourance (in my opinion).
Didn't like the Anakees. Loved Siracs, Liked Conti Escapes.

Just use S rated tyres with tubes on an R. It's what the handbook says. Rob

Thanks lads.
Had it not been for the weather I would have rushed out and stuck a set of Tourances on.
As it turns out I�ve had more time to think, and getting your responses has helped a lot.
So as I want a more road biased tyre I will be searching for the best deal on a pair of Tourance Exp�s.
You post tipped the balance Rob, cheers. I�ll keep an eye out for you in the Peaks.
(The Yonderman at Wardlow Myres is a common watering hole of mine).

I will keep you updated

.

So the snow kept falling and I kept on pondering.
I eventually settled on a pair of Avon Distanzias.
I decided to trade off a bit of longevity of wear for more grip.
Only managed a couple of rides on greasy roads so far but, plus getting used to the feel of a new bike.
So far very happy.
Will have to see how log it is before I wear off the chicken strips.
Once again thanks for all your responses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For anyone who is interested I used HAWLEY�S Motorcycle Tyres

Unit 2, 65 Holme Lane, Hillsbrough, Sheffield, S6 4JP

Tel. 0114 233 8866

http://www.hawleystyres.co.uk/tttyres.html

I found them very helpful and knowledgeable.
I have for the past 12-15 years or so used National Tyres in Barnsley,
who are equally helpful and knowledgeable but I tried Hawley�s this time for two reasons

1 The weather was Crap, icy and snowy, and Hillsborough is a lot nearer to me than Barnsley.

2 They were a few quid cheaper.

I will consider them again