Tyre advice

[tim0409]

Hi

I have a 2009 BMW XCountry 650, which I bought last year and since then I've taken it from 13k to 20k miles on the same tyres (pictures below); the previous owner only did 500 miles in the 5 years he owned it, and swapped over the knobbly tyres (which also came with the bike) at one point to a set of Metzelers but I'm not sure if these were new or had already been on the bike.

I know very little about motorbike tyres, and would appreciate so advice on

1) Looking at the pictures, roughly how many miles do I have left on these tyres?

2) I never use it off road, so when I replace the tyres I am probably looking for road based tyres? Any recommendations? The sizes are 130/80/17 and 100/90/19

Thanks in advance.

[OutInTheShed]

tim0409 said:

Hi
....

1) Looking at the pictures, roughly how many miles do I have left on these tyres?

....]

Looking at the crazing at the base of the tread blocks, I'm inclined to say 'none'?

What is the date code on these tyres?


Personally, I have been happy with Pirelli tyres, but I have no idea what will suit your bike.
You could look at a few tyremakers' websites to see which model they recommend, then seek opinions from people with the same bike.

I expect most new tyres will be better than any 'stale' tyre, but whatever you choose, you'll find lots of riders to tell you something else is 'better'.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

Is their a specific BMW XCountry forum on the internet or a Facebook group? You'll probably get a better answer there as to what tyres will suit your bike with regard to road only riding.

[tim0409]

Many thanks for the replies; I’ve just checked the date codes and the front is 2010 and the rear is 2013 so I guess I need to replace them asap!

Will post in avriders.

[typeo]

There is this section on the ukgser forums that covers this range, maybe worth a post there:

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/79-...

I had one of the G650 Xmoto models. I regret selling it, was great round the local lanes.

[tim0409]

I ended up ordering some Continental Contitrail Attack 3 from Black Circles, and took them and the loose wheels to a nearby BMW Motorad who were surprisingly reasonable cost wise.

The bike handles so much better; much more “flickable” probably due to the old rear being quite “square”.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

tim0409 said:

The bike handles so much better; much more “flickable” probably due to the old rear being quite “square”.

I've found new tyres often feel like that once you've done a few steady miles on them and then start to give them a bit of stick.