Stelvio Tire Sizing

[leafman60]

When the original Stelvio was introduced, it came with a 180/55-17 rear tire and a 110/90-19 front tire.  I rode one of these and it fared pretty-well on dirt roads etc with its Pirelli Scorpions. Then they came up with the cast wheels.  I was in the chorus clamoring for 1.) spoke wheels and 2.) a 150 rear tire like the BMW GS.  The 150 rear tire would open up a huge selection of tires and tread patterns since the tire producers are out in droves supplying rubber for the popular GS series. We just don't have many dual-sport 180 rear tires being offered.

Guzzi answered our desires with the NTX and I am happy.

Enter now, the new water/air-cooled BMW GS.  Guess what ?  It is coming with a 170/60-17 rear and a 120/70-19 front.

No doubt, the 150 rear and 110 front will be around for years to supply all the existing bikes but I expect we will see a new array of dual-sport tires offered in the wider sizes adopted by the new GS.

[rocker59]

Um, the original Stelvio's wheels were tubeless spoked Alpina.  5.5" rear.

BMW GS is not the only machine running the 150 rear. So, honestly that size will be around for a long time as a standard DS/ADV size.

 

[Wayne Orwig]

When the original Stelvio was introduced, it came with a 180/55-17 rear tire and a 110/90-19 front tire on cast wheels.

Nope, spoked...
The original NTX prior to 2012 had smaller cast wheels.

[leafman60]

Sorry, I got it mixed up. The original was spoke but wider size.  Then the NTX had cast.  Eventually the NTX was spoked and 150.  That's the point.

[Route140]

I'm currently in the market for some new tires for my 2011 Stelvio (2011 US model still had the 5.5" rear rim).

Continental may have already responded. They now offer the rear Trail Attack 2 and TKC 80 in 180/55-17 and 170/60-17 sizes. They also have the Road Attack 2 in the 110/80-19 front that fits the Stelvio. So, looks like Continental has 3 choices of tire styles that are now available, in matched sets, that will fit the 09 thru 11 "classic" Stelvio.

I may try a set of the Trail Attack 2's.

[leafman60]

My friend who bought one of the first-imported Stelvio models let me keep and ride it for a month or two.  To be honest, I thought the Pirelli tires on it did much better on dirt than I expected.  I had it in some pretty gooey stuff more than once.  Yes, a more aggressive tread would have given me more traction but the stock tires were not that bad.

The 180mm Trail Attack II is $249.99 at Superstore, yikes.

Continental Trail Attack II

[Wayne Orwig]

My friend who bought one of the first-imported Stelvio models let me keep and ride it for a month or two.  To be honest, I thought the Pirelli tires on it did much better on dirt than I expected.  I had it in some pretty gooey stuff more than once.  Yes, a more aggressive tread would have given me more traction but the stock tires were not that bad.

My original Pirelli had a very short life.
And of course that was a very gently break in period.  ::)

[Arizona Wayne]

My original Pirelli had a very short life.
And of course that was a very gently break in period.  ::)

Never seen a long lasting Pirelli MC tire yet.

[leafman60]

If I recall correctly, the orig Stelvio that I rode for a while got a little over 5000 miles on the rear tire before changing.

[Route140]

If I recall correctly, the orig Stelvio that I rode for a while got a little over 5000 miles on the rear tire before changing.

My original Pirelli Scorpion Sync's have 7000 miles on them and have a little life left in them, I'd buy another set if they still made them. I wonder how the Scorpion Trails compare to the Sync's? After seeing the price on the Continental Trail Attack 2's, I may just stick with the Pirelli's.

[ChuckH]

It looks like I'll get about 7K miles on the rear OEM Scorpion Trail on my NTX, probably 10-12K miles on the front.  That is all loaded, touring, highway use.  I'm looking at the Anakee II as the replacement tires.  There have been reports of near 10K miles on the rear for similar use on Stelvios. 

[leafman60]

I got about 5k on my stock NTX rear.  The front was fine.  I replaced the rear with the same Pirelli.  They work very well on the highway.

Next time around, I'll probably convert to a matched pair of Anakee 2's which have been "my" tire for a while now.  I've flirted with the Heidenau tires but I dont know yet.

I've had very good luck with the Michelins.  They work well on the road, wet road, and they do pretty good on dirt for the type of terrain a semi-sane person would take one of these bikes.

[beardog]

Has anyone on here tried the Heidenau tires?  Life expectancy?

[Zoom Zoom]

Has anyone on here tried the Heidenau tires?  Life expectancy?

My buddy put them on his GS before we did our PNW trip last summer. Noisier on the road, as you would expect. After 8000 miles, they still had life in them. Much more than you would expect. Only other thing was there is a little less rubber on the road due to the semi knobbies. He did have the back step out a couple of times unexpectedly on some spirited pavement riding.

Oh yeah, one other trouble he had was the front would lose air randomly. He could never find the leak. We stopped to get a tube installed in Washington or Oregon. Not sure if it was a bad tire or what. Overall, he was very happy with them.

Zoom Zoom,
John Henry

[ChuckH]

Has anyone on here tried the Heidenau tires?  Life expectancy? 

"Blakebird", a sometimes contributor here but more frequently on AdvRider, had them on his NTX and recorded over 10K miles on the rear with his first set.  As I recall, about half of those miles were during a two-up tour with his wife, from CO to the West Coast and return.  He reported good handling in most conditions. 

[leafman60]

Yeah.  I'm a little concerned about the Heidenau's traction on wet pavement.  

I tried a pair of Mefo tires on another bike.  The tread is somewhat similar to the Heidenaus.   The Mefos worked great on dirt and they did well on dry pavement.  Then, I was once carving some curves in North Carolina when I came upon a section of road that was wet from a morning rain.  They scared the peejoobies out of me.  I experienced a side-slide to the tune of about 4 feet.  I've encountered similar conditions with the Anakees and even the (more street oriented) Tourances and never had these traction problems.

Regarding tire mileage capabilities, I am not one to seek a tire that gets huge mileage.  That means the rubber compound must be "harder" and therefore the tire traction not as great.  If you are riding an average pace on good, dry pavement then maybe such tires are the way to go.  I like to be able to use the entire curvature of the tread and have confidence that the tire aint gonna let go when leaned waay over at accelerating speed.

Overall, again, for average dual-sporting, the Anakee II tires work well for me. Decent road mileage. Decent dirt traction on most terrains I run.  Great road traction at speed on pavement - wet or dry.

As a footnote I do know a Stelvio rider that prefers the very inexpensive (cheap) Shinko tires. These are about half the cost of the others.  I don't do cheap anymore.  I tried a pair of Kendas once on my 650 and lost half my tread lugs running interstate during a trip.  

Michelin has introduced an Anakee III but it is not receiving positive reviews.  It's a weird looking cross-cut tread.  

Michelin Anakee II


Michelin Anakee III


Metzeler Tourance


Pirelli Scorpion


Continental Trail Attack II


Mefo


Heidenau K60 150 width


Shinko 705

[StelvioGT]

To add to the above don't forget about the Avon Distanza.

[leafman60]

Yes.  Looks like Shinko.

[blakebird]

The K60 picture shown above is not the Scout, which has connected center tread blocks and gives longer life.
My rear was replaced, as Chuck mentions - at around 10k miles. It had tread left, but the feel had gone away.

The front still has quite a bit of tread at 12,000 miles and only shows a bit of cupping because I aired it down (28psi) for a couple of weekends of long offroad rides and forgot to air it back up to the 36psi I run them at on the street.

I took the oem Pirellis off and had the K60 Scout mounted when I took delivery of the bike, and I don't think I'll go to a different tire. As a longtime sportbike guy, the Heidenau cover all the bases for me....stick like glue in all paved conditions, work well for the offroad I do, and until the rear gets flatspotted from lots of miles they are quiet.
I wouldn't call them noisy when near the end, you do hear them when you're not vertical....

[rocker59]

The K60 picture shown above is not the Scout, 

Sure it is.  The block patterns differ depending upon size.  Here is the one to which you refer:

[leafman60]

Yes, true.  They changed that center block on some sizes to add mileage from what I remember. Actually that's the way the 150/17 looks.

[Route140]

Looks like the new Metzeler Tourance Next (OE tire on new BMW R1200GSW) will be available in sizes to fit the Stelvio in both rear sizes, 180/55 17 and 150/70 17, as well as 110/80 19 for the front.

http://www.metzeler.com/site/uk/products/tyres-catalogue/Tourance-next.html

[leafman60]

Good info.  Thanks !

I think Id still rather go with an Anakee 2

[leafman60]

I'm updating an old thread because of new information.

I have purchased a pair of the new Continental TKC70 tires that I will soon install on my Stelvio. 

I really like the looks of the tread pattern and the compound of rubber that is used.  I think the TKC70 will provide the extra bite off-road that is appealing with the hard rubber Heidenau but provide safe traction on pavement, especially wet pavement.

I'll report back in time.

The TKC70 (right)  next to the Heidenau Scout (left)-

[rocker59]

Cool. I'll be interested to read your impression of the TKC70.

[Bigtime]

I know this is an old thread. Need input on the Continental TKCs on a Stelvio. Time to put some new shoes on the big girl. 

[brlawson]

John,

They are good tires on and off road they just don't last more than 3-4k when ridden primarily on pavement.

[Wayne Orwig]

I've been running Pilot Road 3's on mine. They work well on pavement, and reasonably well on good gravel.
But last weekend I was on a gravel road with a small water crossing. The rocks in the water weren't going to be an issue, but the Jeeps and trucks before me had carried the water up in the road. I stopped just as I got to the slime. The front Pilot 3 was in the slime and was sliding everywhere.


You can't have everything....


I thing I need a second set of rims, so I can swap out for the day or weekend, based on where I am heading.

[ITSec]

Never seen a long lasting Pirelli MC tire yet.

Actually, the Angel ST and GT series did pretty well on my Norge, especially once they released the versions intended for heavier bikes. I could get 10,000 from a rear without too much worry, and often more.

[ITSec]

I've been running Pilot Road 3's on mine. They work well on pavement, and reasonably well on good gravel.
But last weekend I was on a gravel road with a small water crossing. The rocks in the water weren't going to be an issue, but the Jeeps and trucks before me had carried the water up in the road. I stopped just as I got to the slime. The front Pilot 3 was in the slime and was sliding everywhere.


You can't have everything....


I thing I need a second set of rims, so I can swap out for the day or weekend, based on where I am heading.

The PR4s now come in a version intended for the big dual sports - have you looked at them?