GS-Riders International

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-> This thread is meant for posting owner experiences with this tire


Front:
110/80 R19 59V TL V
*Thread depth 4.8 mm
*Weight 5.15 kg




Rear:
150/70 R17 69V TL H
*Thread depth 7.2 mm
*Weight 6.64 kg




* = Metzeler data.

I mounted it at mileage 21,212 km / 13,180 miles

This is a good tire. The Metzeler HQ is located by Munich, so is the BMW HQ. This tire must be made for the GS, because it functions well with it.

Front
Thread depth new: 5.2 mm





Comment: Note all the round dots. None of the rubber needles usually on factory new tires.


Rear:
Thread depth: 7.2 mm





Notice everything is designed to be rounded? The profile blocks have rounded edges, and the channels inside the negative thread are rounded off as well. Even the ends of the channel lines are round. Both tires are exceptional smooth on the surface, never saw anything like that before. All lines do look exceptional even and sharply cut. It gives the impression they are very precisely made. A new manufacturing process / technology?

Special markings are on the outer sides, both on front and rear. What do they mean?



Have you ever seen an adventure tourer tire, where the thread wraps around the sides so much? Who will wear the sides down?




General Comments:
My previous tire was the Anakee, click here: Michelin Anakee User Reports . So far I made only 100 km on the EXP.
The first thing I noticed when riding off the workshop is that they kept the compliant character of the regular Tourance (the one without EXP). It seems they go very well with the GS. It feels more compliant than the Anakee, in particular the front. It rolls smooth, reminding me on a very good street tire which I had before on my V-Strom, the Michelin Pilot Road. It steers in easy with little initial handle bar input required. What a lovely elephant! They know how to make tires Europe.

As I am now more familiar with the EXP, I have to correct myself. The EXP's compliance is not as good as I am used to from the regular Tourance. On familiar to me roads, where the older Tourance absorbed many of the small short bumps, with the EXP it is noticeable more bumpy.

PK Update
My mileage 24,354 km / 15,133 miles, running Distance to date 3142 km / 1953 miles.

Front: new / 3142 km
Thread depth: 5.2 mm / 4.3 mm






Rear: new / 3142 km
Thread depth: 7.2 mm / 5.3 mm






General Comment:
I think the EXP behaves just like any good road tire. It rolls very smooth and quiet, albeit a bit harsh in terms of compliance. The handling is crisp and direct, at the same time stability is great. A relevant observation: The EXP will sure not be a long lasting tire. I expect a mileage around 11,000 km / 7000 miles, or even less. I am going on a trip to Australia shortly, covering at least 5000 km.

My rear has got a nail only 130 km after I wrote the above update (motorcycle mileage = 24,688 km). Very unfortunate location, right at the edge of a profile block in the center of the tire..

I have got a fresh EXP rear mounted before starting for a 4 week trip through Australia. The punctured tire will be repaired when I am back from the trip. This means my EXP story will get a bit more complicated now, since I will have to different rears to report about.

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A try of a summary regarding the differences in between the Tourance and the Tourance EXP.

The Tourance
... is a lot more comfortable, compliant than the Tourance EXP. Especially for the front the difference is huge. Because of the big sized profile pattern the Tourance does however not roll as smoothly. The profile blocks do open to the outside edges, therefore, the outer profile blocks exhibit more and more movement with leaning increase. Tyhe tire starts to feel unsettled, and this serves as an excellent indicator for approaching its limits. The Tourance tells me: Until here - but no further please! In comparison the EXP has a very narrow transition range, before it starts to skid suddenly, which then is hard to control. Another plus for the Tourance: The overall good and reliable performance changes very little with diminishing profile.

The Tourance is a genuine all-around tire, without any bad point but also without real highlights, except it's predictability and reliability. Until recently it was for good reason the most popular tire for adventure tourers.


The Tourance EXP
... is a newer, different quality - but unfortunately no more an all-rounder. I think it is optimized for excellent grip, crisp handling and sportive performance. In particular the easy and sharp steering-in is sticks out. I am not quite clear yet about this, if it is good or bad. Sometimes it is crossing the border from crisp handling to be somewhat nervously sharp in corners. I am not exactly excited about the lack of compliance. In particular the front bumps through to the handle bars on bad roads, it is a bit annoying. Is this the price to pay for the EXP's new front steel belt? Then, do not expect much in terms of mileage. Ridden fast the EXP wears very rapidly. I just came back from a holiday trip through Australia. The rear has lasted not much more than 6,000 km, the front is a lot better but not as good as the regular T. . Now I ask myself: Do I need all this excellent race track kind of grip and sharp handling for my kind of riding? I think: No. In particular on rough road surfaces which provide good grip anyway with almost any tire, using the EXP seems like a complete waste. For long journeys I would not take it again. Good on Metzeler, as they say actually openly how things are: EXP = THE TIRE FOR THE EXPERTS. I am not one, only an average 'Motorradfahrer'.

For some the EXP may help making something like a supermoto from our adventure tourers. As for me, I do not find this development is to my advantage. Should I need a road tire, the next time I'll simply buy a road tire, and not an EXP.

Some pics to support the above statements about the EXP:

Rear:

... after 2000 km Aussie highway. Note the 'untidy' wear, means hot rubber is moving around a lot. Still looks pretty ok on this pic, but with my naked eyes it was pretty clear to me what was coming up.



... which a little bit later is this (at 4000 km):



By right the tire was finished at this point. I continued to use it, didn't want to buy a tire in Australia (high tire prices). The roads are very rough which is good for grip, and bad weather was not expected around this time of the year.

Next pic, here we are at 6,300 km mileage:



About 140 km later I threw it off. Total mileage done with the EXP rear is 6,440 km.


Front

This is at 6,300 km



And here at 10,300 km total mileage. It is still pretty ok. Except that I can see a separation line:



May be this is the reason why I sometimes feel as if the bike is slightly dropping into the corner? Or is it the overly sharp handling of this tire?


Bonus pic

This is the road surface for wide parts of the Northern and Western highways in Australia. Look at this ... any tire will have very good grip here:



It is not as extreme everywhere, however roads are generally rougher than anywhere in the world. I think these are economically made roads designed to carry huge road trains. Unfortunately, such road surfaces work like a cheese grater on motorcycle tires.

Note: This is about the front and rear originally mounted together at my mileage 21,212 km as a pair. The rear got a puncture at 24,354 km. I send it into a break, and used a brand new rear EXP for my Australian tour. My still young punctured EXP was patched, it's now in use again together with the "old" front. Current mileage on these tires: front 10,288 km, rear 3,142 km.


Front new / 3,142 km / 10,288 km:
Thread depth mm: 5.2 / 4.3 / 3.5

(with some Australian soil on it )





Rear new / 3,142 km:
Thread depth in mm: 7.2 / 5.3




General Comments
New and old combine with no problems. There is now an audible rushing noise from the front. There is a leap jump in terms of ride comfort (compliance) after the newer rear is on. Makes me aware it has become even harsher over time.

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My current mileage: 35,320 km / 21,947 miles.
So far mileage done with EXP "Round II pair": front 14,108 km / 8,766 miles, rear 7,668 km / 4,765 miles.

Front new / 3,142 km / 10,288 km / 14,108 km:
Thread depth in mm: 5.2 / 4.3 / 3.5 / 3.0






Rear new / 3,142 km / 7,668 km:
Thread depth in mm : 7.2 / 5.3 / 3.9




General Comments
It seems the front has somewhat recovered from the very rough Australian roads, the thread looks a bit better now. What remains is the slightly unsteady, almost nervous behaviour when cornering fast. The compliance has degraded a lot further by now. I am sometimes close to changing the tire, it is very bumpy. About 3 mm thread left the front, it feels really harshly. It seems the harshest front I ever had. Straight line holding and high speed stability are good on smooth road only. I think it just does not like bad roads. The rear is in very good shape, and it behaves accordingly. I expect getting ~ 18,000 km / 11,000 miles from the front, and ~ 11,000 km / 7,000 miles from the rear.

And now I will continue wiping out the elephants ... or at least try

Ghostrider, at this point I am pretty sure it will be the regular Tourance again. May sound 'oldish' but I am confident this is the standard. A tough all purpose tire for everything.

It is the Tourance that matches my motorcycle. And not 'Expert' supermoto tires of any kind, be they named EXP or Trail Attack.

Here is some information about the Tourance and EXP on the GS '04 - '07 vs. model '08, see post #7 here:
GS 2004 -2007 tires

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Quickspecs:

My total mileage: 41,414 km / 25,733 m
Tourance EXP: 20,202 km / 12,553 m
Front: 20,202 km / 12,553 m, 2.3 mm left
Rear II: 13,762 km / 8,551 m, 2.2 mm left
Rear I: 6,440 km / 4,002 m, 0 mm left

- Not anymore 100% confident in corners
- Both tires feel harsh and not compliant, but more the front
- More handle bar force is needed for cornering (I like)
- The grip wet and dry is still very good
- Runs quiet, only a slight rushing noise

Seems like the right timing for getting a fresh set tires.



Front:

• Total mileage: 20,202 km / 12,553 m
  
• Conditions of usage: see the two rear tires
  
• Remaining tread: 2.3 mm

Comment: Looks good for the mileage, smooth and no cupping., The front as overall done well. It does not like very rough tarmac. For those who do not mind a less compliant tire, the EXP is a front with good mileage and plenty grip. Sure worth to try in combination with the normal Tourance on the rear.


Rear II:

• Usage: 80% commuting, seldom more than 120 kph, 60 % two up)
  
• Total mileage: 13,762 km / 8,551 m
  
• Remaining tread: 2.2 mm

Comment: In the center smooth, cupping on the sides, good enough overall, but it rarely has been pushed.


Rear I:

• Usage: 100% two up touring , 3/4 of this speeds in between 120 - 170 kph, fully loaded, 90% rough road surfaces, a few hundret km gravel
  
• Total mileage: 6,440 km / 4,002 m
  
• Remaining tread: 0 mm

Comment: A tire not suitable for heavy two up touring and long distance touring. Grips well even when almost bald, including in the wet.

This is final update to my Tourance EXP story. This tire is not a Tourance as what people expect from the big name Tourance. This is a tire for people who go 2 h mountain carving on a Sunday morning, who do not more than 5000 km per year, who see a motorcycle as a fun sport, and not as a valid form of every day transportation. The front gets acceptable mileage and runs well, as long as the roads are in fairly good shape. It probably makes a good combination with a longer lasting rear tire. I personally would not buy it again. I bought a pair of regular Tourances, a true allrounder.


Bonus Pics:

The front tire, harshly attacked on the Australian rough tarmac roads, has fully recovered on the local smooth roads:





Tire plug, looks bad now



Remaining tread was measured in the center at the EXP's Tread Wear Indiactor position