tyres 4 950 adventure
 

Help!
Anyone tried anything other than the standard fit Scorpions? I am forced to ride tarmac most of the time but when I do get to the dust I find scorpions a bit rubbish. TKC80s are tempting but won't last long on tarmac I am told, Karoos anyone?

scorpions
 

I'm interested to know why you are dissing the scorpions - I am / was thinking of fitting them for my next tyre change on a transalp.
I had heard good things about the scorpions.

The TKC's feel wierd for the first couple of hundred miles until you get used to them after the scorps, but are a very good tyre. Surprisingly good on the road, but the bike weaves when over 110 mph, but then again they're only rated for 100 mph!

Far far better off road than the scorps.

I get about 3000 miles out of a rear and 6000 miles from the front. Probably could get a bit more out of them if i wasn't stupid pulling wheelies and being daft, and i replaced them before they were down to the last mm but the handling had gone off.

Karoos are a little better off road but don't last as long as the TKC's according to my mate who has used both, but this is hearsay as i haven't personally tried the Karoo's.

I've used the Scorpions on the rough stuff and they're not that great. They're OK on smooth stuff or fine gravel, but on anything loose they don't dig in at all - the rear spins out on climbs and the front gives little confidence on downhills.
TKC's seem to be the most popular mixed use tyre and from what I've read they last well for this type of tyre. I'm going to try a Dunlop D9008RR rear/ Metzeler Karoo T front on my next trip, and I'll be interested to see how they compare to the TKC's my mate's going to be running.

howiezowie - the scorpions are great on the road but not really up to much on anything other than dry green trails off road. I was in the Atlas mountains last year and struggled badly on some of the trails, especially those lovely ones made of big rocks. The 950 is just too heavy and the tread pattern of the tyres too fine to get any decent grip - as my dents and scrapes prove!!

KTM 950 tires
 

I rode to Tierra del Fuego on Dunlop Trailmax's 2-up and had no problems in the loose deep gravel on an Elefant 10 years ago. I ride a 950 S with Stock Scorpions which I think are better than the Trailmax's. HOWEVER, I do use TKC's on more hardcore off road work. They are better but not that great. Hated a set of Karoos I used about 3 years ago - 1200 miles on the rear and gone. Squirly on the tarmac too. I have used Mich Deserts and gotten decent mileage (3600) on an Elefant years ago, but they are really slippery on asphalt. My mileage on TKC's is 3000-3500 on the rear, 2-up and luggage. 3 sets used to date. I get 4500 on the Scorpions, to give you a reference to my comparison riding style. 4 sets of those.
Allen.

Not picked my 990 up yet but was tempted by the thought of metzeler enduro sahara 3's... any thoughts?

thought about heidenau tyres? BMW people rate them, although I would suspect getting them can be a bit iffy.

Metz enduro 3's
 

Thoughts from a 640A rider are : If you think you will spend 75% on the dirt, go for the TKC'S, but if the case is 75% on the black stuff then the Metzlers are superb, great on road feedback and good degrees of adhesion, and although i swapped them out for some TKC's when i needed off-road abilities !. they had covered 1500 miles on and 500 off, and they still looked in good shape. But these tyres in my opinion are best left on road. the Tkc's were so much nicer off road, and although on road they appear to wear quicker, they still give good levels of feedback and adhesion.
As tested on the TAT

Hope this Helps:D

I switched across to Avon Roadriders as I have been riding mainly road miles. Did a 700 mile trip to Lincoln the other week mainly on Motorways (for my sins) and found that they were absolutely fine. I never had any problems with the scorpians, I just fancied a change. One thing I have found is that the Avons get very hot (way hotter than any tyre I have had on any other bike) so I expect them to wear pretty quickly. Once they are worn out (assuming they stay consistent) I'll probably switch back to Scorpians as I haven't seen a big difference between them.