I am not an expert but on my GS500 I learned that no matter what, street bikes won't go to certain places. I went off road quite a bit, my Bridgestone BT45's held up well on sharp rocky tracks, deep sand, gravel but the weight of the bike and the build is not for offroading at all. I could still disappear into the desert or in the forest, and walked the bike when got stuck in sand. Most of my travel was on tarmac so I don't regret having road tyres. I was offered some Chinese or whatever knobbly tyres for the 17" wheels in Nioro, Mali. The GS has a 130/70 rear and it's easy to find a tyre for it but 180/55 will be a problem. If I were you, I would take spare tyres and a tyre plug kit with me and stick to the paved roads where possible.
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