Touring Around Oz

Hi Guys
Looking to set up my 2010 GSX FA for a lap around Oz and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to the type of tyres I should be looking at; stick with sport touring or go for something a little more from the Adventure bike arena?. Not planning on any real dirt but you I will be travelling with a mix of bikes including some GS BMWs.
Thx
Trucktoe

Just my opinion Trucktoe, but the Bandit/GSX is no adventure-tourer and I would not be tempted to put anything other than sports-tourer rubber on it, A-rated at that due to the weight.  I can see a Bandit/GSX destroying adventure-tourer rubber in no time.   You'll just have to put up with bitumen quality rubber on any dirt sections (which most of us have done). There is a very long feedback thread on tyres on the forum but a lot comes down to personal preference.  No point starting it off all over again!    I look forward to other responses.

You must have posted this the same time I was commenting on your "dirt road expertise" in the intro thread Ewok

Thx Chook. You confirmed what I thought but figured it would be good to hear from others.

This may be a bit off centre for you Tt, but this is two guys I know who thought that three days in Barrington Tops would clear the cobwebs.

Thx for the photos. BRRRR! looks a 'bit' brisk and as we are su etting off in June I am bracing myself for some chilly times. The last photo makes the trials shown in the others worthwhile.

Well the lap of this great country of ours is 14500kms and 39 days down and 2000kms and 5 days to go. MY GSX1250FA has performed flawlessly and has survived a couple of low speed drops by its clumsy owner. Day 2 of the trip saw us leaving Glenn Innes in - 7C which was anything but fun. I was the only bike without heated grips and is something that has subsequently been rectified. Headed north into Queensland through Bundaberg to McKay, Townsville, Cloncury, into the NT Barkley Homestead, Mataranka, Jabiru, Darwin, into WA Lake Argyle, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome, Karratha, Carnarvon, Dongara, Fremantle, Bussellton, Albany, Esperance, Madura Pass, into South Australia Ceduna, Port Lincoln, Wallaroo, Barmera. To come are Mt Gambier, Torquay, Sale, Eden and finish in Sydney. Some days of over 840kms which were not as hard as I expected. Longest straight roads and we were all starting to pine for some good twisty roads. Great weather, phenomenal scenery, amazing experience.

Good stuff. You should have kept in touch so we could meet up with you. You missed the best parts in the southwest of WA when you were heading through Bunbury and busselton

reddog wrote:Good stuff. You should have kept in touch so we could meet up with you. You missed the best parts in the southwest of WA when you were heading through Bunbury and busselton

X2

Not sure when you went through the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, I was away for work last week and stayed at Port Victoria, Port Pirie, Port Lincoln and Port Augusta, would have been good to meet if our paths had crossed.

I'm assuming you bypassed Adelaide by the list of towns.

Sounds like a fantastic trip, it'd be nice to read a detailed ride review later with any advice travelling Adelaide - Perth - Darwin , I want to do that one day then head back down the middle to Adelaide

During our tassie tour a navigational error on the part of our lead rider lead to us doing about 60k's of dirt logging roads (more or less road base without tar seal).  The 1250 was fitted with Pilot Pures (basically full sports rubber) at the time and it wasn't a drama; based on this experience would think that some proper sport touring rubber like Pilot Road 4's would be well up to a bit of dirt.

It's all about throttle control and keeping the bike upright on non sealed surfaces. Unless you are riding rutted sections of road any tyre will do it. The worst part with non sealed roads is the stones chip the thin paint on the lower frame and front of the motor.