Motorcycle tires

Every year we are faced with the question of how we will re-sol our motorcycle fleet, which consists exclusively of BMW GS models, for the new 2025 season. We have tried all possible types of tires and tire manufacturers and now the decision has been finally made.

Short introduction:

Since we rent our motorcycles here in Trogir near Split in Croatia and also start motorcycle tours, regardless of whether it is a self-guided or a guided tour, the challenge or the question of tire choice was always the same. Of course, Croatia, like all neighboring countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and Albania, has perfectly developed roads and, above all, very winding, perfectly developed roads, but also often sandy or stony roads and paths. Especially when you move away from the usual tourist roads and look for something out of the ordinary. It is obvious that a pure road tire would certainly be a good choice for a pure road tour, but to make sure that all of our customers feel safe and comfortable on less developed roads, only a somewhat coarser tread tire comes into consideration for us. A tire that masters many different types of road or path conditions. It doesn't matter whether it's a muddy stretch after heavy rain in the mountains, a dusty stretch after a long period of heat in the valleys, a gravel road or sandy road on the coast, or even a well-paved road. It doesn't matter whether the road is dry or wet. The requirements - the tire needs to have very good grip in corners, very good handling and rigidity during hard braking maneuvers and good traction on gravel. In other words, the egg-laying full-milk-pig among tires.

And here it is:

METZELER KAROO 4 ADV tires! 
METZELER's latest ADV tire, the KAROO 4, successor to the KAROO 3, is a 50/50 on-road/off-road tire according to METZELER, but honestly, in our experience, the tire is more like a 60/40 on-road/off-road tire, if not a 70/30 tire. Hard to believe with these chunky studs. The tire not only looks like an adventure on the bike, it rides almost like a high-quality road tire.

Although METZELER's mandate was to improve overall performance, i.e. on-road and off-road, their focus was more on performance on roads and especially on wet asphalt. And that's exactly the secret and the advantage.

Product review of the METZELER KAROO 4 ADV tire.
Sandy beaches may not be the usual place to test ADV tires, but the KAROO 4 still proved itself performed superbly.

The front KAROO 4 tire is made of the X-Ply single compound with 100% Carbon-Black Compound, and the rear tire uses a dual compound with 80% Carbon-Black Construction for the center tread and 20% softer silica for the sidewalls.

The tire received a redesigned tread block from the center to the edge of the tire to serve the terrain and effectively work it like a spoon to improve riding performance. With each wheel rotation, it throws out the picked up terrain material again, thus cleaning itself in time for the next wheel rotation. This is achieved by the vertical wave groove that extends across almost three-quarters of the tire. The gaps between the side tread blocks are quite different from the KAROO 3.

The predecessor had wider and thicker blocks on the sides of the tire, while the KAROO 4 has smaller blocks with a much wider evacuation area.

The patented "Detratec" center tread is also significantly different from its predecessor. METZELER has opted for two uniform blocks with a single center groove line, eliminating the zigzag center line and irregularly shaped center tread blocks of the KAROO 3. This greatly improves tire stability on the road, especially in wet conditions, and is designed to work much better with modern ABS. And every modern motorcycle has an ABS system these days, including adventure motorcycles.

METZELER claims that the front tire offers about five percent more grip on lean angles of more than 15 degrees compared to its predecessor thanks to the new tread block. Conversely, on the rear axle, the new tire has an additional 10 percent more rubber (contact area) on the road on lean angles of 20 to 30 degrees, which of course brings benefits in the form of improved traction and, above all, stability. However, the KAROO 4 has a slightly flatter shape than the more curved (rounded) KAROO 3, which results in slightly slower steering characteristics, but is rewarded in exchange for better braking and cornering stability.

As for the tread block depth, this depends on the tire size chosen. For example, a 90/90-21 front tire has a depth of 8mm and all other front wheel sizes have a depth of 9mm. The rear tires all have a uniform depth of 11mm.

Now, you might immediately think that due to the coarse lugs of the tire, the riding noise would be unbearably loud, similar to a 4x4 with worn tires. But far from it, this tire is incredibly quiet, almost unimaginably, it is even quieter than a Michelin Anakee in comparison.

The stability when braking in the rain, a situation that, to be fair, is actually the tire's natural habitat, is absolutely impressive. On the road, with all the hazards that this entails, such as puddles of water, sand, pebbles and, unfortunately, oil, the KAROO 4's performance is simply exceptional, especially on the front wheel.

In short and summary:

For us personally, the METZELER KAROO 4 is the perfect solution for our fleet when it comes to riding, both off-road and on the road. It is the first tire with a coarse tread pattern that feels like it stays true to its track on asphalt, even when leaning heavily and riding dynamically. We also find the rolling noise to be extremely quiet. We have never experienced this riding experience with any other tire with a coarse tread pattern on asphalt. The tire also makes an excellent impression off-road and has never let us down, even when used in mud and soft ground. Even wear is kept to a minimum, which means that the tire is good for a distance of 10,000 km on the rear wheel, depending on the riding style.

Conclusion for us:

The following tire sizes are available for our motorcycle fleet.
Note: Our motorcycle fleet is from model year 2023:

BMW F750GS
V 110/80 R 19 M/C 59T M+S TL
H 150/70 R 17 M/C 69T M+S TL

BMW F850GS
V 90/90 - 21 M/C 54T M+S TL
H 150/70 R 17 M/C 69T M+S TL

BMW F900GSA
V 90/90 - 21 M/C 54T M+S TL (B)
H 150/70 - 17 M/C 69T M+S TL (B)

BMW R1250GS
V 120/70 R 19 M/C 60T M+S TL
H 170/60 R 17 M/C 72T M+S TL

BMW R1250GSA
V 120/70 R 19 M/C 60T M+S TL
H 170/60 R 17 M/C 72T M+S TL

BMW R1300GS
V 120/70 R 19 M/C 60T M+S TL
H 170/60 R 17 M/C 72T M+S TL

BMW R1300GSA
V 120/70 R 19 M/C 60T M+S TL
H 170/60 R 17 M/C 72T M+S TL

The tire sizes are available in almost all common sizes. You can of course find the tire approval suitable for your motorcycle on the METZELER homepage.
With this decision, we are confident that we can continue to provide our customers and companions with high-performance motorcycles.

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