I am looking for new tires for my K75Rt '92 with Y-spoke wheels.

I plan on going 110/80R18 front and 140/80R17 back.

Since a lot of the radials from around 2014 are not in production anymore i am wondering if I could fit dual purpose trial tires as it seems that they are the only ones that are radials in the sizes needed.

I am looking at tires like:
Bridgestone BW502G
Continental contitrail attack 2
Pirelli Scorpion trail 2
Metzler Tourance Next
Michelin Anakee 3
Avon Trailrider

They are all described as 90/10 road/trail tires but the pattern on the tires doesn't look that much different from my worn out Metzler Lasertech's.
I have read that they road capabilities are excelent but have anyone in here tried this with good/bad resulst on a non trail/gs bike?
Is any of these a wise choise or should i stick with the bias ply types that fits my rims - still 110/80 and 140/80 sizes?

I certainly understand your desire for radials. Not a lot of options unfortunately. I think someone here recently tried the Tourance but were not impressed if I remember correctly.
Personally, for those wheels I reckon you can't go past Pirrelli Sport Demons. Closest thing to a radial when you can't fit a radial.... imo. I was very impressed with their performance and I got very good wear out of them.
Plenty of threads on the forum about tyres. Just use the forum search on the Portal page.

jkh wrote:I am looking for new tires for my K75Rt '92 with Y-spoke wheels.

I plan on going 110/80R18 front and 140/80R17 back.

Since a lot of the radials from around 2014 are not in production anymore i am wondering if I could fit dual purpose trial tires as it seems that they are the only ones that are radials in the sizes needed.

I am looking at tires like:
Bridgestone BW502G
Continental contitrail attack 2
Pirelli Scorpion trail 2
Metzler Tourance Next
Michelin Anakee 3
Avon Trailrider

They are all described as 90/10 road/trail tires but the pattern on the tires doesn't look that much different from my worn out Metzler Lasertech's.
I have read that they road capabilities are excelent but have anyone in here tried this with good/bad resulst on a non trail/gs bike?
Is any of these a wise choise or should i stick with the bias ply types that fits my rims - still 110/80 and 140/80 sizes?

i also back up hollisters advice on pirelli sport demons  and stick to the original sizes of 100/90x18" front and 130/90 17" rear , had bridgestone bt45 F&R  on my k100 BUT  in 140/80x17" rear and 110/80x18" front and found them dropping into corners instead of feeding in nice and smooth & progressive like the SD do , even better than the metzler me33 / me55 combo for my $$$$$$$$$s ill stick with pirelli's

I have run dual sport tyres on my K75 for almost 40,000km.

First set were Pirelli Scorpion Trail (the first version of them).
Front was bias ply 100/90 x 18; rear was radial 140/80 R17. I found them great to ride on especially in the wet. Front did 19,500km and rear was punctured at around 8,000km.

2nd rear was a very old stock Michelin T66 140/80 R17 that was the only tyre I could find in the town where I punctured. Due to it's age I was very conscious of not pushing it but it got me to the end of that tour and took it off at about 5,000km when small splits started appearing. No wet weather riding.

3rd rear was an Avon Distanzia radial in 140/80 R17. Again I was very happy with this tyre and I certainly don't have the skill to push the tyre beyond it's limit. Changed at 12,000km.

4th rear was an Avon Trailrider AV54 (supersedes Distanzia) 140/80 R17 radial and is just about ready to come off with around 14,500km. Feels very planted and will be replaced with another one the same.

2nd front is an Avon Trailrider bias ply 110/80 x 18 rear tyre mounted in reverse. Very solid to ride on wet & dry and looks like going beyond 20,000km.

I am going to go to radials on my K1100LT using a Pirelli Scorpion Trail II rear in 140/80 R17 and a Pirelli Angel GT 110/80 R18 front. Interesting read on the web site as both these are built with the same profile so should work well.

Just more info for you to consider in the confusing world of tyre choice.

Cheers

Thank you for the replies. Pirelli sports demons are aparently the preferred choise.
Still after reading all the tests of these dual purpose radial where they are praised for their road capabilities - this combined with the much talk about radial back when they where available i 2014 ibthink i will put on dual purpose radials as GAZ has done?

It really depends on the type of riding you want to do. Gaz gets right off the beaten track on more than the odd occasion, so a dual purpose 'adventure' radial would suit his purposes.

If you are more for the sealed highways and byways then the Sport Demon will fit the bill more than adequately imo. Its a softer single compound tyre but very suited to sport/touring, especially if you want to wind it out on a few curves.

If you do 50/50 or more commuting or mostly freeway touring, then a dual compound bias-ply tyre may suit better as they are harder wearing in the middle. Battlax BT-45 come to mind but the front is prone to scollaping. These are the tyres that came on the K when new.

No point in fitting radials if you're mainly commuting or not needing the handling performance, and I don't believe they are any safer than a good bias-ply under normal circumstances. I think radial construction is used for dual purpose 'adventure' tyres because the steel belting makes them stronger and better able to handle the extreme conditions when you get off the bitumen, like gravel roads, sharp rocks,boulders sand etc.

jkh wrote:They are all described as 90/10 road/trail tires but the pattern on the tires doesn't look that much different from my worn out Metzler Lasertech's.

I've tried a LaserTec once.... never again. It lost grip on a few occasions, felt awkward in the rain and wore out very quickly