The 800GS tire thread (oh, no you di-'nt!)

Discuss.

Wheel Specs:
Rim, front 2.15 x 21"
Rim, rear 4.25 x 17"
Tyres, front 90/90 - 21 54V
Tyres, rear 150/70 - 17 69V





I'm wondering if anyone has yet fitted a 130 width rear to the 800 yet. There are substantially more (and cheaper) knobby options in the 130 vs the 150. With a 4.25" rim, that may be stretching it a bit (literally), though?



Also, what are the implications of changing tire sizes WRT the ABS system?

I think anything skinnier than a 140 will be a problem. loooking at the microfiche on Max BMW website indicates the 800GS as having a wider rim than the R1200GS, but they share the same size tire.

It would be nice to be able to fit a Pirelli MT-21 or a Dunlop D606. My experience is both of these tires are not that great at highway speed though.

For the riding i'll be doing with the f800, the Conti TKC-80 will more than likely work ok. But there'll always be the time I wished I had a better knobby.

F800GS 4.25" X 17"
Rear wheel assembly:<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=507 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ListPart style="BORDER-RIGHT: #d3d3d3 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d3d3d3 1px solid">36314644852 </TD><TD class=ListPartNarrow style="BORDER-LEFT: #d3d3d3 1px solid" noWrap> spoke wheel, rear (4.25X17) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

R1200GS 4.00" X 17" <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=507 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ListPart style="BORDER-RIGHT: #d3d3d3 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d3d3d3 1px solid">Rear spoke rim only:
36312320005
</TD><TD class=ListPartNarrow style="BORDER-LEFT: #d3d3d3 1px solid" noWrap> wheel rim rear (4,00X17 MT H2) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

XCountry 3.00" X 17"
Rear rim only:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=507 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ListPart style="BORDER-RIGHT: #d3d3d3 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d3d3d3 1px solid">36317696784 </TD><TD class=ListPartNarrow style="BORDER-LEFT: #d3d3d3 1px solid" noWrap> wheel rim rear (3,00X17)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I'm not worried about ABS b/c mine was ordered without it.

Woody's will more than likely have a solution for people that are interested.

Street tire options.
They make an ME880 in 90/90-21 for road trips.....



Lazers are available for fr and rear

I'm just going through the websites to find tires that may work.

Metzler Karoos
Michelin Deserts
Dunlop D606
Conti TKC80

Unfortuneately these seem to be R rated tires.

David

How often do you cruise over 106 mph with knobbies?

Front D606 at 120 Km/h on the front of the KLR was a bit scary. It would wander side to side in an oscillating motion. Could have been the pressure I had them pumped up to (32PSI), or it could have been suspension geometry, but I don't recall it doing that with ony other tire (Dunlop 950, Mefo Explorer, or MT 21).

Things could be different on the F800GS though.

A quick search the other day on Karoos, kinda let me down. The consensus is that they wear quite fast.

How's about using a knobby on the front ie: MT21, D606, or other, and a 50/50 tire on the rear (Tourance, Anakee)? I don't care too much if the rear moves around on gravel, or hard pack, but it's a pain when the front doesn't stay planted. Me thinks that both would wear out at about the same mileage.

My last KLR had 606s on it when I sold it. Never noticed any weirdness at highway speeds. Of course the KLR always felt less than rock solid at 120. What I really didn't like was the TKC80 front I ran for a while. Felt good on road but I never really liked it on gravel.

The specs Nate put in the original post said they had are to be V rated. Just following the conversation.

I don't think I would mind having R rated tires myself if they kept the bike planted on gravel roads. I don't run mfg speed rated tires on the VFR.

The idea of more road type rear and knobby front sounds interesting. I had heard someone mention it before.

Just so you don't get what I'm saying wrong, I have very little experience here to draw on. I'm just reading the mfg sites and repeating what I've heard others say.

David

Here is the tire sizing information page from Dennis Kirk Catolog Company.

http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/tpl/tire/tiresizeexplain.jsp

This helps a little with Nate's original question:

I don't think they would recommend 130 on a 4.25" rim.

David

Thanks, this has good info. Added this link to my favorites.

Not sure about tires, but the manual is pretty emphatic about wheel sizes.

It says the wheel size is programmed into the ABS system and that "in some cases the data in the control unit can be adapted to the new wheel sizes."

I suspect you'd potentially have similar issues if you switched to a tire with a markedly different diameter than stock, in that the ABS system would see a different "in sync" front-to-back rotation ratio than it is expecting to see in normal tire wear range.

For what it's worth, I'm running a TKC80 on the back and a D908 Rally Raid in the front. I went with this choice because I was looking for a front that would be good on rock, mud, and sand, but wanted a longer-lasting back knobby so they would hopefully wear out about the same time.

I had read about weak sidewalls on the TKC80 which also led me to try the 908rr. I've had it out the day after an all-day rain and ran it through sand, mud puddles, and rocks and they performed just great.

I'm not exactly an A class rider though, so my experience may not be worth much.

give Mitas E07's a try, great universals or for something more knobby try the E09's. They both come in 140/80 x 17 and 90/90 x21. I run them on my AT and love em.

Does Avon make a tire that will fit the new GS's?

Mr. Pete--->

I have a Michelin T63 on the front and a Heidenhau 140/80-17 K60 on the back

Works great done roughly 4500Kms with them
I still want to try a more agressive Knobbly on the back

OK,

so a 140/80 17 OK to run on the rear?

I don't like the thought of being limited to just TKC's.

That should be fine. What'd you find in that width?

Metzler Sahara 3's
Michelin desert racing

Anyone got a cheap-o inside line on ordering TKC-80's?

Thanks!

TB

is there somewhere that rates these tires by on road and off road performance?

i need a tire that works acceptably for both.

the tires that came on the bike are useless off road.

also any links for suppliers online?
and can i change the bike tires with some tire levers? or do i need to take the wheels to a shop to have them mounted?