need bmw help...

[jtskir222]

hello darkside..
i have a yamaha midnight venture already set up..
now i need to set up my 2010 bmw r1200gsa.. has a stock 150 70 17 on it now...
looking to see if anyone has went dark with the stock rim? if so what tire and size??

thanks in advance

mark

[Doc]

I think you are the first Beemer rider to check in here.

Wish I could offer advice, but I don't have a clue...

[jtskir222]

the bmw guys dont want to talk to me about it unless i have a sidecar to use it with....
i dont get it..
hope someone can get me in the right direction....

[coldweatherfreak]

hello darkside..
i have a yamaha midnight venture already set up..
now i need to set up my 2010 bmw r1200gsa.. has a stock 150 70 17 on it now...
looking to see if anyone has went dark with the stock rim? if so what tire and size??

thanks in advance

mark

I have same size oem rear tire on my V-strom 1000

I'm runnin a General Altimax Artic 205/50-17 on stock 4" wheel I went darkside originally just as a winter experiment (very successful experiment) there are a few other V-strommers that have gone darkside, my recollection is that the General Exclaim UHP 205/55-17 is the most common choice

unfortunately in 17" wheels, all the tire choices are wide, the narrower ones 185s & 295s are real low profile, 30 or 40 series, you'll loose a couple inches ground clearance, and dent the wheels if you use that gsa anything like I use my Vee

as I said, I started as a winter experiment, 2 winters ago I went from knobby tires in winter to studded knobbies, drilled holes in new set of Karoo Ts put standard automotive studs in with a pneumatic gun, rear still spins & skids too easy then I heard about the darkside, got me thinking of what I run on my cage, studded Hakkapellittaa 5 , but way too expensive when I don't even know if the tire will clear my chain or if I will like the way it handles, do I found the cheapest winter tire I could find and bought it, it fit, clears the chain by almost 1/8" (rubs in hard corners when the chain was worn out)

the experiment worked, studded Karoo T in front, unstudded General in back, I can ride in snow and ice as confidently as I can drive my 4wd jeep untill the snow depth gets to about 6" then I start draging bottom on my belly pan. after I purchased the tire I found out that the altimax artic is the #2 rated winter tire , the hak 5 is #1 but 2¼x the price.

on gravel roads, way better control than Karoo's or TKCs that I have ran in back,

2 lane twisties & sweepers I can hardly tell I'm runnin a CT, I started in the 40s with pressure, there was quite a bit more countersteer effort required, 30-32 it the psi I m runnin now, no noticiable difference in countersteer effort from a MC tire, I tried lower pressure, 25, but expereinces some bad wallowing in the wake of a truck and again in the wake of a bus, a fork brace and steering damper is now on my list of things to do

the tire I have has real deep tread and is siped, and you can feel more road anomolies or maybe its the radial tire roll and sidewall flex there is weirdness riding uneven and 2 track or single track off road surfaces

also in sand or loose traction, the tire will grip (at least mine does) way better than you would expect , even snow ice slush, freezing rain, sleet

[coldweatherfreak]

this is what he altimax artic 205/50-17 looks like on the back of my Vee

[jtskir222]

is your rim on the vee 4.5 wide or 4 ?
looks like i have less than 1 inch clearence with the stock tire on the swingarm.. single side swing arm/driveshaft....

how much tire do you have hanging past the side of the rim?

[saber]

I have been a registered Beemer rider here for a few years. I have a r1200c Montauk and I am using a stock rim. I am on my 3rd car tire, and the one I currently am using is no longer available, I have a BF Goodrich TA radial size 175/80-15. This by far is the best handling one I have used, and only took 44psi to mount. No sidecar either, the Chrome Heads hate me for showing their ignorance of using a car tire on a Beemer.

[coldweatherfreak]

is your rim on the vee 4.5 wide or 4 ?
looks like i have less than 1 inch clearence with the stock tire on the swingarm.. single side swing arm/driveshaft....

how much tire do you have hanging past the side of the rim?

v-strom rear wheel is only 4" been thinkin of getting a custom widened wheel @ 5½, the general altimax I'm running recommends a 5½-7½" wheel

the bead seated on mine by the time it got to 40psi but I had a leaky bead (prolly corrosion pits in wheel from my winter riding) and the bead had to be broken down and reseated with bead seal, I haven't leaked a bit of air since I had it installed last november

[coldweatherfreak]

the tire tread is about 8" wide so 2" extends beyond the wheel on each side, you may have a problem clearing your bulky shaft

[coldweatherfreak]

spoke w one of my employees today that has a gsa, he doesn't think thers even an inch of clearnce between the shaft housing and the stock tire

[Sponsored content]