• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

New Old timer

F

farwest1

Guest
Retired, vertically challenged (5'6"), 65 year old, returning to riding after a 20 year hiatus while in business for myself. In years past rode early triumphs and hondas.

I just acquired a 93 K75s with 6500 mi in terrific shape but in dire need of tires. Have tried to read several forums on line for recommendations on what brand and model is best for my bike......I am now thoroughly confused!! Metzler, Michelin, Bridgestone, etc.etc ???

Anyone willing, please give me your opinion on what to buy.. I'm looking for a solid
tire that corners well (not too quick) and is secure on hwy rain grooves and tar snakes. Probably won't ride more than 3000 mi/yr. radial vs bias?? slightly wider and lower profile ??? (110/80 18 vs 100/90 18) ?

Any advice or information would be most appreciated.... thanks
 
Welcome to the forum!

You are NEVER to old to ride!

That being said I am not too familiar with your bike so I will move your post to the KBike forum and the folks there should take care of your questions.

Regarding the forum take a look around there are many features including a general discussion area Campfire and also a Reginal forum for events in your area.

Welcome aboard!!
 
Welcome,

And you were even sharp enough to buy the PERFECT BMW!!!:thumb

I have had a lot of experience with the Metzeler Lasertec tires. Those are the tires that Metzeler recommends for your bike (the ONLY ones). They grip VERY well.

The down side is the mileage. I get about 3000 miles out of a rear and about 4000 out of the front. I ride very aggressively and search out the twistiest roads for all my rides, but the center of the rear wears out by 3000 miles. I run 40 psi in the rear, which is 4 psi above stock, but I weigh 245 and always ride with about 20 lbs of gear in the left saddlebag. I don't like the handling with less than 40 psi in the rear even if it does contribute to the poor tread mileage. That being said, I would not want to give up ANY of it's grip or handling for more mileage. I would prefer to just buy more tires.


The other tire that gets very good reviews from S owners on this site is the Bridgestone BT45. This is made in both H rated and V rated models. It has a "Dual Tread Compound" on the rear tire. It's got harder compound in the center of the tread for mileage and softer on the sides for cornering. A lot of people swear by these tires.

I am going to find out for myself as I just ordered a V rated set of each. I'm going to mount both sets up (I have MANY sets of wheels) and break each set in (I have a nice 120 mile ALL twisties loop that is perfect for getting tires or brakes up to max performance). Then I'm going to go back and forth between the sets and see which I prefer as far as handling. If the Bridgestones are as good as the Metzelers and give better mileage Great! I will have found a new tire. But if I prefer the handling of the Metzelers and the Bridgestones give me triple the mileage, I will have learned that I will stick with the Metzelers.

I believe that every tire manufacturer recommends staying with bias ply tires (I believe it is because of the narrow rim widths). I would also stay with the recommended tire sizes 100/90-18 front and 130/90-17 rear as you will change the front to rear balance designed into the tires.

If you are looking for medium performance and higher milage, the local wisdom here is to go with Metzeler Me 880 front and Me 88 rear in the same sizes. But remember Metzeler does not recommend them for the S. I guess the think that the S riders are a little more aggressive:bolt

Post a photo of your new bike in the thread at the top of the K-bike tech forum.




:dance:dance:dance
 
Metzeler Lazer up front, Marathon rear, stock size, bias. Works best. 93K experience on a K75S
Gilly
 
I have a 1994 K75S and after my last set of Metzeler Lazertec's have switched back to Pirelli Sport Demons. I tried the Lazertec's (hoped for better mileage) but they seemed to wear at about the same rate as the Pirelli's did (about 6000 miles). The Sport Demons are a bias ply tire, have fantastic grip and don't track rain groves like the Metzeler's. Good luck with your search
:thumb
 
Back from a few days vacation....and MANY THANKS to all of you for your advice. I still haven't made my mind up but looks like ME880s or BT45s are the concensus will check costs and go from there.

Along with returning to riding, I am just starting to experience the fabulous world of forums...they're great..!! and so are all of you for the help.. thanks again.
 
Just received the BT-45s yesterday.

One major problem: The rear is 1" shorter than the Metzeler Lasertec. That's 3 1/4" inches less rolling circumference.

That is the tallest 17" rear BT-45 that Bridgestone makes.

The rolling circumference is about 4% less than the Mezeler. That means 4% WORSE speedo accuracy, 4% worse gas mileage (although since your odometer will be off by 4%, it won't show), and 4% (abt. 300) higher RPM on the freeway (you think you want a sixth gear now?).

The thing that bugs me the most is the odometer inaccuracy. I ride lots of club rides and poker runs with printed route sheets. So far my odometer readings have been VERY close (+- a few tenths) over 100miles (they usually have a reset every hundred miles or so, so you can keep your gas in synch).

I really don't want to be doing math with cumulative error all day long. I'm not yet ready to invest in a Zumo yet, so I think the odometer issue may just kill my planned comparison.

The tires look very interesting. The rear is MUCH more square (less crown radius) which might account for some of the comments that the tire feels more stable. But that might also contribute to not being able to easily increase lean angle once the edge of the rear is reached.:dunno

Because of the low crown angle, there IS more tire on the ground. That would account for some of the better tread life. There is more than 1/32" more tread depth (out of 7), and the odometer error would account for 4% of the perceived milage increase.

I would like to hear from BT-45 users and see what they think of the shorter tire/odometer issue.

I still haven't really made up my mind to send these back just yet.



:dance:dance:dance
 
BT-45s and such

I have a brand new pair of BT-45s sitting here in my den waiting to go on my '94 K75S. The only reason they are not on already is that I've taken a lot of the bike apart for painting and cosmetic rennovation (see my K75S DIY Painting... thread also in this forum if interested). When I bought the bike last fall it had Metzeler 88/880s which seemed OK. They are known for longevity which I don't value near as much as performance.

I bought my Bridgestones from SW Moto Tires out of Tucson (among the best tire people out there) for reasonable prices and upon the many recommendations here on MOA.

Greg Feeler (like 98Lee, is one of the top K-bike gurus here) highly recommended them to me as one who prefers stickyness and handling over mileage. He also recommended a one size increase for the rear (rear only) to 140/80/17 instead of the stock 130/90 as these sidewalls should be a little stiffer. Others have also run this size on the rear without problems AFAIK---Paul "Benchwrencing" Glaves in particular---and Paul has ridden hundreds of thousands miles on K75s.

Having said the above, I do not know very much about tires. But I do know that I want the best handling and traction possible albeit at the expense of mileage and that the BT-45s seem to deliver in these areas according to those that use them.

Lee's comments above are actually the first real negative thing I've ever heard about them and naturally I'll be curious to see how he ends up liking them or not.

(Hey Lee, how about using a cheapo GPS for a speedo?)

Welcome to these Forums, Farwest!

I'm up for my 58th birthday in a couple of weeks and like you, took a 20-year hiatus from riding. I started riding BMWs in the late sixties and have been hooked on Beemers ever since. I only stopped riding when I felt I was really tempting fate a little too much (my third bike was a K100RS that I used to ride like a rocket most of the time:laugh) so I decided to quit while I was ahead.

But after 20 years, the bug bit me all over again and I bought a GSPD (which turned out to be the wrong type of bike for the sport touring I still like to enjoy)---hence my K75S purchase last year. I love it and you will love yours no doubt---they really are one of the best BMWs ever built.

:blah:type OK, I'll stop my rambling here and let this thread continue---I hope you end up with the right tires for your style of riding and enjoy your new K75---send us some pictures when you can (Photobucket works well with this site, btw).
 
The 140/80-17BT-45s are actually SHORTER than the 130/90-17 BT-45 by almost 1/2". That would further magnify the odometer/speedometer error.

In looking at the published specs for the Metzelers vs. the BT-45s they appear close, but what I have sitting (unmounted) on my shop floor looks (and measured) significantly different. I've thought about the possibility that when mounted the circumference might change a bit. I'll research this further next week.

I'd sure like to do a real back to back comparo on these tires. I've got three brand new sets (2 Metzeler and 1 Bridgestone) sitting here and plenty of rims to mount them on so I can switch back and forth fairly quickly, but I would like to figure out if the circumference difference is going to be as much as it seems before I mount them and can't return them.

I'll post my findings later. Right now I've got to get back to rewiring my shop (went from 4 circuits to 20).



:dance:dance:dance
 
I have a 1994 K75S and after my last set of Metzeler Lazertec's have switched back to Pirelli Sport Demons. I tried the Lazertec's (hoped for better mileage) but they seemed to wear at about the same rate as the Pirelli's did (about 6000 miles). The Sport Demons are a bias ply tire, have fantastic grip and don't track rain groves like the Metzeler's. Good luck with your search
:thumb

Add another fan of the Sport Demons to your survey. I may, in the interests of simple discovery, try something new - Continental has a new line of tires for our bikes (ContiGO!).

The nice thing about the Sport Demons is they don't track rain groves like the Metzeler Lasertec. I've also found (from both R & K bike experience with the same tires) that the Lasertecs seem to get greasier as they wear down - the Sport Demons seem to show no such sign so far (currently just above 2/32" tread depth - Texas annual vehicle inspection minimum).

Additional Info:

Continental ContiGO! - Exact fitment, choose H or V ratings as you feel comfortable
Continental TKV11/12 - Exact fitment, only V rating available
http://www.conti-online.com/generat...motorcycletires/sport_classic/tkv1112_en.html
http://www.conti-online.com/generat...rcycletires/allround/conti_go/contigo_en.html

As always, YMMV... :)
 
Back
Top