1985 K100RS Tires

I've been a MOA member since 2009 when I got my 83 R65, which is a terrific bike for the city and canyons. It will run all day on the freeway but really is happiest at 60mph. Just bought a 1985 K100rs, unmolested, with 18,000 original miles. Stored indoors and well taken care of. I want to replace the tires as they have plenty of tread but are 10 years old. A lot of choices out there, and a lot not available in stock size. I'm not a knee dragger nor a touring guy. What are you Flying Brick owners running and what would you recommend?

Thanks
Steve

I use Bridgestone Battlaxe BT45. They stick great,but get poor treadlife. But that's my priorities.
Sounds like that's not your priorities.

Steve,

18,000 miles? WOW! Post a picture please. I purchased a 1985 with only 30,000 miles last December and I thought I was doing well. Jeez! I run Metzeler Lasertecs. That's what the bike came with when I bought it, and because they were shot, were replaced for me free of charge by way of a purchase refund.

Unfortunately I can't make a recommendation for you because I've not tried anything else. I believe Lasertecs are on the softer side compared to some other brands. Like any tire purchase one has to sort of decide what kind of riding they are most likely to do and make a choice. In my opinion, any tire is going to be a balance between longevity (wear) and grip.

Lots of guys here who have, or have had, these bikes and most certainly have tried various manufacturers and can offer some good advice and opinions.

The Metzler ME-880/888 is a good high-mileage option. I find that they stick well within my riding style and I get good mileage out of them.

I tried a Dunlop 404 once but found the mileage much to be much less than I preferred.

Monte
85 K100 RT

98lee said:

I use Bridgestone Battlaxe BT45. They stick great,but get poor treadlife. But that's my priorities.
Sounds like that's not your priorities.

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I have used the BT45s and love their quick response, but they didn't last long for me. I've used the Metzeler 880s and they lasted *forever* and actually handle very well for such a long life tire, but not well enough for some who likes the mountain roads like I do. So, my current favorite which I think splits the difference very well are the Michelin Pilot Activs. They seem to do everything very well (wet, dry, traction, handling, wear).

GREGFEELER said:

I have used the BT45s and love their quick response, but they didn't last long for me. I've used the Metzeler 880s and they lasted *forever* and actually handle very well for such a long life tire, but not well enough for some who likes the mountain roads like I do. So, my current favorite which I think splits the difference very well are the Michelin Pilot Activs. They seem to do everything very well (wet, dry, traction, handling, wear).

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Greg,

What kind of mileage are you getting on the Pilot Activs on your K75s?

montec said:

The Metzler ME-880/888 is a good high-mileage option. I find that they stick well within my riding style and I get good mileage out of them.

I tried a Dunlop 404 once but found the mileage much to be much less than I preferred.

Monte
85 K100 RT

Click to expand...

I have run many sets of ME880 or ME888 tires on my K75s and I like them. But I put them on my K1100LT and hated them. After one trip from Kansas to New Mexico and one trip from Kansas to Iowa I took them off and gave them away with only about 1,800 miles on them. The problem was rear wheel spin if I got on the throttle on anything except perfectly dry concrete. They would slip on asphalt and if there was the slightest moisture on the roadway the tire could slip. I simply lost confidence. One pass through Taos Canyon and Cimmaron Canyon on US 64 was enough for me with those tires on that bike.

As I said, I like and still have them on my K75s but would be leery of them given the 33% higher horsepower on the '85 K100. (Nominal 100 hp vs 75 hp)

Thanks for the input. I wrote that I wasn't a knee dragger but I am a certainly a canyon rider, just not foolish if you know what I mean. I go for smooth as opposed to point and squirt. You know, Mike Hailwood or Cal Rayborn vs the incredibly fast Kenny Roberts. Sounds like the tires for me may be the Bridgestone Battleax or the Michelin Activ. I'll check them out.

The stock suspension is pretty soft. I know there are revalving kits out there and I have heard the VSS shock is supposed to be very good. One thing at a time...

98lee said:

Greg,

What kind of mileage are you getting on the Pilot Activs on your K75s?

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Lee,
On my "S" (JR) I have 6,891 miles on a set of Activs and have 2/32nd center rear tread left, out of 6/32nd new (1,722 miles per 32nd). The front has 2/32nd left out of 5/32nd new (2,297 per 32nd).

On the other K75 (Tatonka) I have 6,538 miles with 3.5/32nd left center rear (the front had to be changed out early for other reasons) (1,868 miles per 32nd).

Projecting out to changing the rears at 1/32nd, I should see about 8,600 miles from the rear on the "S", and *maybe* as much as 9,300 from the rear on the other K75. So, that is not quite as good as I was hoping, but it's better than the roughly 6,000 miles max I was getting from the BT45s.

I did just get back from a 750 mile round trip ride from Boise to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for the BMW MOA Getaway last weekend. A friend did a drive-and-ride and we took both K75s, each riding one bike there and swapping for the trip back. Almost every mile was some kind of beautiful twisty from big fast sweepers to very technical, and we were making good time, and I can say that these tires did not feel like worn tires at all. Still smooth entrance and exits to the corners.

stevenm said:

Thanks for the input. I wrote that I wasn't a knee dragger but I am a certainly a canyon rider, just not foolish if you know what I mean. I go for smooth as opposed to point and squirt. You know, Mike Hailwood or Cal Rayborn vs the incredibly fast Kenny Roberts. Sounds like the tires for me may be the Bridgestone Battleax or the Michelin Activ. I'll check them out.

The stock suspension is pretty soft. I know there are revalving kits out there and I have heard the VSS shock is supposed to be very good. One thing at a time...

Click to expand...

The only "re-valving" kits I know of is the cartridge emulator kit from Race Tech (https://www.racetech.com/page/id/152). It completely changes your forks from a dampener rod operation to a velocity sensitive valve control dampening. I have not used this product yet (but intent to soon), but everyone I know who has says it makes a fantastic improvement in the front forks when used with their springs. Also, I think the shock you are referring to is the YSS. I got a YSS from Tom Cutter for my '92 K75S several years ago and it's been an excellent product, especially for the money.

PGlaves said:

I have run many sets of ME880 or ME888 tires on my K75s and I like them. But I put them on my K1100LT and hated them. After one trip from Kansas to New Mexico and one trip from Kansas to Iowa I took them off and gave them away with only about 1,800 miles on them. The problem was rear wheel spin if I got on the throttle on anything except perfectly dry concrete. They would slip on asphalt and if there was the slightest moisture on the roadway the tire could slip. I simply lost confidence. One pass through Taos Canyon and Cimmaron Canyon on US 64 was enough for me with those tires on that bike.

As I said, I like and still have them on my K75s but would be leery of them given the 33% higher horsepower on the '85 K100. (Nominal 100 hp vs 75 hp)

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Hola Paul,

Interesting observation about the ME's on the K75S as opposed to the K1100LT. My first BMW, '76 R90/6, came with a set of Metzlers and it didn't take long for me to realize that no matter how high the projected mileage was for those tires it was highly unlikely I would to live to see them all. The tires were as hard as bowling balls; even the heat of South Texas roads in the summer couldn't soften them up to any appreciable degree so I switched to Continentals and got all the grip I could hope for... for about 3500 miles. At that time I was going back and forth from Port Aransas, Texas, to south Louisiana every three weeks so I quickly became BMW of Corpus Christi's best tire customer.

I recently acquired a fairly low mileage (24K) '94 K75 which is seriously in need of new tires front and rear and I have been wondering which way to go. I just switched from Michelin Pilots to Pirelli Angel GT "A" Specs on my '03 K1200RS and have been fairly pleased so far, but I don't plan on riding the K75 quite as aggressively as the K1200RS so I've been thinking more in term of mileage than absolute grip and wondered about going back to Metzler.

Food for thought, thanks.

Dave

I now have 3,600 miles on my Lasertecs with 3mm tread depth front and rear. If I ride as much next year as I did this, they will be kaput before the end of next season. Even sooner if the border opens and I can get down into Montana and Idaho. Not sure what my next set will be.

Can't keep air in them. I really only ride on weekends. So over the span of one week sitting in my garage, a loss of 2 PSI and 5 PSI front and rear respectively is common.

On a side note, this winter will see me installing the Race Tech upgrade to the front forks. After speaking with Matt at Race Tech several days ago, he thinks .85kg springs is the way to go for me. Installed a YSS rear shock before I put it one the road as the OEM was leaking.

Michelin Pilot Roads can go on K100RS K1100 wheel and nick to the center stand.

I've enjoyed a special wide rear rim that came on my used '85 K100RS w 37k miles in 1997 with Michelin Radials front and back. Now have 203K miles and keep enjoying the Michelin Pilot Radials. Did the same upgrade to my K75S.

Give Shinko's a try

A bunch of folks have put Shinko 712's on their 'K's. I've been running a set for about 2500 miles and am really impressed. Very plantable, predictable and feel as confidence inspiring as other name brands I've used. Worth a look!

Pilot Activ's for the win. Outstanding tire. Perfect for those who enjoy SPORT touring, not sport TOURING.

mlytle said:

Pilot Activ's for the win. Outstanding tire. Perfect for those who enjoy SPORT touring, not sport TOURING.

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I have 3 '85 RS's and they get a lot of canyon time here in So Az. I've tried 5 different brands over the early years and some of them twice just to see. The Michelin's are without a doubt the best handling that I've found in 15 years of riding these lovely ladies. Good longevity and great grip even in monsoon rains. I decided to try different profiles and found that a 120/70 front( Pilot Activ)and a 140/70(Pilot Road) rear did some wonderful things for the handling. The 140 rear will fit with 4mm to spare.
I had to kind of push the bike into the corners with the 90 profile, when riding hard, but it just seems to fall into the corners with the 70's. It loves them.
These and 10w Belray fork oil, and Progressive springs and 412 shock will make it dance like a big girl. Gotta love 'em.