YouTube R1200RTW Alternate Rims

[boxflyer]

..."Well Hello"...

"Why so many rims?"

It seems like I have trouble getting all the usable miles of tire tread from my tires when faced with a long planned trip that may force me to buy/install new tires while away from home.

My solution is to have several sets of rims with either NEW or partially used tires that can easily be swapped on or off the bike as the length of the trip dictates...my rides are usually about 5-6k miles and I had difficulty getting that last 2-3k miles from tires once they were removed from a rim and sitting in the corner of my garage.

This last year from April 1st thru the end of October, I rode over 40k miles on my RT and only got surprised once out on an extended trip with the need to change tires at a tire supplier. The cost of installing just these 2 tires was $100, so a significant cost for my riding season if I didn't have several sets of rims/rubber to work with...these rims at a relative cheap price help me when I'm going thru about 6 sets of tires per year. (I own a NoMar tire changer that I mount to my truck receiver hitch, and this was the first time I've had to resort to expensive tire mounting).

NO, I'm not interested in selling off any of my rims at this time....

Another answer to this question might be that supply and demand has made it difficult to find R1200RTW rims, so these are other options to convert rims makes them cost effective vs buying new.

Here's some options that work with my 2016 R1200RTW. They will also work for 2014-2020 RT's as well.

https://youtu.be/ZS8eZdVaCGU

 

[exgman]

Looking through your photos shows that you get around some (to put it mildly) Brad. I did see one tire photo, which because of the shape and angle of the photo looks like it might have been "over on the dark side." Have you ever tried auto tires on a bike? I think that's a bad idea, but I did encounter a GoldWing rider in GA in 2012 who swore that was the "only way to go."

I think you should post the photo of your No-Mar setup on the back of your truck. Great design!

Ride (and fly) safe...

 

[cap]

Very helpful

https://youtu.be/ZS8eZdVaCGU

Thanks. Great job. After watching the video, I'm pretty confident that I could adapt a front rim from one of the other BMW's to fit my K52. The bare rims cost about $1200 new.

Did you get a dimension on the K52 spacer? Would it be possible to substitute a piece of aluminum tubing cut to the proper length?

Cap

 

[boxflyer]

Thanks. Great job. After watching the video, I'm pretty confident that I could adapt a front rim from one of the other BMW's to fit my K52. The bare rims cost about $1200 new.

Did you get a dimension on the K52 spacer? Would it be possible to substitute a piece of aluminum tubing cut to the proper length?

Cap

I ordered the correct K52 spacer a week ago and it was just shipped today from backorder, so I don't have the dimensions, and just couldn't wait any longer to publish this video.
The one I have on the way is a pretty standard price from lots of suppliers of $30ish, so I'm just going to use the OEM version.
Not only does it need the correct ID so it does not rattle on the axle, but it needs to have shoulders on it so that it stays centered in the axle bore too.
I've had one out when replacing the bearings and seals on a K1600GTL, so I understand how it's made and see the necessity for this to be corrected on the K54 rim I built up in the video.

 

[alancoles]

Thanks for posting and sharing Brad.

It is great to have good info on cross-referencing things like oil filters, etc. Cross-fitting rims is a very good asset that requires detailed information and close adherence to clearances, etc. From one detail nerd to another, I appreciate your time, effort, and work that went into this.

As always, your explanations are easy to follow and understand.

 

[omega man]

^^^^^Remember- commerce is to be conducted through the marketplace ^^^^
The Moderator Team.

 

[boxflyer]

Looking through your photos shows that you get around some (to put it mildly) Brad. I did see one tire photo, which because of the shape and angle of the photo looks like it might have been "over on the dark side." Have you ever tried auto tires on a bike? I think that's a bad idea, but I did encounter a GoldWing rider in GA in 2012 who swore that was the "only way to go."

I think you should post the photo of your No-Mar setup on the back of your truck. Great design!

Ride (and fly) safe...

ExGMan,
Yes, I tried Darkside once on my K1600GT...I agree with you it's a bad idea. My first concern for that setup is that it needed a spacer and that placed all the load of the rim/tire on just the lug bolts in shear, not keeping the center flange on the FD in contact with rim. The handling was never the same, it took lots of attention to turn in and keep it on a line, and with the power of these bikes, I could get into the Traction Control when accelerating. In my opinion, not worth all the down-side associated with it. Maybe on a "Wing" but not on any BMW I have.

Here's a photo of my No-Mar on the back of my truck. I stabilize it with a jack stand under the center of the tire mounting spot and then use a ratchet strap from the same spot back to the ends of my receiver hitch to form a tight triangle.
I got the step-up 2in receiver adaptor from Harbor Freight and the other white adaptor parts come directly from No-Mar for this setup.

 

[cap]

...I did see one tire photo, which because of the shape and angle of the photo looks like it might have been "over on the dark side." ...

I think one of those suspiciously large tires is mounted on a FRONT rim. Reminds me of a front tire off a 1950 Ford 8N tractor. Or a Yamaha TW200. Although, I need to admit, it didn't seem to slow him down on Slumgullion Pass in Colorado.

 

[boxflyer]

Seems since you sold me a rim for my 15 RT at your house your opinion of Dark Side has changed.

No matter your rim article is good stuff.

I can say the older left hand side wheel you sold me worked on the 15 RT running the direction arrow in reverse. It also works on my 17.5 GS but it overhangs the right side about 15 mm. It is no real issue as there is no interference on the right side. I use that with a Trail 5 when my rear is worn and I still have 1-2K on the front. I just throw the spare on and run out the front.

Yes, my opinion changed since I tried a car tire on my RT. I found it influenced the handling more than with my K1600GT...possibly because it's a lighter bike, or maybe it was because the tire was new with more tread and even more narrow than the one on the GT.
When I tried Dark Side on my RT, I used a 5.5in rim and had a hard time getting the bead to seat. After closer examination, it's more obvious that there is a major design difference between how the rim is supposed to hold the rubber between a motorcycle tire and a car tire. I feel that it does not contact our rims in a safe manner and could ultimately lead to a sudden failure.
I also didn't use a spacer on my brief attempt of DS on the RT. I was concerned about the change of design from loads going from the rim thru the center ring on the FD flange to only having the rim held on with the lug bolts in such a shear load offset from the center ring.

Like you are doing now, keeping with a motorcycle tire on a motorcycle rim is the better way to go.
Thanks for your observations.