Tube tire deciphering

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sjbmw
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Tube tire deciphering

Post by sjbmw »

I have not owed a tube tired 2 wheel machine since I had a bicycle. My son just picked up a pristine 2001 F650 GS, and got his first flat in the rear tire.

Manual states it's a 130/80 R17 tire, and it also says its 3.00" x 17" MT

We got the tube out, and none of these numbers are on it!

Finding an 3.00 x 17 tube in the usual brick and mortar cycle places is difficult. (I have no BMW dealer in range, cycle gear, and Asian dealers only.)

Any experts out there that can give a clueless person some recommendations on what tubes would fit this tire?
Freedom is dangerous. Those in power that steal freedom are more dangerous.
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mogu83
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Re: Tube tire deciphering

Post by mogu83 »

Amazon, two day delivery. Just make sure your valve stem is in the middle.

https://www.amazon.com/V-Twin-46-0160-C ... +x+17+tube
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sjbmw
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Re: Tube tire deciphering

Post by sjbmw »

Thanks Harry, 26 bucks ouch!

Bike Bandit sells 3.00-17 tubes for a much lesser price, but they use a different numbering scheme, plus I can get a 10% AMA discount.

http://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tubes/m ... cycle-tube

There is a 3.00 x 17 in the list. What is this number?
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mogu83
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Re: Tube tire deciphering

Post by mogu83 »

I use 3.00 X 17 on the rear of my little MotoGiro bikes and I've bought tubes in the local dirt bike place.
Thing is, a three inch tube seems quite a bit smaller than a 130mm tube. I'm pretty sure the 3.00 X 17 is reffering to the rim size not the tube. Just sayin :roll: :roll: :roll:
Harry Costello -- Jersey Shore
2007 R1200R
1974 + 75 CB125S
1971 R75
2011 Sportster
BMWMOA 57358
sjbmw
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Location: Gloucester County, NJ

Re: Tube tire deciphering

Post by sjbmw »

Thanks.
I took the service manual, and the dead Metzler tube, to Deptford Honda, and got the correct tube. 12 bucks.
Metzler tubes have different numbers than other tubes, and the 3.00 x 17 is not a tube size.
The GS takes a bigger 1, and I learned that different manufacturers use different metrics, and ranges are doable, not necessarily finite numbers.

3.75 to 4.75 for 17 inch tires is correct.
Freedom is dangerous. Those in power that steal freedom are more dangerous.
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