BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I love my 2002 R1150R Yellowjacket.
But after thousands of miles, and many an adventure... I need more. More off road, more adventure. And I don't need no stinking GS. Why spend $10-15k, when the roadster can do it all. I tell my little brother with the $9k RT, my little roadster has done everything his cruiser has for 30% less the cost. My Yellowjacket does it all.

But I fear if I can't get some better tires to take me to the end of the earth, I will be forced to sell my roadster and get another bike.

I need off road tires. I have searched re:tires and seen some posts on winter tires, but not much else. My own research shows little options for dual-purpose or off road tires for the R1150R due to tire size.

Am I missing anything? Are there any offroad tires for the roadster?
Say it ain't so...

Welcome aboard Charlie....I can't help you with the tire question but I'm sure someone can.

Ground clearance might be an issue...and maybe fit a GS bash gard....it all sounds good.

DJ

The best option I have determined in a similar search is to swap the front wheel for a GS front - if you match the correct brake style - 12.6" EVO w or w/o ABS as needed - the only incompatibility is the speedometer gearing. Adds 2 inches to front height and changes rake/trail.

On the rear, no such swap possible, but you can find some more aggressive treads in 160/60R17 profiles.

Not the best, but gets you there somewhat.

Whether you go GS or not, the Pirelli Scorpion MT60 or MT90 is the only decent choice for all-purpose tires. If you're going trail riding, get a GS or KTM Adventure.

I have searched for these also, in anticipation of (one day soon) riding up the Dempster Hwy in teh Yukon.

The only tire I found that MAY fit our rims is the AVON Distanzia
http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/Pro ... &SubCat=17

There are choices which could be fitted to the stock rims, you say you have a yellow jacket which I assume to be a rockster. The tire sizes being 120/60-17 front and 180/55-17 rear? Avon is producing the tires for the Buel dual sport in those sizes and pirelli makes the scorpion sync (orignally designed for the ducatti multistrada) in those sizes as well. Both of those tires are 90% road/ 10% offroad but for dirt roads and light off pavement use they will be fine. A bash plate would be an excellent choice as well.

P,

Yellow Jacket is a first model year Roadster in limited production. 120/70R17 front and 170/60R17 rear.

I agree the Corsa's and the Distanzia's are the most readily obtained, mixed tread design available in those sizes.

Nice conversion:

My Yellowjacket is the 2002 R1150R with dakar yellow/granit gray color scheme, not a rockster. That year, color scheme was limited edition, and yellowjackets came with ABS standard. The tires are same as R1150R roadster.

Now will 160/60-17 fit what normally takes a 170/60-17. Seems like the Distanzia is the tire to go with, as long no problem with the narrower tire.

rivi777 wrote:Nice conversion:

You might not need knobbies and long travel suspension, dependant on just how of "off-road". Anyone recall the guy that road his Yamaha R1 around the world? Check out the tires he used.

vinman wrote:You might need knobbies and long travel suspension, dependant on just how of "off-road". Anyone recall the guy that road his Yamaha R1 around the world? Check out the tires he used.

Wow...they look like MEZ 4's
I have travelled gravel on MEZ 4's (2-up in many cases). Same rules apply to these - no abrupt movements.

Tires can be confidence inspiring and can make a difference, but a rider who is comfortable off-road will make an even bigger difference. I've taken my R down more than it's fair share of fireroads and in some instances worse on the MEZ6's and have never once felt uneasy. Why? I grew up riding off-road and this past spring I got the itch to do so again, so I picked up a used dirt bike. The smaller lighter bike has helped my riding more than I could ever describe. So before you start asking yourself, "Do I have a do it all bike?"... First, ask yourself, "Am I a do it all rider?" I see a lot of guys on big duallies, who started big, and never learned the proper techniques. Those same guys blame their "big" bikes for their shortcomings. I was at a local MX track just a few weeks ago and saw a guy with a full blown dual sported supermoto KTM with racing slicks hitting triples and passing pretty good riders on bikes with knobbies. Just some food for thought...

Cmack ; yada yada yada....thanks.

The question was what tires for off road on a R1150R.

The answer, thanks to everyone else, is Avon Distanzias or Pirelli Corsicas. Thanks to everyone for their help and observations.

The tire sizes will be 120/70-17 front, and 160/60-17 rear.

Thanks again

Charlie

I was just giving a word of caution. I don't know your skill level, so I would hate to see you mess up a beautiful Roadster!

As far as tire recommendations, I would go with the Pirelli MT60R. Pirelli is far more established in making true off-road tires. The MT60R is a pretty aggressive (50/50) compound and comes standard on the KTM Duke. It is also a direct fit for the size requirements...

http://www.us.pirellimoto.com/media/p_05_final.pdf

cmack wrote:I was just giving a word of caution. I don't know your skill level, so I would hate to see you mess up a beautiful Roadster!

As far as tire recommendations, I would go with the Pirelli MT60R. Pirelli is far more established in making true off-road tires. The MT60R is a pretty aggressive (50/50) compound and comes standard on the KTM Duke. It is also a direct fit for the size requirements...

http://www.us.pirellimoto.com/media/p_05_final.pdf

cmack....thanks for this info. I wasn't aware Pirelli made a dual-style tire that will fit the R's rims