BMW R1200 GS Info and Accessories

Home Introduction General« Warranties&Insurance New Bikes« Break-In« Hauling Motorcycles« Shipping Motorcycles Winter Storage« Introduction to Motorcycles Types of Motorcycles Motorcycle Safety Buying a Motorcycle Recomendations Motorcycle Controls Motorcycle Steering Motorcycle Shifting Motorcycle Brakes Hitting Obstacles Lane Positions Cargo and Passengers Parking Motorcycles Basic Operation Practice Exercises Conclusion Body Seat Cushions Custom Seats« Backrests Headlight Covers Tank Bras Fender Accessories« Cleaning Supplies Plastic Repairs Touch-up Paint Chassis Suspension Check Rear Suspension« Align Rear Suspension« Adjust Rear Suspension« Align Front Suspension« Adjust Front Suspension« Increase Fork Spring Rate« Lowering Your Bike« Improve Fork Damping« Drive Chains« Tires Tire Accessories« Wheels« Controls Instruments Handlebars Heated Grips« Controls« Cruise Controls« Brakes Hydraulics« Footpegs Electrical Power Switches & Connectors Battery Horns Driving Lights Headlights Tail Lights« Reflectors Turn Signals« Radio Intercoms Speakers Earphones GPS Radar Detectors Radar & GPS Mounts Engine and Tools Metric Nuts & Bolts Radiators Tools Lifts Fairing Windshields Windshield Height« Cleaning Windshields« Repairing Windshields« Modifying Windshields« Fairing History Lubricants Grease Shaft Drive Gears« Shaft Drive*nbsp;Splines« Drive Chains« Engine Oil« All About Oil API Oil Standards Oil Filters« All About Filters Filter Cross Ref Filter Surgery Air Filters Luggage Straps & Nets« Tank Bags Bag Liners Cargo Sacks Saddlebag Keys« Soft Saddle Bags Hard Saddle Bags Aluminum Saddle Bags TailPacks Top Boxes Motorcycle Trailers Riding Riding Suits Rain Suits Summer Jackets Off Road Protective Cool Vests Heated clothes Street Boots Dirt Boots Riding Gloves Custom Clothes Foam Earplugs Riding with kids Helmets Riding in extreme heat Taking long trips Small Gadgets Cameras Communication Clothes Packing Camping out Logistics Packing Check List State Riding Laws Printable State Laws FJR1300 Our Products Specifications R1200GS HP2 R1200GS Mechanical Issues Road Tests General Links Crashbars Luggage Lights Seat Handlebars Dash Shelf Footpegs Exhaust Tires Specifications R1200RT Road Tests General Links Specifications R1200ST Road Tests General Links Specifications ST1300 Our Products Mechanical Issues Road Tests General Handlebars Footpegs« Suspension« Tires« Brakes Exhaust Engine« Fuel Filters Air Filters Wiring Diagrams Lights« Radio Windshields« Electric Windshields« Fairing Accessories Fairing Pads Dash Shelves Hondaline TopBox Information Specifications Ulysses Our Products Road Tests General Links Windshields Specifications V-Strom Our Products Mechanical Issues Road Tests General Gas Mileage Windshields Gearing« Controls Footpegs Crashbars SkidPlate Centerstand Suspension Body Brake Pads Tires Electric Engine Exhaust« Suzuki Luggage« Fairing Pads Specifications My DL650 Review Superhawk Mechanical Issues Road Tests General Crashbars SkidPlate Centerstand Stock tires Brake Pads Electric Engine Exhaust« Windshields Suzuki Luggage Fairing Pads Articles Airbags are Evil All About Gasoline All About Oil All About Filters A Friend's Crash My DL650 Review Horsepower & Torque Making Horsepower Paul Mondor's Snow Tour Pollution Myths Resonant Air Boxes Riding in extreme heat Suspension Fighting Traffic Tickets« References API Oil Standards Batteries & Spark Plugs Chains & Sprockets Tires Motorcyle Accidents Filter Cross Ref Filter Surgery Metal Gauges Wire Gauges Unit Conversions Drills & Screws New Bike Check List Storage Check List Packing Check List Printable State Laws Weather Links Web Page Popularity About This Site Me I recommend FireFox

Picture by Philippe Roelant of Belgium

For street use, your front tire should be at 37-40psi. Although the bike will feel just fine with 32psi in the front, modern radial tires will develop a strange wear pattern with low air pressures, particularly if you ride for long distances on hot days at freeway speeds.

For best handling off-road, reduce your tire pressure to about 20-22 psi front, 22-25psi rear. If you do this, bring a small air pump to get the tires back up to 37-40 when you get back on the road. Reducing tire pressure for off-road makes a huge difference in the bike's stability.

Generic information on tires is here.

Alternatives include: Avon Distanzia - Poor handling in rain. Last a long time. $83/$126 Bridgestone BT020 - great on-road, worthless off road. Sport-touring tire, good grip, good mileage. $115/$99 Bridgestone Trailwings TW101/TW152 - pretty good on road, not so great off road, long lasting. $102/$100 Continental TKC80 - decent grip off-road, a bit squirmy on-road. 2000-3000 miles highway. $81/$108 Dunlop Trailmax D607 - Decent on/off road compromise $74/$90 Metzeler Karoo - decent grip off-road, quit squirmy on-road. 1000-2000 miles highway. $104/$127 Metzeler ME880 - Highest possible mileage on-road, worthless off-road. Raises your bike about ½". $83/$94/$103 110/90H19; 120/70ZR19; 160/70VB17 Metzeler Tourance - Good grip, excellent compromise for on/off road, popular with all Germans. $86/$109 Michelin Anakee - Good grip, excellent compromise for on/off road, popular with DL1000 guys. $99/$115 Michelin T66X - $104/$125 Pirelli Scorpian MT90 S/T - $86/$110

 

Avon Distanzia	Bridgestone BT020	Bridgestone Trailwing
Continental TKC 80	Dunlop D607	Metzeler Karoo
Metzeler Tourance	Metzeler ME880	Michelin Anakee
Michelin T66X	Pirelli MT90 S/T

Good deals on tires can be found at:

Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse California Sport Touring Discount Motorcycle Tire

Tires n Stuff Tires Unlimited Tire Express

Pecos Bill SW Mototires

Home My Products Search What's New

California Scientific 4005 Seaport West Sacramento CA 95691 Since Jan 2, 1985

Go Packers!

Sales@CalSci.com 800-284-8112 916-372-6800 Revised Sunday, 17-Jul-2005 23:08:57 PDT

Football Investing Neural Networks Physics