Dirt Tires on an R65

[bbelk]

I am thinking about putting some mild off road tires on my 1979 R65. How bad an idea is this? I will be in Colorado this summer and while a lot of time will be spent on blacktop, I do hope to do some of the high gravel roads.

Will sizing be the same? Any thoughts on a good source?

Maybe something like this????

[Major Softie]

The "Adventure" tires are a very nice compromise that still works very nicely on pavement. The problem is size. With your 18" front wheel, you'll probably have to use a "rear specific" tire on the front. How well that performs you will only find out through experimentation. Also, finding a rear adventure tire that is narrow enough may be quite a challenge.

Edit: The tire you show would be great in the dirt, but not a lot of fun on the pavement. I was thinking something more like this:





Even this one has a more street oriented shoulder than the one you've shown us:


It's even available in the correct sizes, but it's a very cheap Shinko tire. No promises about its actual safety/performance.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/ ... -Tire.aspx

[Deleted User 287]

These are Kenda's of some sort. Apparently the rear was wide enough to damage the trailing edge of the fender. Also apparently, the old man used a skinny rear tire for a front. (?)
The front fender was also modified from original, not to mention having the fork sliders swapped, placing the brake calipers on the front.



Two threads discussing it on the R65 forum:

http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaB ... 62636049/0

http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaB ... 75872577/5

[Motu]

Riding on New Zealand gravel roads for over 40 years, I take a different approach.



They are Dunlop K70's, 4.00x18 front and rear (the mono has 2.50 rims front and rear) and I run 20psi front, 25psi rear. Previous gravel road bikes were a Honda XLV750,Yamaha XT600 and DT230 - I used the 1992 XT600 (621cc) as my baseline, I wasn't going to get rid of it until the R65 was as good as or better on gravel. Front end grip and rear wheel hook up are far better than the XT600, no matter what tyres I used on it, ranging from motocross to street biased adventure tyres. The K70 has a soft carcass and soft compound,it moulds to the road surface and puts down a huge footprint. Power is no use unless you can put it to the ground, the R65 does this better than most bikes I've ridden in gravel - and every single bike I've owned has been used on gravel. The K70 was a popular ftattrack tyre in the '60's and '70's.

When they got past 3/4 worn grip level dropped off dramatically, now they are down right dangerous on gravel, but still good on seal. Looking to experiment some more I was thinking of the DOT Pirelli MT43, but now might go for the Bridgestone TW302 just because it's cheap...I like cheap.

The K70 and trials tyres look square, and there is the assumption that when they get to the edge there is not much tyre on the road....that's not how they work. The soft sidewalls flex and there is a large footprint put down. A normal tyre only has the centre 3rd in contact, and as the bike leans the contact patch moves around the arc of the tread. On gravel that 2/3 of the tyre not in contact with the ground is in contact with stones, they hold the tyre up and prevent good contact with the hard pack....and the tyre doesn't hook up.

Just another perspective.

[Roy Gavin]

I have been using the Avon Distanzas as shown in Majors post and they are excellent on our gravel roads, without giving up much ,if anything, to road tires on blacktop, wet or dry.

I just tried a set of Pirelli Scorpion A/T s on my G/S and they are excellent too, slightly more aggressive front than the Distanza so a little better on dirt, good wet grip, and, in Oz, a very cost effective alternative.

I tried the so called 50/50 tires like the junk Shinkos and over hyped Kendas pictured, but the are just a waste of time - little better on gravel, but lethal on Oz black top, especially in the wet.

[moosehead]

I put a set of Bridgestone TrailWings on my 81 R100 for lots gravel roads we have around here. Love them. Good on gravel/dirt and good on asphalt too...nice all around feel to them. Have not run in the wet with them so cannot comment on that.

Front: 120/90 - 19" TW101 - run 36lb


Rear: 120/90 - 18' TW42 - tight fit but no rub - run 32 lb


After selling my 91 GS few years ago, I "converted" an 81 R100 for back roads and all around daily rider. Added GS bars I had extra and Trail Wings...love it. Lot lighter than the old GS which was getting too heavy for me to pick up! Just have to watch ground clearance and lower exhaust....maybe fab up skid plate and higher exhaust??? The tires have perfoemed well so far after about 5500kms on them last year. Best improvement for this style was GS bars. Better leverage and handling. On GS I was running TKC 80's and then switched to Pirelli AT's but couldn't find them in 19" front so got the TW's as they had front 19" fitment available.

Not great pic of front TrailWing on the R100 (excuse dent in tank...another story)

[enigmaT120]

Those are IRQ brand tires, pretty cheap. They were nice on dirt and gravel (I rode the bike up my skid road) but I hated them on curvy paved roads so I took them back off and gave them away. The one on the front is a rear tire but they didn't show any direction arrow. 4 x 18 rear, 3.5 x 18 front.

[bbelk]

With mixed feelings I have ordered a set of Shinkos. The good part is that two tires and two tubes were $96 and free shipping.

I will try them out a little before I go to Colorado. There are lots of beautiful twisty blacktop roads in Colorado and the thought that I will be compromised on them bothers me some. I know that back in the day (1970s) I used the cheapest tires I could find because they outlasted the good ones by double. I never could tell the difference. I don't really push a bike very hard.

I used a 250 Kawasaki dirt bike as transportation for years with tires that looked like the Shinkos. I made it then, so I will hope for the best now.

Thanks for all the input.

Brad

[moosehead]

[



[/quote]

That's one nifty rig!

Are they leather panniers? Custom matched to the seat...neat!

[Deleted User 72]

With mixed feelings I have ordered a set of Shinkos. The good part is that two tires and two tubes were $96 and free shipping.

I will try them out a little before I go to Colorado. There are lots of beautiful twisty blacktop roads in Colorado and the thought that I will be compromised on them bothers me some. I know that back in the day (1970s) I used the cheapest tires I could find because they outlasted the good ones by double. I never could tell the difference. I don't really push a bike very hard.

I used a 250 Kawasaki dirt bike as transportation for years with tires that looked like the Shinkos. I made it then, so I will hope for the best now.

Thanks for all the input.

Brad

Careful with those Shinkos on the street, Brad. I had a set on my GS that were fine off road, but de-laminated from hiway speeds of ~80mph.