Hi there.
My K100RS had Metzeler tires on when I bought it but I found riding over lane markings an unpleasant experience. The back wheel would squirm around as though it was going to break traction. I had a chat with my local tire fitter and he contacted his Pirelli supplier who suggested Sport Demons 110/80-18 front and an oversize 140/80-17 rear. This has worked really well and the handling inspires real confidence especially as I also fitted an Ohlin rear shock and progressive fork springs.

I find that my Metzelers work much better at higher pressures. That way you won't feel the squirm. Mine are at 34psi. Don't worry they still stick. I just wore the nipples off a new set of 'em last weekend! Right up the edge!!

Greetings all.

Now don't think me insane, but if you can "try" out a K100 with 90/90/18 on the front and a 120/90/17 on the rear, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Cheers and kindest regards

Paul Harrington
Australia

Hi There,
I had a Dunlop Sportmax 120/70 17 on the front but found it too hard (it was an old tyre with lots of tread but hard. I looked around and finally selected the Michelin Pilot Road 2CT which is biassed toward wet grip. My rear tyre is a Metzler 160/60 Roadtec Z6. I cannot say I have ever noticed squirmy ride on white lines with either of these two combinations. I do remember when I had a Honda 400 4 with Bridgestone tyres friend persuaded me to change them for Avon but they were crap not a patch on the Bridgestone for grip and were demons for tramlining when riding along a white line not pleasant. I dumped them and went back to the oe Bridgestone.
Regards,
K-BIKE

I am currently running Michelin Macadams front and rear and they seem to do the job with no signs of uneven wear. They are regarded (by Michelin) as a middle of the range tyre and I can't comment on their wet weather performance yet.

Front is definitely better than the Metzeler lasertec that was on it when I got it. I was using that tread pattern twenty years ago and it was not that flash then. Uneven wear off the centre blocks and prone to "tramlining"

What I have noticed is that the same tyres don't seem to be available world wide and I have even seen mention of tyres being difficult to get for the early K's but that is not the case here.

Paul, what improvement do you notice with the smaller tyres as I would not say our early models are huge in comparison to the current crop and it appears K-Bike's "RS" uses substantially bigger rubber and lower profile than earlier models. I am trying to remember what my R100 used to wear but in those days it was inches

Regards,

Phil

G'day all, I'm new to the K100 / bmw bikes, well, had it a year now....I'm due for a new set of tyres on my '88 k100RT, the tyres on it when I picked it up are Michelin Macadams. I too get the wiggles over line markings with them. But for mileage, I've got 21,000klm out of the rear, which aint bad at all. At the risk of opening up a can of worms, anyone got some good tyre recommendations, that have better feel, but could do those Klm's? I travel to work most days, via freeway driving, 180klm round trip. Any comments on Metzeler Marathons 88 or Dunlop 205's (only others I've looked at so far)
cheers,
Andy.