BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Anyone ever use a 200 rear tire on an RT?

Why would you want to?

I have done some mods on my bikes, and I posted here and other sites , asking for some advise.
Most what I got was "why would you want to do that?" That is not a response to what I asked.
So the response to your thread: No, I have not, and see no reason to do it, for my riding preferences.
But just for show, and nothing else, you can put ANY size tire you like. But there is a price to pay! And
only a custom bike shop can do it for you! Good luck! :kacsint2:

I repent from asking the question. Am I still going to Heaven?

temesvar wrote: I have done some mods on my bikes, and I posted here and other sites , asking for some advise.
Most what I got was "why would you want to do that?" That is not a response to what I asked.
So the response to your thread: No, I have not, and see no reason to do it, for my riding preferences.
But just for show, and nothing else, you can put ANY size tire you like. But there is a price to pay! And
only a custom bike shop can do it for you! Good luck! :kacsint2:

+1 well said

wethead wrote: I repent from asking the question. Am I still going to Heaven?

My friend, am not God! But I can assure you, as long as you are willing to,
here on earth, you WILL get anywhere you possibly want! Enjoy your journey!

temesvar wrote: My friend, am not God! But I can assure you, as long as you are willing to,
here on earth, you WILL get anywhere you possibly want! Enjoy your journey!

Thank you, thank you very much

WETHEAD
It appears you won’t know till you try
I’ve got 2 questions. One will the tire be to large for the allotted space. Two their might be a size limit based on how wide the wheel is
If you go ahead, keep us posted on results


Jim

T6pilot wrote: WETHEAD
It appears you won’t know till you try
I’ve got 2 questions. One will the tire be to large for the allotted space. Two their might be a size limit based on how wide the wheel is
If you go ahead, keep us posted on results
Jim

Thanks for your post Jim.


On this one, I am going to listen to the caveat others proposed about the use of the 200, that would be: to abandon the idea.


If I had the spare time, the money and the inclination to give that a try I would, but I haven't got neither.


The RT is excellent enough for me as is. It was just a curiosity question, and if I could have drawn successful  experienced answers on the inquiry I might have tried it.


I could not tell you even why, but I have always liked thick tires on the back; it must some leftover from when I was a kid. I got no rationale for it.


My guess is that a thicker tire on the rear would make the front maneuvering less nimble, and that the bike would sit on the freeway at high speed more stably, maybe. I suspect the rear bumping on the road maybe more plush, but that would depend on the high of the wall acceptable in the wheel well.


After the posts on this and other boards, I am gonna go with 'it ain't a good idea'.

Fitting a wider rear tyre (200 section) to a 5.5 inch rim would only push the tyre out of shape (higher) and not much wider, Although theoretically it should be 10mm wider either side, in actual fact they only end up a few mm's wider and the added width gets pushed upwards creating the shape of the pointy end of an egg as opposed to the rounded end you had before, You'd need a 6.25" rim for a 200mm section tyre.  If you do like the idea of having a fatter rear tyre, It could be worth checking each tyre manufacturer's offering visually, they vary quite a bit! and some also design them with a 'step out' just above the bead to create a wider appearance while sitting perfectly on a stock rim.

Recently stopped to fuel my car and noticed the bike being fueled in front of me had a squared shoulder tire on the rear, struck up a conversation with the owner and it seems he’s been using car tires for years on his daily rider. This bike was a Yamaha ST and from the looks had some miles on it. He said there was no real adverse handling issues and enjoyed the long mileage the tires gave, sure looked strange for sure

I have tried car tires on Goldwings several times. Invariably, I end up taken them off cause I do not like how they effect the handling. Its not a very cumbersome deviation on maneuverability and easy to get used to. I just personally did not like it. It bugged me.


Albeit, a car tire is a viable way to get a lot of touring miles out of your rear. And there are many guys who ride aggressively through twiesties using them.


In line with Simbo's post: does anyone know which one of the fitting tires on an RT is actually the widest?


I would guess not by much in comparison, but I would opt for the widest.

wethead wrote: Anyone ever use a 200 rear tire on an RT?

When it comes to changing my tires, I ALWAYS want the latest and greatest road tires that the manufacturers have spent millions of pounds of R&D on in order to leapfrog the competition.


I would NEVER want to wait until/if ever these tires are available in odder sizes like 200-section. Take the Michelin PR5 as an example....


YMMV,


John