Knobby tires for R50..

[skyler.robbins]

Hey Gang,
Might be looking for some knobby tires for a R50.
The bike already has an off road look to it.. military look so to speak.
It there a knobby tire that’s not too aggressive?
I’ll be riding this on mostly paved roads, but kinda want that off road look.

Thanks!

[FL54]

I put these on a 1944 BSA M20 that I’m working on. Don’t know what they’d look like on a BMW. They were relatively inexpensive at around $60/apiece from Amazon. They’re Duro 3.25 x 19. Hope that helps.

[Pokey]

Nice bike love the look. I am building a military theme cl 360 it has 18” 400 on rear 18 350 on front a bit more aggressive but fit the bike.

[skyler.robbins]

Nice!
That’s what I was thinking about.. much appreciation for the photos and information!
I heven’t purchased the bike yet.. next weekend I’ll go get it if everything checks out okay.

[FL54]

In all honesty , if the US hadn’t entered the war, I don’t know how the Brits could have prevailed if you compare the BSA to the BMW. Not even close.

[dardaris2725]

Well, that's easy. "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender"
But seriously they were in a fight for their survival and you can see the resolve.
I also have a BSA WM20 that is a long term restoration, as does Micha, who is a frequent poster here. Cheers!

[cwf]

My Dad was in MTBs (Motor Torpedo Boats) in England in WW2. The boats were wooden, easy to build, cheap and cheerful to run and repair. E boats, the German equivalent, were techically sophisticated, needing specialist operation and maintenance, which became difficult as the war progressed.

The R 75 was technically superior to the Brit bikes but the US Jeep did the job better - cheap and simple.

Charlie.

[FL54]

Cheap and simple and a lot of them. I read somewhere that one WM20 came off the assembly line every 10 minutes in full production. Also that 50 some odd workers were killed when the Luftwaffe bombed the factory during the Blitz.

[Patina]

OK,
We found knobby tires.
Now how about studded tires? I'd like to extend the season for my sidecar rig here in Montana. I'm considering building some, but there may be factory studded tires that will work on a R-60/2 that are available...any ideas?

Thanks

[jwonder]

Just to update the thread for completeness, I just finished an R 50/2 ISDT replica for the "Rally to the Rally" ride. I put knobby tires on it and used the Shinko 244 Dual Sport Tires because they were available. I wanted to use the Heidenau but they were not available when I needed them.

I will tell you that when I first took the motorcycle out, it felt very "funny" and strange on the handling characteristics. I tool 4 pounds of pressure out of each tire (running at 28 front, 30 rear) and it felt better. After 400+ miles on the motorcycle the tires are great. It took 50 miles for them to start feeling good and they are wearing very well. I would suggest them if the Heidenau tires are not available.