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73 R75/5 tires

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LesCriess
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Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:26 pm

73 R75/5 tires

Post by LesCriess »

I know any discussion on tires is about as fun as getting you're teeth kicked in but..here goes. The R75/5 is my first BMW and my first foray into vintage bikes in years. I'm more used to looking for road-race and dual-sport (KLR650) tires. For the R75/5 I'd like to stay with tube-type tires for ease of mounting/demounting and I've already got spoons, etc. I live in the PacNorWet and while the bike won't be a winter rider all that much, I do need a tire that will still have wet grip on twisty back roads. Your thoughts & recommendations are appreciated.
SW Washington Coast, another half mile West & you're wet!
'73 R75/5, SWB, '76 'Wing, '49 Willys truck

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schrader7032
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Re: 73 R75/5 tires

Post by schrader7032 »

If it were me, I'd be sure and search for inch-sized tires. That was spec'd to the bike and while metric sizes will work, they actually change the geometry and even lower the bike to the ground which can make side stand functioning problematic.

I'm running Michelin Pilot Activs on my /7. Some point to the center groove which makes for some weird handling on grooved roads...not a problem where I ride. Beyond that, Heidenau tires come up as good tires. Bench Mark Works shows them on their website...now MaxBMW. K44 for front and K36 for rear. From the photos on the site, there is a center groove, so not sure if that's much better.
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.

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cbclemmens
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Re: 73 R75/5 tires

Post by cbclemmens »

Check the on-line bike shops. I found a Continental 4.00X18 tire for the rear. Grip was really good but it only lasted 4,000 miles.

Craig

chrishea
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Re: 73 R75/5 tires

Post by chrishea »

I would recommend staying with the stock inch sizes 3.25-19 front and 4.00-18 rear. I had been running the Michelin Pilot Aktivs and it’s predecessor the Macadam for over 20 years on my Airhead, Michelin has recently updated their “classic” bike tire line, now it’s named Road Classic. When I went looking for Michelins in May, there were none available. I mount my own tires and the rear Michelins are very stiff and were always a bear to get the bead set, need a real hot day to have nice soft rubber. I went old school and looked at the Continental RB2 front and K112 and also the Metzeler ME11 Perfect front and Block C66 “Touring Special” rear. Both of those tires are very old school 60s-70s ribbed tread patterns. I settled on the Metzelers. I’ve ridden about 3000 miles on them this summer, including a morning of rain on US 2 from Libby, MT to Havre, MT. I was satisfied with how they handle in the wet and dry. They also mounted quite easily, no issues getting the Metzelers to set, at least compared to the Michelins. The rear is wearing faster than the Michelin, it reminds me of how the old Metelzers wear (which the C66 rear is) - which is wearing flat in the middle, I probably will want to change it about 6500 miles.
With all that said, if the Michelins had been available, I probably would have bought them, but they are quite expensive over the Metzeler.
Another brand to check it out is Heidenau, they have a K44 3.25-19 front and K36 4.00-18 rear. Those are old school looking too. I haven’t tried those yet.
Chris
Seattle

LesCriess
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Re: 73 R75/5 tires

Post by LesCriess »

Thanx to all for the replies & info!
SW Washington Coast, another half mile West & you're wet!
'73 R75/5, SWB, '76 'Wing, '49 Willys truck

jelecroy
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Re: 73 R75/5 tires

Post by jelecroy »

On my 1984 R100RT I have been pretty happy with Bridgestone Spitfire tires, as recommended by Snowbum. I have a 100/90-19 S11F on the front and a 110/90-18 S11R on the rear. That is probably about the max size that will fit on either end. They feel pretty good, don't misbehave on grooved roads, and I replaced the first set at about 10,000 miles, with tread left.

Shinkin also makes some inch-size tires aimed at classic bikes. That was a new name to me, but my son brought a couple over to put on his R1200. I learned that Shinkin is a Japanese company that bought the Yokahama motorcycle product line a few years back, and moved production to a factory in Korea. My son says that he was happier with the Shinkin performance than with Metzlers that cost over twice as much.

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schrader7032
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Re: 73 R75/5 tires

Post by schrader7032 »

Is that Shinko?
Kurt in S.A.
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.

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