BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi all!

I'm going to be a new owner of a 2011 R1200R Classic soon! Awaiting collection of my new ride next week.

I actually have reservations about the Classic's wheel requiring a tube to be installed for the tires. The dealer had reassured me that I can use all types of tires and I had actually provided a set of Pilot Road 3 for them to replace the stock Metzeler that I don't like. Wet weather riding is frequently experienced here in Singapore and I like my tires to be really sticky in the wet.

Has any Classic owner encountered problem with tubed tires? Or rather, putting tubes in their tubeless tires? I read so many negative stories of the poor safety record of tubes.

Fear not. I had the exact same issues/misgivingsvthat you are having now. I spoke to everybody and their brother about this. There sveven a thread somewhere here that I started. I have had zero problems with the tires themselves. I did pick up a nail once and of course, needed a new tire. I do not recommend putting a tube in a tubeless tire?

There is no way that I would not have bought the Classic simply for that reason. This is hands down the best bike I have ever owned. If possible see if you can buy a tire protection plan if you feel it would give you some piece of mind


Hope this helps...

ddepr1217 wrote:Fear not. I had the exact same issues/misgivingsvthat you are having now. I spoke to everybody and their brother about this. There sveven a thread somewhere here that I started. I have had zero problems with the tires themselves. I did pick up a nail once and of course, needed a new tire. I do not recommend putting a tube in a tubeless tire?

There is no way that I would not have bought the Classic simply for that reason. This is hands down the best bike I have ever owned. If possible see if you can buy a tire protection plan if you feel it would give you some piece of mind


Hope this helps...

Actually, I spent a good long time in the showroom at the dealership walking back and forth and thinking about exactly this before I bought my Classic. It was almost a deal breaker for me, and I recall seeing at least one person post on here something to the effect of "I didn't buy a Classic because of the tubes." I was kind of emotionally engaged in the Classic, but if they'd had a gray one in stock, I might have gotten that instead. Although I did get a pretty good deal on the Classic - apparently it had been sitting there for a while. Probably no one wanted to but it because of the tubes!

It's not so much an issue with the tires themselves - they say you can run whatever you want. Not sure what you mean by "I do not recommend putting a tube in a tubeless tire?" - is that a question? If you want good tires, you're pretty much gonna have to put a tube in a tubeless tire - and again, everyone says that's ok. It's more of an issue of difficult dealing witha flat on the side of the road, and the speed at which the tire will deflate if something happens - it'll likely be much faster. I've lost four rear tires at speed over the years - two of them at over 60 MPH in the rain.

The flip side is that dealing with the tube issue is not an everyday thing, and may end up to never, ever cause a problem. And I love the bike and I really dig the way the rims look. But I still think about it now and then, and it still bugs me enough that I keep looking into sealing the rims. I even contacted the US distributor of Alpina about their sealed spoke nipple conversion kit, which they say won't work on these wheels. So... wel'll see.

The worst thing about the Classic has been that I ride the piss out of it and it's so pretty that sometimes I wish I had gotten something ugly - like a GS - so I wouldn't care so much about thrashing on it and adding ugly but useful mods like crash bars with big ole lights on 'em.

I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the Classic, inspite of its spoked wheels, actually uses tubeless tyres!

If you look at the rim you will see the spokes radiate from the outer edge of the rim allowing the bead to seal. Please look at your rims and correct me if I am wrong! A photo of the rim would be appreciated regardless!

(Never actually seen a Classic....)!

2wheels wrote:I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the Classic, inspite of its spoked wheels, actually uses tubeless tyres!

If you look at the rim you will see the spokes radiate from the outer edge of the rim allowing the bead to seal. Please look at your rims and correct me if I am wrong! A photo of the rim would be appreciated regardless!

(Never actually seen a Classic....)!

This is true on the GS. They have a sealed rim where the spokes are not an issue. I also went back and forth and it was almost a deal breaker. I did get a finishing nail in my rear tire and my dealer actually brought the tube out to show me where the tube was punctured. The tires themselves actually do say tubeless on them, which is true about the tire itself. But believe me...it's got a tube

2wheels wrote:I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the Classic, inspite of its spoked wheels, actually uses tubeless tyres!

If you look at the rim you will see the spokes radiate from the outer edge of the rim allowing the bead to seal. Please look at your rims and correct me if I am wrong! A photo of the rim would be appreciated regardless!

(Never actually seen a Classic....)!

The classic uses "classic" center-spoke rims.. so it needs a tube.. (although at least one manufacturer somewhere did come up with a tubeless center spoke rim..) Dunno why BMW didn't do the GS style rim for them.. I'm guessing the small number they intend to make made that too expensive, and probably the rims they use are an off-the-shelf item from some supplier.

FWIW - MANY people have run tubeless tires with tubes in them (I did on my '79 R65).. without any real problems. Flats can be a bit more problematical, but you can carry a tube patch kit with you I guess.. I did have one flat on my R65, rear of course. I was only about a mile to home, unfortunately two up, but I managed to wobble home very slowly on the deflated tire. My son never showed any interest in motorcycling after that.. go figure.. A new tube in it and I was ready to go..

I love the look of the Classic too. The R1100R I had many years back actually came with spokes wheels as an option and I opted for them as spoked rims are less susceptible to bent rims. And the best part of it is that it can take tubeless tires as the spokes were GS styled.

Still waiting to collect my bike, a few more days hopefully but it feels so long

That's one thing I never checked with the classic I just assumed that it used the same rims as the GS. I wonder if the GS wheels would fit on the classic? I guess if I was gonna do that them I could just get a black RR and put GS wheels on it. I must say I love the look of the classic and a bit late to change my factory order......

I know exactly what the concern it is regarding not having tubeless tires but I had to stop and think about it recently.

I have owned mostly bikes with tubed tires, some recently and one a decently performing bike requireing performance tires. So I think about the H-D Road King Classic, 2ea BMW F650GSs (single), Triumph Bonnie Black, and Ducati GT1000 that I have owned most recently. I never had a flat on any of them. Sure, my Norton Commando was a nail magnet but that was years ago.

You can't patch every flat on a tubeless tire either. Sometimes you don't even want to or are comfortable doing it.

I know the concern and I weigh it in my decision making process but I am so anal that I want to split that last 1% hair. If the rest of the bike is what I want I won't let a tubed tire break the deal.

Good luck with your choice.

I'm still confused why BMW would use a tubed tire/center spoked wheel assy. I can remember when BMW showcased the tubeless spoked rim on the 1998 75th anniversary R1100R for the first time, and then started to use it only on the GS bikes. I thought it looked cool/old school back then, and a modern tire tire to boot. Real shame they did not use the same tech on the classic.

Acpantera wrote:I'm still confused why BMW would use a tubed tire/center spoked wheel assy. I can remember when BMW showcased the tubeless spoked rim on the 1998 75th anniversary R1100R for the first time, and then started to use it only on the GS bikes. I thought it looked cool/old school back then, and a modern tire tire to boot. Real shame they did not use the same tech on the classic.

I am sure it was a cost decision. Outside spoked wheels are much more complex.

Actually the new Moto Guzzi Griso comes with tubeless spoked rims. The spokes are in the center of the rim and sealed with individual O rings.

Does anybody know if running a tube reduces the max speed you can do? I like to be able to excced 200kph down the main straight at Eastern Creek or Phillips Island on track days.

Tom

qfman wrote:Does anybody know if running a tube reduces the max speed you can do? I like to be able to excced 200kph down the main straight at Eastern Creek or Phillips Island on track days.

Tom

Now your getting into personal opinion territory - and you know what that will get you.
I've run 120MPH on tube tires a bunch of times with no problems. Seeing as 120MPH is well within the rated capabilities of these tires I wouldn't have a problem running those speeds even with tubes in, but I'm old and don't have that much to lose.

mogu83 wrote:Actually the new Moto Guzzi Griso comes with tubeless spoked rims. The spokes are in the center of the rim and sealed with individual O rings.

The Griso uses Alpina spokes (specs). As noted above, I contacted the US distributor for Alpina about converting the stock Classic rims to these spokes, and they said no can do. I wish I could get my hands on some and see if they'd fit - looks slick. And though - like Chumley - I know the whole deal, I don't care much. But I still kinda want to convert them.

for me I guess the real concern here is not the tube letting go at high speed its the roadside repaid should I get a flat tyre. To be honest haven't had a flat on my bike since 2002. However when I did I just used a repair plug made it back home without too much hassle. Changing a tube or patching one roadside is a nightmare.

mikes wrote: To be honest haven't had a flat on my bike since 2002. .

Mike - I can't believe you actually put that in print. Very bad Ju - Ju.

Your right, patching a tube on the side of the road would be a pain. It would be a challenge breaking that 180mm tire loose and opening it up with a couple of 10 inch tire irons, and then having to fill that big tire up with a small 12V compressor or God forbid a hand pump.. I wonder if that spoked rim has a dropped center to make tire changing easier. Spokes are cool on a vintage classic or a bike you don't travel on but for a road bike I think I'll stick with whatever rim will mount a tubeless tire. Never thought about it before but the tube tires might be a deal breaker for me.

Harry - I am not knocking the classic because I love the look of the bike and probably being too harsh or over stating spoked rims / tubed tyre repair issue. Its a deal breaker for me because the thought of a roadside repair would be in the lurking in the back of my mind when I went out riding. I'm the classic over-preparer and carry enough tools to dismantle an battleship but break downs never happen at a convenient time or place.

I was reffering to your statement about not having a flat tire.

okay I might be a bit thick here and I'm gonna stick my chin out but does my statement seem far fetched? Had plenty in my road cars and 4WD and mountain bike but for some good luck nothing on the RRs since 2002. Not say haven't bought new tyres since just no flats..... Anyway Merry Christmas you and yours and hope we all get some qty ride time over the holiday session weather permitting.