Are 17" wheels a good idea on an 1150?

mr_magicfingers · Oct 11, 2009

Hi all,

I'm buying a year 2000 1150GS and have the option to take a pair of 17" alloy spare wheels (with discs and pt worn bridgestones). I've toyed with this being a good idea as I could have spare tyres on spare wheels for going off-road should the desire arrive.

My concern is that the original bike has bigger wheels and I wonder how the smaller wheels would affect the handling etc. As they're alloys I figured I'd put road tyres on them and knobblies on the alloys, but could go vice versa. Not completely convinced it's a good idea, given that I'm not likely to be doing much off road (never done any yet) but the option would be fun and I like to learn new skills.

Would appreciate any advice you could offer on the pro's and cons, and whether you think it a worthwhile thing to do. I've never done tyre changing at home, and would tend not to unless absolutely necessary as you can't balance tyres as well at home I wouldn't think, though I'm reasonably mechanical and sure I could learn if it's a worthwhile skill to collect, but having spare wheels would make changing out tyres a 10 minute job.

Cheers,

Justin.

sockpuppet · Oct 11, 2009

If your putting knobblies on don't bother with a balance.

The 17" wheels wouldn't help the offroading (not on the front anyway).

elevensies · Oct 11, 2009

alloys look pants on a GS, seriously, if your getting them for free, get em, and sell them on to someone who needs to replace a damaged one.

and alloys damage quickly offroad, ever seen a offroad bike with alloys??

Paul Young · Oct 11, 2009

They make the bike look crap & handle like a shopping trolley...

Oh, & the moon's made of green cheese

Seriously, if you're going to use the bike on the road, the 17" wheels will make it handle like it's on rails. Braking is more surefooted, the lean angles you can get with modern sportsbike tyres are amazing & they are easy to pick up cheap. I picked up a set of Pirelli Supercorsa Pro's that did a lap of the TT on a race bike, for £40... Just nicely scrubbed in :augie

elevensies · Oct 11, 2009

didnt see anyone mention bad handling Paul?

just mentioned how bad they are offroad for damage?

and they look shit on a gs.

Harry

Littledumptruck · Oct 11, 2009

I'm doing mine at the moment. Easy cleaning, less weight, better tyre choice.

Buy them, try them, and if you don't like them, someone here will buy them or stick them on ebay. But if I was you, buy them. You'll never know if you don't.

mr_magicfingers · Oct 12, 2009

I wouldn't be getting them for free, I'd be paying £200 for them, money's tight but if it's worth doing or at least playing with then I might stretch the extra.

Plan would be put the knobblies on the wire wheels and roads on the alloys given better range of tyres, was concerned with the change in tyre/wheel size from the standard and how it would affect handling.

How they look are a different things.

Thanks, good food for thought,

J.

Paul Young · Oct 12, 2009

Here are some on mine, looking pants...

& take a look at This to see them handling like a shopping trolley...

Just get them & you'll surprise yourself, but Elevensies' right, they don't work too well offroad so stay between the kerbs when you're using them & keep some knobblies on the standard rims for playing in the dirt. TBH, though, I haven't had the std wheels on mine since I fitted alloys & I got a CRM250 for the trail riding.

mr_magicfingers · Oct 12, 2009

Paul Young said:
Here are some on mine, looking pants...

& take a look at This to see them handling like a shopping trolley...

Just get them & you'll surprise yourself, but Elevensies' right, they don't work too well offroad so stay between the kerbs when you're using them & keep some knobblies on the standard rims for playing in the dirt. TBH, though, I haven't had the std wheels on mine since I fitted alloys & I got a CRM250 for the trail riding.

Feck, that guy was seriously moving, nice vid.

Sounds like getting them and putting stickies on is a worthwhile thing to do, thanks for the advice.

J.

ianboydsnr · Oct 12, 2009

mr_magicfingers said:
Feck, that guy was seriously moving, nice vid.

Sounds like getting them and putting stickies on is a worthwhile thing to do, thanks for the advice.

J.

That guy is Paul Young

mr_magicfingers · Oct 12, 2009

ianboydsnr said:
That guy is Paul Young

as in the singer?

I was working stage crew at the Hammersmith Odeon when his voice went, that would have been about '91. We all looked at each other thinking 'what's going on'. After a few mins someone came round to say 'show's over, start taking it all out'. Think the crowd were rather non-plussed too.

XboxSteve · Oct 12, 2009

Unlike Harry, I really like the look of my bike with 17" alloys on it.
Mine is a bit weird as it has ADV suspension and ADV tank as well.

Not to everyone's taste, but I never off-road, and I like something that looks just a little bit different.

Handling and tyre choice are first class!
I have Michelin Road Pilot II's on there, and by crikey it leans! :augie

As others have said, just try it for yourself.
Others will have their own opinions but it's *you* who'd have to ride it!

Cheers
Steve

Wrigsby1 · Oct 12, 2009

Also feed back from those who have 17" rims on mileage will be of interest. Standard rims are good for a range of tyres and 5+k rear and 7-8k front are usually easily achievable even with TKC's. If you are cash conscious and/or do some mileage this may be good info.

Used to have many sportsbikes and one of the joys of GS standard rims is not having to change the tyres every couple of months! Grip is not up to sports tyre standards but a good rider can still get plenty of fun with standard tyres.

Ta
G

bart2181 · Oct 12, 2009

take em,try em,if you don,t like em,sell em to ME

ianboydsnr · Oct 12, 2009

I have a set of blue alloys, that match my blue Gs, they look like boxercup ones, but were of a Rt, brakes are sharper, steering quicker, , to me they look fantastic, easier to clean in winter, dont go offroad, but handy to be able to put a fresh set of tyres like I did when in the south of France early September, keeping the part worns to put back on once back, but the main reason for me is it holds off that urge to chop in for a different bike :augie

Paul Young · Oct 12, 2009

ianboydsnr said:
That guy is Paul Young

I wasn't going to say...

The hard part to making them look right is to sort the look of the front mudguard. Some have aftermarket ones, like me, & others have successfully modified the original so that it follows the lines of the smaller wheel/tyre. Ian, I think, has R1100S forks & mudguard. Lots of ways to do it & make it individual but BMW quality, as the range of bikes is so modular. The Adv beak extenion can look awkward, depending on the bike's colourscheme, but it's all a matter of personal taste.

Wrigsby1 · Oct 12, 2009

Watched the vid, a great run over the mountain! :thumb2

It's also a reminder of how shite some of the sportsbike folk are out there. Reminds me of a PB Q&A answer from years ago that reminded me of when i was a courier...

Q: Have you ever got your knee down?

A: No, but I've been round the outside of a few that have.

I remember seeing off a 600 sports bike on an ADV with TKC's on. Lots of fun but he was a crap rider!

An R1 rider once baited me before feckin off; on his plate was the message "Eat Pie"...

Littledumptruck · Oct 12, 2009

mr_magicfingers said:
I wouldn't be getting them for free, I'd be paying £200 for them,

J.

Thats a steal, I know whats its costing me to do it so far, and I'm trying to do it the cheapest way I can find.

Den · Oct 12, 2009

I dont understand why people want to alter their bikes away from the manufacturers specifications

These bikes are designed by experts in design. People who have spent years in college studying 'wot looks right' .

You guys come along with your 3 o levels in maths english and geography, and think youz are better than the highly trained designers who spent days walking round prototype after prototype, tweaking and fine tuning till its just right.

Just accept that , even if you dont like it. It must be right. :augie

Fanum · Oct 12, 2009

elevensies said:
alloys look pants on a GS, seriously, if your getting them for free, get em, and sell them on to someone who needs to replace a damaged one.

and alloys damage quickly offroad, ever seen a offroad bike with alloys??

We've had dozens of Gss fitted with alloys on off road Moto-Morocco trips and guess what...not one of them has ever damaged an alloy wheel (a cast one anyway....nearly every KTM 990 we've had out with their special spoked allows made of Austrian cheese have had damage :blast

)

I'd agree they look out of place on a GS though :thumb2

Cast alloys are perfectly adequate for moderate off-roading. :rob

Are 17" wheels a good idea on an 1150?

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