Well,today I called the insurance company and now as soon as the ins cards come I will go to the Dept of Motor Vehicles and register my newest ride.My friend,the previous owner came by today to sign the title so I am set now.While we were here looking at the bike and the work I did on it he asked about tires.He told me he had the tires put on by BMW new in 2004 and then parked it indoors where it still is today.We both agree that they need to be replaced even though they only have 120 miles on them.So my question is what do you guys think about Avon roadriders for this bike.I run them on my Moto Guzzi and like them but have no clue how they will work on the K100.

I was wondering about those as well. I found this post.. with some feedback on the Avons

https://www.k100-forum.com/t788-tire-choices-for-k100

Vitamin K wrote:I was wondering about those as well. I found this post.. with some feedback on the Avons

https://www.k100-forum.com/t788-tire-choices-for-k100

Thanks, 8 thousand miles sounds about right.This is around what I get out of a rear on my Moto Guzzi running Avon Roadriders. The fronts go for around 12 or so. Seems like they will work fine on the 1988 K100RS that I have but I am grateful for any input.I'm going to use the bike locally ( no highway or real speed) on the current tires just to get a feel for the bike before I buy the new tires  . So far I have only ridden it up the street a few times and with that little bit I fell in love with it ! I have a good feeling about this bike.

Obviously pushing it at all on tires that old isn't a good idea as the rubber has probably hardened some.  Aside from not pushing it on turns you probably want to give yourself some extra braking room when following cars since the braking grip might not be up to par.

You should also inspect the sidewalls for cracks and if you see any than I wouldn't ride on them at all.

same exact boat here.

I read many posts here and other sites and choose Pirelli Sport Demons.

You can hear about them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMmZLgpg88

Best pavement grip I have ever felt, but I have not ridden radials in the latest bikes. In short, they are fantastic on the street. Off-road....terrifying LOL

duck wrote:Obviously pushing it at all on tires that old isn't a good idea as the rubber has probably hardened some.  Aside from not pushing it on turns you probably want to give yourself some extra braking room when following cars since the braking grip might not be up to par.

+1.  My 88 RS/SE has excellent treaded tires, the front manufactured in 1998, and the rear 2008, bike always stored inside.  Loss of traction in corners and front wheel lock up on hard braking have proven the well made point to get new tires!!!!!  New Dunlops on order for me, hopefully to arrive next week.  It's finally raining in these parts after a hot dry summer of catastrophic wild fires, so I won't be riding the RS before the new shoes arrive.  If there's a sunny afternoon I'll take out the R12/RT or KTM 990ADV.

Yes,new tires are going on this bike real soon.The only riding I'm doing with it until I put the new rubber on is just around town some to test the bike and work out any bugs.I went down about 20 years ago because of bad tires and know that old rubber no matter how good it looks just doesn't grip well especially in wet conditions.I fit new tires on my Moto Guzzi every season just for this reason. So,Over the next few weeks while I'm on vacation and not near this bike I will be looking into what tire I am going to end up with.I do like the Avons and if I'm not hearing anything negative about them as far as handling then that's probably what I'm going with.Can't wait to get out on this bike and travel !

Well the trip to the Dept.of Motor Vehicles went well and the K is registered now.I'm still on the road and won't be home with the new plates until Wed. when the first test ride will take place weather permitting. No speeds over 50 mph on these old tires and no wet road or high way stuff,just around town to check out the motor and the work I did on the injection .If all is good I will move to the tires and brakes.Thanks for all the input and the invaluable help you have all given me on this project.I can't wait to start riding this motorcycle.

I picked up my K1100LT on Tuesday. Has 18" wheels on it but also has a 17" set.

Anyway did a small few things during the week and today had reason to do a decent work trip.

It brings me to the tyres. It also came with a brand new but not fitted 18" front tyre. However my plan was to put the 17" wheels on with brand new tyres to lower the bike slightly. Now I am sort of getting used to the height of the 18" wheels and thinking to keep them on it and put new tyres on them.

BUT the Avon on the rear is horrible and it's darn easy to get it to go off line. I am quite used to BT45 on the K100RT and never had this happen. I was considering different tyres like BT023 or BT030 or some other options but.....So am I wise in going back and putting a new set of BT45 on it??????? I know lots say the Avons are good but this is a case of last weekend I used the K100RT and this weekend using the K1100LT I can't rate the Avon tyre at all. Its not about saving money on tyres, most tyre options are cheaper than the BT45 but they seem to be a better tyre. I have already had bad experiences with Lasertec and won't go there.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:I picked up my K1100LT on Tuesday. Has 18" wheels on it but also has a 17" set.

Have you tried running it like it's spec'd—with an 18" on the front and a 17" on the rear?

I don't think that's going to make the difference. Seems the 18" wheel is RS and the 17" is LT and I have both wheels. But the issue is the tyre itself rather than the handling. Its very easy to get the tyre to lose traction in the damp and its not like I am using anything like much throttle. A 17" wheel would make losing traction even marginally easier. The Avon won't come off fast enough, a BT45 I think will go on the 17" as I have a spare and will see how that goes.

I'm heading in for a new front tyre before going up to Mt Kaputar with the Krew. 
Currently running PR's both front and rear . Haven't been too happy with the front , I'll possibly look into the Sport Demons on Smurfette this time .

You really should put radials on Smurfette Eddie. I can highly recommend Bridgestone T30 front and rear. I've just worn out a set of T30 Evos which are a little softer for wet 💦 weather (16,000km on the rear). Installed a standard T30 for the summer. Can't fault them.
Sweet Thing is undergoing a complete suspension overhaul at the moment. Hopefully she'll be ready for Mt Kaputar

Ed wrote:I'm heading in for a new front tyre before going up to Mt Kaputar with the Krew. 
Currently running PR's both front and rear . Haven't been too happy with the front , I'll possibly look into the Sport Demons on Smurfette this time .

k1100 suspension is quite different ed ...but I get your comments ...felt the same with a radial on the front of old gerty

perhaps this might be different with a brand new tyre of the same variety ,,before scalloping and lack of tread ..wear patterns develop ?

but the sport demon did restore that lost and  fluffy feeling from the front radial ...perhaps in this case rim width could have affected the running pattern ?

Olaf - check your tyre pressures. I run 40psi in the back on LFB; when it drops to 36-37psi (good old leaky rims) the Roadrider lets me know by squirming.

Dai wrote:Olaf - check your tyre pressures. I run 40psi in the back on LFB; when it drops to 36-37psi (good old leaky rims) the Roadrider lets me know by squirming.

Dai I did a before and after on the tyre pressure, all good so not tyre pressure for sure.

Sort of decided it's getting some new BT45 rubber.........

These are a few tyres I have been checking out . Maybe it might throw some light on other riders thoughts . If not just enjoy his colourful reviews.
Ryan at F9

Well yamaguzzi, I guess that you will now know that there as many opinions on tyres as there are brands and models out there!

Just to add my tuppence ha'penny worth of opinion...since having K100's, I have always opted for putting Avon Roadriders on them and they've done a good job come sun, rain or occasionally something a little slipperier. Probably not the sportiest tyre out there, but suit my riding style of occasional touring and a 70 mile round trip commute every work day.

When I rebuilt Gretel following my off last year, I decided that I'd try a different brand and put a set of Dunlop Arrowmax Street smart on front and back. Initially they were OK, but for the last few thousand miles the bike has taken to wallowing and wobbling when crossing ridges - an especially uncomfortable feeling if that ridge is the white line in the centre of the road when overtaking! Yes - it does feel that sensitive. I normally run with 36psi front and 40 psi rear (one up, unloaded). Knowing that low pressure in the front is not good, I have tried upping the pressure to 38 psi to see if that made the handling any more stable...it didn't.

Anyway, having watched the clip that Ed posted and hearing that one of the brands was prone to twitchy steering because of the pointy tyre profile, I wondered if I was actually making the sensitivity worse by increasing the pressure so decided to reduce it to 33 psi (the pressure quoted for a K100 front tyre in the Haynes manual) and see if that makes a difference - I'll let you know when I get home tomorrow (I carry a battery driven air pump...so if it is horrible, I.  can pull over and squeeze some more psi back in). While I was at it, a quick check of the rear revealed that some more urgent attention was required as the rear was down to the canvas in places. If I needed any reason to revert back to Roadriders, this was it. When I had my annual state inspection (MoT) at the end of August, I got an advisory on the rear tyre as it was approaching the wear limits, but I reckoned it had about another 1000 mile left in it. As of today, it was clear that I had successfully used up that 1000 miles (I had actually done just shy of 1100 miles)! As you can see from the following photos, the centre section has worn very flat and that certainly will have contributed to the wallowing experience - perhaps I need to corner faster to use up more side wall?





Now, looking back at my records...I have previously got just over 9,500 miles out of a Roadrider rear tyre. The Dunlop Arrowmax Streetsmart gave me a miserable 5389 miles. I won't be using that brand on a K100 again.

So long story short, yeah, Avon Roadriders gets my vote as a good all round tyre.

Update 10 Oct 17: ....and the verdict is....oh the joy of rolling around corners again and overtaking without a worrisome wobble as I cross the lane markings. Mostly down to the back tyre I think (you can see how flat the not-so-old Dunlop had become) but I certainly had no issues with the slightly lower pressure in the front tyre and the steering certainly seemed less twitchy. Despite heavier than usual traffic, I made it to work 5 minutes quicker than recent previous journeys too!