|
650gs twin cast wheels!
Hi,
I have a 650gs twin which I plan to ride to russia on! Do I need to change to spoked wheels? Some people say they cast alloys will be fine! Cheers! |
Quote:
On the other hand, it's a hell of a lot easier, and faster, to fix a puncture on a tubeless tire than a tubed one. Yes spoked tubeless are technically available but they're very difficult to adjust the spokes on (or something like that) and no-one wants to touch them it seems. People have ridden alloy wheels around the world and will continue to do so. The V-Strom, for example is widely regarded as a really good bike for long distance touring, and it has tubeless wheels. Of course, it's also recommended for 90% road 10% off-road type driving. So, are you sticking to pavement as much as possible, or are you more interested in finding interesting back roads? |
I recently purchased a F650GS twin for my wife and I'm also looking for a possible spoke wheel solution. Love to hear from anyone that has heard of a wheel set that will fit? All this being said I really think that unless you are hardcore off-roading the stock rims should be fine.
|
I plan to ride to magadan, taking mongolia on the way! Whilst I don't plan to be making my own MX course round the world, neither do I plan to shy away from off tarmac riding!
Some people say that as long as you adjust your speed with the mind set that cast alloys are harder to repair you should be fine? Cheers, Dave |
Quote:
I figure since my wife is very petit (115 lbs.), her load on the bike will be kept fairly lite and she rides conservatively the rims really shouldn't be an issue. would be nice to be able to more easily repair them though. |
Alloy Wheels
1 Attachment(s)
Attachment 4114I am currently riding my twin thru Africa with the cast wheels, they have been fine mostly. I did hit a bad deep pothole coming in to Nairobi, I was doing about 70kmh at the time and hit full on as my wife did on her XT250 (yes looks like I follow her everywhere) after going about 300m the old bike got a bit loose and you guessed it flat tyre ! Rim had been knocked out off shape on one side, I simply put it on a truck to Jungle Junction thinking I would need a new wheel but Chis there just hammered (delicately) back in to shape and it was fine. Ridden to Uganda and back with no Problems.
I to was a little sceptical of the alloy wheels at the start of this trip, but mine have coped some serious knocks and apart from that once have come thru with flying colours. Also the benefits of running tubeless tyres is a plus in my opinion. Happy Riding, Happy Holidays Cheers Paul:thumbup1: |
Thanks Paul for the info and the reassurance about the rims.
|
arrived cape town the other week with f650 & cast alloy, 78,000km on the clock, 63 on my rtw trip.
off topic, clearance is your biggest issue with the f650. i like the 10.5 inches on the f800 over the 8 with f650. i used a Co2 cartridge to pop the bead back on after the first dent in the front rim caused a slow leak. second dent was more serious & i had to install a tube. had the dents pressed out at jj's nairobi. note that i only ever damaged the rim when running offroad in rock with low (1bar) pressure. i hit some awesome potholes at speed from time to time while running at 2.5 bar (front) and had no problems. never came close to damaging the rear rim. definately prefer to fix a puncture on the alloy with tubeless. just carry 3 Co2 cartridges & a front tube, rim will be fine. if you damage the rim & have to install a tube and then can't get the rim fixed, buy a spare tube. once i pop the bead on the tubeless my slime pump / compressor won't pop it back on - but you can't carry Co2 if you are flying the bike... happy travels dave |
Riding with Alloy rims
Quote:
Like Dave says you can bend them, gently back into shape if necessary. I also point out that Dave's problems would've been exactly the same with spoked wheels. The 'real' problem as I see it (and it hasn't happened to me) would be if the alloy wheel snapped. You can't weld alloy wheels (as far as I know). With spoked wheel you could replace spokes and bend the rim into shape. That said it is almost impossible to true a spoked wheel without full factory conditions. The point is if you have a big enough accident or issue then no matter what wheel you are using you would probably need a new one. For smaller issue the jury is out because it becomes a debate about tyres, tubes, plugs and running on low pressure. After 65,000kms RTW so far no issues with alloy rims on my GS, 80% on road, 20% off road. IMO you can ride anything with alloy if you are careful and go slowly. :scooter: On a separate note, I was able with my 12V air compressor to pop the bead back on my wheels (more than once) but when I tried with a friend who had spoked wheels there wasn't enough pressure (displacement to be exact) so I think I will also take a CO2 bulb for this possibility in future. Not for me but for my friends. :D |
I'm starting to think that I should swap some alloys on to my 800, kidding of course but the reassurance that my wife's bike won't be a big problem to deal with is very reassuring. THe tip about the CO2 is a biggie.
The low bike clearance I've always known will be a problem in some areas but what can we do she is only 5.1" with a 37" inseam. |
Great information! We too are planning to ride across Russia (albeit to Vlad) and my wife has just bought herself a beautiful F650GS Twin.
As an aside, I recently swapped the spoke wheels on my R1200GS for alloys for a couple of reasons. The alloys are lighter, they stay true and they're easier to clean. As the spokes on the 12 are already tubeless this wasn't a reason for the switch but it played a factor in choosing the F650 over lowering an F800. |
Ekke,
That road looks familiar is it the Mayole-Marsibit section, I read your blog and got allot of info off it re: where to stay etc. We are doing the Cairo to Cape Town trip, I will have to read from Tanzania on as thats where we head next. Cheers Paul:scooter: |
The main advantage if you are going to swap wheels is that you can use narrower rims which will help more than just using a better alloy or spoked vs. cast.
For the front you can use a F650GS single cyl. hub, on the rear the one from an F800GS (RAD makes a nice billet replacement). I would get them laced up with a set of DID Dirt Star rims in 1.85"x21" front and 2.5"x18" rear for best off road performance and durability, that's what the KTM 950 Super Enduros run and they hold up great. |
The Wheel Truth
Okay I admit it I've become obsessive about the idea of cast vs. spoke wheels. So I thought that I would share the truth that I have discovered. First I emailed a lot of people including dealer service departments, motorcycle tour companies, wheels builders, etc. Without exception they all responded with the same message and that is that the cast rims are not meant for overland touring type travel. The rims will bend or crack under a bike that isn't loaded even on just marginal roads. Mick at compass expeditions has kindly let me know that their 650 twins have had many rim issues and their tour groups ride with no luggage on not overly nasty routes. He says change them if you can.
Solutions aren't cheap but they can be bullet proof if done correctly. Thanks to Woody and Zach at woodyswheelworks.com and also Mike at touratech for correct info on wheel solutions that will work. As stated in the previous post the the hubs are available and excel rims can be sealed to maintain the use of tubeless mounting. Again not cheap but considering the fact that you could easily damage one of the OEM rims beyond repair with zero option to put on a new rim in the middle of you name it, I say its a no brainer. |
Quote:
You came supposedly on the HUBB looking for advice from people with first hand experience when actually you were only looking for confirmation of your own opinion. Then you're right, go back to TouraTech and your dealer and spend lots of money on changing your wheels.doh Quote:
Quote:
Let us know how carrying spare rims and spokes for the spoked waterproof hub wheels works out for you. jeiger |
good call from turbo charger!
you would be hard pressed to damage the rear rim on the f650. i did some super stoney tracks with 1 bar whist cruising down the east side of lake turkhana in nw kenya. i was carrying a 12L fuel bladder and 2x5L fuel bottles, plus water, spare front tyre (it was a hardly worn tourance i was gonna use further south), all my gear etc (and its a bmw so you know it was heavy). i dented the front. i installed a tube. it would have been fine indefinately except i wanted it tubeless again because i paid 400 bucks for the tyre pressure monitors (RDC). ok if you want, change the front rim. but not both. honestly, save the bucks. if you do damage the front in bum-f*ck-nowhere, pay the freight and replace the one you damaged. my first trip, i cracked an excel rim on an xr250 while riding gravel. sh*t happens. i kept riding until i got to a nice town where i airfreighted a new front rim/spokes/hub. happened to be luang prabang, laos. cost me 100 bucks inc freight. bargain. read the posts above. plenty of km with no completely unrideable situations resulting from rim damage. i find it hard to believe the same situation where the alloy is damaged beyond repair would NOT cause the same issues with a steel / spoke rim. finally, i rode botswana a couple months back with a mate on a dr200. broke 1 spoke, then 2. no spares, no spoke tool. broke 7 & thats the end of it - the wheel was too warped to continue. truck it back to jo'burg. sure, he should have had the tools and spares, but this is weight i didn't need to carry on the f650. happy travels d |
Quote:
Thanks for the info, I guess?? |
If BMW's spoked rims were high quality there might be an argument for having spoked wheels, but the BMW rims are made of cheese. I've done literally thousands of km off road on alloy rims on a R1200GS and an F650GS twin, and they are just fine so long as you ride with compassion for your bike.
I've seen/heard of two examples of damaged alloy rims, one caused by a head-on accident, the other by hitting a kerb at 100kph. I've actually seen more examples of damaged spoked rims than alloys. And the advantage of tubeless tyres... I've only ever had one puncture in tubeless tyres in more than 200,000km. But on my tubed Yamaha Tenere I've had five punctures in 20,000km and two have been real show stoppers. |
Quote:
I don't think anything about overland travel is black and white. Definitely nothing related to the bikes we take. Yes, spoked rims are probably better, but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed to have problems without them. No matter what you're intending to ride, someone has done a harder ride on something far less suited, and had a great time doing it. |
Thanks guys the info, it's great and I hope for a lot more.
I guess I should have clarified what I'm looking for and that is the best solution for the rims. As part of my search I thought I would put it out to the Hubb to see if there has been problems and so far very little has been reported, which is great. I'm also very aware that the bike will go around the world on it's alloys but again thats not what I looking for, I'm looking for the best solution, not the most rewarding solution, cost effective or spiritually uplifting, etc. Kinda like why I'm not riding my wr450f on the trip but instead got a F800GS which is in my very, very humble opinion the best solution for me on this trip. |
Cast Wheels
As I said in an earlier post I have ridden my bike 2up fully packed over some
of the most gruelling roads in Cape York Nth. Australia, and then overland thru Africa including the big tester of Mayole-Isililo road as well as the potholed roads of Kenya and Uganda. You are aware of the bike you are riding like clearance, cast wheels etc. so if you value your equipment you take care, now most people I have met on the road do take care of there machines as they are travellers out there doing it. Enduro riders would not like cast wheels, but I have not met many of them on the road, but there is no shortage of them offering opinions that are relevant to them but not to relevant to someone riding his own bike on a RTW. So I give them a cautious thumbs up based on my own experience. Paul:scooter: |
Quote:
Yes, I manage to do about 9hr work day in 6hrs so it leaves me with plenty of time to trawl the forums for unsuspecting nuts looking to replace perfectly good alloy rims with spoked ones. :smartass: All I guess I'm saying is take the opinion of others with a grain of salt and make up your own mind, only you know whether you have the money to spend on spokes and only time will tell if it was the right decision. Personally I like to look after my investments Francois (my 1200GS) included so i ride very slowly over bad/rough/rocky terrain. There are quite a few factors at play here and not just whether I have alloy or spoked wheels, because when I'm riding I don't usually think about the wheels.
|
I've been away for the past couple of weeks, and boy has this thread taken off!
Im gonna stick with my cast alloys, don't seem to be any reason to change! As a rider I would rather take it slow and enjoy the ride! Might not be doing russia in 2012 as planned due to money and job not going well! doh But there is talk of doing morocco on 2011! :clap: Good times! |
Check on ADVrider, there's a guy that's done the spoke conversion (Markymcd is his user name I think, from Vancouver BC), a F650GS single front will bolt right on and for the rear he used an F800GS hub and had Woody's lace it to an Excel rim. He's pretty happy with the results. I think it should be available from BMW myself...
|
Woody's on an F650GS Twin
Hi Guys,
Just thought I'd chime in. We stopped by Woody's on the way home from a 6 week trip around the western US and had wheels installed on my wifes F650GS. Firstly, Woody's Wheel Works is a great shop with great bunch of folks that work there. Getting the wheels ordered was easy, and they offered us a fair trade-in on the OEM cast rims that made the price totally reasonable - not sure if they always do that. Our setup uses excel rims, Superlaced to a 650GS hub on the front and a modified KTM hub on the rear. And it's tubeless :) During the install they explained every aspect of the wheels, the shop and their process. The wheels are rockin! They're a work of art. I got to take Nita's bike for a spin in the dirt and the difference was remarkable. I honestly didn't think I'd feel that much of a difference but the bike felt noticeably more planted. On the highways the ride was also super-stable. I can't recommend them enough. The full story is here: Day 36: Woodys Wheel Works. And Denver. | welovemotogeo The full gallery is here: Western US Gallery | welovemotogeo Here are some pics showing the set-up: http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/01.jpg http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/02.jpg http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/03.jpg http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/04.jpg http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/05.jpg http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/06.jpg http://www.welovemotogeo.com/advimg/woodys/07.jpg :clap |
Nice!
Those are indeed beautiful wheels Issa. How did they make them tubeless? Did they use some kind if sealant where the spokes come through the rim?
Out of curiosity, how much did the wheels set you back? |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 23:53. |