1200 GSA speed limit with Continental TKC 80 tires

[talbengal]

When I got my 1200 GSA with Continental TKC 80 tires I got also a little sticker on the handle bar say: ‘Max 100 MPH’
When I asked what it is the BMW dealer answer that it is the limit for any 1200 GSA with those tires because over 100MPH the bike have tendency to develop a swing (??!!).
I could not find any documents on BMW web site.

Any one knows anything about this?

Riding to Poland, at the beginning of this month, I stack to the 90-95MPH because of this warning, around Belgium after about 180 miles the bike start to swing weirdly I was under importation this is because of the high wind and the heavy lode I had (going to Poland for 10 day with your girlfriend require more stuff). The next time I notice it was at the new motorway in Poland between Poznan and Warsaw, at this time it was heavily raining and I (again) related this to the rain and the wind.
No problem at all in all Poland bad roads up until I was heading back to UK.

On the motorway back from Warsaw to the German border next to the Poznan again I started to feel this weird swing at first I was thinking it is in the same spot as on the way to there but this time the weather was nice and the swinging got bad to a point where I could not controller the bike, I was doing 85MPH at the time and try to close the throttle, at about 75MPH the swinging was so bad that I realized I am going to crash, at this point there was an old lorry tier on the motorway and I could not steer the bike with this swing away from it ….

All left to do is close my eyes and pray. OK nothing much of a damage to the bike, I have 2 broken ribs and minor scratches – LUCKY ME.

Dose any one know any thing about this problem???
Please I think we need to alert BMW and other riders about it.

[Boxertwinuk]

Glad you're okay...the 100mph limit is for the tyres - not the bike. TKC's are off road tyres and have a tendency to shred and degrade at very high speeds, one of the reasons I changed to Tourances before doing a 3,000 mile trip across Europe last month. I'm not aware of a problem with TKC's causing it to sway around.

Your swing problem could be a number of different issues,has your dealer checked out the bike yet?

[talbengal]

The bike is due back to BMW garage in about 14 days, let see if they can find something.

[MarkLG]

Sounds like a case of wrong tyres for the type of riding you are doing. The TKC's are an off-road tyre, and if you're riding on the road then you need to adjust your riding style accordingly. BMW state a max speed of 100mph for these tyres for that reason. If your riding the bike fully loaded in adverse weather conditions then you need to reduce the speed further still. Sustained running at 95 mph on a fully loaded bike will overheat and destroy the tyres in no time at all, especially the rear - I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.
For high speed road riding you need to be fitting a road tread tyre.

[gwbuild]

I have a TKC80 on the front of my 1200GSA. Tends to wobble sometimes at speeds at or over about 70mph. Pretty spooky. I may have to keep a spare set of wheels and the original stock tires for trips with my wife. She ain't gonna like that wobble when she's onboard.

[gwbuild]

Should also add that I run the Karoo on the rear. Back end tracks fine though.

[Lone Rider]

I've run thru about 5 sets of TKCs on an 1150.
This is the best tire there is...if you're willing to compromise.
Mileage will blow if you're running high speeds on the road. I never got more than 3k miles from a rear.
The tires handle very well on road, curves, high speed, etc.
It was my favorite tire.
Speeds...over 100 is no prob and stable, but it'll eat the rubber.
Hard front braking will make the tread look weird.

Will your budget support running these tires?

[Gecko]

Try Hidenau K60 tyres - similar tread to TKC but highly reated in Germany and by quite a few in the UK GS community for on and off road - also they have the advantage (or not depending on your view ) of being a tubed tyre which can be handy if you are in the middle of nowhere with a puncture.

[talbengal]

Originally Posted by Lone Rider

I've run thru about 5 sets of TKCs on an 1150.
This is the best tire there is...if you're willing to compromise.
Mileage will blow if you're running high speeds on the road. I never got more than 3k miles from a rear.
The tires handle very well on road, curves, high speed, etc.
It was my favorite tire.
Speeds...over 100 is no prob and stable, but it'll eat the rubber.
Hard front braking will make the tread look weird.

Will your budget support running these tires?

I had no problem on the 1150 GSA over 80,000 miles with them.
But I was on the 1200 GSA!!!

[talbengal]

The bike is in BMW garage and they can not find anything wrong with the tyres !!
Any idea what to do now?

[travelHK]

Hi , I run the TKC80 for years and they do not like to be at very high speed , you can put them to the test and put the max pressure recommanded and it should help but if you are looking for high speed tire you have the wrong kind.I use and will recommande the TKC80 as they are great on and off road wet or dry and for me that is worthit the speed, they save my butt many time , anyway going over 100MPH is not my kind of travel , just remember that if you have faster tire you may not have the off road option anymore ?.

Hendi

[Hltoppr]

A high speed front end wobble could be caused by suspension setup or steering head bearings being worn (doubtful on a new 1200...) or out of adjustment.

I'd check the rear suspension first....does it happen when loaded, then go away when unladen?

-H-

[Atwoke]

With regards to speed and load limits, check out the tables in the technical data part.

http://www.metzelermoto.co.uk/produc...y/index.htm#20

For more explanations on the hyroglyphs on your tyre:

http://mindspill.net/biking/motorbike-tyre-guide.html

Hope that helps with what they are good for

Jens

[jmwbmw]

Tal - your description of the crash at 85 in dry weather is EXACTLY what happened to me on I-5 in California on 6/18. Hot dry weather, going about 80+ on the freeway on '05 1200GS with 30K miles on new (500 miles) TKC 80s. Front wheel started to wobble and within about 1 to 2 sec got so bad that I knew I was going down. Slid on my ass off the road to the shoulder and bike went end over end for 200 yards (totalled) - drive shaft separated at rear wheel connection. I was LUCKY - Ralley II suit seat completely shredded and left arm shredded and I ended up with a bruised left foot and sprained ankle which is already getting better. Previously ridden over 10,000 miles on several sets of TKC 80s at high speed on pavement with no problem on same bike. I am VERY CURIOUS as to what caused this mishap.

Jeff
Oakland, CA

[DougieB]

I rode a TKC80 with a huge (sun warped) bulge in the side for 8000 miles on my enfield. due to wear I swapped the duff tyre from the rear to the front. the front end then bounced a little, or maybe just 'pulsed'. still had the pegs down on the twisty roads north of Addis.

are you sure it's not the bike?