1150 tires in Mexico City

[wyomex]

just bought an 1150gs.. it needs tires, i need help.. i have no idea which tires are best or where to buy them...mostly i ride on asphalt but hope to get dirty too...any help is appreciated..
erickson

[Lone Rider]

There's a BMW moto dealer in Mex City.
The 90/10 street/dirt tires might fit your needs.
Tourance, Trail Wing, Pirelli ST, Anakee...and that type.

Enjoy the bike!

[Big Red]

There are four or five BMW dealers in Mexico City and tyres for the 1150 shouldn't be a problem. I had work done at Motohaus (sorry, I don't have address or contact details at hand anywhere right now) which was excellent by the way, and I've been running Continental TKC80's which I've loved, both on and off the asphalt. But there's plenty of choices for tyres, none of them cheap, but they all work.

Grant F

[garrydymond]

Try Motomex on the corner of Viaducto and Monterrey, right next to the Kawasaki dealer. You could also try the Aprilia, KTM dealer on Extremadura or Sport Cycle behind the BMW dealer in Lerma on the way to Toluca. Tires are not easy to find and finding the size and brand you want is a real pain. I normally get tires in San Antonio and it is a good excuse to go up by bike or car to do some shopping.
Your other post about hard luggage is more difficult. BMW dealers will obviously sell you some but expect to pay about double the US price. I have never been but BMW guys get togeher on a Thursday night in a place called Pan y Via (or something like that) on Palmas Avenue near the Sanbourns. I can't go because I normally work until 10pm. They may be able to tell you where you can get hard luggage but will problably say BMW. I have never seen anyone in Mexico with other luggage.

[Mr. Ron]

While in Mex, i used these guy's in Guatalajara, fair price and good selection.
www.motoenlinea.com/catalogo.html

[wyomex]

very good advice..thanks big red, mr ron, garry and lone rider... i checked the web page from the guys in guadalajara and some of the stuff looks like good deals.. the distance precludes me buying tires there though... i checked out the kawasaki dealer near the viaducto.. seemed like a good establishment , but a very limited selection of tires. they do not carry continentals.. from there i went to the yamaha dealer on felix cuevas.. on the way i was stopped by two policemen (or kidnappers) i wasnt sure which.. first they tried to tell me that i was running my bike on the no circulo hoy day.. i told them that the law was repealed for motos... then they decided to threaten me with taking me to immigration.. just to check and see that i wasn't wanted in usa.. they searched me completly, asked if i had a boyfriend ( while snickering),(maybe it was the bmw suit i was wearing.. i know its not the most masculine of riding attire, next time i will make sure to wear my black leather) then asked if i used pot or cocaine.. at this point i wasn't sure if he was asking if i was a drug dealer or if i wanted to purchase some ...after another 15 minutes of my using my absolute worst spanish and asking them to repeat themselves a bout a thousand times they finally told me to scram...what a good public relations policy.( headlines,, MEXICO SHOOTS ITSELF IN FOOT.. AGAIN) ..i am pretty sure the reason they had no identifing patches or nametags is because they were totally freelance gangsters.. mounted on big white 1980's harleys.. after that .. finally made it to the yamaha dealer.. no luck there.. then to a suzuki dealer on monterey near the kawasaki dealer.. all of this after the bmw dealer on insurgentes..( they have tires but not conti... also told me they had a three week wait from the time i schedual the tires..) As of right now, i still do not know of a continental dealer in el d.f.
also am not decided on whether to go with knobbies ( everyone raves about the continentals) or with dual sport.. i am getting two versions.. those that run the knobbies say very little downside, and a big plus off road.. those that run dual sport but have never run knobbies say knobbies are too noisy, vibratey, less fun cornering, etc.they also say the dual sport tires are ok off road,, but i have heard completly different opinions on this.. some say dual sport are useless off road...the bike currently has a worn out set of continentals and they seem ok ( for being trashed) but i only have roadbike experience..my budget and time constraints dictates that i only buy one set of tires. i am thinking if i get the knobbies i will hate the long ride to acupulco, if i get the dual sport the first time i get stuck in the sand i will wonder why i spent mega bucks to get a "dual sport bike" if i can only really run it on the road..so,, i am still looking for opinions, especially from all of you that have run both knobbies and dual sport ..

... i appreciate all of your help and suggestions and info...thanks...

[wyomex]

i mean i checked motomex

[garrydymond]

You don't seem to be doing too well. Cops are only just getting used to bikes being able to used everyday. I have a copy of a newspaper article explaining we can ride everyay but haven't been stopped yet. In fact I haven't been stopped in a long time, the last time I gave them $50 pesos and they went away.
I ride everyday and now take pleasure in taking the BMW out on the "wrong" day and the same with my Honda.
I don't think you will get Continetals anywhere in Mex City.
I have Anakees but almost never go off road. They have lasted a long time , about 20,000kms but now need replacing. Luckily I got a new set when I last went to the States and will put them on when the current ones finally wear out. I will probably get another set in October when I go to the States after the HU meeting in Creel.
You could look for Motomex on the web and send them an email to see if they have anything.
Motohaus on Avenida Pacifico has a good selection of tires but I haven't been there in a while.
With the exception of BMW dealers there is a lot of "we don't have it today but we can get it for you tomorrow" talk. This almost never materializes and you end up going around and around in circles.
You could try getting them in the States and then have them shipped here.
You could als try Tres Marias, half way between Mexico City and Cuernavaca on the Libre road. This is a Sunday morning bikers hangout and there are stalls that sell clothing, exhausts tires etc. If you ask they maybe able to get some for you. If not at least you will see guys pulling wheelies and stoppies etc and can eat some good quesadillas.
Hope this helps
Garry

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Further to Wyomex's answer: This past February I needed a new rear tire for my 1100GS and coming into the DF from Toluca I found the offficial BMW dealership MUNCHEN MOTORS very easy to locate in the cluster of modern highrise officesand upscale car dealerships which make up the SANTA FE commercial node in the southwest corner of the city, just to the southeast of Mex 15 as you start the descent into the metropolis. Not being a stickler for any particular brand of tire I was quite happy to find that they had in stock a suitable Metzeler and a Michelin to choose from.While changing the tire the technician also noticed the rear brake pads would soon need replacing and they did it for me right then. It is an excellent , modern large bike and car and accessory dealership, very friendly and helpful staff who slotted me into the schedule so I could move on. I highly recommend them.

[Big Red]

And I can vouch for Motohaus as being pretty good, and they had tyres in stock but I didn't check the prices. I'd still recommend the Contis, too, and on the asphalt it'd have to be a pretty good GS rider who could push them to the limit. I certainly can't! Vibration's not really an issue unless there's some other problem with uneven wear from wheel balancing or something else that's a bit dodgy.

[Mr. Ron]

Wow! Thats some story Wyomex! actually, i saw my first mexican polica on a harley last night.I arrived last night in Mexico City. I´m staying at my girls place in Culhuacan, send me a letter and we´ll go for a and tell some lies. Anyway, the place i sugested will ship overnight by bus for a small fee. My sugestion for you is Metz. tourance, they´re cheap and need a tube. Or Pirelli scorpions, expensive!! I think these are your two best choices in Mexico. As long as you stay out of the mud, your okay. Stay out of the sand though, the big GS´s suck in this environment regardless of the tire. If you go for it, hope your in good shape!

[wyomex]

ok, so i got tired of obsessing and bought the anakees at MotoMundo. It really helped going to so many places, i got to see what everyone is offering, and found that different places had the same tires at very different prices.. for the two tires i was quoted $1500 pesos more at one.... One funny thing is , after purchasing the tires i went walking over to a motorcycle repair shop across the viaducto and WHO DID I SEE???? yes, you guessed right.. my two buddies on white harleys.. I tried to be invisible but they saw me.. and recognised me.. and stopped me... and grilled me somemore....seems like they were just leaving the same shop.. what are the chances of that happening... I should have bought a lottery ticket that day...anyway.. they let me go.. again...(such nice guys)... I would like to say a big THANKYOU to all of you that offered your advice.. it was a big help...also welcome back MR RON.. i will try contacting you for that ..
Wyomex....

[fcharly]

hi

if you go off-rod i suggest continental tkc80 ou metzeler karoo
tkc80 is more durable and less noisy on tarmac