Hopefully Chris will see this thread and jump in, he has alot of research experience on this subject.....other folks, please chime in with your research and your experience, everyone's input will be summarized at the end of this post #1.
I found a chart that explained what size tires will fit what rims. I think Chris knows what size rims are on the V. Near as I can tell, the rear is a 4.5" rim. I want to put a 150 tire on the rear. The chart shows that a 150 will fit on a 4.5" rim. I realize the profile may not be exactly as anticipated by the tire manufacturer but I can deal with that, as long as its safe and all that stuff.
17in Tyres Permitted Rim
100/70*17 2.50/2.75/3.00
110/80*17
120/90*17
130/80*17 2.50/2.75/3.00/3.50
130/90*17
120/60*17 3.00/3.50
120/70*17
130/60*17 3.00/3.50/4.00
130/70*17
140/70*17 3.50/4.00/4.50
150/60*17
150/70*17
160/60*17 4.00/4.50/5.00
160/70*17
SUMMARY/DECISION POINTS/RIDER INPUT:
Best tire set for dirt is TKC front and rear. The 150 TKC mounts to the rear with no changes, no mods needed. The front requires the 130/80x17 rear TKC and will require the front fender to be raised and some knobs trimmed on the sides. A smaller 120 trail type front tire can be selected (Shinko, Kenda) and the fender will still need to be raised or a Pirelli MT60 can be used, its the stock size.
Shinko E-705 Trail Master tires on the rear have been reported to suffer from tread separation, knobs separating from the carcass.
I have mounted a 120/90x17 Kenda on the front and the fit is excellent, the tread is wider than the stock 120 but still fits inside the fender. I had to raise the fender 1 3/4", with no change in the cross-over line, I do however, have a mudflap mounted and the cross-over line rides on the flap somewhat. (by Jake)
CORRECTED FROM PRIOR INFO: The Avon Distanzia 150/70 CAN BE used on the rear of a V, it IS rated for a 4.5" rim. (by Chris)
Cont TKC 130/80x17 will work on the front, the fender will need to be raised, side treads may need to be trimmed. (by Jake)
The Avon Distanzia is good for a front tire. Its in our size (120/70) it's a supermoto compound so its sticky but is consistently reported to wear well on the front of these bikes. (by Chris)
The Pirelli MT60 is good for a front tire. Its in our size (120/70) (by Chris)
FROM ANOTHER FORUM Well at almost 3000-miles, my fears came true. The Pirelli MT60 in Versys size are not going much further. Great tire, but look elsewhere.
130/80/17 Anakee II is a rear tire that may be difficult to get seated on the V front rim (from Ednukey)
Anakee2 are awesome on wet pavement, and great on dry pavement. The TKC80s were surprisingly good on dry pavement, but very sketchy on wet pavement, as I experienced a sliding rear-end on multiple occasions in the wet. (from Ednukey)
I'm running Metzeler Roadtec Z6 Sport Touringz6 right now and am happy with them. First set the rear gave me about 9000 miles, the front about 12,000 but was changed because it started to cup (from Marc11)
I put on a set of Pilot Road 2CT at 8,000 miles when the OEM tires wore out. I now have over 19,000 on them and I figure to get a couple of thousand more before I need to replace them, (from Rponiarski)
I had a Scorpion Sync on the rear that lasted about 5,500 miles. It was a good tire that preformed well on pavement as well as dirt roads. (from Brothercannon)
Been riding on Pirelli Angel St's since April and have been very pleased with them good grip and wearing fine so far and I ride every day. (from Ayermedic)
Metzeler Tourance 150/70 r17, original design not the Tourance exp. I heard many people say the tourance exp is inferior to the original. As far as fitment goes there are no clearance issues and the bead is seated well. (from Brothercannon)
I ran Avon Distanzias, and got about 8K miles from the rear, , and got about 15 k from the front (from Miguelito)
1st: Original OEM Dunlop tires: @ 10,438 miles, daily commuting & weekend rides
2nd: Bridgestone BT021 120/70-17 & BT020 170/60-17: @ 5351 miles, daily commuting, weekend rides, 1 up w/ gear secondary highway interstate trips
(I never really felt confident with this pair, especially in the wet)
3rd: Pirelli Angel ST's 120/70-17 & 160/60-17: @7,800+ miles (tread depth at 0.125) daily commuting, weekend rides, 1 up w/ camping gear cross country ride (85mph for 800 miles across Texas's I-10), backroads, fire roads, secondary highways. No complaints great in the wet. (from A2RON)
Avon Distanza, very confidence inspiring, great rain tire. It's the only tire I will put on my Versys and 650 DR from now on. (from Aleeoop)
So far I have gotten 9800 on the Continental Conti Road Attack Sport Mileage Tires and it looks like about halfway on the rear and the front looks almost new. FYI this is the stock tire for the BMW GS models and is designed for large dual sports. I love the feel of these tires on both dirt and asphalt. They corner great and are settled at high speed with the bike fully loaded. Hands down the best rain tire I have ever ridden. I’ll report back when its time to replace for top mileage on both the front and rear.(from Douglasgraham)
I found a chart that explained what size tires will fit what rims. I think Chris knows what size rims are on the V. Near as I can tell, the rear is a 4.5" rim. I want to put a 150 tire on the rear. The chart shows that a 150 will fit on a 4.5" rim. I realize the profile may not be exactly as anticipated by the tire manufacturer but I can deal with that, as long as its safe and all that stuff.
17in Tyres Permitted Rim
100/70*17 2.50/2.75/3.00
110/80*17
120/90*17
130/80*17 2.50/2.75/3.00/3.50
130/90*17
120/60*17 3.00/3.50
120/70*17
130/60*17 3.00/3.50/4.00
130/70*17
140/70*17 3.50/4.00/4.50
150/60*17
150/70*17
160/60*17 4.00/4.50/5.00
160/70*17
SUMMARY/DECISION POINTS/RIDER INPUT:
Best tire set for dirt is TKC front and rear. The 150 TKC mounts to the rear with no changes, no mods needed. The front requires the 130/80x17 rear TKC and will require the front fender to be raised and some knobs trimmed on the sides. A smaller 120 trail type front tire can be selected (Shinko, Kenda) and the fender will still need to be raised or a Pirelli MT60 can be used, its the stock size.
Shinko E-705 Trail Master tires on the rear have been reported to suffer from tread separation, knobs separating from the carcass.
I have mounted a 120/90x17 Kenda on the front and the fit is excellent, the tread is wider than the stock 120 but still fits inside the fender. I had to raise the fender 1 3/4", with no change in the cross-over line, I do however, have a mudflap mounted and the cross-over line rides on the flap somewhat. (by Jake)
CORRECTED FROM PRIOR INFO: The Avon Distanzia 150/70 CAN BE used on the rear of a V, it IS rated for a 4.5" rim. (by Chris)
Cont TKC 130/80x17 will work on the front, the fender will need to be raised, side treads may need to be trimmed. (by Jake)
The Avon Distanzia is good for a front tire. Its in our size (120/70) it's a supermoto compound so its sticky but is consistently reported to wear well on the front of these bikes. (by Chris)
The Pirelli MT60 is good for a front tire. Its in our size (120/70) (by Chris)
FROM ANOTHER FORUM Well at almost 3000-miles, my fears came true. The Pirelli MT60 in Versys size are not going much further. Great tire, but look elsewhere.
130/80/17 Anakee II is a rear tire that may be difficult to get seated on the V front rim (from Ednukey)
Anakee2 are awesome on wet pavement, and great on dry pavement. The TKC80s were surprisingly good on dry pavement, but very sketchy on wet pavement, as I experienced a sliding rear-end on multiple occasions in the wet. (from Ednukey)
I'm running Metzeler Roadtec Z6 Sport Touringz6 right now and am happy with them. First set the rear gave me about 9000 miles, the front about 12,000 but was changed because it started to cup (from Marc11)
I put on a set of Pilot Road 2CT at 8,000 miles when the OEM tires wore out. I now have over 19,000 on them and I figure to get a couple of thousand more before I need to replace them, (from Rponiarski)
I had a Scorpion Sync on the rear that lasted about 5,500 miles. It was a good tire that preformed well on pavement as well as dirt roads. (from Brothercannon)
Been riding on Pirelli Angel St's since April and have been very pleased with them good grip and wearing fine so far and I ride every day. (from Ayermedic)
Metzeler Tourance 150/70 r17, original design not the Tourance exp. I heard many people say the tourance exp is inferior to the original. As far as fitment goes there are no clearance issues and the bead is seated well. (from Brothercannon)
I ran Avon Distanzias, and got about 8K miles from the rear, , and got about 15 k from the front (from Miguelito)
1st: Original OEM Dunlop tires: @ 10,438 miles, daily commuting & weekend rides
2nd: Bridgestone BT021 120/70-17 & BT020 170/60-17: @ 5351 miles, daily commuting, weekend rides, 1 up w/ gear secondary highway interstate trips
(I never really felt confident with this pair, especially in the wet)
3rd: Pirelli Angel ST's 120/70-17 & 160/60-17: @7,800+ miles (tread depth at 0.125) daily commuting, weekend rides, 1 up w/ camping gear cross country ride (85mph for 800 miles across Texas's I-10), backroads, fire roads, secondary highways. No complaints great in the wet. (from A2RON)
Avon Distanza, very confidence inspiring, great rain tire. It's the only tire I will put on my Versys and 650 DR from now on. (from Aleeoop)
So far I have gotten 9800 on the Continental Conti Road Attack Sport Mileage Tires and it looks like about halfway on the rear and the front looks almost new. FYI this is the stock tire for the BMW GS models and is designed for large dual sports. I love the feel of these tires on both dirt and asphalt. They corner great and are settled at high speed with the bike fully loaded. Hands down the best rain tire I have ever ridden. I’ll report back when its time to replace for top mileage on both the front and rear.(from Douglasgraham)