Saw on another thread that it's easier to find radial tires for three spoke wheels. 

I have three spoke wheels on both of my bricks.  The K100RS16V is easy to find radials for it, because of the wide rims. 

On my K75RT the rims are narrower and all I can find in a radial is dual purpose "adventure" tires.  Since my K75RT is a touring bike and gets used on long trips I am concerned about tread life and would prefer a higher mileage road tire vs. a softer dual purpose tire.

Does anyone know of radial touring tires that fit 2V three spoke wheels?

Yes, they're very easy to find:

Front: 110/80-18  (factory bias ply is 110/90-18 so they 80s just have a slightly lower profile)

Rear: 150/70-17 (factory bias ply is 130/90-17 and the 150/70-17 is what some refer to as an "off-sized" tire for the rim but they work just fine on the 3x17 rear 3 spoke. I often ride my Ks way leaned over through turns, have oodles of miles on this size tire and they perform fantastically well. If, knock on wood that it never happens, I ever go down in a turn it will be my fault, not the tire's.)

I used to run Michelin Pilot Roads but over the past few years have switched over to Bridgestones because they ride just as well, are less expensive and Bridgestone usually has a $25/tire rebate offer on top of that.

Not sure what Bridgestone has out now but last year their latest and greatest that I bought were the T31s which perform really well.

Point 75, I've run radial "Dual Sport" tyres on the rear of both my K75 with Y spoke wheels and my K1100LT with it's standard 3 spoke wheels for a while in the 140/80 x 17 size for both.

I use Avon Trailrider on the K75 and Pirelli Scorpion Trail II on the K1100 and find both of them are great road tyres in wet or dry conditions.

The last Pirelli did 19,416 km and the last Avon did 13,700 km which I was very happy with.

These tyres are rated 90/10 road/off road I think.

On the K1100 I teamed a Pirelli Angel GT radial front as the Scorpion is built on the same carcase as the Angel GT, both in standard sizes for that bike.

Cheers

Is there anything that needs to be done as far as the 150/70-17 rubbing the swingarm?  Do I need more spacers?  The clearance with 130mm tires doesn't look large enough to go to 150mm. 

I like the idea of lowering the rear with a lower profile tire.  I've been aware of the 110/80-18 front, but didn't want to use it without a radial in the rear.

This is good news.  I've been a fan of Bridgestone tires in the past and know they make a quality product.  Just didn't know that a 150mm would fit.

If anything you'd want a slightly thinner spacer.

With the normal single spacer and 150/70-17 rear:

There's about 1/8" clearance between the tire and swing arm.

Center stand: Tons of clearance on the right and very close to rubbing on the left.

If the left being so close bothers you then you could bend that foot out a tad or better yet swap in a 4V center stand.

I almost forgot: I'm helping a local guy with Y spoked wheels on a K75RT get it back on the road and recently found that you can now get Conti Road Attack 3s (radial) in 110/80-18 front and 130/80-17 rear so that's another option. (But I'd still go with the Bridgestones because that's what's worked well for me to date.)

Duck, that's great news.  I already have a K1100 centerstand so the clearance on the rear wheel doesn't look like it's an issue.  The reduced aspect ratio of the rear tire means an almost half inch reduction in height at the rear which should allow me to raise the forks in the clamps to lower the bike and make it a bit easier for this old fart to handle it at slow speed.

I've been looking at T31 prices tonight, and they look like a real deal as far as cost vs. performance and longevity.

Thanks for the heads up!

Upon Duck's recommendation, I fit a Bridgestone T31 150/70-17 on my K1100LT.  It's a great tire and I'll buy another.  I expect that it's good for about 7 K miles on my bike.  Could easily go further on a lighter vehicle.

brickrider2 wrote:Upon Duck's recommendation, I fit a Bridgestone T31 150/70-17 on my K1100LT.  It's a great tire and I'll buy another.  I expect that it's good for about 7 K miles on my bike.  Could easily go further on a lighter vehicle.

Ouch!  My western meanderings are usually in the 8k mile range.  Last fall I started with 3500 miles on my Shinko Tourmasters.  Needless to say, I needed tires in Colorado as the rear had cord showing and the front wasn't far behind. 

Not many shops with tires that fit an old K bike in stock anymore unless you want to get screwed at a BMW dealer.  I wound up paying close to $700 for a pair of Metzlers just so I could get home.  Totally wrecked my trip's budget.

Maybe the Bridgestones will be easier to find when I'm on the road.  Still, buying tires in a strange city sucks.

How many miles you get out of a rear tire can very greatly. Since a K75RT weighs less and puts much less power to the rear wheel you can get many more miles out of that rear on a K75RT than on a K1100LT.

If you're just touring and not going above 5,500 RPM very much on a K75RT  then you should be fine.

Duck, my trips out west range between 7 and 8,000 miles and involve a 1500 mile interstate blast at 80 - 85+ mph across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska at the start and end.   The return trip can be worrying if tires are worn.  It's nice to know I can make it home on the tires I start with.  Don't ever want that $700 bill again.

My Shinkos Tourmasters get a reliable 10,000 miles and I know I can ride home in the rain safely with them.  A 7,000 miles tire might be a bit scary on that return run.  Having said that, I will give the T31's a try on the next tire change.

I have been using BT45 since I got my first K in 2010. On K100RT/LT/K1100LT and now also K100RS

Fronts have varied from 10,000 to 17,000 miles.
Rears have varied from 5,700 to over 13,000 miles.

The longest life was on the K100RT.

I put this down to a mix of weight and riding style. I do a lot of miles so my rear tyres more recently have been April 2018, August 2018, October 2018, January 2019 and a new set next week,

The K1100 is significantly heavier but it also speaks loudly and says go faster. Tyres in midsummer I am using the bike in warm weather and camping gear etc on board.

5,700 on a rear did not worry me, it was a lot of motorway hot weather and well laden bike riding.

Point-Seven-five wrote:Don't ever want that $700 bill again.

Had one of those last summer. UGH!  Not only that but I had to twiddle my thumbs in a hotel room for a day and a half since the tires had to be shipped in from a distribution center.  And I ended up having to buy some Pirellis that are OK tires but make me uneasy on warm tar snakes since they wiggle around a bit.

duck wrote:

Point-Seven-five wrote:Don't ever want that $700 bill again.

Had one of those last summer. UGH!  Not only that but I had to twiddle my thumbs in a hotel room for a day and a half since the tires had to be shipped in from a distribution center.  And I ended up having to buy some Pirellis that are OK tires but make me uneasy on warm tar snakes since they wiggle around a bit.

Fortunately, I was able to cool my heels at my daughter's place while I waited for my tires.  My tires were Metzler Marathons which were already two years old.  No previous experience with that tire.  So far have only done the 1600 mile trip home on them.  Felt okay at 75+in the light snow on I-70.