KRS (or other 5-spoke wheels) on an R1100RT

[cruisin]

I recently acquired a 17" K1200RS rear wheel to put on the rear of my 2000 R1100RT in order to take advantage of the longevity of Metzler ME880s. I would like for the front and rear wheels to match this time (they did not on my '98). That said, does anyone have first hand knowledge of a 5-spoke front wheel that will fit the R1100RT? Will the K-RS fit? Will the 1150RT 5-spoke front wheel fit an 1100RT? I just don't know and don't have enough other BMW owners or shops in this area to experiemnt.

[cbsnbiker]

That said, does anyone have first hand knowledge of a 5-spoke front wheel that will fit the R1100RT?

I do not.

I'm replying to this message only because I see that nobody else has yet.

There is no ME-880 fitment for a K1200RS. Do you mean that you have a K1200LT rim?

Anything can be made to fit anything. But is this project a good idea? Perhaps you would be better off researching the available fitments for your bike, then choose the longest-lasting tire?

[cruisin]

While I appreciate the response; I ran the 5-spoke K-RS rear wheel with an ME880 on the '98 RT for about 80K miles in combination with an ME880 on the front and had nary a problem with it.  What I'm hoping to accomplish with the '00 is simply to have the front and rear wheel spoke patterns match.  It's just a cosmetic issue; but if it's not possible then I can live with the 5-spoke on the rear and the stock 3-spoke on the front.

My personal history with the ME880 on the rear of the '98 was an average life of just over 11K miles.  The next closest was the recent Dunlop Roadsmart that went only 8300 miles.  

I run a 170/60-R17 ME880 on the rear (K-RS rim) and the 120/70-17VR on the front (stock RT rim).

The only 18" ME880 that might work on the stock RT rim is a 180/55, but the 170 is already approximately 5mm from the drive shaft housing and I'm afraid the 180 would likely rub that on the right side.  Hence one reason for switching to the 17" K-RS rim.  The other reason for the switch is the cost savings with longer lasting tires.  My mileage history with them is a 27% difference over the next closest, which makes up the cost of the used rim after just a few tire changes when you factor in the cost of getting them changed.  Metzler also makes the rear ME880 in a 160/70VB and HB but both of those are slightly taller than the 170/60.  Since I need a bit of help in the vertical reach area, the 170 is my personal best choice.

All that said, I'm also not terribly concerned about extremely high sport performance as I am more into sport-TOURING as opposed to many here that seem to be more into SPORT-touring.  So, the longevity of the ME880 is the more important factor in my tire choices.