Exactly Brian! Check out these airless wheels by Michelin. Modern design based on spokes:



Now if we could only get these into everyday production for offroading! 

 

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on January 16, 2007, 07:03:15 PM

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 06:47:59 PM
alpha explain the superiority because you are the first person to ever say that . that I know of atleast.

Spokes have the ability to flex and bend when under stress. This means when a bike comes off of a jump or hits a big boulder the spokes will flex and distribute the force through them rather than being exceptionally rigid causing potential damage to the wheel. Not only that, but spoke wheels are typically lighter than cast wheels, and can be easily switched between bikes, provided you have the proper carriers. Spoked wheels are easier to repair if something does happen, and they are cheaper than cast wheels too.

The main point though, is that they are much better suited for off road terrain and jumps due to their ability to flex.

well I Understand that for offroad applications , I was under the impression that we were talking about strictly st. riding. seriously I didnt think twice about riding the GS offroad. when I was reading adventure riding I really didnt think he was talking about anything offroad. I guess I was mistaken.  I personaly am still not a fan of them , although I see why some people would be.    Now a dirt bike would be a different story if I ever got a hold of one.


   this thing comes with gps and everything. that seems to be top of line in adventure riding

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 07:31:19 PM
well I Understand that for offroad applications , I was under the impression that we were talking about strictly st. riding. seriously I didnt think twice about riding the GS offroad. when I was reading adventure riding I really didnt think he was talking about anything offroad. I guess I was mistaken.  I personaly am still not a fan of them , although I see why some people might be. 

There are two reasons that they aren't used on street bikes nowadays. Power and weight. Too much power applied to the wheels will bend the spokes. Also, if a bike is too heavy then it can cause undue stress on the spokes. Modern spoke wheels can handle more power than the GS can make, and should be okay with the weight, although they are better suited to things a number of pounds lighter.

top of the line?


no, its a buell...  you must be thinking of something different.

Quote from: TragicImage on January 16, 2007, 07:41:29 PM
top of the line?


no, its a buell...  you must be thinking of something different.

well we all have our opinions lol. I tend to like the buell.

I think they market it well.  but I know there are plenty of bikes to choose from

Top of the line??

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha



Maybe the Beemer:


Or the KTM 950 Adventure:

KTM..... FTW.

K THNX BYE

that BMW looks hideous .. might ride well and last for ever but its straight up ugly lol

Notice that those two PROPER adventure bikes (not the fakey Buell wannabe-adventure-bike) use *GASP!* spoke wheels!

Spoke wheels also have the advantage of allowing you to run tubes, which makes patching flats (even sidewall punctures) much cheaper. Instead of replacing a tire when it is punctured, you simply patch or replace your tube. Tubes are cheap.

Quote from: Susuki_Jah on January 16, 2007, 08:11:29 PM
that BMW looks hideous .. might ride well and last for ever but its straight up ugly lol

You are allowed to leave.

Spokes are lighter and more durable, lets hear your arguement when you hit a rock from adventure riding...alpha is right, and you are not very smart.  Lets look at any serious adventure or off road bike, it has spokes.  Thankyou please leave.

ok getting back on subject, I think i might just have to buy another gs and use it for some trips.  It low on power but for this type of riding it wouldnt matter and also I just like the idea of it.  I could spend 15000 on a BMW GS or I could spend 2000 on a suzuki and have a pretty good bike that wouldnt hurt to see laying on its side in the dirt.

If you swapped out with long travel suspension (front and rear), spoke wheels, and added a heavy duty skid plate (gotta protect that oil pan) you'd have a pretty decent adventure tourer.

To be honest, you'd probably be better off investing in a DR650.

i love it when ppl attack or praise a bike  based on opinions  everyone here does it, sometimes it gets quite funny 

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on January 16, 2007, 09:09:09 PM
If you swapped out with long travel suspension (front and rear), spoke wheels, and added a heavy duty skid plate (gotta protect that oil pan) you'd have a pretty decent adventure tourer.

To be honest, you'd probably be better off investing in a DR650.

I was thinking about a DR650, its a toss up, the DR is better for the offroad and the GS is better than the onroad.  Since I would be doing mild off road with the bike I think the slightly modded GS would be better since I would be riding alittle more road and wouldnt need the all out off roadness of the DR.  Ill just have to look into each alittle more and see what would be best for me.  Thanks for the input.

Quote from: 94suzuki500 on January 17, 2007, 12:27:31 PM

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on January 16, 2007, 09:09:09 PM
If you swapped out with long travel suspension (front and rear), spoke wheels, and added a heavy duty skid plate (gotta protect that oil pan) you'd have a pretty decent adventure tourer.

To be honest, you'd probably be better off investing in a DR650.

I was thinking about a DR650, its a toss up, the DR is better for the offroad and the GS is better than the onroad.  Since I would be doing mild off road with the bike I think the slightly modded GS would be better since I would be riding alittle more road and wouldnt need the all out off roadness of the DR.  Ill just have to look into each alittle more and see what would be best for me.  Thanks for the input.

Really, it just sounds like you want a V-Strom, then. 

I've ridden the GS and DR on and off-road.  While off-rad certainly doable on the GS it's a pain!  At the minimum the suspension needs to be reworked (even more so than for street duty alone) and decent 17' DS tires (thanks to SM they exist now!) with tubes.

GS500:
a) The short suspension travel / cast wheel keeps the pace slow on fire-roads (<30km).
b) Combine that with little 17 inch wheel that falls into every hole you will end up concentrating more on dodging holes than enjoying the ride; it gets annoying.
c) The inability to ride standing up comfortably means that you take more beating than necessary, and having to stand up and sitting down for every whoop will also make it more stressful (can't really unload the front effectively either... by power nor body english)
d) The street gearing means liberal use of clutch when the going gets bad, and things heat up real quick in the summer (especially you).
e) Street tyres are useless in mud/wet clay (easily remedied).
f) Constantly worrying about flat and denting the rim (have done) and everytime a gravel dings off your exhaust or frame.
g) Bloody heavy to muscle around especially at low speed dodging holes etc...

and so on...

It's my opion that the DR650 slays corner just as well as the GS (you can always tard it out... SM wheels are ~$1000 a pair).  Throw on a decent bash plate and a larger tank (IMS , Clark, or Acerbis) and you are set (maybe springs... but I'm happy with stock for now)!  The ability to power the wheel up in first is extremely useful when the going gets tough...(might still want to go one teeth down in the front though)...

My $0.02.

Quote from: Dr. Love on January 17, 2007, 01:04:49 PM
I've ridden the GS and DR on and off-road.  While off-rad certainly doable on the GS it's a pain!  At the minimum the suspension needs to be reworked (even more so than for street duty alone) and decent 17' DS tires (thanks to SM they exist now!) with tubes.

GS500:
a) The short suspension travel / cast wheel keeps the pace slow on fire-roads (<30km).
b) Combine that with little 17 inch wheel that falls into every hole you will end up concentrating more on dodging holes than enjoying the ride; it gets annoying.
c) The inability to ride standing up comfortably means that you take more beating than necessary, and having to stand up and sitting down for every whoop will also make it more stressful (can't really unload the front effectively either... by power nor body english)
d) The street gearing means liberal use of clutch when the going gets bad, and things heat up real quick in the summer (especially you).
e) Street tyres are useless in mud/wet clay (easily remedied).
f) Constantly worrying about flat and denting the rim (have done) and everytime a gravel dings off your exhaust or frame.
g) Bloody heavy to muscle around especially at low speed dodging holes etc...

and so on...

It's my opion that the DR650 slays corner just as well as the GS (you can always tard it out... SM wheels are ~$1000 a pair).  Throw on a decent bash plate and a larger tank (IMS , Clark, or Acerbis) and you are set (maybe springs... but I'm happy with stock for now)!  The ability to power the wheel up in first is extremely useful when the going gets tough...(might still want to go one teeth down in the front though)...

My $0.02.

We also took a Hayabusa on the Haul Road, Look up James Dalton Highway, its a 450 mile road that is 90% dirt and heavy construction.  We were riding about 60mph on gravel sections with rocks ranging from golf ball to base ball.  It was alittle sketchy but very doable.  If a heavy pig like the Hayabusa can do it then I am sure a little bike like the gs can too. 

Alpha, the v-strom is really tall and top heavy and also just alot bigger than the gs.  The gs even though it is heavy would be alot better than the v-strom.  My dad said the same thing about sounding like I want a v-strom, he has ridden that bike about 2 times on the rode and that was for about 15 minutes each time.  But once it hits off road it tucks it tail and sucks, well at least with the street tires anyway.  THe Busa actually did better on the James Dalton as its weight is lower and wouldnt get its "legs" kicked out from under it like the v-strom did.

Is it just me, or does everyone that I talk to that has a BMW say, "It is an awsome bike, but I can't keep the damn thing running.  Breaks every time I ride it."

WTF?  Seemed pretty good in Long Way Around.  The spoke wheels held up brilliantly.  But the subframes kept cracking from the weight of the saddle bags.  Other than that , they seemed tip top.  And there seems to be a lot to the fact that you need to be able to comfortably stand up on a bike while riding off road.  I haven't ridden off road since i was a kid, but I remember standing a lot.   I don't recall ever trying to stand up on my GS, but maybe you could do it.  Still seems like a bad idea to try and adventure a GS. 

 

The mere fact of having a BMW makes it an adventure... (in ownership) 
And baseball size rocks are fine so long as you don't hit them at 60mph

I think there's a discrepancy here about what mild off-road is. A quick Google image search for James Dalton highway yields a few pictures... looks like a well maintained graded gravel road.  If this is what you mean by mild off road, then our perspective certainly differs...!

This is my definition of mild:

http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/showphoto.php?photo=3447&size=big&sort=1&cat=619
http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/showphoto.php?photo=4008&sort=1&size=medium&cat=618&page=1