If the "Roadie" isnt a true dualsport like Girlies

[TallRob]

Then what would it take to turn the 1050 Roadie into a better off roader like the Girly or Steamer? Now granted I am not an owner. But I do have an uneducated yet unbiased eye to this. To me, It looks like all it needs is a set of knobbies and some skid plates. Am I wrong? What am I missing that I cant see with photos?

[JetdocX]

Can you buy DS tires in that front wheel size?

It's OK, most BMW GS bikes never see any dirt either.

[rxcoop]

put a set of scorpion syncs on there and you're halfway home.....

[JetdocX]

Even a Vespa can be DS bike.  It's all about rider skill/brute force/ignorance. :lol:

[Sin_Tiger]

Even a Vespa can be DS bike.  It's all about rider skill/brute force/ignorance. :lol:

Wohoo...Got two out of three, does that mean I am two thirds of the way there  :lol:

[Stretch]

It's every bit the dual-sport that a factory-stock Girly is.  The only difference is the Girlies came with a 19" front wheel, allowing for the selection of more aggressive off-road tires (TKC's, Karoo's. etc).  

And as such, the aftermarket was more responsive to outfitting Girlies for dual-sport duty.  Since the tires aren't out there for Roadies, Touratech and friends aren't exactly racing to get dual-sport and off-road farkles developed for them.  A shame.

If the tire manufacturers would open their eyes and look, they'd see that there is indeed a market for 17" front knobbies... Roadies, the Buell Ulysses, Ducati Multistrada, etc.

I've heard the argument that a 17" front wheel is too small in diameter for true off-road work.  But if you're going to wash out a 17" wheel in sand, you'll probably wash out a 19 or 21 as well, so what's the difference?

[JetdocX]

Even a Vespa can be DS bike.  It's all about rider skill/brute force/ignorance. :lol:

Wohoo...Got two out of three, does that mean I am two thirds of the way there  :lol:

If you have the right two, no problem. :lol:

[Sin_Tiger]

Let's see.

1 & 2  :icon_scratch nope.

1 & 3  :icon_scratch nope.

2 & 3   wahaaay .... splat  

[Dr. Mordo]

You can certainly get very aggressive tires in a 17" size for the front of a Roadie, so I don't think tires are the issue.  Remember you can flop a rear 17 around to rotate the opposite direction and use it on the front of the bike.

I seem to recall that taller tires are easier to offroad because the larger circumference makes them more stable over rough terrain.  So by that logic the 17" Roadie front wheel would be less offroadable than my Steamer's 19", or a KLRs 21".

When I first saw this thread, I had expected a Roadie owner to jump in and volunteer why their bike is/isn't offroadable.

[Stretch]

You can certainly get very aggressive tires in a 17" size for the front of a Roadie, so I don't think tires are the issue.  Remember you can flop a rear 17 around to rotate the opposite direction and use it on the front of the bike.

Front and rear tires have different profiles.  Putting a rear tire on the front would make it handle weird on the road.

[aeronca]

wow,  now yesterday i was comming home on the 405, and ran into a pack of gs100"s, and a  gs80's, with a v-strom1000. all those bikes were  cool/compentent in any situation, of course they all looked at me as the same.but i looked at the v-stome as the weekest. and thats bullshit. they were all good. the v-strom was just newer, with smaller tire's. regardless of tire size, it all comes down to the rider. period. the vehicle in which we choose to pilot, will make the task at hand either easier, or ,more difficult, but skill and humen desire will prevail in the end. just look at some of the post's on adv(in ref. to the ride reports posted about people in the 20's and the 30's on indians and harley's). fano,mudhen, and patrick have taken the tiger to extreems(not to menchen mustang), even my self have modded my bike to be better off road, but i think the new tiger is not only ready, but more than capable of off road duty. lets face it, the majority will never go to the extreems as we think . outfit the new tiger with a good set of "DUAL PURPOSE TIERS", and go explore.

[aeronca]

You can certainly get very aggressive tires in a 17" size for the front of a Roadie, so I don't think tires are the issue.  Remember you can flop a rear 17 around to rotate the opposite direction and use it on the front of the bike.

Front and rear tires have different profiles.  Putting a rear tire on the front would make it handle weird on the road.

maybe, but there are alot of buel guy's doing it, and not complaining :?

[The Kurgan]

The Steamer was actually designed for some light off-road duty.

The early Girlies, and to a lesser extent, the 2005-06 Girlies, have some dirt worthiness. However, both can be outfitted to be much better "big trailes".

The Roadies have absolutely NO off-road pretention at all. Of course, you can take a Harley Road King off-road if you want to! Expect to drop it and cause serious $$ in damage.

Why?

The Roadie has 17 inch street-performance rims. The tire choices are limited and are almost always in the LOW PROFILE category. VERY VERY BAD for dirt.

The Roadie has a taller gearing than the Girlies and Steamers. I could be wrong on this, but from my test runs, it does appear so.

2007+ Roadie makes 74ft lt/lbs of torque at 6250 rpm (114 hp at 9400 rpm)
2001-2006 955i Girly makes 68 ft/lbs of torque at 4400 rpm (104 hp at 9500 rpm)
1999-2000 885 injected Girly makes 63 ft/lbs of torque at 6400 rpm (86 hp at 8200 rpm)
1993-1998 885 carb'ed Steamer makes 60 ft/lbs of torque at 6000 rpm (85 hp at 8000 rpm)

The Roadie has a rigid aluminum frame. Girlies and Steamers have tubular steel frames, which provide for a bit of flex when conditions get rough. Aluminum is more prone to cracking, especially at weld points (like the headstock)! Go to the V-Strom forums and do some reading!  :D

The Roadie has firmer street-only suspension. The Steamer has "soggy" suspension. The early Girlies are somewhere in between. The later Girlies have firmed-up suspension.

The Roadie has less ground clearance and less suspension travel.

Cast wheels are not really intended for off-road use. I have yet to hear about bent cast wheel Girly rims, but the rims on the Roadie appear to be much less robust and of a lighter weight aluminum.

I think the Roadie radial brakes, while best for the street, are dangerously powerful for off-road duty.

No underside protection on the Roadie.

The only advantage I would give the Roadie is that it weighs less. 215 kg vs 198 kg. About 37 lbs difference.

[aeronca]

good points brother kurgan, oh and by the way, sorry for the bad spelling mistakes in my post, i had a few earlier in the night and was feeling pretty good  

[JetdocX]

Looked like a couple of PUI's to me! :lol:

It's easier to close one eye and type with one finger at that point, YMMV.