Touring & long trips
Sport-touring
For touring & long trips, a dual-compound sport-touring tyre is the safest all-round choice: excellent in the wet, quick to warm up, and it lasts. Its shoulders still handle big-bore-tier power comfortably.
Best tyres for the BMW R 1300 RT (2025)
The BMW R 1300 RT (2025) is a sport-tourer with 107 kW and a wet weight of 281 kg. That’s 381 kW per tonne, in the big-bore tier. Big tourers, 750–900 cc nakeds and big adventure bikes. Power can spin a cold or worn rear.
Power-to-weight
381kW/t
- hp/t
- 511
- kg/kW
- 2.6
- with rider
- 301 kW/t
- stock rear
- 190/55 ZR17
Not LAMS. Over 150 kW/t (or 25 kW for an electric bike), so learners and most provisional riders can't ride it. LAMS rules
Recommended tyres by how you ride
For a mild, wet climate, ridden solo.
Commuting
Sport-touring
For commuting, a dual-compound sport-touring tyre is the safest all-round choice: excellent in the wet, quick to warm up, and it lasts. Its shoulders still handle big-bore-tier power comfortably.
Twisty roads
Sport-touring
For twisty roads, a dual-compound sport-touring tyre is the safest all-round choice: excellent in the wet, quick to warm up, and it lasts. Its shoulders still handle big-bore-tier power comfortably.
What to look for on the sidewall
- Sizes
- 120/70 ZR17 front, 190/55 ZR17 rear as standard.
- Speed rating
- Typically V or W (ZR). V covers up to 240 km/h.
- Construction
- Radial (ZR).
- Life
- Expect 10,000–20,000 km from a sport-touring rear; fronts usually last one and a half to two times as long.
Your owner’s manual, or the tyre sticker on the swingarm or chain guard, is the authority on sizes, load index and speed rating.
Sport-touring: character
- Dry grip
- 4 out of 5
- Wet grip
- 5 out of 5
- Cold & warm-up
- 4 out of 5
- Tread life
- 5 out of 5
- Gravel & dirt
- 1 out of 5
- Comfort & stability
- 4 out of 5
Things to know about tyres on the R 1300 RT
Fit a matched pair
Run the same make and model front and rear. Tyres are designed as a pair, and mixing them changes how the bike steers and where it lets go. Rears usually wear out first; if you replace only the rear, match the front's model.
Scrub new tyres in
New tyres are slippery until the release agent wears off. Take the first 100–150 km gently, building lean angle gradually, and be extra careful in the wet and on painted lines.
Check pressures weekly, cold
Bike tyres lose air faster than car tyres and pressure changes the handling more. Check them cold, before you ride, against your owner's manual or the swingarm sticker, and add the pillion figure when two-up.
Two-up and luggage
Weight in the rear works the rear tyre hardest. Choose GT or reinforced (RF) versions where they exist, never go below the load index in your manual, and use the laden pressures.
Replace by age as well as tread
Rubber hardens with age even when there's tread left. Check the DOT date code and replace tyres older than about five years, sooner if they're cracked.
Quick answers
What is the power-to-weight ratio of the BMW R 1300 RT (2025)?
381 kW per tonne (511 hp per tonne), from 107 kW and a 281 kg wet weight. With a 75 kg rider aboard it's 301 kW/t. That puts it in ratio's Big-bore tier for motorbikes.
What tyre size does the BMW R 1300 RT (2025) take?
120/70 ZR17 front and 190/55 ZR17 rear as standard. Check your owner's manual or the tyre sticker on the swingarm for your exact bike, including the load index and speed rating, and never fit lower.
What are the best tyres for the BMW R 1300 RT (2025)?
For touring & long trips, sport-touring tyres. Good options include the Michelin Road 6 GT, Michelin Road 6, Bridgestone Battlax Sport Touring T33. Fit the same model front and rear.
Is the BMW R 1300 RT (2025) LAMS approved?
No. It's well over the LAMS limits, so learner and most provisional riders can't ride it.