why does a 21" wheel work better off-road 

I ride a Vstrom to places it shouldn't go. I'd advise others to concentrate on getting longer suspension. No point having a front wheel that can get over stuff the rest of the bike can't.

The lighting in this video is so gorgeous! Everything is extremely clear.

I did de 21" conversion on my 1200GS LC a year ago (as on my 1150 many years ago). Really like it. Now upgraded with Touratceh suspension as well. Only have to do the rear rim as the 170 rear and 90 front is a bit unbalanced (using Bridgestone AX41). But bottomline, the 21" is great. Still have the 19-17" alu wheel set as well.

So Bret Tkacs gets down to brass tacks 👏 I love the honesty, most of us feel the need to justify the expense and argue blindly that yes, it's worth it. Rather than, is it worth it? Not really, unless, for you, in your situation, it's what you want and can afford. Great content Brett.

Unless you are a pro, better of keep your adventure bike stock. Buy a dirt bike for the money you save. Bonus: You will learn to ride off road way better.

Fixed sound! Nice :)

This is the constant debate around the campfire for this v-strom rider. In the end, for me, the magic is the flexibility of the machine. I find the best traveling is meandering back and forth along the border between the two worlds. Making targeted investments to extend that flexibility, in one direction or another, makes sense, though maybe not at that price ;-). It's not fundamentally different than replacing windscreens, or seats or other modifications one might do to make their v-strom into a highway touring machine. (Okay, yes, technically, there is a fundamental difference between changing suspension parts and modifying a fairing, especially in terms of safety. But, we're all making our own calculated risks). Thanks for sharing your opinion on the topic! Having invested in my v-strom suspension, I can attest to the gains available on some of these bikes for playing around on fire roads over on the other side of the mountain range. Cool to see the wheel upgrade reviewed like this.

Very interesting 🧐. I went the exact ultimate route that you point out. Woody’s 21” Super light hubs, Stainless Steel Spokes & Nipples, Supersized & Superlaced (in for a penny, in for a pound.) Then I got Ted Porter involved and went soup to nuts with the Touratech Extreme manual shocks front & rear. I can’t remember where I read that (and I’m paraphrasing) “There is no magic to suspension tuning, but when you get it right, it’s magical.” After adjusting the sag that suspension setup completely changed the ride of the bike bliss. To be fair, though, it took a quite a bit of tinkering with a lot of other components to get the bike to where it felt like heaven.

Good commentary for sure. A couple of years ago I bought an ‘08 GS with about 7,000 miles on it for $7250. It’s now got 22,000 miles (I have other bikes too), just recently I added GSA Tractive Extreme shocks to it from Ted, as I’ve done with my 1150GSA and RT. I’ll probably leave it at that. I’d love a set of Woodys Wheels for the bling factor…Xmas is coming. I enjoy every one of your videos!

KTM already has a 21 front on the 1290 SAR, just saying! Give one of those a shot Bret!

Hey! I'm now an excited BMW owner haha. Grabbed a 2013 G650GS as I wanted something I could actually reach the ground on and this works very well for me. I love how much power this little thumper can dish out. It was a pleasant surprise when I test rode it last week hehe. I wanted to know if you can recommend some forums I can pop into to bombard questions about maintenance and the like. Since it came from a Triumph dealership, I want to do all the maintenance it needs to make sure everything is good. Its at 11k miles (rolled over on the way home from Seattle) so it's coming due I believe, for another oil change at least. Anyway nevermind my rambling. Just excited to discuss and learn. Thanks for any help or suggestions! I am a sponge ready to absorb!

I don't understand why only 122k subscribers 😕 your channel one of the best hopefully you will hit 1M soon

Rims for my bike are pretty well the same cost. I already have the 21 front. Just wanted sealed spoke wheels to ditch the tubes

Bret, would you post a parts list? Why stay with a 17” rear? Increased height and tire choices with an 18”. What rim widths did you select? What tire widths and heights? Need new front brake lines? Speedo recalibrate? ABS still works the same I suppose? What is the benefit that extra $$ spent for Woody’s wheels? You’re an awesome teacher, I really enjoy and appreciate your infectious, positive attitude.

Love the video and drone footage. I will keep it stock for now!

Got a tractive shock on my F800. Wish they had a trick solution for the forks like that. Ted @ Beemershop is a good man in my books.

Steering and suspension are the most misunderstood aspect of setting up your ride, if you have someone make changes seek out a "suspension" expert. If you have ever ridden something with 12" wheels like a scooter or a monkey, or a yammy TW200 you know it feels different. One of the easiest things to change to gain stability off road is add a set of slightly longer handlebars with a size or two narrower tires, it will decrease your micro steering while digging in off-road. It seems counterintuitive but slightly slower steering off-road is much more stable. That's why sport bikes have short radius bars to quicken the steering which is great on the road. Friction coefficient is much greater on the street and wide tires can be pushed to much faster reaction times, off road you increase friction coefficient by digging in but because terrain can vary so much off road you want your steering to be slower and have more micro control.

I see that Skydio is rockin'!

Just raising the fender 1.5 inches on a DL1000XAL8 presents issues. Do-able, with a new 3-4" longer crossover brake line. But if you did the upgrades on the forks, shocks, and increased both front AND rear wheels to 21" and 19", you still only have 7.2" of ground clearance, the front tire will clear your radiator by less than a half inch if you bottom the front shock and how it would handle at speed on a road while on stilts, I don't have the $$$ to discover. I'll just keep treating it like a late '70's scrambler and save the $$$ for repairs.

Another great video Brett. Like the two camera approach. My F650 GS Dakar comes stock with a 21" front and I love it.

I told that my Beamer Shop over 4 years ago that they should have a 21" front wheel option or two different bikes. Sadly they don't really care...

All true, except it depends on the rake angle of the headset. On the 2008 model, I converted to Woody's Wheels 21" Front 18" Rear and the bike handled amazingly well on and off-road. BMW changed their rake angles slightly in 2008 on the GS and GSADV versions. Other years, this change does not work so well as the bike tends to wallow in the turns on the road. At the end of the day, I sold my 2008 R1200GS with 90,000 miles and shifted to a KTM 790 Adventure R which after many minor modifications is considerably lighter and far better across the board.

Thanks.

Its what I like about my ATAS. Already comes built that way :)

good video brett....bottom line, I think we've learned that bmw needs to put out a GS/GSA with a 21 in the front...been thinking this for years. Sure you could go to an 850, but lets be honest, those motors arent nearly as exciting as the boxer. Release an updated HP2 and they'd sell like hot cakes!!!!!

insane price to lace up a 21" rim to the BMW hub. Old school , buy a 36 or 40 spoke rim (same as the rim) and spokes of proper length and lace it. few hundred $ at worst. Getting the rake and trail right on the steering head is what your talking about on the rest of it. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍/10

Amazing video as usual.. many info to think about.. here.. thank you so much..

Good presentation indeed , such beautiful, well conceived gadget😎

Why not throw an 18 on the rear instead of changing the suspension?

Hey Bret! Love your channel! Thanks

Just another reason I went F800 over an R1200.

Hey Bret. Love your work!! Just had a thought, BMW did make the HP2 Enduro, which is essentially a GS1200 with 21inch front wheel, high front fender, slimmed down in all the right places.

Two bikes is best. $7000 buys a really nice dualsport and then you keep a touring bike.

Let's get down to Bret Tkacs.

A 90/90 21 inch front tire has a lower load index than 120/70 19 inch tire. Do you think running the bike with tires with lower load index might be a problem?

Now this bike needs a name because you will keep her for a while with such investment.

Hi Bret, since I saw this video I was thinking about a 21 inch convertion. I'm now sure that I want to try it. To stay in a quite low budget, it's possible to go with a 850 GS front wheel, a GSA stock rear shock and a sidestand (all of them can be found second hand for quite cheap). It's plenty of detail on advrider forum BUT I notice that you managed to raise the front fender quite high in comparison of what I see elsewhere. How did you do that ? Usualy what I've seen is : raising the brake line and drilling a hole in the stock fender but clearance is lower than on your setup. Did you use the same technique ?

So an Africa Twin Adventure Sports with Ohlins suspension 😂

I never understood the "Necessity" of a 21" wheel. dont have any problems on my vstrom off road with it's stock 19". converting never crossed my mind until i saw some youtube video titles today including this one

Am I seeing double ? This looks a lot like yesterday’s video. Was there something wrong with yesterday’s version that I missed ?

Awesome! Thanks!

First/ GREAT vid covering adding a 21” wheel on a 19” bike. Because covid hit our family hard early, I have one do it all bike. I have my Vstrom and have had it since ‘14 updating it to run better on dirt and real well on slab. Looked into a 21” wheel- WAY too much money for what you would get out of it. The changes to tires, suspension, protection and 50 years in the dirt riding makes this bike go all the places a 61 year old with broken everything’s not take a bashing sustained ride but get to those great ADV places most people only see in photos. With the weight, clearance, and power it has to be ridden a certain way. The weight makes it go through about anything at a reasonable speed with feet on the pegs, that fine line between fun and terror. With the weight clearance needs a good SLIDE plate as that is what it does-like a big flat rock skipping across stuff. There is no prob w/power. A little lower torque range with sprocket change does that well. So in most ADV riding it will do just fine with you staying in that fun/just in control feeling that always makes a smile show up. So within MOST ADV riding a prepped Vee will get you there and back- knowing it is not a dirt/DS bike. The BEST use for an ADV bike I have ever seen is you stopping forbthe night and cooking up a big steak! You said it’s ADV, it’s about enjoying yourself. I always thought that was a perfect definition on this kind of riding. SO a 21” wheel is just an option. Love your series my friend. Be safe in your travels.

Sound rocks 👍

Thanks for the video, but dose the ABS stil work its not for that dia

Is this why a lot of bikes have different travel front and rear?

When you went to the larger rims, did you notice any difference in the brakes? I would expect they would feel a little weaker due to the road having a larger lever in comparison, but I don't know if you would notice it.

The day I feel I need to start modifying my GS I’ll simply buy another bike

Is this not the same video that was uploaded yesterday?

Honest 👍🏻😊

Bret, are you running tubes or did you go tubeless? Thanks.

And I wonder why BMW didn't build a Waterhead HP2

Bret...where are you buying your graphic kits for that Rallye from?

The reason I’m hesitant to buy an Africa Twin is because of its 21” front wheel . . .

How do u like the skydio, I had the mavic 2 pro but I sold it because I wasn’t using it like I should!

Is that a stock fender? I have a 1250 and the fender is very close.

Honda CRF1100 AT good option

If the GS has ESA, could you not just use the "passenger"-setting (which raises the rear also)? that way, if you have a second set of rims you can go from 21inch to 19inch and just adjust the esa setting?

Doesn't changing front wheel.. Change or hamper with reading on the odometer?

So, you changed the front rake by adjusting the front shock? Any idea how to do that with the Touratech Extremes?

What front guard have you fitted?

Nice transformation! Anyway, here in Europe they are really strict with these kind of mods and the police can seize your bike. Can you legally do that in the US?

at the end.. the bike still too heavy.. 😂😂

Ciao Bret. Is that your bike right? I mean you still have the BMW? I am asking because I also would consider a BMW GSA to take a lot offroad. Thank you

Would adding an 18" rear be an option? Did you explore that route?

maybe I miss it but how do you fit a 21 on the telelever? to me looks it does not fit between the front axe and the triangle of the teleelver.

Bret could you have mounted an 18" rim at rear and not having to balance out the suspension (front vs back)? Also what width of rims are you using?

So you throw another $7k on an already expensive bike? It was already questionable to trash a $22k machine into the outdoors, make it $29K-$30K and all you are getting is a divorce filling!! LOOOOOOL Well, honestly, for $30k I can have almost two KTMs 1290SAs... I own one and after I rented a GS in Japan all I can say is "great bike!!!" but I prefer my KTM. :))))))) Great video B!!!

I’m seriously considering this conversion for my 2017 GS Rallye. Ive heard of someone that had an issue with the ABS/speed sensor not working with the larger diameter and thus throwing off the traction control and ABS. Bret Tkacs, have you experienced any issues with the sensors or electronics?

How did you solve fitting the front fender with the 21” wheel?

Done with the KTM?

What did he make two of the same video?

Can someone please explain me how this guy riding through tough weather conditions, tough terrain always manages to have is jacket in immaculate condition... Is it Photoshop or he has a jacket for each video? for real tho

Bret, you need to watch the videos before uploading them :D

Hi bret. What if I change only front to 21”. Is it still okay or I need narrower rear as well.

I understand why you made the video but if you want a bike that has a 21 inch front wheel buy one that comes from the factory that way. My came with a 21 but in all honesty the way I ride it a 19 would have been fine. On my dirt bike a whole different story which is why I have a dirt bike.

I would say it looks cool. Not sure if that is worth the 7000 dollars

That thing is a behemoth.

Buy an Africa Twin. Comes with 21’’ front and far better than a GS.

Just get a 1290 Super Adventure R, and call it a day.

Sir, you need to keep your lapel mic in the same direction as your mouth is. The volume is fluctuating and this is inconvenient for me to follow. If you want to move your face around and therefore, your mouth, in relationship to the lapel mic, keep the lapel mic in the centre near the breast bone.

Whay not a F850GSA all the comforts of a 1250 plus a 21" front with less weight...

Most of us watching are not very logical. Bret points out many ways not to do this , but we didn't hear any of that. Personally I like the get a dirt bike too, idea but for those far away BDR's this seems LOGICAL.

U

Just buy a KTM 1290 SAR

Well could be worse. Could waste thousands on another KTM ;)

Just get an africa twin

Trade it for a Africa Twin, there you have a 21 inch front wheel.