Crappy Tires

2008 Street Glide:

I just got the 1000 mile service done. I had the bike in at 555 miles because of loose steering head bearings. I found out today that it really doesn't like rain grooves in new concrete interstate. The stealership said the steering bearings are in check and the motormounts are in proper alignment. I have the original factory dunlops and am wondering if anybody knows about Metzeler ME880 series tire or something that would work better. I hate the ride on concrete. Any info would be appreciated.

Kevin

Metz's rock!!!

I like my Metz 880's, got a 240 rear and the 90 front. they seem to hold good in the rain, and not bad on the grooved concrete....JMO

I have to agree withe FLHT, I've always loved the way Metzlers handle, but they do cup very easily and I've had the tread seperate twice. The last time with my wife on the back and that was the last time I mounted a Metzler on one of my bikes. I've started running Bridgestones and like the wear and handling.

I've never been impressed with the wear on the dunlops for the touring Harleys, the back tire anyway. I did get good feel from them and they handled the wet stuff quite well. This last set I have on aren't great at all. I had a defective front that I changed out and that cleared up the shimmy in the front but the back seems a little out of sorts...this one is done so it's coming off, I'll put a dunlop on the back to match the front but when they both are going to come off, I'll look at Michelins...I've heard some conflicting reports on the Metzelers.

All I know is that once they get cupped or starting to get a little flat...the bike isn't any fun to ride any more. I tried to milk my last tire and got to 6500 miles. I went thru the routine:witsend: of checking motor mounts, steering bearing and everything. A new tire made it ride like brand new.

There are many variables that affect tire wear. Road conditions, riding habits, wheel alignment, load capacities, and one of the most important aspects that most people don't pay attention to is proper tire pressure. Most people don't make a habit of checking tire pressure on a regular basis. This is a common for all vehicles, bikes and cages. Just a 3 pound drop in air pressure will significantly increase wear on the tire, and affect gas milage. I check tire pressure on my vehicles once a week. But then again, I'm pretty anal about maintenance on my vehicles.

Road conditions, I live in Michigan and we have some of the crapiest roads around. If you ride alot in the twisties the tires are going to see more friction and wear. With riding habits, if you ride it like you stole it all the time, or your doing burnouts, agian more friction and wear.

Load capacities, how often is the bike loaded down for a trip? With acception of the Ultra, most of the touring bike can be fitted with quick detach tour packs. Most of the people I ride with only put their tour packs on if they are going on a trip, or they have a passenger. That extra 30 pounds of weight is carried by the rear tire.

As far as wheel and frame alignment, here's the scoop. HD has been using the same design on their touring frames since 1984, and it's not that good of a design. The engine sets in the frame on rubber mounts, the swing arm pivot bolt goes through the frame and rear of the transmission case. The sole purpose of the motor mounts is to absorb vibration.

The engine is fitted with Heim adjusters, one on the top of the engine and one by the lower front motor mount. These adjusters are used to tweek the engine in a verticle and horizontal plane to align the swing arm and rear wheel with the frame.

Because of the week attachment link design of the swing arm and frame, rear tires on the touring bikes tend to wear a little quicker. Think of it like this, if you can affect the swing arm alignment just by tweeking a couple adjusters on the engine, how much do ya think the swing arm is flexing when you lean a 750 bike into a curve at 70 mph?

I have heard pros and cons on all tire brands, I think it comes down to riding style and personal preference. I have been running the Dunlop Elite II's on my 02' Heritage since I bought the bike. I currently have 32K on the bike. I just changed the rear tire with 12500 miles on it. I have been consistantly getting 10-12K on the rear tire and double that on the front. I can get more out of the front, but they usually start dry checking from age before they are worn out. Hope this info helps.

worn out a few dunlops, then went to avon's. like em better than the dunlops, but never tryed the elites and only have about 2000 mis on the avon's but so far love em. haven't heard alot of good things about the metzer's they put fear in my heart:devil:

My Sportster came with Dunlops and they just love to follow the grooves in the road, making for some scary unexpected movement occasionally. I planned on getting Metzeler's, but my friend with a lifetime of riding experience prefers Avons, but did say that on one of his bikes (Dyna Street Bob) his Dunlops suck, and on the other, Screamin' Eagle Fat Boy, smooth sailing, go figure.

gonna try the avons next said to be good

This is the 1st forum I've ever seen negative comments about Metzelers & I certainly have never heard of one coming apart. That's all I'll run & I got sets for 2 Land-Speed-Record bikes - one from the 883 Race Series (that's all they ran) & the other new Z-rated for a bike that ran a tick over 180 mph. Never, ever had a problem with a Metzeler tire.

If you've got a tire cupping, that almost always means the air-pressure is too low & that's very common. I don't know about the BT's, but for Sportsters, the owner's manual is just plain wrong, recommending pressures that are too low, especially in the front. Best to go by what it says on the sidewall as a guide (that's max pressure) rather than by the owner's manual. No doubt H-D does that to soften the ride - I call Dunlops "Rocklops" 'cause they're so hard. They last a long time because of that, but they also follow road imperfections while (properly inflated) Metzelers don't.

I've run Avons before & I like those too. They are softer so they won't last as long, but if you're more concerned with traction than mileage, that's a very good choice. Bridgestones are popular too, but they're softer still. I've found Metzelers to be the best combination of traction & mileage & I'm certainly not the only one.

One more thing on pressure - check it cold then again after several miles. If it goes up 6 psi or more the pressure was too low to start with. Different conditions are going to call for different pressures, especially if there are big changes, such as you riding solo in cool weather & then again 2-up with loaded saddlebags, tour pack & passenger in hot weather, so the tire-maker's recommendations are a guide, not an absolute. I'll still take what the manufacturer says over what H-D says though & I've never had a tire failure on a motorcycle.

A lot of good advice, one thing I did not notice mentioned was how many ply you are useing. I just replaced my rear dunlap on my 91 Classic, and was going to use a regular dunlap same tread as the Harley dunlap, but luckily for me the shop manager heard what I was going to do before the mechanic got started. He expained that the tire that I was about to put on was only 4ply and that the Harley tire was 6 ply, then he showed me the difference in the two by letting me push and pull on the side walls. I was convinced and bought the Harley dunlap. The other thing I want to do is see abot getting my tires filled with nitrogen, I have had this done on my cadillac last Nov. and I never have had to add any. It cost 5.00 per tire, but maybe since it's a motorcycle they will do the whole thing for 5.00

All the Metzelers I've gotten say made in Germany right on the sidewall & I just got another new front a couple months ago. The distributor for the east coast region also carries Pirelli & supplies race teams so that's undoubtedly why the tires he gets come from Europe. No affiliation other than being a customer, but in case anyone wants to know, it's Trackside Racer's Supply just outside Asheville, North Carolina.