More info about tires. Hope it helps.
#1
10-07-2009, 01:21 PM
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More info about tires. Hope it helps.
On my relentless quest for knowledge, here are more findings:
First, I spoke with my ND today, and he said Continental are pretty crappy tires in his opinion. So let's just get that out of the way.
Next, I once again called Bill, the tech at Pirelli/Metzeler.
He gave me some rules to go by.
1. It is ok to mix radials and bias, but only with radial on the rear. Never go the other way. Easy to remember (R for rear, R for radial)
2. Never mix tread patterns. In other words, keep it a matched set if possible. Not a Night Dragon rear and a metzeler front for instance.
3. Only the Night Dragon and Metzelers were load rated for Harleys. None of their other tires were.
(That is odd to me, because their website offers "alternatives" to tires, and the Pirelli MT66 is listed as such to the Night Dragons). He said no though...
Funny enough he said that he has no technical specs on the actual mounted width of any of the Pirelli Night Dragon tires.
He was able to provide that on the Metzelers though.
I will include those below.
So, with those rules in play, we basically have two choices from them for the bikes with 4.5"x17" rear rims and 2.5"x19" front rims.
Rear Night Dragon 180/60HB-17 Bias (actual width unknown)
Front Night Dragon 100/90H-19 Bias (actual width unknown)
or
Metzeler Rear ME 880 170/60VR-17 Radial - Width= 6.65 in. on 4.5 in. rim
(with choice of either below front tires)
Metzeler Front ME 880 110/90H-19 Bias - Width= 4.5 in. on a 2.5 in. rim
Metzeler Front ME 880 100/90H-19 Bias -Width= 4.2 in. on a 2.5 in. rim
The metz front 110 gives you about .5" more height and .3" more width than the 100.
However the 110 has less tread depth. It has 4/32 vs. 6/32 of the 100.
The 110 has balance dots...the 100 doesn't....if that's important.
The 110 has a little higher load balance than the 100, but either is acceptable.
I can't for the life of me get any actual specs on the GT502 Dunlop Screaming Eagle 180 to compare. If anyone can measure or find some I would love to have it.
I posed the question to Bill of what his opinion was between the Night Dragons and Metzelers.
His answer indicated that the Metzeler ME 880 was hands down the better all around tire.
Better wear.
Excellent handling, etc.
He said the Night Dragon was designed for very aggressive riding, and to expect less mileage out of it.
According to him:
Night Dragon expected mileage was 7-10K
Metzeler ME 880 expected mileage was 8-12K
Not a lot less mileage to me...especially if the Dragon is noticeably wider and handles awesome. The Dragons are a tad cheaper I think too.
My local ND also stated these numbers when I spoke with him, and he said they were pretty much right on from his experience.
He also preferred the Metzelers, saying they were excellent tires.
If anyone can find any specs or can do some measuring on the Screamin eagles I would love to know.
I have attached a .txt file with the specs on several tires. You will have to import it to excel if you wish to see it.
Just save the file, then open Excel and import it.
If I have mis-interpreted any of this, please let me know.
Hope it helps....
First, I spoke with my ND today, and he said Continental are pretty crappy tires in his opinion. So let's just get that out of the way.
Next, I once again called Bill, the tech at Pirelli/Metzeler.
He gave me some rules to go by.
1. It is ok to mix radials and bias, but only with radial on the rear. Never go the other way. Easy to remember (R for rear, R for radial)
2. Never mix tread patterns. In other words, keep it a matched set if possible. Not a Night Dragon rear and a metzeler front for instance.
3. Only the Night Dragon and Metzelers were load rated for Harleys. None of their other tires were.
(That is odd to me, because their website offers "alternatives" to tires, and the Pirelli MT66 is listed as such to the Night Dragons). He said no though...
Funny enough he said that he has no technical specs on the actual mounted width of any of the Pirelli Night Dragon tires.
He was able to provide that on the Metzelers though.
I will include those below.
So, with those rules in play, we basically have two choices from them for the bikes with 4.5"x17" rear rims and 2.5"x19" front rims.
Rear Night Dragon 180/60HB-17 Bias (actual width unknown)
Front Night Dragon 100/90H-19 Bias (actual width unknown)
or
Metzeler Rear ME 880 170/60VR-17 Radial - Width= 6.65 in. on 4.5 in. rim
(with choice of either below front tires)
Metzeler Front ME 880 110/90H-19 Bias - Width= 4.5 in. on a 2.5 in. rim
Metzeler Front ME 880 100/90H-19 Bias -Width= 4.2 in. on a 2.5 in. rim
The metz front 110 gives you about .5" more height and .3" more width than the 100.
However the 110 has less tread depth. It has 4/32 vs. 6/32 of the 100.
The 110 has balance dots...the 100 doesn't....if that's important.
The 110 has a little higher load balance than the 100, but either is acceptable.
I can't for the life of me get any actual specs on the GT502 Dunlop Screaming Eagle 180 to compare. If anyone can measure or find some I would love to have it.
I posed the question to Bill of what his opinion was between the Night Dragons and Metzelers.
His answer indicated that the Metzeler ME 880 was hands down the better all around tire.
Better wear.
Excellent handling, etc.
He said the Night Dragon was designed for very aggressive riding, and to expect less mileage out of it.
According to him:
Night Dragon expected mileage was 7-10K
Metzeler ME 880 expected mileage was 8-12K
Not a lot less mileage to me...especially if the Dragon is noticeably wider and handles awesome. The Dragons are a tad cheaper I think too.
My local ND also stated these numbers when I spoke with him, and he said they were pretty much right on from his experience.
He also preferred the Metzelers, saying they were excellent tires.
If anyone can find any specs or can do some measuring on the Screamin eagles I would love to know.
I have attached a .txt file with the specs on several tires. You will have to import it to excel if you wish to see it.
Just save the file, then open Excel and import it.
If I have mis-interpreted any of this, please let me know.
Hope it helps....
#3
10-07-2009, 04:05 PM
#4
10-08-2009, 09:46 PM
No specs for Max Diameter or Max width, but here are some of the available specs, if you don't have them for The Night Dragons
P/N 1773000
Description180/60B-17 TL Reinf 81H N Dragon
Rear Tire R
Measured Rim 5.00
Rims Permitted 4.50-5.50
Load Capacity 1019
Min-Max PSI 44-50
Speed Rating 130
P/N 1772500
Descripton 100/90-19 TL 57H N Dragon
Front Tire F
Measured Rim 3.00
Rims Permitted 2.50-3.50
Load Capacity 507
Min-Max PSI 38-42
Speed Rating 130
P/N 1773000
Description180/60B-17 TL Reinf 81H N Dragon
Rear Tire R
Measured Rim 5.00
Rims Permitted 4.50-5.50
Load Capacity 1019
Min-Max PSI 44-50
Speed Rating 130
P/N 1772500
Descripton 100/90-19 TL 57H N Dragon
Front Tire F
Measured Rim 3.00
Rims Permitted 2.50-3.50
Load Capacity 507
Min-Max PSI 38-42
Speed Rating 130
#5
10-08-2009, 10:05 PM
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#6
10-08-2009, 11:14 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
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Tire
The 170 is close to 1/8" wider than the 160.the 170 has a lower sidewall cuz its a radial.
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