It seems that I wore out the remaining portion of my rear tire much quicker since the 95" kit went on. Go Figure. I figured I had at least a few months left on it, but on close inspection yesterday it is nearly bald. So it's time for new tires.

I have been running Avon's for the last 2 sets of tires on my ride but have opted for Metzelers this time. I ran Metzleres when I had my stock rims and really liked them. But the main reason I am switching is that I saw a metzeler WWW front and the WWW seems to be wider so that there will be no black visible between the rim and the WWW. The Metzelers are also quite a bit less expensive.

The Avon's ride great, and are very smooth. The front tire does have a tread that goes the same way as the tire rotates when it is rolling which can contribute to a lack of control type of feeling on the freeway in the grooves, but I have really had no issue with this. The Metzeler's tread is completely different so we will see how the bike feels with these new tires. I could use my front tire for another 10K easy, but i figure since I am changing brands that I might as well do both tires.

The mileage I get with the Avon's is about 10K per rear and twice that for the front. Pretty darn good for a motorcycle tire. Being someone who came from sport bikes, I was used to getting 500 max on rear tires and wearing out the edges far quicker than the centers.

I'll report back with pics and comparison once I get these tires on which should be next week sometime.

Drew

 

I'll be looking forward to a rider report on the Metzlers. I run Avon Venoms now and am very pleased with them, but they've become extremely expensive lately.

 

I have been running Metzeler 880's for the last 2500 miles and I love them. They really grip the road.

 

I love how the Metzlers handle the grooved roads and wet pavement. Really hold the road well.

 

Metzeler tires make me smile....

 

Yeah, the Avon's are really pricey now. Even at dealer cost.

Drew

 

i ran the metzelers on my metric and loved them they handle real well and wear good.

 

My son just bought a set of Metzelers for his 09 Softail Custom. He had close to 11000+ on the rear Dunlop his front could of went maybe 10000 more but he wanted the same kind on front and rear. He has the front tire and will probably put the rear on tonight.

I put a set of the ME880 on a bagger I had a few years ago and it made a difference on how it handled. I could feel the difference the first time I rode it. Did not keep it long enough to see how they wore.

 

Never had the Avons, but went from standard Dunlops front and rear to the Metzler 880 and the handling was DRAMATICALLY better. Tons of roads around here have the rain grooves in them and the bike doesn't want to follow them anymore. First trip on them was on some good twisty stuff and they felt good and solid all the way to the floorboards. Don't have a ton of miles on them yet, prob around 1500, but I've loved every single one of them.

 

Interesting info.....I'll be following this thread. I looked into Metzlers last year, and all of the threads had negative information about the quality and tire life of the 210/50/17. I got 8k out of my stock Dunlop, and there were guys talking about only getting 3500-5000 out of the Metzler replacements. Keep in mind, that we're talking about the wide rear, to fit '06- later FX Softails, and not the FLs that you guys are running. So, I opted for Pirelli Night Dragons instead. They've been good so far.