I am new to the biker world. I just recently purchased an 03 sporty that had been sitting up for the last three years. The tires are dry rotted and Im looking to have them replaced. I really want some white walls. I'm not sure as which to buy. I figure replacing the stock dunlops wouldn't be a bad idea. Although they do not offer white walls in my sizes. I'm looking at Metzeler ME 880. They offer both sizes, front and rear. I'm just curious if those are good tires. I'm not looking to break the bank on tires, yet I don't want to go cheap either.

 

I have the 03 too,,great bike,,,,when I got it in feb. this year it had 4000miles on it and the tires where dry roted too,,to bad for me ride it,,I replaced them with stock dunlop's,,,I have gottin 8700 miles on it now and the tire still looks new in the tread,,,BUT,,, when new , you will feel the bike move when you hit the lines in the road,or even where they had seal'd crack's in the road,,not a good handling tire I don't think,,they last good,,,,I will go with the Metzeler tire the next time,,I was told this but I'm hard headed,,,,JUST MY TWO CENTS,,,good luck with which ever way you go with dude,,need to add that as they wear,,YOU WILL FEEL THE LINES AND CRACKS A HECK ALOT MORE,,,IT DOES GET WORSE

 

I went with the Metzler's on my RK and would put them on the sportie in a heartbeat! They handle water well and ride great. Stick with the manufacturers recommended air pressure and you will have no regrets. The GF wants wide whites on her nightster when its due for tires and that's what I'm going to roll with. The tread looks much better than the Dunlops too!!

Good luck!!

 

metz are great.

 

I'm not a fan of either brand, my preferred tyres being Avon Venom, available in WWW.

 

There's more to the tire decision than brand and tread pattern. What kind of riding do you do? Part of the reason I use the ME880's on my touring bike is that they have a 77 weight rating, which equates to about a 900 lb load capacity. The tires that fit a Sportster aren't going to be rated anywhere near that high. If you do much two up riding, the extra weight is going to account for way more tire wear than you would think, which leads riders assume a certain brand is junk because they wear out fast. All that said, the Metzler's tend to be a little softer compound than Dunlop, which should have better feel but wear out quicker. As also stated, the tread pattern won't hunt for a line on rain grooves or metal grates like stock tires. They perform well for me in the rain also.

 

Hands down, the Metezler 880's over the Dunflop 401's. Much better handling and longer lasting tires.
Be sure and use the tire pressures listed on the Metz website. They run at higher pressures than the stock 401's.