metzeler tires
Former Sponsor
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
From: Port Orange, FL
Metzeler Tires
I agree, the ride on the Metzeler tires is far better then the Dunlop. If you want a tire that falls between the hard/softness of the Metzeler and Dunlop, they Avon is also a great tire.
We have had to use more Avons with the shortage of Metzeler tires, and customers really like the ride. I also love the aggressive tread pattern of the Avon tires.
We have had to use more Avons with the shortage of Metzeler tires, and customers really like the ride. I also love the aggressive tread pattern of the Avon tires.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
From: Land of Confusion
What ez said.
The PSI requirments between the metric and alpha-numeric sizes are different, so check that out. Also, the primary factor in the PSI range recommendations is how much load is on the bike. If you are not sure what to use, you should probably call Metzeler for their recommendation.
Cheers
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,484
Likes: 82
From: Mountain View, California
Regarding your wear issue: ME 880s have a different shape than "Harley" style Dunlops do. In layman's terms (since that's what I am 
they are "rounder" than the relatively flat (across the tread surface) Dunlops.
Because of this, a greater portion of the Dunlop tread width is in contact with the road surface when you're running straight down the highway. By contrast, a smaller portion of the ME880 tread width is on the asphalt in straight-line riding.
If most of your miles are straight line, then you'll wear those 880s more quickly across the centerline than you would the Dunlops, because the wear is occurring across a narrower patch of rubber.
Regarding your mileage: You're getting about the same mileage from your 880s that I get: 8k or so in the rear, more up front. I second the opinion that you should visit the Metzeler site and keep your tires inflated per their recommendations. Don't go by the H-D pressures or by the sidewall numbers.
I'm not real happy with the 880s. I found the Avon Venums grip better and last longer. I'm switching back to Venums when my current 880s are done.
A final note on Metzeler tires: My experience has been that Metzeler's warranty process SUCKS. I put a new ME800 up front the morning of my ride to Street Vibrations in Reno year before last. The tire was slightly out-of-round and created a wobble I had to live with until I got home, and then I discovered that, to get a defective Metzeler tire replaced, your shop will have to SEND YOUR BAD TIRE TO METZELER FOR APPROVAL before giving you a replacement. This process can leave you tireless for three weeks or so. I chose to use weights and trueing (spoked wheels) to offset the wobble as much as possible and then just deal with it until the tire wears out (still running it). For that reason alone, I'll never buy another Metzeler.
they are "rounder" than the relatively flat (across the tread surface) Dunlops.Because of this, a greater portion of the Dunlop tread width is in contact with the road surface when you're running straight down the highway. By contrast, a smaller portion of the ME880 tread width is on the asphalt in straight-line riding.
If most of your miles are straight line, then you'll wear those 880s more quickly across the centerline than you would the Dunlops, because the wear is occurring across a narrower patch of rubber.
Regarding your mileage: You're getting about the same mileage from your 880s that I get: 8k or so in the rear, more up front. I second the opinion that you should visit the Metzeler site and keep your tires inflated per their recommendations. Don't go by the H-D pressures or by the sidewall numbers.
I'm not real happy with the 880s. I found the Avon Venums grip better and last longer. I'm switching back to Venums when my current 880s are done.
A final note on Metzeler tires: My experience has been that Metzeler's warranty process SUCKS. I put a new ME800 up front the morning of my ride to Street Vibrations in Reno year before last. The tire was slightly out-of-round and created a wobble I had to live with until I got home, and then I discovered that, to get a defective Metzeler tire replaced, your shop will have to SEND YOUR BAD TIRE TO METZELER FOR APPROVAL before giving you a replacement. This process can leave you tireless for three weeks or so. I chose to use weights and trueing (spoked wheels) to offset the wobble as much as possible and then just deal with it until the tire wears out (still running it). For that reason alone, I'll never buy another Metzeler.
Last edited by Z; Jul 20, 2009 at 03:03 PM.
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 259
Likes: 2
From: Milton, FL
I just replaced my rear ME880 Marathon at a mere 5000 miles... No burnouts and not an overly aggressive rider... Not a happy camper here!!
I have a 2007 Softail Custom and am running what Metzeler considers a stage 1 upgrade: 210/50 ZR17. Slightly wider than stock and also slightly smaller in diameter. The stock tire was a factory Dunlop at 200/55 R17 and I got almost 9000 miles from it. I like the way the ME880's ride but damn I can't afford 3 rear tires a year... Probably going to try the Avon's next...
Also have to agree with Z. The Metzeler seems to have a narrower center contact patch when riding on the straights and thats exactly where my tire wore out at. Steel belts showing right in the middle with PLENTY of tread on either side. Also note that I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills and a considerable amount of my riding is in the twisties so I'm a little confused by this for sure!!
I have a 2007 Softail Custom and am running what Metzeler considers a stage 1 upgrade: 210/50 ZR17. Slightly wider than stock and also slightly smaller in diameter. The stock tire was a factory Dunlop at 200/55 R17 and I got almost 9000 miles from it. I like the way the ME880's ride but damn I can't afford 3 rear tires a year... Probably going to try the Avon's next...
Also have to agree with Z. The Metzeler seems to have a narrower center contact patch when riding on the straights and thats exactly where my tire wore out at. Steel belts showing right in the middle with PLENTY of tread on either side. Also note that I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills and a considerable amount of my riding is in the twisties so I'm a little confused by this for sure!!
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
From: Land of Confusion
I just replaced my rear ME880 Marathon at a mere 5000 miles... No burnouts and not an overly aggressive rider... Not a happy camper here!!
I have a 2007 Softail Custom and am running what Metzeler considers a stage 1 upgrade: 210/50 ZR17. Slightly wider than stock and also slightly smaller in diameter. The stock tire was a factory Dunlop at 200/55 R17 and I got almost 9000 miles from it. I like the way the ME880's ride but damn I can't afford 3 rear tires a year... Probably going to try the Avon's next...
Also have to agree with Z. The Metzeler seems to have a narrower center contact patch when riding on the straights and thats exactly where my tire wore out at. Steel belts showing right in the middle with PLENTY of tread on either side. Also note that I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills and a considerable amount of my riding is in the twisties so I'm a little confused by this for sure!!
I have a 2007 Softail Custom and am running what Metzeler considers a stage 1 upgrade: 210/50 ZR17. Slightly wider than stock and also slightly smaller in diameter. The stock tire was a factory Dunlop at 200/55 R17 and I got almost 9000 miles from it. I like the way the ME880's ride but damn I can't afford 3 rear tires a year... Probably going to try the Avon's next...
Also have to agree with Z. The Metzeler seems to have a narrower center contact patch when riding on the straights and thats exactly where my tire wore out at. Steel belts showing right in the middle with PLENTY of tread on either side. Also note that I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills and a considerable amount of my riding is in the twisties so I'm a little confused by this for sure!!
The Metzeler 210/50ZR17 tire will not get the same mileage as a more standard size like on the Harley touring bikes. It is made with a soft tread compound similar to sport bikes to give increased grip and performance for high-torque bikes...so while it will "work" on your Softail, the caveat is that it will wear out much more quickly. Note that the tire description states "ZR"...in tire lingo that is a high-performance radial tire. Metzeler makes six ME880 rears like this and point out this fact in their brochure...however, a lot of dealers seem to miss that fact and never tell this to their customers up-front...so then they get a little surprise.
Metzeler once pointed out to me that their oversized rear ME880s (200mm and larger) for custom applications will get less mileage overall as well versus the more standard touring sizes.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
From: Land of Confusion
Regarding your wear issue: ME 880s have a different shape than "Harley" style Dunlops do. In layman's terms (since that's what I am they are "rounder" than the relatively flat (across the tread surface) Dunlops.
Because of this, a greater portion of the Dunlop tread width is in contact with the road surface when you're running straight down the highway. By contrast, a smaller portion of the ME880 tread width is on the asphalt in straight-line riding.
If most of your miles are straight line, then you'll wear those 880s more quickly across the centerline than you would the Dunlops, because the wear is occurring across a narrower patch of rubber.
Regarding your mileage: You're getting about the same mileage from your 880s that I get: 8k or so in the rear, more up front. I second the opinion that you should visit the Metzeler site and keep your tires inflated per their recommendations. Don't go by the H-D pressures or by the sidewall numbers.
I'm not real happy with the 880s. I found the Avon Venums grip better and last longer. I'm switching back to Venums when my current 880s are done.
A final note on Metzeler tires: My experience has been that Metzeler's warranty process SUCKS. I put a new ME800 up front the morning of my ride to Street Vibrations in Reno year before last. The tire was slightly out-of-round and created a wobble I had to live with until I got home, and then I discovered that, to get a defective Metzeler tire replaced, your shop will have to SEND YOUR BAD TIRE TO METZELER FOR APPROVAL before giving you a replacement. This process can leave you tireless for three weeks or so. I chose to use weights and trueing (spoked wheels) to offset the wobble as much as possible and then just deal with it until the tire wears out (still running it). For that reason alone, I'll never buy another Metzeler.
they are "rounder" than the relatively flat (across the tread surface) Dunlops.Because of this, a greater portion of the Dunlop tread width is in contact with the road surface when you're running straight down the highway. By contrast, a smaller portion of the ME880 tread width is on the asphalt in straight-line riding.
If most of your miles are straight line, then you'll wear those 880s more quickly across the centerline than you would the Dunlops, because the wear is occurring across a narrower patch of rubber.
Regarding your mileage: You're getting about the same mileage from your 880s that I get: 8k or so in the rear, more up front. I second the opinion that you should visit the Metzeler site and keep your tires inflated per their recommendations. Don't go by the H-D pressures or by the sidewall numbers.
I'm not real happy with the 880s. I found the Avon Venums grip better and last longer. I'm switching back to Venums when my current 880s are done.
A final note on Metzeler tires: My experience has been that Metzeler's warranty process SUCKS. I put a new ME800 up front the morning of my ride to Street Vibrations in Reno year before last. The tire was slightly out-of-round and created a wobble I had to live with until I got home, and then I discovered that, to get a defective Metzeler tire replaced, your shop will have to SEND YOUR BAD TIRE TO METZELER FOR APPROVAL before giving you a replacement. This process can leave you tireless for three weeks or so. I chose to use weights and trueing (spoked wheels) to offset the wobble as much as possible and then just deal with it until the tire wears out (still running it). For that reason alone, I'll never buy another Metzeler.
I can say from personal experience that I had no issues with Metzeler when it came to a warranty concern...but then again I had a good dealer who knew the warranty policy and procedure.
Sounds like the dealer wasn't completely up on Metzeler's warranty policy...that or perhaps they were hedging their bets that no matter what the result was, they were going to get paid. If a tire was going to be sent back to the manufacturer for warranty, that manufacturer would be expecting the tire to be in a warrantable condition when they got it...if it isn't, then they would likely reject the claim and the dealer is out. Warranty policies are in writing for a reason, and should be clear to the dealer...if not, they should be making some phone calls for clarification. It isn't rocket science!
Metzeler tires are also sold to dealers through a distributor...they don't sell direct...and all of their warranty tires go back through said distributor (Drag Specialties for Harley stuff) and ultimately to them. This is supposed to allow warranty issues to be handled at the dealer level, so you wouldn't have to wait for three weeks...so it makes no sense what the dealer did! And at no time should a dealer leave you TIRELESS and DOWN WITHOUT A BIKE for any length of time (unless he actually doesn't have a suitable replacement tire to get on your bike)...there are ways to work stuff like this out!
What's up with dealers these days?
OK, end of rant...
Cheers
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,484
Likes: 82
From: Mountain View, California
That Z rating means the tire is good for 149 MPH and above, with no top speed limit where the "standard" ME 880 is H rated (130-MPH max). There's a big price difference between the two, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the compound on the Z tire is softer than the compound on the H equivelent, which would make it wear out faster still. Five-thousand miles on a tirethat costs you $200 delivered from AMT is tough to swallow.
Because cash is tight, I just ordered a set of front and rear Michelin Commanders from AMT for my 98 Wide Glide for a total price of $182, delivered to my door. I've run Dunlops, Avons and Metzelers so far, so we'll see how these on-sale tires work out. Deep discount on these right now at Americanmototire.com
Z
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,484
Likes: 82
From: Mountain View, California
I can say from personal experience that I had no issues with Metzeler when it came to a warranty concern...but then again I had a good dealer who knew the warranty policy and procedure.
Sounds like the dealer wasn't completely up on Metzeler's warranty policy...that or perhaps they were hedging their bets that no matter what the result was, they were going to get paid. If a tire was going to be sent back to the manufacturer for warranty, that manufacturer would be expecting the tire to be in a warrantable condition when they got it...if it isn't, then they would likely reject the claim and the dealer is out. Warranty policies are in writing for a reason, and should be clear to the dealer...if not, they should be making some phone calls for clarification. It isn't rocket science!
Metzeler tires are also sold to dealers through a distributor...they don't sell direct...and all of their warranty tires go back through said distributor (Drag Specialties for Harley stuff) and ultimately to them. This is supposed to allow warranty issues to be handled at the dealer level, so you wouldn't have to wait for three weeks...so it makes no sense what the dealer did! And at no time should a dealer leave you TIRELESS and DOWN WITHOUT A BIKE for any length of time (unless he actually doesn't have a suitable replacement tire to get on your bike)...there are ways to work stuff like this out!
What's up with dealers these days?
OK, end of rant...
Cheers
Sounds like the dealer wasn't completely up on Metzeler's warranty policy...that or perhaps they were hedging their bets that no matter what the result was, they were going to get paid. If a tire was going to be sent back to the manufacturer for warranty, that manufacturer would be expecting the tire to be in a warrantable condition when they got it...if it isn't, then they would likely reject the claim and the dealer is out. Warranty policies are in writing for a reason, and should be clear to the dealer...if not, they should be making some phone calls for clarification. It isn't rocket science!
Metzeler tires are also sold to dealers through a distributor...they don't sell direct...and all of their warranty tires go back through said distributor (Drag Specialties for Harley stuff) and ultimately to them. This is supposed to allow warranty issues to be handled at the dealer level, so you wouldn't have to wait for three weeks...so it makes no sense what the dealer did! And at no time should a dealer leave you TIRELESS and DOWN WITHOUT A BIKE for any length of time (unless he actually doesn't have a suitable replacement tire to get on your bike)...there are ways to work stuff like this out!
What's up with dealers these days?
OK, end of rant...
Cheers
Prog, good comments on the Metzeler warranty. To set the record straight, I should point out the following:
I didn't take my tire problem to a dealer: It was a respected, long-standing local indy with whom I've dropped a fair amount of cash. Don't want to give dealerships any more bad press then they already have.
I had purchased the tire online and asked the indy to handle the warranty issue for me. Theoretically this shouldn't matter because tires (motorcycle/car/truck) don't always fail at home, and authorized dealers should be prepared to handle warranty claims for out-of-towners. If you buy Goodyear tires for you car in Reno, NV and then drive the family to Disneyland and experience a problem in the middle of nowhere, you know that you can stop at any authorized Goodyear dealer and have the problem handled on-the-spot. I'm sure Goodyear encourages this behavior from their dealers in order to build brand loyalty. Maybe Metzeler does too, but if they do my indy sure as Hell didn't go along with the program. Also, in Metzeler's defence, I didn't independently verify that the story I got from my Indy was true, so maybe I'm being unfair to Metz.
Z
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Tourer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 259
Likes: 2
From: Milton, FL
The Metzeler 210/50ZR17 tire will not get the same mileage as a more standard size like on the Harley touring bikes. It is made with a soft tread compound similar to sport bikes to give increased grip and performance for high-torque bikes...so while it will "work" on your Softail, the caveat is that it will wear out much more quickly. Note that the tire description states "ZR"...in tire lingo that is a high-performance radial tire. Metzeler makes six ME880 rears like this and point out this fact in their brochure...however, a lot of dealers seem to miss that fact and never tell this to their customers up-front...so then they get a little surprise.
Metzeler once pointed out to me that their oversized rear ME880s (200mm and larger) for custom applications will get less mileage overall as well versus the more standard touring sizes.
Metzeler once pointed out to me that their oversized rear ME880s (200mm and larger) for custom applications will get less mileage overall as well versus the more standard touring sizes.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
From: Land of Confusion
O.K. That definitely makes sense. This rear tire definitely grips like glue and the ZR rating would indicate a softer compound. Unfortunately, Metzeler doesn't make my tire in a regular compound and at this time the ZR is the only tire avalable to me. I would be perfectly happy with a harder compound as I'm more of a cruiser and not really concerned with burning through the curves anyway. Through alot of research it looks like the only tires available to me at this time are the factory Dunlop, this ZR Metzeler and now the Avon Cobra. As much as I like this Metzeler, it's just not economically feasible as I easily ride 15k a year and three rears a year is too much!!
There are also the new Pirelli Night Dragon tires...initial reviews on the tires are positive. The Avons have good reviews as well.
Cheers