New Tyres

[Badacer]

Hi Guys I know there is a lot of info on here about tyres, but I'm sorta comming at it from a different angle. I live in Ireland, I can be anywhere in the country in less than 3 hours so I'm not looking for a tyre that can put up mega mileage, in fact would be more than happy with 7,000 miles from a set. What is more important to me is grip, stability and wet weather handling I am running Dunlop 404's at the moment and they do little to inspire confidence on the wet greasy Irish roads. I have a choice of 3 tyres Metzeler: ME880 ( german made ), Michelin: Commander or Continental: Milestone CM2. I cant get Avon Venom over here for some reason. Any thoughts would be much appreciated

[Sleeperhawk]

Of those three choices, the Michelin Commander. From most of the ones who use them here, they have no complaints about wet weather and gripping.

[GeorgeS]

I ran a Conti on my 89, very good results. Lots of Rain here in Washington State.

 

Everybody seems to like the Michilian also . No complaints reported here on them.

 

I now use only the Dunlop E-3, have not heard anybody complain about traction.

Again, I do a lot of rideing in Rain her in Wa. State.

 

We have been getting lots of reports about Metzler rears chunking out !!! on this web site over the lasf few years, and word is that metz does not own up to the problem.

[Sylvester]

Avoid the Metzler tire, I run Dunlop D404 on my machine but plan on going to the Dunlop E3 when the time arises. The Michelin Commader is very highly rated.

[BoomerCPO]

Best thing I ever did for my Venture was to put a set of Michelin Commanders on her and drop those Dunlop 404's right into the garbage can!

 

I have rode Ventures with the Avons, Bridgestones,and Metzlers. The Mich Commanders are my choice hands down. Riding in the rain is a snap with these tires IMHO.....and the scoot does very well in the twisties and all slow speed handling situations as well.

 

I'm on my 1st set of Mich Commanders so I can't give an estimate on how many miles I will get total. I have noticed my mpg has inched up a bit tho!

 

 

Boomer.......who won't even put a Dunlop on a 1st Gen washing machine or the MIL's clunker.

[hig4s]

Many people over here have had failure issues with the Metzlers, but from what I've been able to deduce the failures have been almost all non-German produced.

 

But if I couldn't get Avons I would go with the Michelin.

[Seaking]

Many people over here have had failure issues with the Metzlers, but from what I've been able to deduce the failures have been almost all non-German produced.

 

But if I couldn't get Avons I would go with the Michelin.

 

I ran ME880s on my VStar for years and NEVER had a prob with them what so ever.. But on the Venture I have the E3 front and back and those tires are impressively superior over the 404s..

[Guest Saddletramp]

I have ran Metzlers on a V-Star and a Venture. Haven't had a problem with them on either bike. The current set of Metzlers have 2000 miles on them and had the bike off the ground yesterday for maintenence. I looked the tires over good. There is no evidence of "chunking" or delamination at this time. I keep my pressures at the max listed on the sidewall. The short version of my story--Metzlers work for me-- don't know about others problems other than what I have read here.

[Badacer]

Thanks for all your comments, I've allways used metzlers on sportsbikes in the past, I believe hig4s to be correct about the problem with non German produced me880's. saddletramp I would like to know how the Metzlers compare with other tyres you may have used. BoomerCPO I agree with you about the 404's you say you also ran metzlers for a while did you change because of the chunking issue or did they just not perform as good as the michelin. I was inclined to go for the German produced Metzlers (brand loyalty I suppose) now am considering the Michelin's

[BoomerCPO]

BoomerCPO I agree with you about the 404's you say you also ran metzlers for a while did you change because of the chunking issue or did they just not perform as good as the michelin.

 

I never put the Metzlers on my scoot after reading about the "chunking" problems folks here were reporting. I have ridden 2 other Ventures which had the Metzlers on them. After riding a Venture with the Mich Commanders I made my choice.

 

I have to say I was ready to put a CT on my scoot but my wife ordered the Mich Commanders for me as she did not want me to run a CT on the scoot.

 

As it stands now I have 2 Rears and 1 Front Mich Commanders in stock for my future use. The wife is determined to keep me from putting a CT on my Venture.....and as long as she's willing to buy the MC tires I will continue to run them.

 

 

 

Boomer............who is now working on getting the wife to buy "safety chrome" for the scoot.

[Guest Saddletramp]

Badacer, I ran Bridgestone on both bikes as they were the original equipment on both of mine. Both sets of Biridgestones lasted only 8 to 9000 miles on both bikes. I switched directly to Metzler on the V-Star and was impressed with the difference in handling. I sold that bike with 4500 miles on the Metz's and had no problem with them. I haven't heard any other problems from the current owner in regards to tires. On the Venture I ran a set of Dunlops 404s for approx. 13000 miles. I went with the Dunlops simply due to the fact that my dealer had been stuck with a set of by another customer. The only problem with the dunlop that I had was the rear tire wore out much quicker than the front, possibly my fault, perhaps I didn't have the proper inflation and most of those miles were in a two-up scenerio. The only other problem was a front end wobble first thing in the day on eneven roads. I have yet to understand that one as the steering head bearings are tight. I put the Metzlers on this spring and also went with the recommended factory upgrade to 170's on the rear. I wasvery apprehensive of a tire rub on the swingarm but to date have yet to experience it. The Metzlers gave a whole new feeling to the Venture as they once again improved the handling immensely. I am considering Avon for the next replacements but will have to go with a downsized front to get the WWW tire which is the reason for the 170 in Metzler. Hope this helps you in your desicion process.

[Phaedrus]

...I put the Metzlers on this spring and also went with the recommended factory upgrade to 170's on the rear. I was very apprehensive of a tire rub on the swingarm but to date have yet to experience it. The Metzlers gave a whole new feeling to the Venture as they once again improved the handling immensely. I am considering Avon for the next replacements but will have to go with a downsized front to get the WWW tire which is the reason for the 170 in Metzler. Hope this helps you in your desicion process.

I'm very interested in your 170 size tire, mostly because I'd like something a little taller to offset the error in the speedometer. You say you have not experienced the tire rub, which is what I would worry about. Any other comments about the handleing? How is the slow speed stuff, u-turns, parking lot maneuvers? How about straight line?

 

Anyone else try the 170 size tire?

[hig4s]

Thanks for all your comments, I've allways used metzlers on sportsbikes in the past, I believe hig4s to be correct about the problem with non German produced me880's. saddletramp I would like to know how the Metzlers compare with other tyres you may have used. BoomerCPO I agree with you about the 404's you say you also ran metzlers for a while did you change because of the chunking issue or did they just not perform as good as the michelin. I was inclined to go for the German produced Metzlers (brand loyalty I suppose) now am considering the Michelin's

 

 

I have also noticed by going to a few tire stores, that Germany produced Metz have "made in Germany" in a large and easy to read stamping on the side, the non-Germany produced tires have the "made in" stamp very small and hard to read!!!!

[Guest Saddletramp]

The 170 is in reference to the tire width. I'm not sure that it is any taller. According to the speed devices on the shoulder of the road I'm still 3-4 mph off from actual speed. I feel the slow speed handling is excellent. I've noticed I am able to creep along without the wobble and appears easier to balance. Getting back to the speedometer descrepancies, I would rather be reading a little slower than faster on my speed anyhow, and yes it will make a difference in actual miles on the bike and a slightly false reading in mpg's but I can live with it.