I just rolled about 9,000 miles on my 888's. So far, so good. Plenty of life left in them. They are definitely secure in the turns, loud, but they feel like a good grip. On the straight away they are smooth as glass. I used the beads in them. I hope you have good luck with them.
I kick myself at times. I ran ME 888's on the vision and liked them. I got 15K out of the front. Now with all the talk of the Avon I had to try it. Why do any of us switch when we find something that works for us. Why do we think the next thing is better then what is working for us,
I should have mentioned, since I do a lot of 2up with luggage riding I oped for the "reinforced sidewall" 180/60-16 for the rear. This ME888 has, I believe, an 81H (1,020lbs.) load rating.
ERRR ....I didn't buy a friggin' bias-ply or an under-load rated tire for my bike!!!! @visionjohnny ...again thank you very much for your advice... LOOK CARFULLY at the specs..of the tire I bought off the INTERNET....You'll notice it is a RADIAL with a REINFORCED SIDEWALL....and even the proper size for my XC....Yes can you believe it?? Bought all by myself.... 180/60R-16 Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra Reinforced Radial Rear Tire | eBay
I love the ME 888's for my bike,. Just wish they came with raised white letters. Pretty sure I will destroy my rear tire by the end of the riding season here. Over the winter I'll have to decide if I want to try something else or stick with what has been working for me.
I was able to get some miles on the Metzeler 888s yesterday. First I took my daughter for a loop around the Northwest hills of CT to get ice cream Then in the afternoon after helping Scott change his rear tire I followed the kid at ridiculous speeds on a twisty route he likes. The Melzelers perform well, they are smooth, quiet and transition in turns very nicely. They also are not bothered by road surface changes and tar snakes. Compared to the Avon Cobras, I feel more "inertia" from the 888s which makes the Cobras feel like they transitioned quicker and with less effort. I'd also say at the edge of performance the Cobras are a little more "confident". None of the differences are drastic and I'm very happy with the Metzeler 888s and if I have to give up a minor amount of high speed feel to get 4,000-5,000 miles more life out of the tires...I'm cool with that So we will see how they last, I had just a hair over 41k miles on the bike when the Metz went on this week......
One (I suspect the front) or both of the tires is out of balance . I hadn't had a chance to ride the 888s on the highway until today and it didn't take me long to notice a shimmy in the bars that was never there before the tire change. I ended up taking the tires to a new place called Roost Motor Sports in Thomaston, CT that charged only $35 per tire to change them over because I didn't want bother assembling the HF tire changer and doing them myself just yet. I provided them with the properly weighed Dynabeads marked for the front and rear. I have no way knowing whether or not they actually added them or had some kind of mishap at the shop, but its the only reason I can think of that these tires should be out of balance. I'm going to add the 3/4oz of Dynabeads I have left to the front to see if it makes any difference...That's really all I can do today, I have to get this worked out before I leave on my riding vaca next Saturday.
I added the 3/4oz of extra beads to the front tire with no improvement of the imbalance feeling. This doesn't tell much...the tire requires 2oz so if the shop did not add the beads, .75oz probably isn't going to have effect. If they did add beads then there is the possibility the tire is out of round form the factory.
I don't feel any of the shimmying until around 68mph, by 75mph if I take one hand off the bar I can physically see the bar shaking.....Before this tire change my bike was rock steady, it has never done anything like this.
btw: Does anyone know for sure whether or not a wheel can be weight balanced if it has Dynabeads in it?
Damn man that sucks - gotta get it smoothed out before the trip.
So you added 3/4oz to the front tire through the valve stem I guess, with no way to know whether the tire shop really added the other 2oz to begin with. Did you ask them? Not that they would admit if they hadn't, but I wonder if they could have possible put them in but left them inside their bags so they haven't been able to spread out like they're supposed to? I see another trip to a tire machine or a session with your new tire changer toy coming up. Damn that sucks.
Not that they would admit if they hadn't, but I wonder if they could have possible put them in but left them inside their bags? I see another trip to a tire machine or a session with your new tire changer toy coming up. Damn that sucks.
when I was researching beads years ago I remember reading on a truck forum how easy they are to add to a tire change, just toss in the whole sealed packet and they will release themselves in a few miles. If the tire guys subscribed to that concept that would be a possible explanation.
I rode on the highway to Springfield and back 30 miles each way with no change. I'll be pulling the rim/tires tomorrow and taking them back to have the beads removed(if they are even in there) and have a traditional balance done.
You could pull the wheel and take it to dealer and ask them to check the balance. With the beads in there tire it should come up needing zero weight.
Even with wheel off ground spin tire and wait for it to stop. Now mark the bottom of the tire. I mean put mark on the side of the tire. Now spin it again and see if the tire stops with the mark on the bottom.
Of course with wheel off ground see if you have side to side play.
I don't remember if you installed tire but maybe it was not torqued to the right number.
Sure hope you find out
I put stainless beads in both my vics and never a problem.... It must be something else that makes the tire of @PaiN wobble ... Dumping thr packet and beads into the tire is just pure laziness.... The beads I use also must put them in through the sidewall, NOOOO problem with that....
I had it in my head that you had just recently bought a tire changer tool (or maybe that was Broggyr?). I'm betting when someone pops the tires off the rims there are zero beads inside except the 3/4oz you put in last.
out for long ride yesterday. Coming back after paying for gas my front tire looked a little funny in the sunlight. So I looked at my Avon venom. Crap its cupping and down to the wear bars. Checked my list when I put it on and mileage. Well its been on for just over a year and 10 thousand miles. Kevinx said back when everyone was getting excited about the Avon they stick like glue and wear like cotton candy. Dam he was right.
So now looking for a new tire I read over on the 3 letter forum Kevinx is running a 160 rear tire on the front. After read 10 pages and some of the guys put it on there CC and CX and a couple vision. Yes the tire is just a bit taller but wider by far. They rave about the handling and smooth ride and better stopping. So I'm thinking about it but will chicken out and go to a Metzler wear I got 15K out of it and was happy. Why do we switch when something is working good for us
He hit the nail on the head there...If I didn't do so much touring I'd stick with the Avon Cobra's but I'm only getting 7k out of the rears I'm almost going through two a season. I'm really pushing the front to change with every other rear.
I don't know how different they are but I had the 880's some years ago and really like them just watch tire pressure the front liked to cup if it got low. I remember getting a lot of miles out of them.
My first rear 888 taken off my 13 with 10,486 miles. My front was a little better but that pic didn't come out well. Maybe could have gone a bit longer but I had a long ride planned so I wanted fresh rubber. They still had good traction but I could feel they needed replacing.
Now you got me thinking.... Ever since I picked my bike up 2 years ago from Kyle at KMC who tuned it and put on the ME888's, there was always a little harmonic vibration when I pulled in the clutch down to about 10 mph. When I spoke to him about it, he thought the belt might have been a bit too tight so I loosened it and the slight vibration stayed. I am starting to think it was the tires all along. I still think the tires ran pretty well but now I am more anxious to replace them to see if that was it. I know the Avon Cobras are very popular. Is that what I should try next?
Once the 888s were balanced, I felt a "harmonic thumping" at slower speeds, I added the Ride-On which settled things down a bit more....but the bike is still giving me vibs and sensations it never had on the the Avons(which were balanced only with Dynabeads). The Cobras are a phenomenal tire, the grip and transitional smoothness is "sport bike like". They are also extremely stable, especially in high speed turns...none of this slight shimmying crap I can already feel the 888's causing.
The price of the Avons goodness is less mileage. If you get Cobras, keep the pressure high (44-45psi) and expect to be changing the rear around 8k miles and the front every other rear. I'm reasonably sure I'll be going back to them once I'm through these Metzelers.
Avon says the tire should last for 15,000 miles. They will prorate your tire for the refund. Of course you need proof of purchase and dealer has to send tire back to Avon.
At 10,000 my front tire is cupping and down to wear bar. I don't see how I can go another 5,000 and yes according to Avon I should run 38 to 40 psi which I do. I use dynabeads. Avon says if you dyno the tire there is no warranty. Avon gives you two years to put on the 15,000.
Yes I will say they stick like glue in dry or wet roads and handle good for the first 7000 then it starts to slide on tar snakes and just a tad bit more vibration in a corner.
Exactly... I tried to recover something from the 15k mile warranty Avon has on the Cobras, but the tires have to be bought through and the change over done at a dealer that can certify the mileage....Which would cost me at least double what I pay, doing the off/on myself, buying the tires on-line and having a shop mount and balance them, its not worth it.....On a good note, I did get just over 15k miles out of the front Avons
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