ME 880 tires on a RT

[eguerin1]

Would like to know if you can use these tires on a 1150RT?

Most of my riding is commuting with the occasional weekend trip. Would appreciate any thoughts or info on this.

[Paul Mihalka]

As I often mentioned, the ME880 tires are my favorite mount for a long time now. I used them from track days on a R1100RT to long distance touring - longest trip MD to Vancouver, BC and back - and they never let me down.

[eguerin1]

Thanks. I have been leaning towards trying these as my next set. Are they bias or radials? From the info on there web site (Metzler), I', led to believe they are radials. Is this correct?

[motorbob]

No problem Brother in law used 880 rear and Z6 front on ST1300. I used Z6 front and rear. He is a much more agressive rider and never had a problem with adhesion.

However after 10 000 km both our rears tired looked pretty much the same.

I wore 2 sets of Z6 and was totally impressed by the increased directional stability and extra comfort.

In fact I bought a set of Z6 for my new 06 RT. Can't wait to gt rid of those awfull D220. I would go with the Z6.

[Bob Palin]

Are they bias or radials? From the info on there web site (Metzler), I', led to believe they are radials. Is this correct?

880s come in both but you want the radials.

[St0nkingByte]

I had ME880's on my cruiser before I sold it. They were amazing tires, really brought that bike to life. Rock solid in the corners too, the bike rode like it was on rails. They were wearing very nicely (slowly) when I sold the bike.

 

The only downside is that in the cold (40F and under) and wet I had a couple little loss of traction type events that I hadn't had on the previous tires (Dunlops) and I haven't had since I switched to my RT. I suspect the 880's are just a little hard for super reliable cold/wet performance. Though I will say I was happy in general with their wet road performance.

[DavidEBSmith]

880s come in both but you want the radials.

 

There are those who advocate the bias versions if you want extremely high mileage (the tread depth on the rear bias 880 is something like 9.5 mm as compared to 6.5 mm on the radial). I tried the bias versions and on my bike the ride was so rough as to be unrideable. Others haven't had this problem. Anybody wants to try the bias versions, I got 2 in my garage with almot no miles on them.

 

I've been using the radial ME880s and have never had a traction issue, get high mileage, but haven't felt entirely comfortable on them, don't know why. This weekend I'm gonna try to put on a set of Pilot Roads for Gunnison.

[tobyzusa]

Are they bias or radials? From the info on there web site (Metzler), I', led to believe they are radials. Is this correct?

880s come in both but you want the radials.

I've seen several of you say that you use 880s on 1150RTs. When I asked the service manager at BMW Motorcycles Of Fort Worth he indicated, "Yeah, if you had an LT the 880s would be perfect for you, but they will NOT work on an RT". So I went with Z6s, which are fine, but why all the confusion? I even challenged him, based on some of your comments on this board and he remained steadfast with this answer. What's up with this?

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Simple really, he was expressing an opinion. Opinions are just like assholes. Everybody has one and most of 'em stink.

 

That said, in my opinion the 880 makes a pretty good tire on an RT that will see lots of slab use. It is at least adequate in more sporting use when tire pressures are adjusted and it is given time to come to temperature befoere outright stupidity is attempted.

[bonerpart]

I'm on my fourth set of ME880's on my 04 RT and have been very satisfied. I get 12,000 to 13,000 miles per set where I was getting 6 to 7000 miles on other sport oriented tires.

Granted, my riding style is primarily touring, so I don't push performance limits.

[onmyrt]

meads,

 

are you getting that kind of mileage riding two-up or single? (mostly)

 

cheers,

michael

[Lawman]

I tried to buy a Met 880 rear for my R1200RT but discovered they don't make it in the same size as the tire I now have.( 180/55 ZR17) Is there another one that will work for me? And if so how is it different?

[Paul Mihalka]

I tried to buy a Met 880 rear for my R1200RT but discovered they don't make it in the same size as the tire I now have.( 180/55 ZR17) Is there another one that will work for me? And if so how is it different?

A 170/60x17 could be used. This is not BMW's word, just mine. I know I would use it.

[Tim Yip]

I'll reiterate what others have said. The ME880s just plain WORK on RTs. I live in the flatlands and got 23,000 kilometres (14,300 miles) on my last set of ME880 radials, and they had JUST hit the wear bars. I probably could have squeezed another couple thousand KMs out of them if I wanted. It's an absolutely superb tire for high mileage tourers. I recommend them to all my touring buddies.

 

FWIW, I always ride solo with fully-loaded sidecases and a full Givi 46 litre topcase, and I usually ride at a fast, sport-touring (read faster than the posted speed limit) pace. If tire longevity is your priority, look no further than the ME880 radials.

[Gregori]

My last set of tires were 880's - got about 10K out of them. A lot of commuting, but still a fair amount of twisties.

 

The good: After 10K, they were quite worn out, but still round. I do a lot of riding on the freeway, and my tires are usually looking very car-like after a couple thousand miles. Not so with the 880s. Nice turn in even with lots of miles on them.

 

The bad: I had a few traction issues - nothing bad enough to put me in the bushes, but it is NOT a confidence inspiring grip. Wet and marginal traction situations had me on the edge of my seat... (and not in a good way...)

I never felt that way with the old Avons, or the new Z6. (Though to be fair, I installed a set of Ohlins at about the same time I put the Z6s on, so it's not really a 1:1 comparison.)

 

My conclusion - If I was doing lots of long distance, or exclusively commuting, I'd run the 880s without a second thought. But since I do ride a fair bit of 'mixed use' and tend to ride a little aggressively, I'll take the hit on mileage in favor of traction. So far I like my Z6s a lot. I've got about 3500 miles on them, and they look pretty good so far. I'm guessing these will see 8000 miles before being (ahem) retired.

 

G

[AdventurePoser]

Would like to know if you can use these tires on a 1150RT?

Most of my riding is commuting with the occasional weekend trip. Would appreciate any thoughts or info on this.

 

I've used ME 880s on my R1150RT for a couple of years. They deliver an outstanding mix of traction and economy. At 18K, I finally changed my rear tire as it was beginning to get a bit of a flat spot. The bigger issue was that the sidewalls were showing some signs of age

 

Great tires, buy them.

 

Steve in So Cal

[Yeeha! Stephen]

Are they bias or radials? From the info on there web site (Metzler), I', led to believe they are radials. Is this correct?

880s come in both but you want the radials.

I've seen several of you say that you use 880s on 1150RTs. When I asked the service manager at BMW Motorcycles Of Fort Worth he indicated, "Yeah, if you had an LT the 880s would be perfect for you, but they will NOT work on an RT". So I went with Z6s, which are fine, but why all the confusion? I even challenged him, based on some of your comments on this board and he remained steadfast with this answer. What's up with this?

 

I've run 880's on an RT and Ft Worth put them on. Be educated and resolute when you go to a BMW shop these day's. Almost all of them HATE it when you go to the Net for info before making a purchase.

 

880's work fine on an RT. Unless you're a Ricky Racer, they will handle all your riding/traveling needs.

 

The only gripe I had about them... the front made my RT "fall" into a turn quicker than I liked. Kinda like the quickness of the new Avon's. I like the slower turning Pilot Roads and Z-6's. Wish they still made Z-4's they were my favs.

 

Oh, one other thing... the abrasive Chip Seal roads we have down here, eat them up just about as fast as any other tire. I didn't get the Super Mileage out of them the way other riders seem to.

 

You really can't go wrong with any of the premium tires. Just a preference thing I do believe.

[redryder]

Have had Bridgestone and Dunlop on my 1150RT, but nothing has given me as good of service as the Metzler 880 radials. Have now 12K on the current set, with a ever widening flat spot, but I've had a 3K and 1K slab run on them. Otherwise, the tires have seen a good mix of hills and curves with at least 50% two up riding. IMHO, you just can't beat the Metzler 880. Buy 'em, mount 'em, and have a good time trying to wear them out. No traction problems either.

[bmwmick]

David,

I'm on my third pair of Bias Ply ME-880s on my '96 R1100RT and if you weren't so far away, I'd take those old ones you dislike so much.

 

Mick

Tucson

[bonerpart]

Michael,all of those miles were solo.

[CraCol]

I've seen several of you say that you use 880s on 1150RTs. When I asked the service manager at BMW Motorcycles Of Fort Worth he indicated, "Yeah, if you had an LT the 880s would be perfect for you, but they will NOT work on an RT".

 

Not sure what the serive manager is talking about.. I ran 880's on my R1150RS and they worked fine, though as others have said they can be a little slippery when cold.. Other then that, mileage was great. I ended up running an MeZ4 on the front and a 880 radial on the rear. With this combonation both tires would be ready for replacement at the same time somewhere between 10-12K miles..

[Rinkydink]

I also have a Z4 on front and an 880 on the rear of my 04 RT. My 880 is still fairly new but so far I like it as much as my old Z6 rear. Time will tell and I will surely ride gingerly in cold or wet conditions.

[myshkin]

I had a set of Z4's that were slippery after they had some miles on them in the cold. They were fine after they were warm. I think you can expect this phenomenom with a lot of tires after they get some miles on them. The Z6/880 combo rocks.