Jump to content
IGNORED

Anyone running an ME880 170/60-17 on their 12RT?


Dave_in_TX

Recommended Posts

So far, tire mileage on my 12RT has not been that great. I had a Dunlop rear replaced after 3500 miles and although the new rear tire, a Pilot Road, has gone 4K miles and still has tread left, it doen't look real encouraging. Apparently I'm doing too much touring and not enough sport riding as the wear is almost all in the center. More than a third of the miles on the current rear tire were at 70-80mph going to Albuquerque and back. The ME880 isn't available in 180/55-17 but the 170/60-17 is almost the same size - same diameter but just slightly narrower. I'm not a particularly agressive rider and I have a couple of long tours coming up so I'm looking for something that can handle that kind of use. It baffles me how some people can get 9000-12000 miles out of a Pilot rear. I'd really like to find something that qould give at least 8k miles. I'm thinking about teaming the ME880 rear up with a Z6 front.

Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd

You should have no problems with the 170-60 on the rear. In fact, you may find you like the way the bike handles with it. Rim width is well within the specification for a 170 section tire. A quick check on the load rating to be sure it will handle your anticipated loads and you should be fine.

Link to comment

What kind of pressure are you running in your tires? That can have a big impact on tire life. On my GS, the max pressure listed on the sidewall is 42psi (Metzeler Tourance radials front/rear)I run them at 41psi cold, great grip, great mileage. My wife is running Metzeler Z6s front & rear on her R-1150-RS also at 41psi, (again max sidewall pressure is 42psi) current set has 10k+ miles on them so far. Granted she doesn't weigh that much and the bike is never ridden 2-up, she isn't an overly aggressive rider; but most of those miles are touring type.

Link to comment
What kind of pressure are you running in your tires? That can have a big impact on tire life. On my GS, the max pressure listed on the sidewall is 42psi (Metzeler Tourance radials front/rear)I run them at 41psi cold, great grip, great mileage. My wife is running Metzeler Z6s front & rear on her R-1150-RS also at 41psi, (again max sidewall pressure is 42psi) current set has 10k+ miles on them so far. Granted she doesn't weigh that much and the bike is never ridden 2-up, she isn't an overly aggressive rider; but most of those miles are touring type.

I'm running 42psi which is what the dealer recommeded.

Link to comment
What kind of pressure are you running in your tires? That can have a big impact on tire life. On my GS, the max pressure listed on the sidewall is 42psi (Metzeler Tourance radials front/rear)I run them at 41psi cold, great grip, great mileage. My wife is running Metzeler Z6s front & rear on her R-1150-RS also at 41psi, (again max sidewall pressure is 42psi) current set has 10k+ miles on them so far. Granted she doesn't weigh that much and the bike is never ridden 2-up, she isn't an overly aggressive rider; but most of those miles are touring type.

I'm running 42psi which is what the dealer recommeded.

 

Dave:

That derails that train of thought. How about the road surface - a lot of rough chip seal type pavement? Most of the roads in California are concrete or asphalt (the non-chip seal type). I can't think of any other reason for the short tire life unluss the bike is just loaded up to the max.

Link to comment

I've run the ME880 on the rear of my R12RT with good results.. The tire is ~3mm taller then the 180 and caries about 30lbs less. Life was good at 12000+.. Road surface does have a bearing on tire life, and the chips they use in the Austin area are Texas sized compared to most...;-)

Link to comment
What kind of pressure are you running in your tires? That can have a big impact on tire life. On my GS, the max pressure listed on the sidewall is 42psi (Metzeler Tourance radials front/rear)I run them at 41psi cold, great grip, great mileage. My wife is running Metzeler Z6s front & rear on her R-1150-RS also at 41psi, (again max sidewall pressure is 42psi) current set has 10k+ miles on them so far. Granted she doesn't weigh that much and the bike is never ridden 2-up, she isn't an overly aggressive rider; but most of those miles are touring type.

I'm running 42psi which is what the dealer recommeded.

 

Dave:

That derails that train of thought. How about the road surface - a lot of rough chip seal type pavement? Most of the roads in California are concrete or asphalt (the non-chip seal type). I can't think of any other reason for the short tire life unluss the bike is just loaded up to the max.

 

Many of the roads in central Texas do have a rough type of pavement but about half my mileage was on smoother road surfaces. I'm wondering if I should possibly consider running a slightly lower pressure. I weigh about 150 and don't load the bike up that much. The Pilot Road is definitely wearing better than the original Dunlop. I might even have half the originak tread left but my past experience has been that the last half wears away much faster than the first half.

Link to comment
I've run the ME880 on the rear of my R12RT with good results.. The tire is ~3mm taller then the 180 and caries about 30lbs less. Life was good at 12000+.. Road surface does have a bearing on tire life, and the chips they use in the Austin area are Texas sized compared to most...;-)

 

I can live with the 30 pound less load capacity. The 3mm difference in height seems insignificant. How does the 880 handle?

Link to comment

After going to the Metzeler web site, I've noticed something strange. For the 170/60-17 ME880 Metzeler recommends a rim width of 4.25 to 5.0, for the same size Z6, the recommended rim width is 5 to 5.5. If wonder if the ME88 info is a misprint.

Link to comment

FYI, My original tires on the 1200 where Dunlops. 4K miles and I was into the tread wear bars.

Pilot roads were the next tires. On at 4K, off at 12K (8K total) with tread still remaining (not at wear bars yet).

Ran 42R/36F with a combination of about 190-200 Lb. 1-up riding and 400+ Lb. 2-up riding including luggage.

Moderate to aggressive riding style.

Link to comment

I run ME880's front and rear.

The rear lasted 30,000km and the front is still going strong!

As for the handling, they may not be the stickiest tire out there but I have never had any problems, I do take it a little easier in the rain but I do that on any tire.

My bike came with BT020,s that lasted 15,000km before they were down to the wear bars.

I think that when I replace the front tire I will go with something a little stickier just to try and get it to wear out about the same time as the rear!

I have been eyeing the Avon Storm ST's.

 

Andy.

Link to comment
I run ME880's front and rear.

The rear lasted 30,000km and the front is still going strong!

As for the handling, they may not be the stickiest tire out there but I have never had any problems, I do take it a little easier in the rain but I do that on any tire.

My bike came with BT020,s that lasted 15,000km before they were down to the wear bars.

I think that when I replace the front tire I will go with something a little stickier just to try and get it to wear out about the same time as the rear!

 

I echo Andy's findings.. I've run the 880 rear on both the RT and my former RS, usually with a sticker front (Z4, Z6, Pilot Road, etc) so I change both the front and rear at the same time.. With the narrower rear (and taller), you may notuice a slightly quicker turn in, but overall it works fine with no drama..

 

Of course your mileage may vary..

 

TinMan.

Link to comment

I have ME-880's on my '96 RT. Currently have about 9000 miles on them. Best tire I've ever owned.

 

Best Wishes, Mark Shuell.

Link to comment
Wildwestrider

Dave, Just to clarify, are you running the ME 880s on an R1200RT? Where did you buy them? Still holding up well?

 

Brian in Austin

Link to comment
Dave_in_TX
Dave, Just to clarify, are you running the ME 880s on an R1200RT? Where did you buy them? Still holding up well?

 

Brian in Austin

 

No. I'm not running the ME880 but I'm considering it when my Pilot Road rear needs replacing.

Link to comment
Dave_in_TX
CraCol, What size rear ME 880 are you running?

 

He's running a 170/60-17. It's the only avaiable ME880 radial that will fit the 1200RT's rim.

Link to comment

I've had the ME880 on the rear, with a Z6 front for 2500 miles, so far I love the combo. Handling is great for me. I only got 6000 miles from the original Z6s and the Avon Azaros that I used. I'm hoping for a few thousand more s-miles.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...