Tires for R1150 RT

[BIG AL]

A friend of mine has a 2002 R1150RT and need to replace his tires soon. He's been running the Michelin Pilots with good grip, but not much wear. Any suggestions out there an something that will give some more mileage? Thanks!

[jwhite518]

Avon Azaro. Great grip, great mileage. I'm up to 10,000 and counting on my rear, the highest ever on my bike.

[BradfordBenn]

Metzler ME880 running at 42PSI front and back with 12K on them on an 02RT. I am real happy with them.

[Kenny2]

Avon Azaros. I ran a set to 11,000 miles. Also, they have a "road hazard" warranty for the first 1mm of wear! (Running to Ohio I picked up a screw with 1653 miles, tire replaced, no cost!)

Just put a set of Conti Road Attacks, great stick going across "Cerro Noroeste Road". Mileage is not going to be as good as the Avons, but I am not doing the X-country ride this year.

[RT Pilot]

I just replaced the OEM Dunlops on my '04 RT (D205s) with 12,300 miles on 'em--that ain't half bad in my opinion. The front had a LOT of wear left on it, and the rear was probably barely legal, but not up to my standards of safety. I decided to replace them with Dunlops, but went with the D220s which are superseding the D205s (Dunlop is phasing the D205s out). I anticipate getting the same mileage outta them as the original equipment D205s.

I bought the pair locally (non-BMW dealer) for $219 (plus tax) and the dealer mounted them both for $20--that's fair! It took me about 45 minutes to put them on the bike myself.

As an aside, while shopping for the tires I stopped at the local BMW place and talked to the kid behind the parts counter and asked for his recommendation for tires. He vehemently recommended the Metzelers (can't remember the model) and swore that they were the best tires he's ever used and that he uses them on his R1150R. I then asked him what he was getting for mileage outta the Metzelers and he said, "You should EASILY get 4000 miles outta them", to which I replied, "You gotta be ****tin' me"?. . .to which he replied, "Dude, I'm serious, you'll definately get 4000 outta them. . .". . I didn't have the heart to tell him the mileage on my Dunlops. . .and I walked out the door chuckling. . . . :dunno

[BMWDEAN]

Metzeler ME 880.

[BobFV1]

Metzeler ME 880.

What Jeff said - 880's are the best for mileage. But I rode two sets of Metzeler Z-6's hard on my 04 RT and got about 8K out of each set. Those Z-6's sure grip the road well.

[RTRandy]

I'm on my third set of Z6's and like them a lot. I took advantage of that promotion that someone posted about the new Dunlop free front tire so I have a new set of Diablo Strada's that I plan to put on for my upcoming trip to Nova Scotia. I'm actually going to take the Z6's off which still have considerable life on them and leave town on brand new rubber. This will be a hell of a way to test a new tire that I have never even tried. I'll give a report when I get back.

Here's a good source to buy tires (http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=SWMT) at a decent price.

[fxdllion]

I've got the Z6's, about 7K, and disappointed. The front tire is wearing unevenly and I get a lot of tire noise. Tracking is poor. I noticied this when the tires were new and thought maybe the tires were defective, unbalanced or the wheel alignment was out. The dealer said evedrything was okay. I'm replacing them with maybe 3K left because these tires suck. Might try the 880s this time.

[wleslie]

I have the Z6's on my 99 RT and love them. I've only got about 4000 miles on them, but so far, so good. Wear looks to be about the same is my last set of Dunlops. BTW, someone talked about using the dunlop 220's because the 205's were being phased out. As I understand it, the 205's are still available because so many people complained about the 220's. I've had both and much preferred the 205's over the 220's. I got about the same wear out of each set, but the 220's never felt stuck to the road as well as the 205's. Also, the 220's had a penchant for tracking along rain grooves in the pavement.

Just my $.02 worth.

[HFD190]

I see a lot of postings where guys are talking about running 38-42 psi. for the purpose of getting better wear. The BMW manual with my 03’ RT recommends much lower pressures, at least for 1up. I understand that there is a trade-off between performance and wear, and the tire pressure has a lot to do with that. I am wondering how much is too much when it comes to air pressure?

fxdillon is obviously dissatisfied with his Z6’s. A lot of other posts would indicate that they are the best tire out there. I have Z4’s with 7600 miles and the wear is fine, I would expect to get another 2000-3000 on them at this point. I have always followed the BMW recommendations for tire pressures, and I check them often.

[BubbaZanetti]

A friend of mine has a 2002 R1150RT and need to replace his tires soon. He's been running the Michelin Pilots with good grip, but not much wear. Any suggestions out there an something that will give some more mileage? Thanks!


which pilots???

pilot power, pilot sport, etc, these tires will wear out fairly fast

pilot roads should give a similar feel but last a lot longer, i usually get 9-11K out of mine

[RTdavey]

Metzler ME880 running at 42PSI front and back with 12K on them on an 02RT. I am real happy with them.

Brad -
What made you decide the ME880 on the FRONT over the Z6 ???
Also, I am a big rider, 275 lbs. do you think the ME- 880 front and back will be good for me as well ???
Thanks.

[BradfordBenn]

Brad -
What made you decide the ME880 on the FRONT over the Z6 ???
Also, I am a big rider, 275 lbs. do you think the ME- 880 front and back will be good for me as well ???
Thanks.
I do not ride real agressively and am looking more at tire life then performance, but trying to find the good compromise for performance and wear. These seem to be it. I do like the Z6's so I got those for my other bike, a Honda VFR.

[RTdavey]

Thanks Brad!
I got about 8,000 mi. out of the stock Z6's that came on my 04' RT.
Need to change them out, and I don't ride agressively, just more of a mile and smile guy!
I think I will try your advice on this pair of ME-880's and I will let you know how they work for me.

By the way, I think it was you that suggested going to 40 front and 42 rear for tire pressure and man, what a noticable diff. in the ride over stock rec. pressures.
Thanks, Brad.

[RedBeemer]

Metzeler came out with the recommended pressure of 42psi for the 880's, the lower pressure number found in the OM is from what the engineer figured to be the best for the OEM tire shipped with the bike.

[Mr. Frank]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Avon Azaros. I've heard lots of good things about them in terms of performance and relatively long life. The early life road hazard policy is very attractive.