tired of buying tires

[2whelman]

After nearly 20 years of putting Metzlers on my 85 K100RT, I am ready for something else. I got about 7000 miles out of the original Pirellis, switched to Metzlers after that. I have never gotten more than 3-4000 miles out of a rear, or 4-5ooo out of a front tire. I ran the Lazer 33 & metronic/99 combination for years, with one set of Dunlop touring tires thrown in. They were too slick and lasted 5500 miles.
I have owned other bikes, that are rode the same as I ride the BMW, but nothing seems to eat tires like this K bike. I just tried the Me-99 rear / ME 330 front combination, dont like this front tire at all. I would like some suggestions on what others have tried on this bike, and what kind of mileage I should be getting from my tires.
I have gotten better milage from sport tires on sport bikes! Is there anything (other than a heavy throttle hand) that could be affecting tire wear? They have all worn down the middle as normal with a little cupping on the front tire, which seems to be normal, but the longevity is not what I have expected. -

[lkchris]

Michelins 50s outwear Metzelers.

[MechanicSavant]

Don't laugh at this but on my 85 k100 after several different brands & models of tires I tried a set of chen shing hi-max's,the front is a metzler pattern & the rear is a dunlop copy ...they work realy well even in the wet,tire wear was equal to anything else I tried,I also have a heavy throttle hand ..& they took less weight to balance than many "premium" tires..For about a $110 a pair!!! I used up about 12 sets in the last 100k mi. I owned w/ no problems..other people whom I've recomended them to have had similar outcomes ,,No I don't have any financial ties to any tire mfg. or vendor asside from how much rally$$ did I save by using these tires :burnout

[bmwmick]

I went through several sets of ME33/ME55 tires and then switched to ME88 for the rear. I would get 5-6K out of that combination. When Michelin first came out with theyr Mac50 tires I tried a pair and the front cupped badly after aobut 3K miles. They fixed that with the Mac50E front. I ran a few sets of these and then when Metzeler came out with the ME-880's in the correct sizes, I switched.
Now I have ME-880's on two of my 3 bikes. On my K11LT I have about 12K on the ME-880's and the rear is starting to show wear in the center but still has a few thousand miles left.
They are great tires and have replaced the Michelin Mac50E/Mac50 as my favorite tires.

[bikerfish1100]

i ran a variety of Metzlers on my K75s- 99s, 55As, 88s, all with a Laser 33 front. i would get nearly as good grip with the 88s (and i tend to run "hard") as i did with the 55As, but mileage in the 12-14K range.
what are you running for inflation? cupping and premature wear are both signs of underinflation.
fwiw- i liked the Michelin Macadam 100s on my K11RS (and love the Pilot Roads on my R11S), but those are a radial tires.

[bmwmick]

i ran a variety of Metzlers on my K75s- 99s, 55As, 88s, all with a Laser 33 front. i would get nearly as good grip with the 88s (and i tend to run "hard") as i did with the 55As, but mileage in the 12-14K range.
what are you running for inflation? cupping and premature wear are both signs of underinflation.
fwiw- i liked the Michelin Macadam 100s on my K11RS (and love the Pilot Roads on my R11S), but those are a radial tires.

I run 40psi/42psi and keep them pretty close to that all the time. When Michelin first came out with that Mac50 front tire, it was HORRIBLE. They replaced two free of charge and told me it was a BMW problem NOT their tire.
About a year later, they came out with the Mac50E that totally eliminated the cupping problem on the front tire. So much for it being a BMW problem. :)
The ME-33 fronts had a bad habit of 'wobbling' once they had about 3K on them. I think the tread design was the major contributor to that. Even running 40psi in the front ME-33 would allow the tread to wear 'funny', every other block of the tread would be at a different height. New tires would 'fix' it for about 3K miles. I also keep my steering head bearings just a 'little' tighter than spec too. I ran a lot of ME-33/ME-88 combinations too but could never get more than about 5K with the ME-88's. Grip was good wet/dry.
Road surface and temperature make a HUGE difference in tire life too. I got much better mileage when I lived on the west coast than I do here in Tucson. Our roads pre primarily 'chip-seal' type roads and they eat tires a lot worse than conventional asphalt or concrete. Our 75MPH speed limits also contribute to increased tire wear but I'm not willing to give that up. :thumb
I'm really happy with the ME-880's, good mileage and acceptable grip. I still run Mac50E/Mac50's on my R100RS. They seem perfectly suited for that bike.

[2whelman]

Thanks for all of the input. I have always ran the tire pressure near the maximum listed on the tire. I see that Metzler stopped making the 330 550 series already. I will finish off the front 330 tire with the last new 550 I have in the garage, and will probably try the 880's. I have always gone through two rears for each front, this seems to be the norm, at least for me.
Maybe I should just slow down to get more milage from my tires. Or maybe not.

[paulsibek]

Regardless of what tires I use, I get in excess of 10,000 miles because I use this flat sealant called "Ride-On".

I has already sealed a flat that probably saved my life.

It seals the tires so I don't have to check the presure, it stays the same month after month.

Thanks to the dynamic balancing the tires give me an average of more than 10,000 miles.

I've used Avon Road Runners, Bridgestone, and Metzler ME88's with the same results.

[username]

Thanks to the dynamic balancing the tires give me an average of more than 10,000 miles.


paul - can you tell me more about how "dynamic balancing" increases tire life? i'm clueless regarding this.

[paulsibek]

a mechanical engineer, but I can tell you this stuff works well.

Go to their web site-- http://www.ride-on.com/

[paulsibek]

THis is the article that I heard about htis stuff.

http://www.ride-on.com/PDF_Files/Motorcycle_Dealers/Rider_Magazine_Article.pdf

[paulsibek]

it's--

3. Helps hydrodynamically balance tires

[bmwmick]

Metzeler and Dunlop both refuse to honor any warranty claims if ANY of these "liquid tire balance fluids" have been injected into their tires. I think I would stay away from this 'goo'. ;)

Maybe it's just a HUGE conspiracy to sell more tires. :stick :) :) :)

[paulsibek]

The upside is too great to worry about a warranty issue.

When was tha last time you had a tire warranty issue?

You could take the bad tire off, clean it out and take it to the dealer. This stuff dissapears in water.

Besides they usually fold when pressed on warranty issues.

[kenk]

After nearly 20 years of putting Metzlers on my 85 K100RT, I am ready for something else. I got about 7000 miles out of the original Pirellis, switched to Metzlers after that. I have never gotten more than 3-4000 miles out of a rear, or 4-5ooo out of a front tire. I ran the Lazer 33 & metronic/99 combination for years, with one set of Dunlop touring tires thrown in. They were too slick and lasted 5500 miles.
I have owned other bikes, that are rode the same as I ride the BMW, but nothing seems to eat tires like this K bike. I just tried the Me-99 rear / ME 330 front combination, dont like this front tire at all. I would like some suggestions on what others have tried on this bike, and what kind of mileage I should be getting from my tires.
I have gotten better milage from sport tires on sport bikes! Is there anything (other than a heavy throttle hand) that could be affecting tire wear? They have all worn down the middle as normal with a little cupping on the front tire, which seems to be normal, but the longevity is not what I have expected. -

Switch to Metzler M880s. I just changed the front on my K1100LT with over 18,000 miles. It still had good tread..however was cupping. I replaced the rear at 13,000 miles. It had about 1500 miles left. They ride better than the ME99 and 330s I used for over 80,000 miles on my LT and last a lot longer. The tractions is equally as good.

[roadcrave]

THUMBS up for AVON-Azaro's (45-46) tires for me on my k1200lt, 9000miles and almost needing changed out, I ran it hard all last summer in hot 90 - 110 degree days and they never let me down once in any handling situation...matthew

[deilenberger]

After nearly 20 years of putting Metzlers on my 85 K100RT, I am ready for something else. I got about 7000 miles out of the original Pirellis, switched to Metzlers after that. I have never gotten more than 3-4000 miles out of a rear, or 4-5ooo out of a front tire. I ran the Lazer 33 & metronic/99 combination for years, with one set of Dunlop touring tires thrown in. They were too slick and lasted 5500 miles.
I have owned other bikes, that are rode the same as I ride the BMW, but nothing seems to eat tires like this K bike. I just tried the Me-99 rear / ME 330 front combination, dont like this front tire at all. I would like some suggestions on what others have tried on this bike, and what kind of mileage I should be getting from my tires. I have gotten better milage from sport tires on sport bikes! Is there anything (other than a heavy throttle hand) that could be affecting tire wear? They have all worn down the middle as normal with a little cupping on the front tire, which seems to be normal, but the longevity is not what I have expected. -

If your ONLY concern is the mileage you can get from a K bike tire - then look around for Dunlop K491's. These are a heavy duty touring tire that are made for heavy bikes.

Typically people can get 10,000 miles from the rear and 14-18,000 from the front.

The downsides of the K491 (and these are MY opinions, based on using them on my K100RT for about 5 years):

1. Ride is awful. These are a HARD stiff tire that does little to absorb any road impacts, meaning everything is passed along to the suspension.

2. They don't inspire confidence - at least in me - for cornering. They tend to fall into corners when used on the K bike.

3. They are an older design - and newer designs are generally better handling.

4. They have limited traction in wet and cold. It may be enough traction for you, but it does put you closer to the edge in those conditions.

5. They are a TALL tire. If you have problems touching the ground with something like a Metzeler - it will be worse with these tires.

Good stuff about them:

1. They last a LONG time

2. They're not terribly expensive (at least the last ones I bought about 4 years ago.)

3. They don't track rain-grooves or metal-grated bridges

4. They last a LONG time

My riding style has improved considerably since I started using a lower, stickier tire. Confidence in how the bike feels can change your comfort level in taking corners a bit faster or riding faster.

I went from the K491 to Bridgestone BT45's (in an 80 series profile) - and never looked back. The change in the handling of the bike was dramatic to me, as was the improvement in my confidence level.

My current K is using Metzeler Z6 radials - but it is highly modified in order to use these (different rims, modifications to the centerstand, etc.) - these are really confidence building tires, but I don't expect more than about 6,000 miles from the back tire. To me - the tradeoff is worth it. I go for handling even if it costs me a bit more.

You can find the Dunlop K491 range at:

http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=K491

Good people - fast delivery, great prices, free shipping if you buy two tires.

[2whelman]

The Dunlop tires I tried were 491's, I agree, they do not work well with the K100 Rt, at least with me riding it. I couldnt get the mileage you did out of them either, probably since they were too hard/slick. I was sliding them through corners at times.
I always look first at handling and traction in all conditions. The mileage I get from them has been secondary, but I have been hearing so much about everyone getting 10,000 plus from their tires, I decided to start looking for something different. I put over 90,000 miles on a VFR 750 Honda and ran several sport - touring tires on it over the years I had it. I always got more mileage out of those tires than on the BMW.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

[jdiaz]

Typically people can get 10,000 miles from the rear and 14-18,000 from the front.

I've never seen less than 18K from a K491 tire, and usually replace them when the tread is lumpy from trail braking. I think my wife ran a set up to 28K miles and had no problem dragging the centerstand in hard cornering on her old K75S. You guys are all weenies. :stick

[knary]

I've never seen less than 18K from a K491 tire, and usually replace them when the tread is lumpy from trail braking. I think my wife ran a set up to 28K miles and had no problem dragging the centerstand in hard cornering on her old K75S. You guys are all weenies. :stick

But they feel like crap compared to everything but the wierdness of a Metzeler 33(?) up front.

[jdiaz]

But they feel like crap compared to everything but the wierdness of a Metzeler 33(?) up front.
Hmm. I can't ride on anything else now. I'VE BEEN ASSIMILATED!!

[PGlaves]

I agree with Ken. I ran the ME33/ME88 combination for years. They were OK. I used Dunlop K491s in the '99 Iron Butt Rally. Good life but wretched on wet pavement. We are now using bias ply ME880s on my K bike, and radial 880s on my R1150R and Voni's R1100RSs. In the 2003 Iron Butt Rally we both ran the 880s. On that set I got over 15K on the rear and 22K on the front.