Metzler question

[MarkF]

I recently bought an airhead with Metzlers. I've never had this brand of tire before. It has a 33 on the front and a 55 on the rear. I've have people tell me I should put 88's on both ends.

Please tell me what are the pros and cons of the 33, 55 & 88.

MarkF

[rocketman]

The 88's seem to be the perfered type on the airheads, at least with most of the folks I know who run that brand on thier airheads. Not the longest wearing tire, but nice and sticky in the rain.
On my R100/7 I switched to the Dunlaps and have been very pleased with them, longer wearing which is nice because i tend to run my R100 on the hard side and don't show the tendancy to follow grooves and wobble on metal grates like the 88's. But they are somewhat larger in profile and I've heard of clearance problems on the /5's with the rear tire and swingarm on the driveshaft side, doesn't seem to be a problem on the /7 though.

RM

[kbasa]

I always ran a 33 on the front, but would switch between the 99, 88 and 55 on the rear depending on what kind of riding I anticipated doing.

Those 88s on the front are horrible.

[lkchris]

FYI and FWIW Metzler used to produce auto tires but no longer does, I believe.

In the 1970s you could obtain Metzeler snow tires in the then-new hydrophilic compound. Since that compound had little to do with actual rubber, the Metzlers featured blue tread.

[dlearl476]

Originally posted by MarkF
I recently bought an airhead with Metzlers. I've never had this brand of tire before. It has a 33 on the front and a 55 on the rear. I've have people tell me I should put 88's on both ends.

Please tell me what are the pros and cons of the 33, 55 & 88.

MarkF

In my experience, you would be much happier with a pair of Michelin Macadam 50/50Es.

[MarkF]

I'm sure there are other tires better than the Meztlers I now have. Avon's have been suggested to me as well as others. But, I just got this bike with almost new Metzlers on it and am only trying to understand the pros and cons of the tires on my bike.

MarkF

[JATOWNSEND]

Metzeler is rather specific on what tire to use on what bike and under what conditions. I am using ME33s on the front and ME99As on the rear. They work great for general use, touring, rain or shine. I am running 36 psi in both.

They do have out some recent tire replacements like the new 330 and 550 that are getting very good reviews. You need to actually check out the Mtz web site and see for yourself what they recommend front and rear.

Be cautious of tire information and opinions given online unless you can verify its veracity. Too much skin is at stake. Good luck.

http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/product_info/index.asp

[YB in IN]

Originally posted by dlearl
In my experience, you would be much happier with a pair of Michelin Macadam 50/50Es.

I second that. I really really hated Metzeler tires on both my old airhead, and on my K-bike.

[BRADFORDBENN]

I love my Metzler's. They are the first tire on the RT I feel confident on about leaning in corners. Then again they were only the third one's I tried.

To each their own though.

[dlearl476]

>To each their own though.

Absoutely. The bad news about tires is they don't last very long, BUT the good news about tires is that they don't last very long. You can try a lot of 'em if you're adventurous and you won't have to live with pigs for long.

My K75RT came with 33/55s OEM so when I needed new rubber, I went with that (well, the 55 got replaced by a 550a, IIRC). They were OK, I really didn't know any better. Then.....
I came to Michelins after having good experiences with them on two bikes. (T-66s over, FAR over Bridgestone TrailWings on my F650 and Mac100s then Pilot Roads over BS and Dunlops on my Triumph Sprint)
Next time the K needed rubber, I got the Michelin 50/50E and it transformed the bike. Now it's a SPORT-Touring bike, much more willing to turn in and more stable at any lean angle, wet or dry.
But like Ben said, to each his own. One guy who test rode the bike (in a delusional fit I attempted to sell it) said it felt like it was going to "fall over" in turns compared to his Metzeler shod K100. "Exactly" I thought to myself. I'll admit it was a bit disquieting at first, but once I got used to it, it handles much more like the F and the Triumph.

One last point: The 88s were designed sometime in the 80s, IIRC. 33/55s sometime in the 90's. (My '94 K had them) The 50E came out last year, the 50s a couple of years before that. Tires have changed a lot in ten years, kind of like computers. But what the hey? If your 286 machine runs Pong and Asteroids OK for ya, stick with it.

[montana]

I loved having the "Laser" front on a Yamaha and a K. The Marathon version of the rear isn't quite up to a V rating but they're great in our mountains. More importantly, I've got the 880s on a C (front and rear) and when I had a flat rear at 85mph on the interstate I rode for nearly three miles before deciding that must be what I was noticing and not the rain grooves. Sure, I never leaned into any corners (thankfully) but the sidewall construction may have saved my bacon. I like Metzelers.

[petepeterson]

Metzeler 880's on an LT is as good as it gets ............Pete

[sgborgstrom]

With one exception I've always run Metzlers on my airheads. For my style of riding (general purpose commuting, sporty rides in the Cascades and the occaisional road trip) the 33 "laser" on the front and the 99 "perfect" on the back has been a good all-weather combo. Fairly consistent 8K on the rear and 16k on the front for tire life.

The 99 is more "sporty" as compared to the 88 (Marathon) which wears like iron, I didn't care for it's level of wet weather grip so came back to the 99s. Last time I checked the 55 was cheapest of the bunch, seemed to fall somewhere between the other two.

I noticed a bunch of the earlier replies refered to tires on bikes other than airheads... having a sampling of BMWs in my garage I can tell you each has it's own personality so what is true of one tire on one model bike doesn't translate directly to another. I put a set of Bridgestone "Spitfires" on my R100S once, it was a horrible experience, totally different handling characteristics.

Steve

[lkchris]

Originally posted by dlearl
>One last point: The 88s were designed sometime in the 80s, IIRC. 33/55s sometime in the 90's.

Nope. The ME33 arrived in the early '80s. I was there and rode one to Laguna Seca.