Bias Tire recommendation

[bad Chad]

I'm one of those who never seem to get more than 6K out of my rear tire.   Doesn't seem to matter, what bike, I just toast rear tires rather quickly, I suspect it's do to a heavy throttle, and my rather large frame!haha    But I found a tire, that for me, has worked out great.   I cooked the rear OEM Pirelli Sport Demons in under 5k on my easy going Roamer, and the front wasn't to far behind.   I then put on Metzler Cruise Tec's, and what an improvement, in every aspect of tire performance.  The rear now has 7k and looks to have at least 2-3K left easy.   And a big bonus, they handle much better than the Demons, under all conditions.   The front has 5k, and is a very long way from the wear bars, I expect the front to last well in to the teens. 

Anyway, that's my experience with the Cruise-Tec.   I will put this out there,  I have never run 880s or 888s.   But Metzler puts the Cruise-Tec above the 880, as it supposedly gives high wear, similar to the 880, but with a more advanced compound for better stick and so forth.   I don't know anything about the 888, their top of the line tire, as I have never wanted to drop the $$ on a set, and may not as the Cruise-Tec's are kicking ass.

[Tom H]

Glad you found one that so far works for you. Might have to look at them myself.

The longest wearing tire I have found was the Michelin Commander II. I put about 8000 miles on it before I removed it. I tried it on my EVT and HD. Found it a bit slippery in damp/wet conditions and not quite as sure footed in "certain" dry conditions. If I wanted to use it again, I think it will go another 5-6000 miles if not more before the center tred is done.

Tom

[Kiwi_Roy]

I have been running Avon Roadrider 140/80 V17 on the rear of my V7III
its done 31,000 Km 19,950miles) and I'm on the second replacement tire it looks as though its got 10,000 km (5,000 miles) left
the main reason I like this particular tire is the oversize corrects the speedometer to almost perfect whereas the original was around 10 Km/h out at 100 km/h
getting the oversize tire installed is a bit of a bear but worth it in my book.
I run tubeless as well via a boat sealant.

[MMRanch]

I wore out an 888 rear on the last Harley Sportster I had.   It only got about 6,000 miles and was way past the wear bars.    I had a 880 on the front durning the same time that didn't last much longer ... but I let the Rear do the Pushing and call on the Front to do the Stopping for at least 95% of the time.   Seems only fair to split the chores between them so they get finished about the same time.




Not sure which tires I had on for this picture but here's the bike.

[Guzikid]

  I've always had great luck with Metzler tires on my Guzzi's.....   The Kid

[Muzz]

Running a Metzeler Roadtech on the front and the MZ2 steel radial on the rear. Seem to be a good mix between grip and wear.

[Stretch]

I just wore out the originals on the big Cali Touring - they only lasted 6K or so.

Put ME888s on this time. We'll see how they go. So far they handle okay, but I
haven't tried them in the rain.

I run ME88s on the Rocket touring, and I've never gotten more than 6K out of them.
The front consistently wears out before the rear on that bike. My guess is because of
the combination of weight and steering geometry. I'm going to try ME888s this summer when I need a
new set.

Michelin Pilot Roads are on the Trophy - a soft compound on the front, and a hard compound
on the rear. The front is almost gone at 4K, but the rear still looks good. I'll replace the front with
a hard compound this summer. (The soft compound was ordered by mistake, but it works GREAT!)
These tires are terrific. Turn-in is much more linear - the original Pirellis tended to fall into the corner
initially, and only last 5K or so. The Michelins are great in the rain.

I've got Michelins on the K75S, too. No issues there; they're fine in all day rain, too.

Kendas are on the SR500, and honestly - they're fine on that bike. Certainly light years ahead
of the OEM tires!   LOL!

                                                                               -Stretch

[Kev m]

I was predominantly a Metzler guy for YEARS.... I mean like since the 90's. It's the first tire change I'd make to all my Harleys, and later BMWs and Guzzis.

I found I wasn't a fan of their radials, but still tend to use their bia ply's in a lot of applications. I'm running the 888's on the RK right now. They are probably still better than the OEM Harley DungFlops, but maybe not by much.

Starting with the first replacement on my MkI Stone I went to Michelins (Pilot Activ and more recently a Road Classic).

I'm happy enough with the Michelins that I have no reason to change, but I'll keep the Cruise-Tec in mind in case there's a supply issue or I have some other motivation to make a change. I think the MK III will be due for one this coming year.

[twowheeladdict]

I got caught up in a bad batch of Metzler tires 10 -12 or more years ago where the tread split.  Others had chunks come off.  They warranteed the tires, but left a memory that kept me from buying since.

I've had great service out of shinko on my lighter bikes.  Have a shinko on the rear of the V7.

[Huzo]

I don’t know what y’all are waiting to hear.
Michelin Pilots on both bikes, now on to 6’s. Have seen 22,000 k but NEVER less than 18,000 on the Norge.

[mechanicsavant]

Like many folks here I to go through quite a few tires . If your buying tires online as many do , be sure to check the date code . Once I bought a pair that had one only 6 Mo. old the other was 3 Yrs.old !!
I used to be Quite frugal with pricing & wear . Lately I’ve become extremely  allergic to plaster of Paris , so I tend to buy better quality tires & if needed pass them on to those less fortunate when about 2/3 worn .

[LowRyter]

All I've run on my EV have been the 880.  The go a long ways and handle fine.

[guzziart]

Like many folks here I to go through quite a few tires . If your buying tires online as many do , be sure to check the date code . Once I bought a pair that had one only 6 Mo. old the other was 3 Yrs.old !!

Good luck trying to get a date code from an on-line seller, speaking from experience most retailers are drop shipping and are unable to give that info.  Years ago, I wouldn't want a new tire that was in excess of 6-9 mo old.  These days I was happy to get my hands a new pair for the '87 Lemans that were 63 & 103 weeks old.  I suppose more common sizes might be fresher but for the time being I guess I might be accepting stuff that is up to 2 years old!!??

Art

[jcctx]

Can't comment on the recent stuff but used to think the Dunlop 404s were the best bang for buck choice??? Not sure they are still available??

[Kiwi_Roy]

Good luck trying to get a date code from an on-line seller, speaking from experience most retailers are drop shipping and are unable to give that info.  Years ago, I wouldn't want a new tire that was in excess of 6-9 mo old.  These days I was happy to get my hands a new pair for the '87 Lemans that were 63 & 103 weeks old.  I suppose more common sizes might be fresher but for the time being I guess I might be accepting stuff that is up to 2 years old!!??

Art

+1 even the brick and mortar stores aren't interested in you looking at the date code, take it or leave it LOL

[Moparnut72]

I think it was Zac on Common Tread that did some testing on 5 year old tires compared to fresh ones. He found no difference between them. I recently got a new tire from an online supplier. It was two years old works just fine. I liked it and decided to get a matching one for the front. It was less than six months old. The interesting part about the older one was that I couldn't find one anywhere else. I think it may have been well stored somewhere as it was quite dusty but looked quite fresh when cleaned up.
kk

[guzziart]

I think it was Zac on Common Tread that did some testing on 5 year old tires compared to fresh ones. He found no difference between them. I recently got a new tire from an online supplier. It was two years old works just fine. I liked it and decided to get a matching one for the front. It was less than six months old. The interesting part about the older one was that I couldn't find one anywhere else. I think it may have been well stored somewhere as it was quite dusty but looked quite fresh when cleaned up.
kk

Yeah, now that you mention it, I recall reading something like that too.  I suppose if properly stored, whatever that may be, they'd be ok...fully wrapped, not hardened, dry rotted, etc.  And, while I complained in an earlier post about receiving a new 2 year old tire, I'm embarrased to post the age of the rubber on my V11 Lemans...now that I think about it.

Art

[twowheeladdict]

Since we got into the tire age topic.  This is what Ari has to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwbLt8vZH5w

[Chuck in Indiana]

If you are looking for a recommendation, The Kid but the new BT46s on his Eldo and said they are good. He tends to ride pretty aggressively, and if he says they're good, they are. 

[jhem68]

After finding out through my local tire installer, along with my own internet checking, that the RA lll are NLA, I gave up and had BT46 Bridgestones put on my Milano last week. But I confess that I was disappointed only because I really wanted to try the Continentals based primarily on recommendations from members of this forum. Apparently, the RA IV will not be produced in V7 III sizes.

I had BT46's installed on my Convert a month ago but haven't run them in due to winters' arrival, so can't give a fair opinion as of now.

I preferred the BT45's over the Speed Demons so hopefully the 46's won't disappoint.

[Muzz]

I must admit, down here in NZ on the backside of the planet it is a matter of grabbing any tire that is of the correct size. So many of the tires you guys recommend are just unavailable here due to the size not being carried.

The Metzelers happened to be available at a better price than a lot of others which helps, and I am pretty happy with their performance.

[guzziart]

Hey Twowheeladdict...Go od video, I recall seeing it before, nice refresher and somewhere on one of the forums I frequent there was an actual chart with several manufacturers and their recommendations for replacement of their product based on age.

Hey Chuck In Indy.... Fwiw, I put BT46's on the LMIVSE last Spring and I'm very pleased with them versus the Dunlop GT501's that I had been running.

Art