Is this tire combo good for my Intruder??? Opinions welcomed!

[Intruder007]

looking at getting a rear metzler ME880 (non white wall) and a pirelli rt66 front tire.

what's ya'll opinion on this setup? my cruising speeds are 70+ and i dont necessary slow down for corners/curves. but i do pick the right times to do this. not done with moderate to heavy traffic.

i'm going to go ahead and put my neck on the block and say i have just hit 15,000 miles on my factory treads. needless to say the rears are officially drag strip ready. front tire still looks good but obviously worn.

my riding style:
1. Ride only when its dry. VERY seldom do i ever get caught on a wet road.
2. Like i said above, i like staying 70+ and when i come across curves/corners, i welcome them with increased speed.
3. so pretty much, control is priority but i'd STILL like a tire with a good life span. or just run another 15k like the OEM's. haha.

that's pretty much all i can think of now that would have an effect on the tire decision.

ANY input is greatly appreciated


William

[Intruder007]

or should i get a ME 880 front tire to match the back?? only downside i see between the front pirelli and metz is the significant price difference. i know metz owns pirelli (or vice versa) so ya'll let me know ya'll take on this.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Intruder007

or should i get a ME 880 front tire to match the back??

I would never break a matched set......unless I HAVE to for some strange reason. Changing from a matched set of one brand to a set of a different brand can cause a big change in handling. I just won't take a chance that a mis-matched set might cause an even bigger change......that I might not like.

But I know nothing about your particular tire choice or bike handling characteristics; hopefully somebody else will.

Alas, it's likely that nobody will know for SURE unless they have tried that exact combination.

Good luck!

[DrBob]

I find Metzeler ME800s front a rear to be a great handling, great riding, long lasting combo. I am curious as to why you would want mismatched tires.

[1badbaker]

Originally Posted by DrBob

I find Metzeler ME800s front a rear to be a great handling, great riding, long lasting combo. I am curious as to why you would want mismatched tires.

I'm running ME880's on my M50 and couldn't agree more. I'm at a little over 14,000mi and the tread out back is still pretty good. My driving style is the same as yours from the sounds of it and the Metzs are great for it.

[amvince]

I have the Pirellis with about 6k on them and they still are in great shape. My guess is I should get at least 10-12 k out of them. My original IRC only lasted 6,000 miles.

[rathr-b-cruisin]

Why not go with pirellis on the front and back? I bought front and rear perillis and after i got to looking at my stock front tire i didnt have the heart to change it because there was so much tread left. So i've been riding with an IRC front and a pirelli on the back and have not noticed any adverse handling. I have noticed that with one perilli the bike handles soooo much better. I have over 15000 miles on the front so i'll probably change that out in the spring. I cant wait to see how good it handles with two pirellis on it.

[frostbitevinnie]

Whats the difference in cost??? Maybe $30?? Not worth the experiement if it fails.