Tire pressure with Metzelers

[Davecm203]

One thing to remember is that when you increase your tire pressure, you are changing the footprint of the tire also. If you pump it up to the max pressure on the sidewall, you narrow the foot print as well as make the tire harder which will effect how the tire absorbs bumps and impact. Both of those factors negatively effect the handling and safety. On a cruiser, it may not be that big a deal, but, why take the chance when it is completely unnecessary. It is my personal opinion, it is best to run the recommended pressures by the motorcycle's manufacturer. They will recommend a single and two-up pressure. I have been ridding street bikes for over 20 years and have never ran into a problem with a recommended pressure set by the manufacturer.

[womper]

run what metzler says to run it. the tire lasts longer. you corner better and the tire reacts better.

if it's under pressure (which i had mine) it wobbles in the corners

[TNM50]

You're right about the wobble. I noticed before I upped the pressure in my rear that it would wobble every now and then and a lot of those times were with my wife on the back and I just blamed it on her moving. I upped the rear to 40 and the stocker to 32 before my trip yesterday and the handling was 10x better! No more wobble in the rear. I can't wait to get the front Metz put on this week.

[tbone57]

Having been this course before, the simple answer is this. Metzler WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR TIRES. Make sure you have a good supplier, that is willing to honor any warranty issues on your behalf. If you count on Metzler to make the decisions, they will say the tires were run at incorrect pressures OR the premature sidewall cracking is a cosmetic induced ozone related flaw only OR you cleaned them improperly. I personally ran the tires at Metzler's recommended pressures, still the attached photos were after only 600 miles. Good Luck!

[1badbaker]

FWIW, all the discussions I've seen relating to the sidewall cracking was only on white wall tires.

[tbone57]

Yes, you are correct, the problems were with ME880'sWWW whitewalls only, however, Metzler tried to pin part of the problem to incorrect pressures, which was the point of showing the pictures, nothing else. My rep. via Parts Unlimited backed me up and got me dunlop blackwall tires for replacement, an ok tire, but all in all I should have stuck with the oem IRC's. Best of luck with Metzlers other tires!

[Davecm203]

It really sounds like the Metzler's have very soft sidewalls. If the pressure has to be bumped up like that to reduce excess flex, they must. Personally, I would find another tire.

[TNM50]

Since the back is kind of new I am going to be with Metzelers for a while. The main reason I am changing the front stocker IRC is not because of treadwear but due to cracking of the sidewall around the rim. I think it is just age causing the cracking, tire is 3 1/2 years old. I've researched the Metzeler reviews quite a bit today and most people really like them but some didn't. I guess that goes for any tire though.

[TNM50]

Also forgot to mention that the rear has around 2000 miles on it and it is not cracking nor has there been hardly any wear

[womper]

i've only ever run 3 tires.

IRC. standard issue tire. it works. not a bad tire.

dunlop 404s. GREAT rain tire. you can stick to corners in massive rain. very nice, but the compound is totally different and the heat i rode through really wore them down fast.

ME880s. good overall tire. i'm comfortable cornering hard, good in rain and gravel and lasts a long time.

i would say get a tire for your riding style. i'd try another tire if i could, but there's not much choice around here. i usually get a tire that can fit, and the local shop sells Me880s like they were cookies fresh from the oven.