Not trying to brand bash but just give my honest opinion.

Metzler 880 WWW
Great tire. Solid ride, good traction wet or dry, pretty decent mileage. There is some history that says they have had some difficulty with tread separation. I didn't experience this. I would stay away from the WWW if you're running organic brake pads. It's impossible to keep them clean with all of the brake dust.

Michelin Commander II
Rear Great, front ok tire. A lot of people swear that these are the greatest tires on the planet. I didn't like them so much. The rear was great. Good traction and great mileage. The front not so much. It always felt skittish, like it didn't know where to track.

Shinko Rear WWW
I've only had it on the bike for about 3-4 weeks, so will only give an initial impression.
Good tire. I have experienced some of what people are calling wobble. Mostly above 80 mph. It was worse with the Michelin on the front. Less so now with a Metzler 888. The WWW doesn't seem as white as the Metzler and it stops where the tire transitions to the bead so there is a black shelf where the tire meets the rim. I'm going to ride it for a bit, but if the wobble gets worse I'll ditch it for a Metzler.

Metzler 888 Front WWW
Great tire. I changed this about a week after putting on the Shinko. The front end skittishness is gone. The WWW is very bright and seems to stay that way (I've switched to semi-sintered pads). The WWW also goes all the way past the rim. You don't see any black at all. I will try to get some pictures of this later to clarify.

I'm pretty sold on the Metzler 888. Especially now that they come in WWW. The WWW cleans up really well, looks white with no imperfections. I will be riding them exclusively from now on.

I just put a 888 WWW on my rear to replace the 880 www that wore out at 11k miles. I still have the front 880 and now the rear 888, I love the way the bike feels.

I have Metzler's on my 02--880 WSW on the front, wearing very well, 888WSW on the rear, replacement for 880 WSW that I found last fall with a very large screw in it. I have ridden these tires in the dry as well as the rain, handle very well with no wiggle or wobble, unlike the crappy Dunlop CruiserMax I had before switching to the Metzler's. I will only be using them from now until I can no longer ride!!!!

Thats good info.

I dont like the Dunlops I have. 404 or something.

When I ordered it the website said it was not correct. It was the same size so I figured it was an error.

Bloody thing said Harley Davidson on the sidewall!

I gotta agree. I love my Commander II rear tire. The front though, not so much. Constantly feels like its tracking back and forth. I make sure that air pressure is perfect per manufacturer, but it only helps marginally.

Maybe it's that I run 38 psi(not 40, or 42, because max pressure is incorrect for the overwhelming majority of us), or maybe it's that I flop check my bike often and adjust if necessary, or maybe it's my Race Tech fork mods, but I'm on my 2nd set of Commander IIs and have never had any of this "skittish or hunting" front end feel you guys are talking about. When they are new, they feel like new tires. If your front feels like you have to constantly make corrections to go straight down the road, your tire is OVER inflated or your steering stem is too tight.

jd750ace wrote:
Maybe it's that I run 38 psi(not 40, or 42, because max pressure is incorrect for the overwhelming majority of us), or maybe it's that I flop check my bike often and adjust if necessary, or maybe it's my Race Tech fork mods, but I'm on my 2nd set of Commander IIs and have never had any of this "skittish or hunting" front end feel you guys are talking about. When they are new, they feel like new tires. If your front feels like you have to constantly make corrections to go straight down the road, your tire is OVER inflated or your steering stem is too tight.

Yep, what he said

Love my Metzlers 888's!!!

I ran Metz for a good 10 years, switched over to M Commander II right at the time Metz came out with the 888's.
I personally never encountered issues with tread separation or weakened sidewalls (but I never had a blowout), but needed to change out both front and rear, and seemed at the time on the clinic everyone was reporting their experiences with tread separation and some batches of tires were made in one country with differing reports of satisfaction compared to plants operating in another country. The Michelin Commander II also just came out. So I went with them.

I don't find any of that front end wobble you speak of. Haven't ridden in any rain to know how they handle pros or cons, but I'm very happy with the Commander II's.

If I ever wanted to go with white walls I would definitely go with Metzler in a heart beat with no reservations. Would totally look forward to trying the 888.

jd750ace wrote:
Maybe it's that I run 38 psi(not 40, or 42, because max pressure is incorrect for the overwhelming majority of us), or maybe it's that I flop check my bike often and adjust if necessary, or maybe it's my Race Tech fork mods, but I'm on my 2nd set of Commander IIs and have never had any of this "skittish or hunting" front end feel you guys are talking about. When they are new, they feel like new tires. If your front feels like you have to constantly make corrections to go straight down the road, your tire is OVER inflated or your steering stem is too tight.

I too keep a pretty close eye on my tire pressure and my steering stem is about dead nuts on the torque. I know that not paying attention to these things can have adverse effects. All of that said, I changed only the front tire and the skittishness went away. Hard to come to a different conclusion than that there was something off about the Commander II that was on my bike. If I had the resources or a shot at several free tires, it would be fun to experiment. Half a dozen brands of tires on half a dozen bikes could make a pretty cool test.