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Re:Metzler 880 or 888
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TOPIC: Re:Metzler 880 or 888
#784131
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Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
Time to order some new treads for my baby. I am stuck between the Metzler 880's and the 888's in a wide white.

Also I know it has been said on here many a time but what are the best sizes to run front and rear?

Everyone seems to agree that the Metz are the best tires am I correct?
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
Another tire thread

Seriously though, I think commander II's are the best option, but they don't come in a wide white wall. If you must have white walls, I would go with the Metz. I've always had good results with the 880. No experience with the 888 though.

Also, I run a 140/90-16 on the rear as per JD's recommendation. It will be the size I run from now on
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
The 880's are the only thing I run on my Roadie. I really like them a lot. I have no data on the 888's, but I don't think you will be disappointed with either. I prefer the black walls, just because I prefer to ride rather than clean white walls.
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
I would get the 888's. I had 880's until my last change and after a little investigating decided on the 888's. (Well one at least. I have a 888 on the rear and a Commander II on the front.) The composition of the rubber is suppose to be better with thicker wall sections for longer tread life. I have been very pleased with the 888's but as I understand it, if you want WWW you may have a bit of a wait. I believe you can order them but they may be backordered.
For what's it worth, if you can live without WWW the Michelin Commander II may be a better tire for you. You can't go wrong with either.
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
BC1955 wrote:
I would get the 888's. I had 880's until my last change and after a little investigating decided on the 888's. (Well one at least. I have a 888 on the rear and a Commander II on the front.) The composition of the rubber is suppose to be better with thicker wall sections for longer tread life. I have been very pleased with the 888's but as I understand it, if you want WWW you may have a bit of a wait. I believe you can order them but they may be backordered.
For what's it worth, if you can live without WWW the Michelin Commander II may be a better tire for you. You can't go wrong with either.


This is exactly why I asked because my family has notoriously run Michelins on all of our vehicles for as long as I can remember and had great luck. Problem is I want to keep the white walls, they break up the rest of the black I have on the bike and well I just plum like them.
 
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#784170
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
I ran 880's until I last switched to Michelin Comm IIs. Now I'm running 888's.

Thoughts:
My 880's were great tires until I experienced a tread separation with plenty of life left in the tire. My local mech confirms they have seen this problem more than "a few times". Very scary and the reason I switched from Metzlers to Michs in the first place. I ran proper inflation, and mine were made in Germany, which was supposedly immune to this problem. The tread design seems to be the culprit here, and I would never again buy an 880 for that reason. You can see the separation beginning in every one of those triangles. I thought it was bad wear at first and replaced my rear shock early. It wasn't the shock.

The 888's were designed, he and I both think, to combat this problem specifically with a different tread design. I've got about 1100 miles on these now. If you must go with a Metz to get WW, go with the 888 and don't look back IMHO.




If it were up to me I would run the Mich Commander IIs hands down. Softer tire, much better ride. Front and back end always felt more planted during corners. The 888's bounce around a lot, I feel it in my hands and cornering is just less fun. I can tell that its a much harder compound than the Michs. I miss the ride and handling already.

I have a separate issue, however, in that I couldn't get the Mich's to track straight down the road. Others have not had this problem. While there may be an explanation in that one of my forks "might" be out of alignment, the Metzlers go straight down the road. Listen to others when they rave about the Mich's who don't have my problem, they rave about them for a reason.
 
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Last Edit: 2014/06/11 11:16 By FRJ.
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
Ok stupid question but why won't Michelin make a White Wall?
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
No more 880s for me. Replace last year with a little over 2000 miles on them and had 2 quarter size chunks of rubber missing
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
I had good luck with my 880s and still have one on front and a 888 on the rear that is wearing and performing well so far
 
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Re:Metzler 880 or 888 3 Years, 8 Months ago  
Chefturner wrote:
Ok stupid question but why won't Michelin make a White Wall?

Chemical bond compatabiliy with the natural white used for the whitewall and the advanced polymer used in the primary carcass and tread/side wall. It does not meet thier design and durability standards for a motorcycle tire.
Can't fault them for that.
If they find a solution, they will make it, but it's not a motorcycle only issue with tire composition these days.
 
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