New Tire Time

[Believer45]

Good day, all. I got VERY lucky yesterday on the way home from work, at 65 mph check what happened (takes a couple seconds to load):

Fortunately I was able to get to the side of the road without losing pressure and actually able to ride 12-15 miles or so home at 15 mph.

Needless to say, it is time for new front and rear tires. When I bought her a year ago I was told newer tires, not sure what happened but the brand is VEE TWIN which I cannot find much information on. What I have found that seems a good and safe tire is:

Metzler ME 880 Marathon that looks pretty good

Dunlop Elite 3 (front)/Elite 2 (rear)

Bridgestone S11 or Bridgestone Exedra Max.

I am soliciting suggestions and would also like to know if I can fit a slightly taller front tire to correct the speedometer reading 4% high - not critical but since I am replacing tires anyway......

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Dave / Believer45

 

[Ansimp]

I can thoroughly vouch for the Metzler tires. That said I am running Shinko 230s on the Rats Nest and will probably fit them to Dads 82 1100 on the advice of Backlander. As we will ride about 5000 miles I just need a good tire to see us through our trip and hopefully these will do that. The price I paid for the pair is less than on Me 880. That said I will probably fit Metzlers when I am back in Oz with the Rats Nest.

 

[mcgovern61]

I use the Bridgestone S11's on my '82 and I am pushing over 17,000 on the front tire and 9,000 on the back tire.

 

[dan filipi]

I personally would stay away from the E2. E3's might be better but they're still a bit new to know.
I have a E3 front an it seems to be good.
I was going to get a E3 rear but with Dunlop's history of cupping E2's I'll be going with the S11's.

 

[Anonymous]

the Metzler Marathon is no longer being made - any for sale will be old stock and have been replaced with the Metzler lazertec (which I hear is a good tire) Myself I bought a set of Pirelli MT 66's the other day (a month ago) - probably get around to putting them on this weekend - They look like a good high Quality tire - will know more after riding them a while.

The Elite II is a hard long lasting tire and the Elite III has quite a following and is said to be a softer version that handles better but does not last as long. Any tire that has either too much or too little air in it will cup.

Shinko is lower end but I hear lots of guys have good things to say about them I would stay away from Kenda.

 

[Omega Man]

S11's with Dynabeads...WORD

~O~

 

[Believer45]

Well, I have ME880 front and rear set aside for me at a local shop and will have to find time to pull the back end off to take the wheels for installation. I was not aware the ME880 was out of production but it is no longer listed on the Metzeler web site. The Marathon ME880 Max is there but it is a harder compound and is not rated as well as the ME880. I am going to have to check the date codes on the tires to see when they were actually made.

After the other recommendations I am going to have to rethink what I am going to do.

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

Dave / Believer45

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I have ME880 front and rear set aside for me at a local shop and will have to find time to pull the back end off to take the wheels for installation. I was not aware the ME880 was out of production but it is no longer listed on the Metzeler web site. The Marathon ME880 Max is there but it is a harder compound and is not rated as well as the ME880. I am going to have to check the date codes on the tires to see when they were actually made.

After the other recommendations I am going to have to rethink what I am going to do.

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

Dave / Believer45

Ya I heard that too the 880 Max was a hard tire - the lazertek is said to be the closest replacement for the ME880 I hear they handle well but the price is still up there (the guy that bought my Sabre put the Lazertek's on and love's em)

 

[Believer45]

I went and looked at the tires that are set aside for me, both were manufactured in mid 2012 (25th week and 19th week) so that should be fine. My only issue now is getting the rear tire off the bike. They will do it but will not quote due to saddlebags and tourpack, time spent at $65 per hour. They did say for an Electraglide they generally get three hours. Looks like I need to get the bike jacked up enough to get the tire out from under it.

I have found write-ups and videos with different ways to do this. Some say lay the bike on its side, unbolt the wheel and it will come out without removing the drive unit. Others say you have to pull the rear fender, license plate and the loop at the bottom of the saddlebag brackets. Others say the whole back end has to come off. Anyone have first hand experience?

Dave / Believer45

 

[Anonymous]

I went and looked at the tires that are set aside for me, both were manufactured in mid 2012 (25th week and 19th week) so that should be fine. My only issue now is getting the rear tire off the bike. They will do it but will not quote due to saddlebags and tourpack, time spent at $65 per hour. They did say for an Electraglide they generally get three hours. Looks like I need to get the bike jacked up enough to get the tire out from under it.

I have found write-ups and videos with different ways to do this. Some say lay the bike on its side, unbolt the wheel and it will come out without removing the drive unit. Others say you have to pull the rear fender, license plate and the loop at the bottom of the saddlebag brackets. Others say the whole back end has to come off. Anyone have first hand experience?

Dave / Believer45

i took mine off the other day took about an hour (Maybe 1hr 15mins) the rear fender was a pain but I was able to slip it by (but just barely) when I put it on I might take the rubber part off (or at least loosen it up a bit) - changed both tires at home they are at the shop getting balanced - $12.50 each. A different shop quoted me over two hundred bucks (includes balance) to do the whole job I thought that was out of line, would have paid $100 but he wasn't interested.

 

[Believer45]

Thank you for the quick reply.

Did you take the rear drive and wheel out of the bike then separate or were you able to snake the tire past the drive still attached to the swingarm? I kind of like the idea of not separating things that may leak later if they are not currently leaking.

Also were you able to get the tire out with the bike on the center stand, did you have to raise it on a couple boards or did you lay the bike on its side?

Dave / Believer45

 

[Tory]

I personally would stay away from the E2. E3's might be better but they're still a bit new to know.
I have a E3 front an it seems to be good.
I was going to get a E3 rear but with Dunlop's history of cupping E2's I'll be going with the S11's.

Yep
E2s junk,E3s awsome.
I hated the E2s,but I won't run anything but an E3 on my wing.Just wish I could find them to fit all my bikes.Excellant wear and great handling.

 

[Believer45]

I don't see 130/90x16 front or 150/90 15 rear listed for the E3 - what size are you running?

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the quick reply.

Did you take the rear drive and wheel out of the bike then separate or were you able to snake the tire past the drive still attached to the swingarm? I kind of like the idea of not separating things that may leak later if they are not currently leaking.

Also were you able to get the tire out with the bike on the center stand, did you have to raise it on a couple boards or did you lay the bike on its side?

Dave / Believer45

Everyone does it different but I took my Front tire off first, had to jack it up a bit (just ahead of the center stand) once that front tire was off I let it down on a block (this tips the back tire up). The rear wheel would not drop down like I hear it does for some guys and I was unable to get the rear axle out so i dropped the mufflers and it came out easily. (I did take the side bags off)

 

[Believer45]

From what I have read disconnecting the rear shocks at the bottom may allow the swingarm to come down some more. I like your idea of pulling the front first, I was figuring on doing the rear, then putting it back on and doing the front. This way it is one trip to the shop to get them mounted.

Dave / Believer45

 

[Anonymous]

From what I have read disconnecting the rear shocks at the bottom may allow the swingarm to come down some more. I like your idea of pulling the front first, I was figuring on doing the rear, then putting it back on and doing the front. This way it is one trip to the shop to get them mounted.

Dave / Believer45

I hear disconnecting the shocks works for some but on mine the drive shaft would not let it drop low enough to allow me to remove the axle so I decided it was easier to drop the muffler than to split the rear drive.

 

[dan filipi]

The last time? I unbolted the shocks which let it drop enough so I wouldn't have to drop the exhaust.
I think that's a better way since dropping the exhaust could cause an exhaust leak at the heads, maybe not but I hate dropping the exhaust either way.

 

[Anonymous]

The last time? I unbolted the shocks which let it drop enough so I wouldn't have to drop the exhaust.
I think that's a better way since dropping the exhaust could cause an exhaust leak at the heads, maybe not but I hate dropping the exhaust either way.

I couldn't get mine to drop below or lift above the point where the axle clears the mufflers, maybe because its a 1200 or because my drive line is tight but my mufflers have been on an off more than a **** pants on a Saturday night so I wasn't too concerned about leaks.

 

[toytender01]

On my 80 I use a bike jack and am able to take off the front as well as the rear. Just have to pull of the rear break assy and stabelizing bar and let air out of tire. If I were at home I would post pic, but I am in Seattle right now.

 

[Anonymous]

On my 80 I use a bike jack and am able to take off the front as well as the rear. Just have to pull of the rear break assy and stabelizing bar and let air out of tire. If I were at home I would post pic, but I am in Seattle right now.

Say hello to Frazer for me ... on my 1200 there is no way i could get that back tire off with just removing the shocks - is the 1100 drive shaft more pliable?