Well, not tires really... just one... the 210 on the back end. At roughly $350 bucks for the damn things... They really don't perform very well...
My Old V-Star got maybe 14,000 miles on the tire on that end of the bike. Sometimes more if I was a good boy. But this Raider, I have to work hard to squeeze 9 or 10 thousand miles out of it... I read where a whole lot of riders only get three or four thousand...
You know... I pay about $175 for the tires on my truck and those suckers roll for 50,000 miles... I have just a lil' bit of difficulty believing that there's such a difference in cost to build the damn things... I mean let's face it, there's what, Four times as much material in the truck tire? Come on... something stinks in this deal...
Sometimes when I'm gettin' a Motorcycle tire put on... I start worryin' 'bout STD's and feel like I oughta walk out of the shop... PREGNANT!
So... Yesterday we took a ride, two up 'bout 165 miles or so. Rode from Bouse on up to Wickenburg for a late lunch, a lil' walkin' 'round and then the roll "home".
When we got home we were treated to a nice sunset...
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| *Arizona Sunset in our Boondock camp... after a day on the Raider* |
While we were enjoying the sunset... I happened to spot this lil' bit of joy...
Now... you can see there's a hell of a lot of tread left on that tire. That tire actually only has something just under 4,000 miles on it. I've never locked it up. No burnouts... no real hot doggin'... just Cruising...
For $350 bucks? are you kidding me? WTF Metzler?!!!!!
... and with all that tread left.. there SHOULDN'T be a hole like that through to the steel belt!!!
Now... I know some folks don't like Metzlers. Till now, they've always done me well... but this... arrrrrrggggggghhhhh!
My problem is I've read that Avons, and Dunlops and some of the others are stickier. That generally means softer rubber and even poorer mileage...
Considering the condition of my piggy bank... this didn't come at a real shiny time.
So... grrrrrrrr..... Today I'm NOT a happy biker.
Grab Your Handles and Ride!
Brian
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3 comments:
Know what you mean, Brian. I've tried dozens of motorcycle tires and I've learned one thing. No consistency in performance of one tire over another. Right now I'm rolling on a repaired tire on the back of my ride, just a plug. Is it dangerous? Probably. I do a lot of gravel and dirt road riding. but these Contimotion tires seem to be holding up on the worst back roads possible. I can't understand that just touring on the tarmac like you do would destroy a tire like that. Go figure.
Well it's a Metzler. They're made either in Germany or Brazil. This tire came out of Brazil... those are gaining a bad reputation. The balance of the tire is worn such that I'd was expecting another 4,000 miles out of the tire... What I don't know is why it rubbed through in that one, single section... I've never locked it up or skidded this tire, and I don't do the rubber burning stop light departures... THIS bike is hard on tires when you do that! :) I really think this just had a bad spot in it... though I don't expect Metzler to back it up... harrumph! :) I know a lot of "dirt rider" guys that use plugs... they seem to hold pretty well, and mostly only leak down... not catastrophic BANGS! :)
Glad to hear from you. I know you're running against the wind a bit. How's your lady doing? Is she feeling stronger? Hopefully things have stabilized some.
If you shop around you can find Metzeler ME880 tires in 210/40vr18 for 231.99 at Motorcycle-superstore.com or 227.95 at swmototires.com.
I went "halves" with a friend, on a tire changer set up. I was shocked to see how much the local dealers wanted for a tire and mount it. The way I figure it, if I mounted 3 sets, the changer would pay for its self.
I thought of buying tires on the internet and having them mounted locally. I couldn't find a shop close to home that would touch a mail order tire. Most said that if I didn't buy it from them, they wouldn't mount it. So now I buy my tires off the internet and mount them myself.
If you can find a place that will mount them for you, you cloud save a bunch by buying your tires off the net.
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