HaulinAshe
Well-known member
At 8,158 miles I changed both front and rear tires. Mounted a new Pirelli Diablo Strada front and a new Metzeler ME880 rear. The vote on my posted poll was in favor of the ME880 when I started the change, so the Bridgestone BT021 will be next.
The ME880 is not available in a 180/55 size, but comes in a "close enough" 170/60 profile.
First Impressions
Damn, that's one big piece of rubber! The ME880 sports 7.5mm of tread depth, and weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs. I can't speak to the exact durometer reading of the rubber compound, but the usual seat of the pants I use is bouncing a small ball pein hammer against the unmounted tire and comparing the bounce. The ME880 was noticeably harder than my usual Diablo Strada (sitting jealously next to it, still wrapped in labels!).
The overall contour of the ME880 is surprisingly similar to the Strada, with the ME880 being a bit more rounded and symetrical in shape.
Test Ride-1:
Both front and rear at 40 psi. 2-up with suspension at FIRM and all stock settings. Riders, gear etc. approximately 360 lbs.
The first 20 minutes made me very nervous. There was a definite push that resulted in frequent understeering of the front. Adding lean angle resulted in virtually no change of turn radius. So I took it easy and kept the speeds well below triple digits. But surprisingly, as both tires warmed up and both scuffed-in, things quickly changed and harmony began.
You immediately notice just how easy the ME880 turns in. It has a beautifully smooth lean, with absolutely no difference in required steering force from straight vertical to max lean. (I define max lean as sparks from the peg feelers.) It was easy for me to tell what the ME880 was doing versus the new Strada, because I know a Strada inside-out. So mentally the front was not a factor as I knew exactly what to expect from it. Those who like the easy turn of the Avon profile will definitely like the ME880. It has similar turn-in characteristics.
I continued Ride-1 for about 100 miles, doing the usual hard braking, rapid WFO from 2,3,4, but stayed away from any high speed, severe angle sweeper action (waited on the track to become available
At one point I decided to give the GF a new thrill and turned right from a stop, quickly shifted to 2nd and gagged it WFO. The front lifted as expected about 6-8 inches off. Since I was prepared for that possibility and the cager turning in to my left made for good audience, I decided to hold it up for a bit. Probably rode 20-30 feet squeezing the tank hard to bring the front around and complete the turn. The ME880 held very nicely, no squishing, no shimmy, none of the wobbly tendencies most of our Z-rated rubber usually has when you apply that much load. Remember, I was 2-up, fully loaded and turning right WFO in 2nd! I was able to steer nicely on one tire and touched down with only a slightly misaligned front wheel. Suweeet!!!
As the track opened up...
Some straightaway time gave me opportunity to go deep into triple digits. My personal limitation is 135 mph. It's near that speed that the sheer mass of the ME880 starts to show. There is so much rotational inertia that you can feel it's resistance to change. You can also feel the rear start to ride "high" and not fall into every nook and cranny of the pavement surface. It's nothing scary or wrong, It's just not like a Strada at those speeds. The Strada tells you "Hey, I'm going to rip to shreds before I turn loose of this pavement". The ME880 says "I'm going to ride up here a bit because those little bumps make my head hurt". Or maybe it's saying... "Hey! Harleys aren't supposed to go this fast! WTF is going on!!!"
Test Ride-2:
Both front and rear at 40 psi, solo, lightly loaded, top bag still intact. Rider, gear etc. approximately 210 lbs.
After escorting LuvToRide to the north on her way home, I wanted to push the ME880 and see if I could find a predictable slipping point. Mind you, this is NOT my favorite thing to do. But I desperately wanted to have something to share about the difference in grip between the ME880 and other tires we typically run.
So off to the track it was...
There is this one sweeper that has a typical entry speed of 85 to 90 mph. It has two nasty surface transitions that easily result in a severe line change. You MUST be prepared to drift out and use the entire lane if entering at 90. I took a conservative approach (not wanting to write this from the ER) and entered at 83 mph. The first surface transition passed and since I had the suspension set to HARD but was riding solo, the left peg never touched. Again the ME880 surprised me as to just how stiff it is, and never wallowed or wandered the line. Those of you who may be like me, and frequently attribute that wandering/wallowing in sweepers to suspension slop, should reconsider. It's not a calling for a front fork brace. It's not a sign of wear in the swingarm bearings or time to replace steering head bearings. It's simply the rear tire compressing and changing shape due to the fat girl mashing the crap out of the sidewalls. Since the ME880 is designed for Hardley Davidsons, it reacts like it's supporting a 4'12" pole dancer and just keeps true to form.
Having inspired foolish confidence thus far, I decided to WFO the second surface transition. So down to 4th and WFO it was! There was no time to peek at the speedo. I was way too busy looking into the turn and lifting that left foot in preparation for sparks and oh-shits! Again, the ME880 took the transition without any wallowing and held the line nicely. There was one big difference though. I could HEAR the sidewall scrubbing pavement, even over the cranked-up volume of my MP3 selection. I could HEAR the rubber scuffing as it slipped ever so slightly under all that WFO influence. This is what I consider the key difference between the ME880 and others. The harder compound will not "hold on no matter what". It will turn loose at extreme lean angles and high acceleration. But it does not just break loose and toss you in the ditch, or it didn't for me. It will slip a bit and give what grip it can. Now there's no doubt that a panic tap of brake or sudden decel on the throttle, would toss you in the ditch faster than a flat broke gambler in a Vegas pickup. If you take the ME880 to "the edge", be sure to respect that edge and proceed with caution and smooth transitions. The bike has a bit more than the tire does.
Overall Impressions:
The ME880 may very well become my rear tire of choice for 2-up Summer riding. There's no doubt it will have substantially longer life around my 40-grit road environment than Stradas or Z6s. The ME880 combined with the Strada front, gives me a very predictable and familiar setup that is about halfway between two Stradas and two Avons.
Wet traction is yet to be tested. This is NOT a setup I would recommend for a brand newbie FJR rider who expects to run in triple digits often. You must, IMO, be experienced enough to recognize that the ME880 rear will not hold in extreme conditions of triple digits, max lean angles and WFO throttle accel. But if you're new to the FJR, you shouldn't be going there anyway!
I also do not plan to run the ME880 in temps below 50F when the harder compound will undoubtedly induce the now-famous Scab syndrome. But again, for me, that only excludes less than two months per year. I can easily put on 16,000 miles in less than 10 months. Yes, I'm expecting to get around 8,000 miles on the ME880, and that's about double my usual best.
If you typically run below triple digits, often ride 2-up, and would like to get mega-mileage out of a tire combo. Try the ME880 rear with a Strada front. It should be good for 8,000 Ashe Tire Testing Program miles, which translates to ??? for you.
More to come when it finally rains, I make it back to the mountains, and the miles click away.
Jeff Ashe
The ME880 is not available in a 180/55 size, but comes in a "close enough" 170/60 profile.
First Impressions
Damn, that's one big piece of rubber! The ME880 sports 7.5mm of tread depth, and weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs. I can't speak to the exact durometer reading of the rubber compound, but the usual seat of the pants I use is bouncing a small ball pein hammer against the unmounted tire and comparing the bounce. The ME880 was noticeably harder than my usual Diablo Strada (sitting jealously next to it, still wrapped in labels!).
The overall contour of the ME880 is surprisingly similar to the Strada, with the ME880 being a bit more rounded and symetrical in shape.
Test Ride-1:
Both front and rear at 40 psi. 2-up with suspension at FIRM and all stock settings. Riders, gear etc. approximately 360 lbs.
The first 20 minutes made me very nervous. There was a definite push that resulted in frequent understeering of the front. Adding lean angle resulted in virtually no change of turn radius. So I took it easy and kept the speeds well below triple digits. But surprisingly, as both tires warmed up and both scuffed-in, things quickly changed and harmony began.
You immediately notice just how easy the ME880 turns in. It has a beautifully smooth lean, with absolutely no difference in required steering force from straight vertical to max lean. (I define max lean as sparks from the peg feelers.) It was easy for me to tell what the ME880 was doing versus the new Strada, because I know a Strada inside-out. So mentally the front was not a factor as I knew exactly what to expect from it. Those who like the easy turn of the Avon profile will definitely like the ME880. It has similar turn-in characteristics.
I continued Ride-1 for about 100 miles, doing the usual hard braking, rapid WFO from 2,3,4, but stayed away from any high speed, severe angle sweeper action (waited on the track to become available
At one point I decided to give the GF a new thrill and turned right from a stop, quickly shifted to 2nd and gagged it WFO. The front lifted as expected about 6-8 inches off. Since I was prepared for that possibility and the cager turning in to my left made for good audience, I decided to hold it up for a bit. Probably rode 20-30 feet squeezing the tank hard to bring the front around and complete the turn. The ME880 held very nicely, no squishing, no shimmy, none of the wobbly tendencies most of our Z-rated rubber usually has when you apply that much load. Remember, I was 2-up, fully loaded and turning right WFO in 2nd! I was able to steer nicely on one tire and touched down with only a slightly misaligned front wheel. Suweeet!!!
As the track opened up...
Some straightaway time gave me opportunity to go deep into triple digits. My personal limitation is 135 mph. It's near that speed that the sheer mass of the ME880 starts to show. There is so much rotational inertia that you can feel it's resistance to change. You can also feel the rear start to ride "high" and not fall into every nook and cranny of the pavement surface. It's nothing scary or wrong, It's just not like a Strada at those speeds. The Strada tells you "Hey, I'm going to rip to shreds before I turn loose of this pavement". The ME880 says "I'm going to ride up here a bit because those little bumps make my head hurt". Or maybe it's saying... "Hey! Harleys aren't supposed to go this fast! WTF is going on!!!"
Test Ride-2:
Both front and rear at 40 psi, solo, lightly loaded, top bag still intact. Rider, gear etc. approximately 210 lbs.
After escorting LuvToRide to the north on her way home, I wanted to push the ME880 and see if I could find a predictable slipping point. Mind you, this is NOT my favorite thing to do. But I desperately wanted to have something to share about the difference in grip between the ME880 and other tires we typically run.
So off to the track it was...
There is this one sweeper that has a typical entry speed of 85 to 90 mph. It has two nasty surface transitions that easily result in a severe line change. You MUST be prepared to drift out and use the entire lane if entering at 90. I took a conservative approach (not wanting to write this from the ER) and entered at 83 mph. The first surface transition passed and since I had the suspension set to HARD but was riding solo, the left peg never touched. Again the ME880 surprised me as to just how stiff it is, and never wallowed or wandered the line. Those of you who may be like me, and frequently attribute that wandering/wallowing in sweepers to suspension slop, should reconsider. It's not a calling for a front fork brace. It's not a sign of wear in the swingarm bearings or time to replace steering head bearings. It's simply the rear tire compressing and changing shape due to the fat girl mashing the crap out of the sidewalls. Since the ME880 is designed for Hardley Davidsons, it reacts like it's supporting a 4'12" pole dancer and just keeps true to form.
Having inspired foolish confidence thus far, I decided to WFO the second surface transition. So down to 4th and WFO it was! There was no time to peek at the speedo. I was way too busy looking into the turn and lifting that left foot in preparation for sparks and oh-shits! Again, the ME880 took the transition without any wallowing and held the line nicely. There was one big difference though. I could HEAR the sidewall scrubbing pavement, even over the cranked-up volume of my MP3 selection. I could HEAR the rubber scuffing as it slipped ever so slightly under all that WFO influence. This is what I consider the key difference between the ME880 and others. The harder compound will not "hold on no matter what". It will turn loose at extreme lean angles and high acceleration. But it does not just break loose and toss you in the ditch, or it didn't for me. It will slip a bit and give what grip it can. Now there's no doubt that a panic tap of brake or sudden decel on the throttle, would toss you in the ditch faster than a flat broke gambler in a Vegas pickup. If you take the ME880 to "the edge", be sure to respect that edge and proceed with caution and smooth transitions. The bike has a bit more than the tire does.
Overall Impressions:
The ME880 may very well become my rear tire of choice for 2-up Summer riding. There's no doubt it will have substantially longer life around my 40-grit road environment than Stradas or Z6s. The ME880 combined with the Strada front, gives me a very predictable and familiar setup that is about halfway between two Stradas and two Avons.
Wet traction is yet to be tested. This is NOT a setup I would recommend for a brand newbie FJR rider who expects to run in triple digits often. You must, IMO, be experienced enough to recognize that the ME880 rear will not hold in extreme conditions of triple digits, max lean angles and WFO throttle accel. But if you're new to the FJR, you shouldn't be going there anyway!
I also do not plan to run the ME880 in temps below 50F when the harder compound will undoubtedly induce the now-famous Scab syndrome. But again, for me, that only excludes less than two months per year. I can easily put on 16,000 miles in less than 10 months. Yes, I'm expecting to get around 8,000 miles on the ME880, and that's about double my usual best.
If you typically run below triple digits, often ride 2-up, and would like to get mega-mileage out of a tire combo. Try the ME880 rear with a Strada front. It should be good for 8,000 Ashe Tire Testing Program miles, which translates to ??? for you.
More to come when it finally rains, I make it back to the mountains, and the miles click away.
Jeff Ashe
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