Tires:

[Herb In Texas]

Mornin' folks, On the 8th of july I bought a 2008 venture. Now have 10200 miles loged and the rear tire seems to be wearing away really fast. Two questions, How close to the wear bars can I run it and is the stock tire that came with the bike the best? Don't seam like many miles to be worn out already.

Thanks in advance

Herb:Venture:

[sarges46]

Lots of posts on tires if you scroll down some you will see others. If the stocks you have on are bridgestone...they are probably the most despised tires most folks here have ever used. Dunlops arent bad. Make sure your tire pressures are what they should be according to the tire.

 

Lots like the Avon....metzlers seem to be chunking on alot of bikes (rsvs) and arent recommended.

 

Keep reading and make your own descision based on the experience from many others.

[V7Goose]

Hey Herb, you're not too far away - order what you like and ride on over here and we'll change it!

 

If you have over 10,000 miles on the stock tire, I'd bet it is a Dunlop; few people get more than 8,000 out of the terrible Brickstone rear. How thin you wear it is up to you, but technically you should change it when the wear bar first gets flush with the surrounding tread in the most worn part of the tire.

 

My personal preference is for the Avon Venom tires on this bike (and I've tried a few others). If you order one of them, make sure you get the H speed rating, not the V, as it will last longer. Tire wear is often different for every person, based on riding style, smoothness of the clutch action, etc., but the majority of riders on Avon Venoms seem to be getting around 14,000 - 15,000 on the rear, including me. For reference, I only got 8,000 from the stock Brickstone and 10,000 from a Pirelli MT66.

Goose

[1BigDog]

Ill second the Avons......and boo the Metzlers.

[Squidley]

Ill second the Avons......and boo the Metzlers.

 

X2

[BuddyRich]

Really like the Avons. Just don't go puttin a CT on it. Some here have and then said it brings out any problem with the bike.. Yea, its got a CT on it...

[hig4s]

I got 9000 on my stock Brickstones and had a couple thousand miles of tread left, I just couldn't stand them anymore.

I love the new Avons. Haven't tried anything else.

[MAINEAC]

Wear bars are there to tell you when to change the tire... when the wear bars are flush with the meat of the tire it's time to change it... And if your state does inspections the tire will not pass.. That being said I think most of us have gone past the wear bars a time or 2 without any problems.. But I usually adjust my riding style during these periods and avoid wet roads like the plague..

 

I bought my 03 with 10K miles on it and it had Bridgestones on it... I assumed they were the original and I got 2K more miles out of them but swapped them out because the front was badly cupped... I switched to Dunlop 404s cuz I wanted Wide Whitewalls and fell in love with them cuz they were 100% better than the Bridgestones ever thought of being.. I got mixed mileage out of a bunch of 404s... 7K (2 up w/ trailer 3 week trip) to 14K out of the rears... 10 to 20K for fronts... I then tried the Avons after reading how great they were and was disapointed as I only got 7500 out of the rear running 95% 1 up and very little towing... I also do not like the wet road hadleing of the Avons... But my opinion doesn't matter because everyone else loves them.... I still have the smaller front on 10K but am thinking about going with a radial front to match up with my radial car tire rear..

 

For the Car Tire Record... I had a wobble at 32 lbs of air and I boosted the air to 40 and no more wobble... I'm not for or against the CT conversion yet as I only have 2000 miles on it and I'm still running a 75% worn front smaller sized Avon... I'll reserve judgement to see how this works out in the long haul... But so far it's been pretty good once I figured out what pressure to run.. I can still feel some of the nubs on the tire after 2K

[dynodon]

OK, I am a little dense this AM. What is the CT conversion?

[Guest Boomerbiker]

Thumbs up for the Avons. The rear changed at 13,600 riding solo. Front has good tread depth left at 17,000 miles. Caught in monsoon traveling through Iowa in July with vicious crosswinds and managed to keep bike upright. Have also used Brickstones and Dunlops in rainy conditions. Cannot say the performance is measurably different from the Avon which IMHO is also quieter.

[2RDLX]

OK, I am a little dense this AM. What is the CT conversion?

That's ok DYNODON it took me awhile to catch onto the abrev. also. CT (car tire)

[Tartan Terror]

I dont recommend a car tire and neither do the makers of the bikes and makers of the car tires but if you consider this then read all the information posted and remember that its at your own risk.

 

I recommend the Avons. Great tires!!

[1sttenor]

Another option is Dunlop Elite 3s. I've got 9,000+ on them and they look like they have at least that much left on the rear and more on the front. Here in mid MO we have lots of twisties, and I've found them to have excellent traction as well. The Avon are excellent as well. I'd price them both. My worth!

[GeorgeS]

Dunlop E-3 !! NOT, the D-404

[eagleeye]

But the 404's come in WWW

 

Steve

[spanky]

My bike likes the Dunlop whitewalls. 'course that's all it knows.

[javaventure]

Wow, I must have missed something a couple of months ago when I was replacing the stock tires. I had heard good things about the Metzlers! I have them on my 04 venture and so far so good. What has been the issues with them? I have put them on my v-star as well. Is this something I need to be concerned about? Please let me know.

 

Java

[BradT]

But the 404's come in WWW

 

Steve

 

Agree and that is the only reason I have not tried the Avons. I like the Michilen which are on my Wifes Virago.

 

BRad

[MAINEAC]

Ply separations, chunks of rubber falling off, and a couple of blowouts... see for yourself..

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/search.php?searchid=716887

[V7Goose]

Wow, I must have missed something a couple of months ago when I was replacing the stock tires. I had heard good things about the Metzlers! I have them on my 04 venture and so far so good. What has been the issues with them? I have put them on my v-star as well. Is this something I need to be concerned about? Please let me know.

 

Java

You weren't hearing good things about those POS tires HERE - this problem has been going on for several years and is well documented in many threads on this site.

 

In my opinion, YES, this IS something you need to be concerned about. Those tires are just absolutely dangerous. No, not every one fails, not even the majority of them, but tread separation is unbelievably bad when it DOES happen on any tire, and the Metzeler crud is the only bike tire it is happening to in large numbers. And to make things worse, when it does happen to you, the manufacturer will just laugh at you and tell you how stupid you are.

 

Sorry to hear you got stuck with them. If you feel you have to keep them longer, please inspect the rear tire often and close. If you think you detect any strange vibration or feel while riding, stop IMMEDIATELY and inspect them.

Goose

[jlh3rd]

everyone mentions wear, smoothness, quietness, wet traction, handling etc. when talking about tires, but no one mentions the load rating...which is the first thing i consider, especially with a 800+ pound bike with a pax and bags......so....what is the rating for avons as compared to the 404...i know the E3 is rated high.....and, if my memory serves me , the metzlers aren't rated as high as dunlops......maybe that's why they fail?

[BoomerCPO]

I'm not a tire expert by any means but I certainly have read enough to convince me the load rating is certainly a factor in the failure of these Metzlers.

 

Our Ventures are heavy bikes as is; and when you add 2 large people to the bike plus filling all the cargo areas as well it does not take a rocket scientist to see disaster in the making.

 

Metzler's customer response is pitiful in that they put the blame on improper tire pressure and leave the consumer twisting in the wind.

 

I'm happy to say they will never see a cent of my money. Nuff said.

[MAINEAC]

The front Metz 880 & D-404 are rated the same 71H = 761 lbs

 

The rear Dunlop 404 is rated @ 74H = 827 lbs

 

The rear Metz 880 shows a reinforced 80H = ??? Not sure Metzs site sucks and doesn't show weights and Dunlop doesn't have a tire rated 80... but a 77H is 908 so a 80H has gotta be around 1000 lbs.

 

I can tell you from experience the Dunlop load rating is artificially low... Cuz I've had way over the 827 lbs on mine before riding 2 up and pulling a trailer with the only problem was it wearing out at 7000 miles which is understandable.

 

Metzeler used the overloaded and underinflated excuse whenever they had a failure... Their load ratings are higher than Dunlops yet the Dunlops have very few failures..

[Squidley]

The 80H load rating is 992 lbs and that is the one that should be got if it's available in the style of tire you want.

[MAINEAC]

Thanks Squid... My point is the Dunlop load rating apears artificially low and can be exceeded without problems and the Metzeler load rating seems like it would be hard to exceed yet they have numerous failures and blame overloading as the cause...

 

So it seems load rating as a guideline is overated as Mfgs must use different methods or stardards to come up with their load ratings...