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K1200LT Replacement Tires

10K views 61 replies 34 participants last post by  JNW003 
#1 ·
More new Metzler tires. I seem to go thru them pretty quickly. Is there another tire out there that will work on a big heavy bike but last longer? My dealer said Metzler just came out with a new tire, but it is not available for mine yet. New tires every few months ain't cheap! :bmw:
 
#5 ·
no there is not, how many miles are you getting before you replace tyres? how is the bike loaded what are your tyre pressures? should be good for 8k or more. my last one did 13.5k km, towing a camper for half of that.
 
#6 ·
There are several of us that run a Metzler on the from and a Bridgestone on the rear. For me the rear Stone lasts longer than the Metz and the front Metz lasts longer than the front Stone. Keep your pressures at 42 for the front and 48 in the rear. You live in a state that has warmer temps than we have in Michigan so keeping the proper pressure in tires would be very important. Heat is one of the great enemies of tires among other things. I consistently get over 25k on my tires.
 
#11 ·
Is there any reason that you recommend 42 psi front and 48 psi rear, My book calls for 36.3 front and 42 rear? Wouldn't that give you a hard ride? also, please let me know which exact tires you are referring to metz front, bridge rear. think I would like to try this combination
Thanks
 
#8 ·
Dunno know the total miles right now. The bike is in the shop right now trying to get that fuel issue fixed, so I cannot check the receipt against the odometer. My issue was that the back tire went bad and had to be replaced. Metzler is only giving me 50% credit because it is really worn. Tires on all of my previous bikes lasted like forever. They were, however, much much lighter.
 
#9 ·
One other data point. Over the last 10 years I averaged 7,000 miles on a rear ME 880 with the first one lasting 9,100 (11-ME 880s). I went with a BT-020 on the rear this time and it still had some tread left at 9,912. I did just change it as I have a trip coming up and wanted fresh rubber but I could have gotten another 1,000 local miles on it. So based on that I am getting better mileage off the Bridgestone rear. We will see how the second one does.
 
#16 ·
John, we've never met. I feel much better now,hearing from the wise one what I already knew. Thank you. I've tried everything- still never not much more than 6000 on Metz rear. My new first time Bridgestone has 4000 is is looking good. Maybe more miles this time.
What a great site.
25000??! Really? How? I'm struggling to believe this. No, I don't believe it.
David
 
#12 · (Edited)
If you run your tires like these guys you will get just a few miles out of
the rear - please note this is a brief moment of brevity :D

http://speedsociety.com/drifting-240hp-suzuki-hayabusa/?var=1320

Scroll down on the page to find the video

Advertisement: At the CCR Reunion in Chattanooga this year TJ
Tennant who is a Tire Engineer for Bridgestone will be there providing two
tire presentations. In his previous tire seminar he stated mileage all
depends on: road surfaces, bike weights, road temperatures, tire pressures
and RIDING STYLES. :cool:

As for tire pressures the collective wisdon of this site for over 10 years has
called for the 42 psi front and 48 psi rear. What you will find out over time is
that this site as has far greater knowldedge and experiences regarding the
the K1200LT than exisits at most dealers or anywhere elxe on the
internet. . . really!!

Back to your normal channel and anothe tire thread !!!
 
#15 ·
As for tire pressures the collective wisdom of this site for over 10 years has
called for the 42 psi front and 48 psi rear.
Great that TJ will be back. I remember his advice on tire pressure was 2 psi under the max sidewall pressure if riding solo; at the max pressure if two-up. Or 40-42 F, 48-50 R.

I ran those pressures and averaged over 13K miles on the rear, and over 20K front.
 
#17 ·
I just had to replace my front tyre. It was a BT20, as is the rear. My dealer, whom I trust, said the all new Bridgestone T30 GT was what I needed, and that it was the "modern" replacement for the BT20. As far as I have been able to research, the specs seem to me to be the same, and after the first 700 km I am very pleased with the performance and handling of this tyre. Longevity is to be seen...I´ve put some 6000 km on the bike since i got it on March 20´th this year...and I keep tyre pressure at 2,9 bar, front and rear...Love to ride this big girl...will be taking her to the Harz mountains in Germany in about 3 weeks time...
 
#18 ·
You might want to check the load and speed ratings on your tires - LTs take a 79V rated tire on the rear and 58V on the front. I have found that tire guys don't necessarily want to sell you something they don't have in stock. I had a Metzler ME880 non-reinforced tire installed on my LT right after I bought it. Although it worked ok, I always had that thought in the back of my mind that something bad could happen (like catastrophic failure and then your insurance company denying a claim due to use of a tire not rated for the bike). Attached is a copy of an MIC Tire Guide I downloaded some time ago, and use as a reference on tire issues. :bmw:
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Then here is a new question. I replaced the Metz bias ply tire on the front with a radial. Now I want to do the rear, but everything the tire store has for the rear is bias ply. Do y'all know which rear radial tire will work for my '02 LT, or do I need to put a bias ply back there? I have been told that you shouldn't mix and match the two.
 
#27 ·
I now have about 3500 miles on a set of Avon Storm 3D X-M tires and they still look brand new. This was my first time with the Avon tires and man do I love them. Wet roads, tar snakes etc are a breeze. I even find that running over the yellow line in the road does not bother me anymore. All of this been said, I feel that if you are looking for mileage only that the Mets and Bridgestone combo would be your best bet. Good luck with your choice and let it be known that the tire question has been beat to death. Just find what works for you (as long as it rated for the LT) and let it go.
 
#28 ·
Yes, I am looking for mileage. I ride every day long and straight cruising. I generally ride in the dry on the way to work, and in the wet on the way home. It's Florida after all. It rains every day around 4pm. I was really looking to get away from bias ply and go to radials. In a few months, I will have a LOT of miles on these and I will update everyone.
 
#29 ·
I installed the new AVON Storm 3D X-M 160/70R17 79V on the back. I was rather proud that I was able to do that all by myself (no need to give my right arm, left testicle, and first born male child to the dealership). So far, the tire feels a bit weird. The bike seems a bit more unstable under normal flat, straight conditions. I feel kinda wobbly, almost like I am about to fall over. However, it seems to WANT to lean into the turns easier AND that unstable wobbly feeling is there in bad turbulent windy conditions, rather than being thrown all over the road like before. I guess that is the difference between bias ply and radials. Now that I am rolling on two radials (120/70R-17 (58V) Metzeler ME880 Marathon Front) we'll see how she holds up over time. The Metz bias ply tires barely managed a few thousand miles. :bike:
 
#31 ·
My last rear tire, out of necessity on a 6100mi trip was a Michelin Commander II 160/70B17, it's bias ply with a 73 rating (good for 805lb load capacity). I am pretty happy with it so far, the sales rep tells me it should get me 15k miles, I'll believe it when I see it... but they seem to handle pretty good for a bias ply tire, the profile was a bit curvier than the Metzeler so the bike is a bit easier to lean over imo... I'll update mileage when I get there.
 
#33 ·
Let the flaming begin...
On my 2002 LT, the one in the picture by my name, I tried the Avon Storms.
I was able to get 900 miles out of them.
Sure, I probably did not ride that bike the way you ride your LT, but I personally feel the Storms rubber is too soft for such a big tourer.
Avon tires in general are terrible and should be classed below the Shinko brand.

The same bike I was lucky to get 4K out of the ME880's.
My wife often complained about her foot pegs dragging the pavement.

That bike handled much better than this 2005 I recently purchased.
But I am trying to change my riding style.

Before you rip into my riding habits, remember not all of us live near straight roads. Or use straight roads.
 
#35 ·
I tried the Avon Storms.
I was able to get 900 miles out of them.
.

Before you rip into my riding habits, remember not all of us live near straight roads. Or use straight roads.
I don't see anyone "ripping into" your riding style.
I doubt anyone cares actually.

Plenty of folks ride the LT at a "spirited pace"... myself included.

But 900 miles out of a storm2 ultra is ridiculous.
Something ain't right. Most likely air pressure. (or lack of)

I think the worse mileage I ever got on a set of tires was around 2000 miles. And that was running super sticky tires on a ZX10 through the N. Georgia mountains. :cool:
 
#38 · (Edited)
The Avons I mounted back in July were doing great... until Sunday when I noticed the steel belts on the outside. The weird thing is, the wear pattern. The center and right side of the tire are fine and have plenty of life left. The left side however... well, you can see for yourself in the pix. Has anyone seen this before? I have asked tire friends and other bike friends, but they are at a loss.

Well I WAS going to upload pix, but the website has an error. It does not recognize JPG or BMP as valid file types.
 
#40 ·
Nor PNG as I tried that when Jpeg failed. Something is broken with the server.
 
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