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Metzeler ME888

7K views 55 replies 14 participants last post by  jzeiler 
#1 ·
Has anyone had any issues with the ME888 rubbing the swingarm?
I just installed an ME888 after using ME880s with no problems. 1/4" of the tread on the right side is rubbing the swingarm of my 2001 LT.

Anyone have a solution? I was thinking of doubling up on the steel spacer between the wheel and the hub.
 
#2 ·
yes there have been reports of this, fixes are varied from extra spacer to grinding off the edge. try the search feature
 
#3 · (Edited)
Regarding the Metzler 888; on my '05 KLT, I just replaced my tires & went from using Bridgestones to Metzlers. Not being able to source 880's for the rear, I used the 888. The tire, though the same metric size does run about 1/4" wider (verified with large calipers)than the Bridgestone rear when inflated.

After the Metzler 888 was on the bike, I had only 2.1 mm of gap between the tire & the shaft housing (feeler gauges). A little too close for comfort. I decided to add a 2nd wheel spacer. I was a little concerned about whether a 2mm spacer added would really give me 2mm of extra clearance, as the shaft housing runs diagonal.

Sure enough, after installing the 2nd 2mm spacer, I find that now the clearance is 3mm. So, it appears that for each 2mm spacer you add, the clearance will only change by 1mm.
So for that tire, if you want a 4mm clearance, you'd have to add two spacers, and so on.
I decided early on that an extra spacer was a much easier fix than un-mounting & returning the tire & ordering a different tire.
I like the tire well enough, but don't have enough miles to give proper rating.

I'll just continue to include tire-rubbing inspections in my walk-around inspections. Also will re-torque the lugs periodically, as I feel that the more spacers you use, the more likely you could have expansion/contraction based movement of the lugs after several cycles of riding & cooling.
To try to prove this therory;
50 miles after installation, I re-torqued the lugs and observed noticable movement untill click on three lugs.
After a subsequent 700 mile ride at 90 degrees farenheit, I re-torqued and had only one lug move a tad until click. Am planning to re-torque between multi-thousand mile rides at this point, of which I have several coming up in rapid succession between now and October.

I've been running the psi on rear at 48 and watching the right side outer edge for signs of rubbing. So far so good.
To be clear, a single added spacer has given enough clearance to have no rubbing at this point

Bob
 
#10 ·
I was thinking that might be the case. It sure how many he is willing to part with or how many you want, but doesn't hurt to PM him. If you are making enough of them, say 20 or more, you might get a local machine shop to make them. However, probably hard to get under $20 each.
 
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#11 ·
My riding buddy and his girlfriend own an awesome machining shop with some of the latest CNC machines. He has about fifteen of them now all are automated. He just needs laborers to feed them aluminum stock.
At Christmas dinner about five years ago I gave him some cones for my Snap-On balancer for BMW and Ducati single sided swing arms and ask him to make me a few to sell.
The ones I gave him to copy are still on his desk...

So if Saddleman gets back to me his 6.00 deal will be worth it and I will past that savings on to other LT owners.
I ask him for five.
 
#12 ·
Never coming back?? Heck, I was just out riding. Just got back from the MOA Billings rally. Muy Bueno Fun. Did the beartooth on consecutive days & racked up 2k miles. In 5 days will leave for a 10 day 4000 mile sturgis ride.

Bob
 
#14 ·
Gentlemen, I don't know what you were talking about in this thread back in 2015. A week ago my only option was the ME888. The BMW Service shop that I bought it told me: "we will install it, if it gives you the slightest problem we will take it back and order you any tire you want". So they did. I was overlooking all the procedure. They did not do anything but use the one and only spacer that came with my bike. See the space I have in the photos. It's almost 15mm tire to drive housing wall.
The BMW specialist there told me by word: "one day a very urgent Customer wanted an rear tire and the only one I had available was a 190/70 - 17. I put it in and there was enough room for the tire to run free".

I wonder, why did US have such a problem on the 888. Is there any difference between the US and European K1200LT?
Thanks.
 

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#17 ·
It is good to know that the issue seems to have been corrected. However, after running a couple Bridgestones, I can’t imagine running a Metz on the rear again.
 
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#20 ·
The good news is that they are still readily available. I found four suppliers that still have them. No idea as to the age. American MotoTire still had the best price so I ordered a new rear as I want to have fresh (well, new at least!) rubber to head to AK.
 
#23 ·
Greased the side stand and hooked up the GS-911 today. The computer blessed the bike as being healthy with no codes set for either engine or ABS. Ran a bleed test and it passed just fine. Well, once I set the lever to 4 as on 3, with the grip puppies, I could not get enough travel to get into the green zone. Other than an oil change and mounting new rubber, I think it is ready to hit the road in May.
 
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#31 ·
I just the my “shipped” notice from AMT so we shall see what my date code is. $141.27 which I thought was a pretty good. And I have had good service from AMT over the years. They have always shipped fast and I have had two tires I had to return under warranty and they were pretty easy to deal with in both cases. First was a rear 880 that had a crack develop in the sidewall at what appeared to be a seam when the rubber was laid down. The second was a little over a year ago when a front 888 developed a serious bulge under the tread.
 
#32 ·
John, I followed suit with you and Matt at AMT a few days ago. Will let you know what the date code is when I get it. We can compare notes. I hope they had 3 in stock :)
 
#35 · (Edited)
Yep, Had the same issues with my 2000. I made spacers to correct the problem. :smile: One dealer suggested "shaving" the tire for clearance!! The spacers work much better without damaging the tire.
 
#38 ·
Came home to a message on the answering machine from American MotoTire. I immediately called back and my first question was which one of us got the tire, Matt, John or me >:)

As it turns out, they had plenty and all of us are getting our tires. He just wanted to verify my address as I checked out as a guest.
 
#39 ·
That is funny as I had the same exact thought when I saw your note about ordering one. I was figuring one of us would get the call, but since mine has already shipped I knew it would not be me! I thought about calling them and asking them to call you and tell you that I got your tire. >:) I doubt they would have gone along with that.
 
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#42 ·
Holy simultaneous post, Batman! And the same date code to boot.

Given the low volume, I except they probably make a production run only every year or two so probably every tire made in a given year has the same date code.
 
#43 ·
Mine has shipped but I don't have it yet. I will be the lucky guy that gets the old 4 year old stock LOL. Will post when I get it.
 
#48 ·
I am willing to make even a bolder statement. I will bet that ALL rear LT tires made in 2017 were made in the 22nd week. And it may well be that they made so many during that production run that NO LT rear tires were made in 2018. Just a wild guess though...
 
#54 ·
I just snagged a slightly used No-Mar unit with both the big blocks and the spool type clamps. Just mounted it to a 36 x 60 plywood and 2 x 3 platform so I can move it around. My old Harbor Fright unit was in with anchors in the concrete - not doing that again. Any one want a HF modified MC tire changer (I made Delryn blocks for it like the No-Mar).
 
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#55 ·
Mine has worked well, but definitely watch the videos as the technique is everything. Definitely make up 4 or so of the wooden bead space blocks. I had trouble mounting tires at first using just the mount bar so I bought their long tire irons to use their alternate “Gold Wing” method, but found that wasn’t all that easy either. I then found that with some patience, a warm tire and lots of lube, I can mount both front and rear LT tires with the bar alone. The key for me seemed to be to not rush it. It seems the tire needs a little time to stretch and relax in order to get the last part of the bead across the rim. If I tried to move it one sweeping arc it was like hitting a brick wall. I now go slowly and just sort of bump the bar with my hip say 1/2” at a time and that seems to work fairly well and minimizes the chance of breaking the top off of the bar.
 
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