Dennis Kirk:

Order Number: o64050810 Order Date: June 21, 2008

Inner Tube w/Chrome Stem
Part #54143
$10.99

Rim Strip K41550710
Part #535198
$1.70

Rear ME 880 140/80HB-15 Blackwall Tire
Part #540233
$134.99

Inner Tube
Part #535379
$11.99

Rim Strip K41550110
Part #535195
$1.70

Front ME 880 100/90H-19 Blackwall Tire
Part #540229
$108.99

Merchandise Total: $230.96
Shipping Charge: $10.00
Order Total: $240.96

http://www.dslretorts.com/Paladin/archives/002609.html
New Tires.  Just for the record, 'cause in a year or so I'll be wondering when I got them ...24,440 miles on the odometer....

I will photo of the tires in the morning with the current mileage.....  


OF   Paladin, Please can you actually MEASURE the tread depth on your ME880 right next to the valve stem and tell us the measuring technique you figured out to do this ??

ME880 blows my mind a bit as the grooves don't cross the center line and they taper out some at the ends so I can see some potential issues with measuring the durn things accurately over the life of the tire.

Nobody has actually MEASURED a new ME880 yet, so far we have just had to use the claimed 8mm tread depth with no idea if it is real or not.

35,270 miles on the odometer -- 10,870 miles on the tires.  Measured with a ruler, end of a groove nearest to the center of the tire, within a quarter of a millimeter:

  18" ruler, 47.3ish mm on the end
Good mileaage for a motorcycle tire.

 
While Paladin is figuring out how to measure tread depth on his ME880 I thought I would post the ....

   
How to get into the spreadsheet to register your tire or to punch in your new mileage and new depth of thread .....



Go to Dropbox.com           https://www.dropbox.com/

Click on sign in: in the top right corner.

We have a shared generic Drop Box account called:  

suzukisavage@mail.com

with password:       s40boulevard

Now you click on the Public Folder when Drop Box opens up.   This will open the folder with all the shared stuff in it.  

You are looking for the Low Cost Mileage Contest.xls



Don't forget to save the spreadsheet once you are finished punching in your stuff.

Mileage aside, What are the best handling tires? My Savage needs tires soon, currently has Dunlop 404's. They seem like really hard rubber. I am ok with buying new tires every year or two...

Borracho wrote on 10/30/12 at 19:27:11:


The only tires that have a LONG history of good mileage and good user reviews are the Metzler ME880-H series tires (the ones that hold the mileage lead of all the bike tires on the spreadsheet up above).

Be aware, until we get more data on the other tires we can't say they are the best value though, as they are pretty durn pricey and that plays against their cost per mile.

Borracho wrote on 10/30/12 at 19:27:11:

Good question.

On my blog I told myself that "... the tire pressures up are Metezler's recomendations, near max, and the bike is noticably more nimble."  I remember thinking the tires were twitchy, until I realized it was more responsive.  Difference may have been the pressure or that the old tire had been slightly flattened.

Over the years on the Metezlers, I had never lost traction, 'cept maybe for a second in curve on wet over a manhole.  I don't push it in the curves since I don't like the feel of the grinding on the pegs.

 
Possibly not, it depends on how much bigger the new tire is.  

If it doesn't rub going over your local bumps, you are good.

12Bravo wrote on 11/02/12 at 06:13:38:


rl153, what size are you going to? I have Metz 145/80-15H stock size on rear with the 19 on the front It seems like they hold a little better than the Dunlop K555, but they were higher. Don't worry about adjusting stuff unless you try it out like it is. I've been riding for two years with slop in  the countershaft sprocket when I speed up or let off. Now it's vibrating, so I guess I better stop it before it wiggles the oil seal loose. Oh, I usually ride 3500+ miles a year. Been down in my back for two months so got to catch up. I would say Metzeler is best for aggressive riding, but Dunlop makes a good tire in the K555 and the Pirelli is another sure bet. Ride and learn.