Metzeler 880's tech question

[emjay]

Hi all...
Owned an '06 Max for a several months now & want to upgrade tires.
Front tire is stock, and has mild wobble at very low(10-30mph) or very high speeds. (120+)
No wobble at operating speeds. With your hand you can feel "crowning" on the center 3" patch of the tire. Tire likes to occasionally grab grooves in the road (without warning) Kinda scary at times so it's gotta go!
After searching thoroughly here, I've decided to go with the Metzeler 880 combo. :eusa_dance:
From what many here have described, it sounds like the best set for my needs. I personally don't like the tread desigh on the Shinko front. It has that ""tread line" down the center.
Anyway, gonna boot up with the 110/90-18 (61h) for the front.

My question is for the rear... comparing Metzeler's 150/90-15 (80h) the stock size, versus their 170/80-15 (77h) a larger size.
I know the 170 will fit, but will the tire circumference change things like speedo accuracy, MPG, acceleration seat height, etc.
Price for the 150 is actually a few $$ higher, but that is not an issue.
Grateful for any advice.

Mark
West Hills, CA

 

[COP RUNNER]

start reading at post #44 YOU WILL LOVE THEM ! . http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=14925&page=5

 

[SpecOps13]

Should not change anything enough to matter. I have 880's on my 89 and they're going on my 94 soon as CaptainKyle gets a break from everything he's working on. I went to a 170 on the rear for the 94 and will do the same when the 89 needs tires... Yamaha Speedometers aren't known to be too accurate anyway....:confused2:You are talking a small fraction of an inch difference.


Sounds like you need to very very slightly tighten your neck bearings to get rid of the wobbles... That's if the bearings are good...

 

[COP RUNNER]

i ALSO READ THIS WHOLE THREAD ! .. unk: . http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=14866

 

[SpecOps13]

COP RUNNER: Thanx for the links Bro...:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:

 

[COP RUNNER]

COP RUNNER: Thanx for the links Bro...:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:

i ANY TIME ! .. EVERYBODY ON THIS FORM KNOWS THAT ! .. I'M JUST GLAD TO BE OF HELP ! .. unk:

 

[emjay]

Thanks very much COPRUNNER. Got your PM and replied. Don't know if you got it.
Gonna go with the 170/80.
Earlier, just wasn't sure if the 150/90 or the 170/80 was the better set-up. My speedo is fairly accurate at 60~70mph, so based on your math, 70mph may become 71~72mph. No worries there.



SpecOps13...
I will plan to "slightly" tighten the neck bearings as you mentioned. Bike has ~9,000 miles and is immaculate. I'll do a search to find the proper way to perform that task. Thanks!

Be safe all!

 

[COP RUNNER]

Thanks very much COPRUNNER. Got your PM and replied. Don't know if you got it.
Gonna go with the 170/80.
Earlier, just wasn't sure if the 150/90 or the 170/80 was the better set-up. My speedo is fairly accurate at 60~70mph, so based on your math, 70mph may become 71~72mph. No worries there.



SpecOps13...
I will plan to "slightly" tighten the neck bearings as you mentioned. Bike has ~9,000 miles and is immaculate. I'll do a search to find the proper way to perform that task. Thanks!

Be safe all!

i NO PROBLEM , AND I DID GET YOUR PM. AND REPLIED BACK AGAIN !

 

[Redbone]

Hello Mark and welcome to Vmax forum! I'm sure you will find lots of great information for your Vmax and have some good clean fun in the process!
I have the Metz 880 (110/90H-18) on the front paired with a Shinko Tourmaster (170/80V-15) on the rear. I like the Metz front much better than the shinko I had on the front, which didnt last 6k miles! I have had the Metz 880 on the front now for about 5 k miles and it is wearing well.
A fellow Vmaxer, Dannymax, likes to pair his Metzler 880 rear tire with a Metzler Lasertec (110/90V-18) on the front to which he reports reduced to zero head shake problems with a properly setup/ adjusted headset.
The changes in diameter on the rear tire will do nothing to effect the speedometer readings but a larger will give better fuel mileage vs less acceleration, albeit the change will be insignificant for the most part.
Here is some information about the steering headset adjustment:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=5086
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-CmACI5xQ&feature=player_embedded

 

[RaWarrior]

It won't affect the speedometer at all....the gauge reads the front tire, not the rear. As long as the front tire is the stock size, it should be fine.

Mine tended to read kind of high with a Bridgestone spitfire tire on it, but when I put a new Metz 880 on, now it's virtually spot-on perfect when run against a GPS.

It's a extremely small change in circumference.
150/90= 80.52"
170/80= 80.76"

Not even a quarter inch...you'd never notice anything. I went from a 150 to 170 and noticed absolutely zero effect on MPG or acceleration. While I guess technically speaking the 170 tire is a bit bigger, and thus would decrease accel and increase MPG.....by fractions of a percent. Don't worry about it.

 

[The Beekeeper]

Thanks for posting up the video Brian, this is somthing that I need to check on my Max.........Low speed wobble when you let go............BTW I like the background music!............Big Chicago fan myself...............Tom.

 

[emjay]

Just a follow-up to my thread here.

"BABY GOT NEW BOOTIES"

Got the new metzeler 880's the other day.
Ordered them locally instead of on-line.
Price was close. Difference about $30 more, $375 installed OTD.
(figure it's worth the extra few $$ as I've got a "live person"
standing behind the sale and it keeps the $$ in town)

Did the 110/90-18 front and the 170/80-15 rear... or so I thought.
Got home & found a 150/80-15 on the rear. WTF? It looked kinda small.
I will say though the combo felt great. Lost the decel "wobble" around 30 mph.

Went right back and had the shop re-install the 170 as I had originally requested.
Can't bash 'em at all since they swapped it out N/C. Had I checked first before leaving
it would've been a non-issue.

Loving the new tires. The occasional decel "wobble"(when you let go of the bars)
came back. Gonna "check the neck" as mentioned earlier.

Question:
Could the difference in rear tire height 170 vs. 150 (as slight as it may be) change the angle of weight distribution forward, giving more chance of low speed wobble?
Will taller in the rear puts more weight to the forks at deceleration?
Although I had the 150/80 for only an hour, it looked like the bike sat lower in the rear.
Didn't want the 150/80 because I'd be running higher RPM's at cruising speeds.

Gonna finish breaking in the new "booties" this Sunday (5-22) at the "Ride for Guides" Poker Run / BBQ, in Sylmar, CA. Fun 70-80 mile canyon ride helping the Guide Dogs of America.


Thanks to all for your "tire advice" posted in several previous threads. It really helped!

Mark

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

You"ll love the 880's. I wish I had gone 170 instead of stock 150. My 06 had developed a low speed wobble as well, and I bought one of Dingys custom wrenches that he sells here on the forum. I was surprised how far out of adjustment the bearings were! Tight with no more wobble now! GTG.