Metzeler Marathon 880

Watch in the rain

Well my 1500 Vulcan needed tires and decided to go away from the factory Bridgestone's. Had my carb rebuilt so just bought tires from the shop while it was in. Decided to go with Metzeler. Look great and gripped well (on dry pavement), but a little noisy.

This spring the weather was a little crappy, but wanted to get out. I noticed on even slightly wet pavement the rear wants to break loose at launch, and had the back end kick out a couple of times on wet pavement. So now not as confident in curves in rain. Not the way I want to ride. Rode this bike 6 years and thru the Dragons tail and didn't have any doubts. Will ride thru the summer and if not happy I will pull them off and sell.

Adrian from Cleveland Ohio

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Noisy rear tire

I got a 1500 wing. I put on 880s front and rear. I went dark side for the front used a rear Meltzer for the front. Love it. More load capacity. Front tire looks like brand new with 2000 miles on it. The rear tire is wearing out on the sides, badly, and it makes a lot of noise at 23-27 miles an hour. I'm not impressed with these tires at all I'm going to run this rear out a ways. I'm going to a Michelin commander or I'll go back to my Elite3s they handle alright. Just really noisy.

Dave from Wisconsin

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Nice looking tires but they don't last!

End of 2013 season, bike in storage, I bought a matched set of white wall ME 880 Marathon Metzler tires. The only company to offer front and back white walls in my sizes. They were installed summer 2014. I had no complaints until I hit 15000km.

It is now the middle of 2015 riding season. The cords are wearing through the center of the rear tire. Since they are mounted on the baby of the cruisers, a 805 Suzuki Boulevard, I consider this premature for a light bike within its class. I have had three other bikes before this one and never changed a single tire (even after 24000 miles on my four cylinder.....This is a far cry from 15000km). I will not be looking at this company ever again! Spread the word BUYER BEWARE.

Ralph (retired but not dead) from Quebec

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Tire flying apart

I have 880 on my 1500 Vulcan on the way home from beach son was ride 3 inch chunks started flying off rear tire while going down highway less than 1700 miles on tires talk to customer service said have tire replace send old tire to them they would look at it to see if the send me a credit talked to motorcycle dealer said it would be waste of time an money they have seen this a lot 30+ years of riding never had anything like this happen with other brands guess I will have to replace tires on my other to bikes.

Lopp from North carolina

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Original fitment on thunderbird

My 2014 Triumph Thunderbird Storm (1700) came fitted with ME880's (120/70 and 200/50) from new. Front tyre and wheel was changed under warranty at approx 5000km due to vibration (can't say if problem was tyre or wheel as both replaced, but suspect tyre). Rear tyre lasted 7000km, but sufferred excessive wear on right side of tread. Bike and pressures checked out ok and Spain is RHD so not a camber issue. Metzeler said 7000km is average for this tyre. Handling is ok, but not overly impressed with mileage.

Ken from Alicante, Spain

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Will never buy another me880!

I ride a Heritage 1450 as a daily ride, 25k on the bike. I have gone through two ME880's on the rear in one year's time. I ride alone. My commute is about 40 miles one-way. This rear tire was bought in June 2014 and it is December 20th 2014 and had I noticed the tires condition before leaving this morning, I wouldn't have ridden to work.

Rob from Orlando, Fl

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Metzeler will not stand behind their product

I put a set of 880's on my HD fatboy in the last part of July 2013. Less than 2000 miles and the back tire wore all the way through to the cords in the middle. A Metzeler representative advised they weren't going give any type of credit towards a new tire. It is pretty sad when a company will not stand behind their product. I will not purchase or recommend Metzeler tires to anyone. I have since talked to several others who have had similar issues with the same results. Doesn't say much for the integrity of this company.

Rick Thomas from Michigan

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Metzeler 880 suck

Metzeler 880 Review I am new to Face Book but soon finding out the power of FB and getting news and message out to the world. And this is for Metzeler… I built a very tricked out custom Honda VTX 1300 C and put a new set of booties on my new scooter. I chose Metzeler 880 series as what seemed to be a nice tire for the right price. I put a 100/90/19 on the front and a 200/70/15 on the back. They looked great!

Well, about 4000/5000 miles later I saw definite cupping on the front tire. Actually, this is the first time I have had cupping on any tire, after 6 bikes and many, many tires. It was VERY distinct. I contacted a few local shops about replacement cost, etc and since the tire had very low mileage, I decided to contact Metzeler directly to see about any warranty.

This is the first time I have ever had to return a tire under warranty. Contacting Metzeler is no easy task but they finally answered and gave me a list of crap to do and we finally narrowed it down to a dealer to inspect the cupping problem.

Upon inspecting, I was running 32 PSI instead of 42 PSI which I consider no big deal as I have usually run 32 PSI for the last 50 years with no problem. Now the only problem I was getting was Metzeler back peddling and using ANY excuse to back out of their warranty. Ironically, that is exactly what 3-4 Metzeler dealers had told me. I won’t name them but they all said, “Metzeler doesn’t back their sht” and that was exactly what I found out. And for a lousy $100 tire. My back tire looked great. I noticed under hard acceleration that it would bust loose. I am not a big burnout fan but tried it after noticing it breaking loose. I cracked the throttle slightly, dumped the clutch and it felt like I was on an oil slick. The bike almost went out from under me. So for a “Burnout” tire, this is it. This baby will spin cause it has NO traction. However, for safety issues, stopping power is the same. Absolutely zero traction, so if you need to hit the rear brake, good luck! That tire will NOT stop you. It’s OK, if you are not worried about dying? OK, so I got a front tire that wore like crap and cupped. I got a back tire that spun like it was on grease and a company that made this crap, is only out to grab your cash and definitely not back their crap.

So in this economy and you want value for your dollar, Metzler is not the choice. Don’t walk…….RUN!! Pass this on to your all your riding buddies and clubs so they can save their money. A dollar saved or a life saved is well worth it. This is my story and I’m sticking to it based on my tested opinion and personal money wasted.

Karl Ike from Las Vegas

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Worst tire ever!

Awful tires!! Worst ever! Chunks of rubber falling off the tread with no wear whatsoever. Metzler wants me to have the bike towed to a dealer at my expense, pay for a new tire and mount, then decide if and how much to reimburse me for! How many have died because of this defect? Same problem all over the net!

David from Mchenry

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Metzler 880 whitewall

Bought a set last year 2013 for an Indian Spirit 01. Great handling, especially with passenger and loaded T-bag. 3949 miles and its coming apart. Terrible! Sitting on the fence now.

Wm. Huff from Apple Valley, CA

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Good and bad

I have been riding with the ME 880 for 17 years now, I have the WWW on my touring bike now and I'm getting pretty good milage out of them 15K. However, I had a muscle bike and ran the ME 880 on it and I couldn't get 3000 miles out of a rear tire no matter how I rode it. Maybe the 110 H.P. And 120 ft. Lbs. Torque might have had something to do with that, I'm not real sure. Traction is excellent in all weather and I feel safe knowing they are under me!

Kelly A. Bishop from Lake Ozark Mo.

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My personal observations

Last year I purchased a '99 Roadstar with ME 880 Marathons installed. The front tire had recently been replaced and the rear tire was nearly worn out. I replaced the rear tire with another ME 880. I can't complain about the performance of these tires. Traction and handling was great, even in wet conditions.

Last year on a trip I was caught in a downpour at highway speeds, I was a bit nervous about losing traction, however the 880's held the road very well.
I've had no issues with noise from these tires either. I did have the rear tire break free on 2 occasions under extreme hard braking (some jerk decided to stop short in front of me at 60kmph, not that fast I know, but with only 3 car lengths between us I needed to stop in a hurry).

I now have approximately 110000km on the rear tire and it needs to be replaced as does the front tire (not sure what the mileage on the front is). Based on other user reviews, it seems I should have gotten more life from these tires (the rear tire at least). I did run them slightly under pressure (Metzeler recommends 40-42 psi, I ran them between 35-38psi). This may have contributed to increased wear. In my personal experience, I've found 12000km is the average lifespan of a rear tire.
That being said, I can't complain about the ME 880 in that regard either.

I see some riders seem to have had problems with manufacturing defects. I am happy to say I have not. These tires have been great in my experience, just as they were for my Roadie's previous owner.
Would I purchase ME 880 Marathons again? Yes, certainly. I think they are a great performing tire at a reasonable price.
Will I be replacing my current 880's with a new set of 880's? I'm not sure.... Not because I don't like them or have any issues with them, obviously. I'm just considering trying something else just to see the difference. This bike is new to me, and I've only had 880's on it. You never know what works best for you if you don't try different things....

I've got a specific brand/model I'm looking into, If I make the switch and this other tire doesn't perform as well there will be some cursing involved, as I will have to run them for this season at least. Get in the wind....

Pat from Yarmouth, NS, Canada

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Looking for a new brand

I've had 2 of the 280 35 on my chopper, only got around 2300 miles. Each left side wear belt started showing through left side, always run 38 lbs in it, love the look but will shop for another tire!

Candace from Colorado

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Owner

Just got my bike out of storage. I was checking the air on the rear tire when I notice a big chunk of tire hanging down. I got 2000 miles on the tire. I have been riding on Metzler tires for a long time never had this happen. I am going to try one more tire to see if it was fluck.

Ken H. from St.paul Mn

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Metzlers

Got the Metzler's and liked them to my back tire also came apart at 7000 miles! Looking for something else now.

Mikey from Minnesota

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