wingrider
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Welcome to the forum from Pa. I think Chopin has Metz's on his 1800. They are radial's but he may comment. Enjoy the forum and ride safe..
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Welcome from Vermont!
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The 1500 is NOT made for radials, and the 1800 is NOT made for bias belted tires. You get less mileage with radials, When I had my 1500's I ran Dunlop at that time they were E2's and got good service from them, about 20,000 + miles.
I had Metzlers on my 93 when I first bought it and loved the performance of them. Too bad that I could barely get 8,000 miles out of them. Switched to the E3 Dunlops being a Dunlop fan and the great deals I had been getting price wise, but I didn't like the feel of the E3's after three sets. I just put a set of Avons on, logged 3,500 miles on the front and 3,000 on the rear so far. The feel of the front tire seems be be a little better, but the jury is still out on the rear. I feel that the Avons seem heavy and I've developed what maybe some driveline noise since the rear install, but I've got to check my driveline since it's got over 100,000 miles now. I may need driveshaft service or new wheel bearings. Poor girl needs some TLC after 100,000 miles.
I had Metzlers once on my GL1800 and took them off after 200 miles. They didn't handle well at all. That was my experience. Some riders really like them.
Keep in mind that the GL1500 use bias tires, the GL1800's use radial.
I ran the Dunlop Elite II on my GL1500 and liked them, got good milage and good wear.
I have Avon Cobra's on my GL1800 now and I am extremely pleased with them for perfomance, wear, and quiteness. Radials do not get as good milage as the bias tires do.
Keep in mind that the GL1500 use bias tires, the GL1800's use radial.
I ran the Dunlop Elite II on my GL1500 and liked them, got good milage and good wear.
I have Avon Cobra's on my GL1800 now and I am extremely pleased with them for perfomance, wear, and quiteness. Radials do not get as good milage as the bias tires do.
Budoka,
I have 13,443 miles on the front tire, 10,483 on the rear tire. I had a defective rear tire and changed it w/ 2960 miles on it. The front is cupped but still handles well and has about 1/3 tread left. The rear has flatened out in the middle, has slight cupping and has about 1/3 the tread left also. The tires still handle great and are still quite. Personally, I am very pleased and like them better than the E3's because as they wear the handleing, dry and wet, has not gotten worse and they remained quite. My experience is positive and I would get another set. I always replace the front and reat tires together.
PS:
Budoka, also forgot to mention, Chrome World refunded all my money for the defective tire, (I had to get the replacement locally) and Avon Tyre refunded me the labor to have the defective tire diagnosed and removed and the new tire mounted and balacned. Avon was great to deal with.
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That's great to hear that you were so well looked after. For whatever reason, Chromeworld doesn't ship to Canada, but that's ok since I can get most anything through our suppliers at the dealership. I had a set of Avons on my Vulcan custom, and I lover the fell and handling, but they were far too soft for my liking and wore way to quickly (a common problem on the crusier and custom bike tyres such as the Venom). Obviously on a big heavy bike like the Wing or a Dresser, that would have to be a prime cosideration on Avon's part. I'll likely chang the full set when it's time as well. I often got a replacement ratio of 3-1 on my 1200, but I spent a huge amount of miles touring two up and loaded for bear pulling a trailer on that bike.
The Avon Cobra is not as soft as the Venom, it looks similar and has many of the same performance characteristics but is designed for the heavier laods and better milage for touring bike. It is softer and stickier than the Dunlop however. It depends on your riding style and what you want from a tire. I like aggressive at times and I want the tires to perform. That is also the reason I modified my suspension. It is a lot stiffer and harsh as far as the Goldwing standard but it performs well and the bike is very stable when pushed hard. But that is my prefrence. I ride two up, usually loaded heavy and occassionally pull a trailer. Speaking of which, I bought in Canada. It is a Fibro Tech. I have never got a 3 to 1 tire ratio on the 1800 w/ radials when changing tires. I always did front and rear together, I did get 2/1 with the bias tires on my 1200 & 1500 though.
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I'm currently running the E3 bias-ply on my 1500, have no complaints. Had a set of K177's that didn't last long.
I never ran K177's on my 1500, always used the K491's dias tires usually got 17K-19K on them. The 1800 w/ radials doesn't get the milage but the radials handle and out perform the bias.
Isn't your 1500 a trike? A trike is harder on the front tire than a conventional bike.
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