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If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this (UPDATED 7/03 More Pics)

47K views 201 replies 82 participants last post by  89whiterag 
#1 ·
Ok, here goes. I hope I don't get hammered for this. I'll preface this by saying, These are my results. Your results may vary... especially depending on your riding style. I'm pretty aggressive when riding on twisty roads. Anyway, I have started to notice an increased amount of tread wear toward the edges of my tire, right where the tread has to roll over in order for the bead to fit on the rim. These are photos of my 280 tire, and the increased tread wear toward the edge. I can't help but think it's caused solely because the tire is too big for the stock rim, thus causing the tread to roll over. I feel it would be irresponsible for me to recommend this tire to someone without at least mentioning this. Don't get me wrong... I love this tire. It handles great. I just think I'm starting to experience why it's maybe not the best idea to stuff it onto the small stock rim. Again, I'll know more as the miles rack up, but this wear is after a little less than 2000 miles. Granted, these miles are full of aggressive cornering, but it still shows what is happening to the tire. Will I replace this tire with another 280? The jury is still out on that one. If the tire has to be replaced early because I'm showing wires in these two areas when there is still plenty of tread in the middle, then I won't get another 280. If this is the case, I'll go with the Metz 260 since our stock rim is within the recommended size suggested by Metzler. Anyway, here are the photos showing what I'm talking about.







So, now for updated photos. I just changed the 280 today after maybe 4500 miles. I still had some tread in the middle, though not much. Not enough to pass state inspection. I was down to the wear bars in the middle. What really caught my eye after pulling the 280 off the bike and looking at it was what you see below... Hadn't noticed it 'till this morning. Guys, if you choose to use this tire on the stock rim, just keep a close eye on your edge wear, especially if you ride hard in the twisties. If you live in straight road country, you will be fine, but if you wanna tame your local Dragon's Tails, you might be better suited with a smaller tire. Wanna know the funny part? A smaller tire isn't really much smaller. Much less of a difference than you would expect as I will show below.

Anyway, here's what my tire looked like after pulling it off the bike. Notice how you can see the impression of cord all the way around the edge, not just where the cord is visible?





Now to compare the mounted width of the Dunlop Elite 3 250 to the Metz 280 on stock rim. Yep, you see it right. The 250 is less than 1/8" narrower than the 280 when mounted on the stock rim. So you see? It's not really worth the risk. The 280 isn't designed for our rim, and the above wear shows why.

Dunlop Elite 3 250 Measures 10 1/16"



280 on Stock Rim measures just a hair over 10 1/8"

 
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#2 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

That's a good post, especially with the pics. We are all experimenting to some degree with the M since it is a new bike. Sharing all the info everyone currently does only makes us smarter, better builders and riders.

Good job
ez
 
#3 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

I already ordered the 250 dunnie,it came in today,it looks bigger than stock and only 156.00 and some change.I got 7300 miles on the stock tire and its still got some meat left,i had picked up a nail in it and plugged it so i"m just tired of that plug haunting me
 
#5 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

Good job Medic!

That's what really makes this site rock: First the CONTROVERSY (freely thrashed out) -- THEN the experimentation (based on your impressions after the controversy) THEN the follow-through with some (admittedly anecdotal) but nonetheless well-documented "results".

That kind of information is not available anywhere else.

The only thing that disappoints me is that you felt compelled to say "I hope I don't get hammered for this." I know what you are driving at -- but those who "hammer" others on the site because they don't agree with them ultimately degrade the value of the site to all of us. The DISCUSSION is (ultimately) the rationale for the Board -- let it roll!
 
#7 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

MEDIC thanks for the info, that is good to know. :bigthumbsup:
I think most people are not really reading the part about "aggressive cornering". ::)
Nonetheless, so far it is still the 280 for me. :D
But as some have pointed out, us Florida boys wear out the center of the tire not the edges. :joke:
I'm not sure if that is due to a lack of mountains to ride in, heavy acceleration, or just plain old burnouts. :p

Keep up the good work.... :super:
 
G
#8 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

Thanks for the honest report bro!! I've already decided that I will never put a 280 tire on my 109...I personally just don't want to risk it. I am not an agressive rider in the turns anyways, and it prolly wouldnt be a problem for my style of riding. But, seeing something like that makes you wonder....what if your in a tight turn and the tire fails!! This post may save someones life!! Thanks!! :bigthumbsup:
 
#9 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

cbxer55 said:
Oklahoma is kinda sorta the same way.
There is a severe lack of curvy roads around these parts.
There is a lake about 10 miles from here that has a road that follows it aggresively.
That is the limit of my curvy road riding these days. ::)
I sure do miss Southern Cal-E-Fornia. :dontknow:
SW Missouri and Arkansas have plenty of curves for ya just hopefully not to far away for a weekend excursion :bigthumbsup:
 
#12 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

T-Bone©®™ said:
Finally! people are getting it and thankfully before someone gets hurt,,, bad.

:read:
Well, the only way to find things out is to experiment and see what happens. That being said, I still don't feel there is a safety issue. I mean, let's face it... If this tire hasn't failed the way I ride it in the corners, or the way JR hammers his on straight roads, then this tire isn't gonna fail. I have just under 2000 miles on it so far, so I have a pretty good feel for how it handles. I cannot praise it enough for it's handling. The only adverse thing I'm starting to see is the increased edge wear. All I see happening from this is I gotta replace the tire sooner than expected. I'm happy I put the 280 on my bike, because now I can honestly say, "Here's what happens" instead of just blind speculation. I know... I was one of the ones giving JoeC a hard time when he paved the path by being the first one to try this. All my criticisms were nothing more than blind speculation. Several people on the site have since mounted this tire, and I have yet to hear of anybody having any safety issue with it.
 
#14 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

What tire pressure are you running? Did you try experiencing with tire pressure? I use to race sportbikes and I had alot of tire do that but once you get your tire pressure right on the money you will get alot better tire wear. Now I am not saying that that the 280 is good or bad on the stock rim I just feel that maybe if you try playing with the air pressure a little you might have different results. Thanks for the post :bigthumbsup:
 
#15 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

Thanks Medic! I feel better getting the Dunny 250... just hope I dont get anymore nails


BTW You get the 2007 Chicken Strip Award :#1: :#1: :#1:
 
#16 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

Great post Medic... I was going to ask the same question as Wingy... What tire pressure are you running in the rear?

On the 260 I ran 38Psi which was perfect. I was going to play with 39 and 40Psi on the 280 (I Haven't racked up many miles on it yet with the bike being in pieces and all).

To be perfectly honest now that I have ridden the 260 and 280 both... Unless something radical happens to make me go Nuts over the 280, I will go back to the 260 when I wear this one out... It's not much wider, its out of spec, I don't feel any performance gains on it, and it costs more...

A pretty easy decision. We'll see though... I am sure I will have made up my mind when we finish our Eureka Springs ride.
 
#17 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

WINGYS109 said:
What tire pressure are you running? Did you try experiencing with tire pressure? I use to race sportbikes and I had alot of tire do that but once you get your tire pressure right on the money you will get alot better tire wear. Now I am not saying that that the 280 is good or bad on the stock rim I just feel that maybe if you try playing with the air pressure a little you might have different results. Thanks for the post :bigthumbsup:
I'm running it right around 40psi most of the time. I don't really know how much I'll gain by trying different pressures, since it takes so long for any noticeable wear to show. Plus, since this wear is already started, I wouldn't be able to accurately figure out a better pressure. I guess I could go up to 42 and see if that stiffens up that edge some.
 
#19 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

This has been an interesting read. Good job Medic! :bigthumbsup:

However, that being said, I don't think I'll ever be able to run anything smaller than a 280 from here on out. I have a 10" rear wheel! :p :p :p :bigthumbsup: :doorag:
 
#20 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

Thanks Medic, I just bookmarked this thread for future reference. Great report with factual data instead of assumptions or theories. :bigthumbsup:

I'd asked what tire was recommended as a replacement in a previous thread, and got 2 PM's saying to not go larger than the 250 or 260, for various reasons, but all good reasons.

As far as air pressure, I would think a little lower pressure might work better for wear. My theory is the larger tire being squeezed onto the narrow rim is forcing the center out further, which gives it a more rounded profile. Once your roll off center, all the weight is transferred to the outside. A lower pressure may reduce the rounding effect and give a bigger contact patch when cornering, and distribute some of that wear over a larger area. You get the same effect when mounting an oversize tire on a car or truck rim, except they wear more in the center because of it. But then you don't lean a car tire much either. :D

We are famous for our WV curves, so I'll definitely watch for a follow up on this. :bigthumbsup:
 
#22 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

Thanks Medic,
Great report. Since I already have the 280 waiting for a little more wear on the stock Dunnie I have ti use it. I will probably go to the 260 next time.I guess I don't ride hard enough because with 4,500 miles the Dunnie looks look like it will be good fof 7 or 8K miles. I am glad because I average about 1200 miles a month and replacing these monster tires is expensive. I was used to getting 11/12k miles on my rear tire and getting them replaced for 100/150 bucks. Tkat was on Harleys. Don't yell at me as I am totally in love with my 9.
Great Site !!
Buddy
 
#23 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

I think what is happening is that because the tire is deformed some you are actually riding on less rubber (a thinner patch) in the corners than you would with a 260 or the 280 on a wider rim. Like you said, it probably does not mean it will fail, just wear faster.

You know, you could always slow down and ride straight :joke: :joke: Maybe take a nice 2500 mile highway trip to balance the wear out :D

Sledzep
 
#24 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

JR's Dad,
Great post. I have been riding 42 years and will ride as long as I can do it safely wich I hope is at least another 20 years. Too many riders are worried about image and what other bikers think. After all these years I really don't care what people think. I rode Harley's for 13 years before getting my 9 and every time I heard one of my Harley friends bad mouth other brands I would always say " It doesn't matter what you ride. What matters is that you ride"
The road goes on forever and the party never ends !!!
Buddy
 
#25 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

I have an appointment to get my tire changed out on Saturday. I just got a new 280 but have a 260 on the shelf which was going to stay there, but seeing this I think I will put the 260 on and wait for my 10inch rim before putting on the 280...
Thanks for the report Medic, I see no problem with using the 280 but as we have a lot of twisties up here, I hate the thought of wearing it out so quickly. The Dunnie 240 is about done with 5600 miles so I can see the 280 going in half the time if Medic's experience is anything to go by.
How many other 280 users are seeing this kind of wear??
 
#26 ·
Re: If you're considering a 280 on stock rim... read this

aggressive when riding on twisty roads??????
Well for me the M109 wouldn't be my pick of bikes to do that anyway.
Wouldn't the 240 tire give much better results if your type of riding?
As far as the 280 tire no way would I run it.
 
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