'85 k100RT...880's or Battlax's?

I did the search 'thingy' and saw this topic last addressed in '08. I need tires for the 85 K100RT. Ride 2up all the time. Battleax is appealling due to the dual compound. 880's seem to last forever according to the 'masses'.

Opinions, testimonials, or any other choices?

My riding style? I don't drag my knees, but I do like to lean it a bit...do ride in the rain if I have to, and carry a passenger all the time. I avoid interstates. My bike is NOT my main form of transportation, just my toy, but I put 6000 miles on it this summer.

I know this is a "been there done that' topic, but maybe I can get some real world opinions.

While I use the BT-45Vs, I believe you would be happiest with the 880s.

The 880s are a high mileage touring tire that has good all around performance.

The BT-45Vs are a Sport-Touring tire that is heavier on the Sport and less so on the mileage. I get less than 4K out of a BT-45V rear, but that's fine with me. Most of my riding is not traveling, it's attacking the road so I want the best traction in the dry and the most linear handling. Most people get far more mileage out of the BT-45s but nowhere even close to the 880s.

From reading this and your other posts, I gather you are looking for a higher mileage all around good tire instead of the stickiest hard cornering tire that would sacrifice mileage. The fact that you ride two up on an RT instead of one up on an RS also says that the 880 is the tire you want.

Here's my experience using the Metzeler and Bridgestone that are rated for a K1200LT.

When I bought my K1200LT it already has 880's front and rear. I later on replaced the rear and then later the front. The wear bars on the 880 were just looking to be visible and replaced it with the Bridgestone BT020 bias. From the records of the previous owner the 880 had 12,536 miles when I replaced it. He rode exclusivley solo and I don't know what tire pressures he used.

I recently replaced my rear Bridgestone with a Metzeler. The ONLY reason I replaced the Bridgestone was becuase a previous plug repair was leaking. The Bridgestone had a bit of life left and the wear bars wern't even close to the top yet. When I replaced the Bridgestone it had 13,119 miles on it. I ride mostly 2 up and the higher air pressures of 42F and 48R (slightly lower on the Bridgestone).

Would I buy a Bridgestone BT020 rear again? You bet I would.
Would I buy a Bridgestone front again? Probably not, it wore our way too fast.

Dunlop 491"s best tire I had on my K100RT's

After many sets of metzlers I put Bridgestone Spitfires on my K75S a couple of months ago. Happy enough with them after a couple thousand miles, good grip and wet traction,
good on rain grooves, but the price blew me away, $70.88 rear, $51.49 front, from Bikebandit.com.

DarkCloud said:

Dunlop 491"s best tire I had on my K100RT's

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Lots of people say this. I put one set on for one trip. Scariest tires I ever rode on. Going straight down the Interstate on a wet road the back end would break loose with even a 5th gear throttle roll-on to pass a car.

I took them off after 600 miles and gave them away to a guy with an R65. I figured they might handle that amount of power.

DarkCloud said:

Dunlop 491"s best tire I had on my K100RT's

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I had them on a Honda Magna, K100RT and K75RT. They worked well and lasted a long time on all of them.

Will the 140-80 size 880's fit on the rear of the 85K100RT. It looks like I have 10mm of space, but has anyone done it?

oldnslow said:

Will the 140-80 size 880's fit on the rear of the 85K100RT. It looks like I have 10mm of space, but has anyone done it?

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Yes. I run them on my K75s with same wheel and rear frame, fender, etc.

oldnslow said:

Will the 140-80 size 880's fit on the rear of the 85K100RT. It looks like I have 10mm of space, but has anyone done it?

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I've been running them on my 85K100RT for about 4k miles without any problems.

Front ÔÇô ME880 - 100/90H-18
Rear ÔÇô ME880 - 140/80VB-17