The Metzeler ME 880 and Metzeler ME 888 are specifically designed for cruising, touring, and custom bikes. ME 880 is the predecessor of ME 888, making them very similar in their functionality, with a few differences that make its successor superior.
The Metzeler is a German motorcycle tire manufacturer that has been in the game for over a hundred years, with a consistency in their quality and second to none in developing cutting edge technology.
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General Comparison of Metzeler Me 880 with Metzeler ME 888
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Metzeler ME 880 has been well-known for its heavy load-bearing capacity, making it one of the most successful tires for cursing and touring bikes. It has a U-shaped tread design with bias-ply construction and a high grip soft compound used in its fabrication, resulting in maximum grip and unbelievable durability, making it one of the best tires for long drives.
Progressively, Metzeler ME 888 is second to none, like discussed before, it’s the successor of the famous ME 880 with some improvements in its design, making it even better and efficient than before. The tread pattern design has changed from U to V, and this time it comes with a radial ply construction, and a silica compound is added in its fabrication, making it even more absorbent than before. These features improve its life span while providing a better grip which makes it an even better tire for long drives and cruising.
Traction comparison
When it comes to cursing and touring heavy bikes, traction of the tire is the priority of every buyer. The ME 880 is built with a high grip soft compound that gives it an excellent grip on dry surfaces. It features a unique U-shaped tread pattern that provides efficient hydroplaning, enabling it to stand its ground on wet surfaces and an amazing grip on hard braking. The round tread profile of the front tire coupled with the flat tread profile of the rear tire imparts excellent handling and a good surface area to adhere with the road for maximum traction.
The Me 888 also embodies resilient traction for heavy bikes. The tread pattern of me 888 is an evolution of me 880 with the maturation of the U-shaped tread pattern to a V-shaped tread pattern and the addition of silica compound in its material. These features lead to even greater water evacuation abilities, enhancing its performance on wet surfaces as well as dry surfaces. Consequently, the ME 888 provides better traction than ME 880 due to its advanced technology.
Comfort Comparison
Comfort is the prime concern of every motorcyclist. The ME 880 has a high-grip soft compound, unique carcass construction, and advanced tread pattern which ensures exceptional comfort and remarkable stability. This unique tread design gives it enough surface area to perform well in rain as well.
The ME 888 is just as comfortable and stable as the ME 880 due to the similarities in their tread pattern that with minor differences, the major difference is their compound material, the ME 880 has a soft compound while the ME 888 has a stiffer compound due to the silica compound present in it. It might feel a little stiff in the beginning but it sits well once it’s up and running and gives a smooth and comfortable ride. So, in terms of comfort, you can opt for any one of these exceptional tires.
Noise level
The noise generated by the tire primarily depends on its tread pattern and the material used to make it. The ME 880 has very a decent noise level due to the carcass construction in its tread pattern coupled with the soft compound material used in its making that is specially designed to damp the noise and ensure a smooth comforting ride.
Subsequently, ME 888 also has a considerable noise level due to its tread pattern with compound bridges between its grooves that damps the noise significantly. A little drawback concerning noise levels is the stiff compound used in its fabrication which produces a little bit more noise than the ME 880 but it’s still better than most of the tires in this age and technology.
Tread-wear and Durability
The ME 880 comes with a bias-ply construction meaning it has a uniform number of plies to withstand the weight of a vehicle in both the tread face and the sidewall of the tire, making it durable for heavy bikes. The unique carcass formation along with the Computer-designed tread pattern with offset groove alignment yields uniform wear on the tire and unrivaled stability even in wet conditions.
On the other hand, the improved me 888 comes with radical-ply construction, the unique feature about this type is that it is less sensitive to heating than the bias-ply while being able to support the weight of heavy bikes even better. It features flat and wide geometry in its tread pattern that allows it to transfer the stress generated by the contact surface towards the outer sidewall of the tire which reduces its tread-wear exceptionally. Another factor that reduces its wear is the compound bridges present between its transversal grooves, causing a stiffer and solid tread design. Thereupon, the ME 888 proves to have better tread-wear and durability due to its newly added unique features lacked by the ME 880.
Looks
The ME 880 and the ME 888 are very similar in their tread pattern, as ME 880 is the predecessor of the ME 888. So, it’s only natural that they look alike. The ME 880 has a U-shaped tread pattern with carcass construction, which looks decent and captivating.
Then again, the ME 888 has a very similar pattern, it has a V-shaped tread pattern rather than the previous U-shaped tread pattern, with the addition of compound bridges between the grooves, giving it a more striking and prominent look.
Customer Evaluations
Customer’s opinions and reviews after using a certain product prove to be beneficial for new customers. Everyone who made use of the ME 880 was satisfied with it. They provide good stability and an amazing load-bearing capacity on heavy bikes. The thing to note about this tire is that you should avoid keeping them at low pressures because they are sensitive to it and leads to the tire wearing out unevenly. It may run up to 7000 to 9000 miles depending on how you use them.
On the contrary, The ME 888 has even better customer feedback. Just like the ME 880, it has good stability and great handling but this tire is not that sensitive to low pressures and it does not wear un-evenly in that condition. The ME 888 can last more than 10000 miles which makes it much more economical and efficient.
Comparing Price
The Metzeler Me 888 is more expensive than the ME 880, but the reason for that is obvious, its simply because it’s the new version of its predecessor 880 with a lot of new features that make its durability and its wet traction substantially better than before. But, if you’re looking for a more affordable choice then ME 880 is the one.
In Conclusion
Here are the key points of the comparison between the Metzeler ME 880 and the Metzeler ME 888:
- Metzeler ME 888 is the successor of ME 880, both of these tires are exceptionally good for cruiser and touring bikes which can perform well under heavy loads.
- Both the ME 880 and 888 have outstanding traction on dry surfaces but when it comes to wet surfaces, the ME 888 performs better due to the better technology used in it.
- The ME 888 produces slightly more noise than the ME880
- In terms of durability, ME 888 is the better tire due to the advanced technology used in its tread design in conjunction with the silica compound in its fabrication.
