I see that the Fat Boy comes with radials front and rear. Have you experienced anything negative or positive about radial tires on a motorcycle?

 

I am running the Metzler Cruistec radial on my Sport Glide. Very pleased. I am moving to the matching Cruisetec radial up front this week.

 

Let us know how you like them, Thanks in advance.

 

I went from the Scorchers to the Metzler Cruisetech on my Fat boy 114. The scorchers barely lasted 9000 miles, I have 7000 currently on the Metzlers and they still look new. Handle and the ride is much better.

My 2 cents,
Steve

 

I have not run the Metzler Cruisetecs myself but I have heard so much good about the 260mm rear that I am doing my ADV Tire front Performance Cruiser rear tire setup with Metzler this time instead of Bridgestone.
Metzler Tournace NEXT 2 150/70ZR18 front, Cruisetec 260/40 R18 for the rear.
Fingers crossed that these are better than the bridgestones.

 

Cruisertecs are the cruiser version of the Roadtec 01 SE sports touring tyres. Those are superb. Best in class for grip, feedback and ride quality. They turn in eagerly too. I've run a them a few times on a KTM 1190 adventure. My only reservation is I struggled to get 3000 out of them. I get 4000+ out of Continental road Attack 3's. The Metzelers don't have much tread depth in the middle of the tyre and it doesn't take much to get down to the wear bars and I notice the Cruisertecs have almost exactly the same tread pattern as the Roadtecs. The weight and grunt of a big Harley is going to test them.
For that reason I'm torn between the Cruisertecs and Continental Contitour cruiser tyres, just on mileage. On performance though, either will be great tyres for any Harley.

 

How do the cruisetechs compare to the ME888?

 

They seem to handle and grip better than the 888's, they may not quite last as long though

 

I'm sure you probably know already, but Metzler makes the Cruisetec in a 160/60 R 18 M/C 70V TL. Not a ZR rating, but still good to 149 mph.

 

Yeap I know.
I run the ADV font 150/70 because it's slightly taller +.33inch Radius, and it has dramatically better water evacuation since we get dump on with rain.
It's a setup I really love. The ADV 90/10 Tires have dramatically better water evacuation behavior and wet grip and since there's like 7 months of damn near constant rain, I like the ADV front tire so that it's safer to ride in the rain when I have places I need to be.
That and the NEXT 2 is a basically brand new tire design with upgraded performance from the previous generation tires.