I’ve just completed the switch from the original MMC (MWS) steel rims with Blockleys to Turrinos with tubeless motorcycle tyres and thought I’d share my journey, choices and conclusions.
I ordered the Turrinos via M3W Services (UK) and was told that they could only be ordered pre-fitted with new tyres. The recommended tyres were Blockleys, which was fine by me.
I’m lucky that Turrino are not too far from where I live so I was pleased to collect my new wheels and tyres (tubeless) in mid-January this year. My car was SORN’d at the time so the wheels sat in my garage waiting for warmer weather. However, before I fitted them I noticed that they were both losing pressure – around 1.5 – 2 psi per day. To cut a long story short, it turns out that Turrino had started to use a new type of spoke sealant just before my wheels were manufactured and they reckoned this was the root of the problem. Therefore, the wheels were returned to Turrino for re-work. Sometime around the end of March the repaired wheels, fitted with the tubeless Blockleys, were returned to me. This was in time for their first outing on the MTWC Touring Group Lincolnshire Aviation Tour. I was happy with their performance and could just about persuade myself that they handled the atrocious Lincolnshire roads better than my original wheels would have done.
However, I found that they were still losing pressure. Fortunately at a much reduced rate of around 1.5psi per week, but still enough to require regular checking and pumping up. I then found out that Blockley recommend that their tyres are NOT run tubeless. This is because they are cross-ply and apparently some leakage is to be expected unless an inner tube is used.
So, it appeared my choices were:
1) Stick with the Blockleys and regularly check & top up pressures.
2) Fit inner tubes. Obviously, a retrograde step.
3) Replace the Blockleys with tubeless motorcycle tyres.
I chose option 3 and, following positive reports about their handling & longevity characteristics I purchased a pair of Metzeler ME888F 100/90-19M/CTL 57H tyres. Metzeler are a sub brand of Pirelli and the ME888 is a tyre specifically designed for motorcycle touring with stiff sidewalls and low-wear characteristics. Turrino were very helpful and agreed to swap the tyres over f.o.c. Interestingly, the Metzelers required hardly any balancing compared to the Blockleys.
I am very happy with the feel of these tyres on the road and I’m hoping for 5k+ miles durability so that they will see me through at least this year’s motoring. So far they seem to be holding pressure too.
Some stats:
Blockley tyre weight: 5.9kg
Metzeler Tyre weight: 5.6kg
Original steel rim + inner tube + (50% worn) Blockley: 14.4kg
Turrino rim + (tubeless) Blockley: 12kg
Turrino rim + (tubeless) Metzeler: 11.4kg
The take-home message is that if you took delivery of Turrino rims early this year then there may be a problem with their construction. Also, if you are running Blockleys tubeless, expect to be regularly checking & tweaking the pressures.
It’s been a bit of a journey getting to this point but I should add that both Craig at M3W Services and the guys at Turrino have been very helpful at every stage and worked with me to arrive at a solution that I’m happy with.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.tm-img.com/images/2022/05/22/Turrino_3.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://www.tm-img.com/images/2022/05/22/Turrino_1.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://www.tm-img.com/images/2022/05/22/Turrino_2.jpg)
They are wheel specialists and are happy to take on any any challenge.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.tm-img.com/images/2022/05/22/Turrino_4.jpg)
Considering the high-end product, Turrino operate from very inauspicious premises!
![[Linked Image]](https://www.tm-img.com/images/2022/05/22/Turrino_5.jpg)