another MZ6 complaint

[edge51]

Hey All - just returned from my Alaska trip (10,300 miles - ride report and pictures coming soon ) . Took bike in for its 12000 mile service - 04 1150RT - and was just told that my rear tire is squared and needs replacement. This is a Metzler Z6 that I had put on in Anchorage with 8200 miles on the bike. That means I only got 4000 miles out of it.

Not acceptable to me - add me to the no more Metzler crowd.

[kbasa]

High speeds, fully loaded, eats tires.

I've had good luck with the MeZ6. :dunno

[username]

ive got dunlop 220s and the guys at the shop just said, 'yup' when i was disappointed about getting ~5k from the rear. we've got pretty rough roads here, lots and lots of sloppy chip-N-seal surfaces, and apparently theyre a good way to chew up tires. and 5000 straight miles are worse for a tire than 5000 twisty, right? 5,000 twisty ones, and youre using various parts of the tread. 5,000 relatively straight ones are all dead center.

my take away was that i need to be leaning more so i use all the rubber. :D

[MarkF]

I put BT-020s on two years ago. When I looked at the tires the other day they still looked new. Then I realized the last tires were squared at under 8,000 miles. I have more than 7,000 on the BT-020s!

MarkF - happy camper:clap

[dlearl476]

>High speeds, fully loaded, eats tires.


Yeah, what Dave says. btw, You DID up the TP for highway and loaded tires, right? Checked with the "10% rule"?

Me, I'm no big fan of Metzelers (Pilot Roads, here) but 4K seems awfully slim. Not to mention when I rode BC, I had the most even tire wear I've ever had. (Burned through a pair of Michelin Mac100s from edge to edge on the Triumph in 8K. Which for me is entirely acceptable)

[Mr. Frank]

If you want better mileage, the ME 880, Bridgestone BT-20, Dunlop 205, and Michelin Pilot Road all do better. My Michelin rear looks very good at 10K miles. The front has obvious wear to either side of a one inch band around the center of the tire. Wear on the left is very obvious at this point. I spoke with the Michelin rep at Spokane and another at Michelin headquarters about the front wear pattern. They said there is a band around the tire to stop expansion at high speeds. The flex of the tire is on either side of that band as is the wear. At least it doesn't cup like the Dunlop 205 it replaced.

[edge51]

thanks Frank - I will try one of those for my next tire.

Yes, I ran TP at 39/41 to comp for the load and the highways. I got 8500 miles out of my Z4's and expected the 6's to be better. I would be satisfied with anything better than 8k.

I am an old fart that likes to put the miles on. I enjoy handling as much as the next guy but living in Minnesota most of my miles are going to be straight up and down. I got to ride thru 1000 miles of prairie to get anyplace it seems. I do ride kind of fast - usually 80-85 if I can get away with it. Temps on this trip were mostly under 80 degrees so I really expected the tire to be in better shape than it was.

I am prolly gonna head to LA to see my son in late Sept. That will give me a chance to test one of these other suggestions. Now me just needs to decide .......

Thanks all.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

With so many discrepancies about tire wear on the Z6's I wonder if I made the right choice here. I replaced my ME 880's with Z6 as I had over 10 K on the 880's:bliss .
The biggest difference I noticed between the two is the handling. I did the Dragon on the way home:clap and the Z6 handled a lot better, although the 880 is not bad at all. Is this tire really wearing so fast or is it a combo of bad roads, loaded to the gills (rally rats pack a lot :eek) and temperatures combined with tirepressures?????:dunno :dunno
should we have a poll on this???

[Mr. Frank]

Metzeler does not claim that the MEZ 6 lasts any longer than the 4. Most people were getting from 6K to 8K with the 4. It's one of the shorter lived radials.

[edge51]

Aye - what my research has taught me these last two days is that Frank is correct. The z6 leans heavily in the sport direction. On another thread Voni recommends the 880 also. I am going to try those as my next tire. I love to think of myself as a young hotshot but the truth is I have no need of the extra handling and my pocketbook is not bottomless.

[dlearl476]

:idea

I have a theory:
I
Part of a good tire breaking in process involves multiple heat cycles. Each time the tire heats up and cools down, the rubber cures further. You're on tour, you slap a tire on, and ride all day day after day, the tire gets what, 4 or five heat cycles a day. (IF it cools completely at a gas stop) It's toast in 4K.

II
z6s are a relatively new tire, hence they are all pretty fresh.

III
In the old days, before multiple compounds were available, desert racers used to "cure" their tires on the roof, in the sun, for months before they ran them to harden them up.

IV
Most tires (at least the Michelins I buy) have date stamps on them from when they were made. I just bought a set of Anakees for my F650. The rear was made in April, the front was made in Oct of 2002 (it actually is discolored from age) Normally, I would be pissed and return a two year old tire, but if my theory is correct, this tire should last at least 12-15,000 miles. I'm hoping for 20K. (I wish it was the other way round and the rear was the old one. As rears usually wear quicker than fronts, it would yield quicker results.)

V
If my theory proves correct, I'm going to buy two sets next time I buy tires for each bike and let the second set "age" in the Vegas heat while I burn the first set. Then, I'll have some really 'cured' tires to put on, and hopefully get a little better wear out of them.

I'll keep you all posted.



FWIW, I got a little over 7,000 miles on a set of Michelin Macadam 100s on tour with my Triumph a couple of years ago. The tires were about a year old when I mounted them, and I broke them in at home, before the trip with my usual routine of 20-30 miles, cool down, repeat at ever increasing speeds and lean angles

[28796]

If you guys want a long life radial that still sticks well in the twisties try a set of the Avon 45/46. I put them on before heading west in July & after 7600 miles they still look very good. Definitely a sportier tire then the 880 but what isn't. No cupping on the front on my Futura but that doesn't mean you won't get it on your Oilheads. Both my wife's RS & S tend to cup in the front no matter what tire we use.

[Rich]

I've got the Dunlop 205's on my bike, and have 9500 miles on them, the rear looks good for another 1000 or so. My question is on the front, with cupping. I have a new set of Metz Z6's sitting waiting to be put on, I thought I would give them a try, now I am wondering if it was a good move also. Anyway, about the cupping, I am attaching a pic, how long can a guy ride on this tire? Or have I already pushed it? Personally, I have never seen a tire do this before, so I don't know, maybe some of you can help me out here. The tread still is very good, it is just the cupping I am concerned about. It looks like the center inch of the tire is protruding out, here is a look.

[Mr. Frank]

That's just the way that tire wears. Mine did. For some reasons (weight, right side bias, telelever, ?) BMW's wear front tires in strange ways. There are two issues to consider when deciding to swap out. One is vibration. When the cupping gets extreme, you may feel some vibration. The second issue is traction. Most of the wear is just off center, so in hard leans you are on good rubber. I'd stay with it until the vibration bothers you or you want to try a new type of tire.

[Rich]

Originally posted by Mr. Frank
I'd stay with it until the vibration bothers you or you want to try a new type of tire.

I do just that, thanks. I'd rather lean towards being safe than trying to get the last few miles out of a tire, so this one will maybe get changed out next spring. Assuming we have a winter that doesn't give us much riding time. I am mounting the Z6 on the rear today, so I will see first hand how that one works out. Ride safe.

[dzimbric]

I am on my fourth set of tires. The bike was originallly shod with Z4's and I probally pushed them a bit, changed them around 14,000 and the rear did not fall over when left to stand on it's own. They were replaced at 22,000 with the Z6 because they were showing some wear, I was going to a track day and didn't want to fail the tech inspeciton. They were marginal for the track at 8,000 miles. They next set of Z6 's were mounted last week after I started getting some weird vibrations on grooved concrete. They were fairly flat in the center after Spokane and several other trips with a heavily loaded bike.

My next purchase is new shocks. Not to change the thread but any recomendations?

[jdcoffman]

I don't know about shocks they b too expensive for me to replace. Maybe I could buy someone's used shocks. I have a 2000 R1100RS with 56000 mile on it.
Tires: I have had really good luck with those Avons 45/46 ST's
living in the flat lands of Nebraska I'm sure I flatten them out pretty fast but I still get in excess of 10,000 miles * on a set.

:cry unfortunately earliar this year my rear tire suffered a 4" screw that after it punctured my tire worked it's way thru the side wall. I am glad I saved my old tire I was able to at least put it on, and putt around till my new avon showed up.

[BradfordBenn]

My Z6's have 6K miles on them and have 3mm of tread left with no noticeable handling problems or wear patterns. I am also considering the ME880 on the next change as I want mileage more than performance. I am happier with Metzlers than the stock BattleAxes the RT came with.

[Mr. Frank]

Originally posted by BradfordBenn
I am happier with Metzlers than the stock BattleAxes the RT came with.

I assume you are referring to the BT20. A couple of my buddies swear by them and get good life out of them.

[BradfordBenn]

Yup. Sorry I thought it was common lingo. The BattleAxes are what the shop always called them. I feel there is a handling improvement on the Z6's.