Metzeler Z8 wear/build quality issue... Disappointed with this...

Wrigsby1

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After 45-50 bikes over 30 odd years and hundreds of tyres often worn to the legal limits I came upon this on my R1200RTLC... The Z8's were probably put on by the dealer or 2nd previous owner and the chap I bought the bike off had only covered a few hundred miles... I have put on another 3k and with the hard wearing roads and conditions up here I keep a close eye on tyre wear and condition... This weekend I checked the tyres again and was measuring tread depth at 2-3 mm at the worst with a very slight centre flat and found this shite... Never seen this before on a tyre of mine and even after finding slightly uneven moulding in tyre treads before I was mighty disappointed...!

I'm not a natural Metzeler user since Tourances on GS's but stopped using Bridgestones after their dual compound GT tyres started wearing like triangles and showing the compound joins when worn but I have NEVER seen the carcass wire even when worn to the very limits on many tyres... I have fitted a pre-bought Z6 as a replacement but I will try yet another brand now... Keep an eye out and not very confidence inspiring if you are running up a k or three on tour...
 

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the 2nd picture seems to show a wear bar that is level with the wear on the central belt. I think you have probably pushed the tyre beyond the maker's wear limit. Whilst you might have 3mm elsewhere on the tyre, it is the wear bars that tell you when to change the tyre.
 
I'm not surprised. I don't think I've ever seen more than 3.5k miles on a 100 + hp bike. They also wear much, much faster when the tread is reaching the end of its useful life.

I remember a group of us setting off from Fife for a tour up North. A late friend was on his VFR with his wife on the back and reckoned his rear Bridgestone was good for the trip of a few hundred miles.

By the time we reached Braemar, the tyre was down to the cords.
 
wessie said:
the 2nd picture seems to show a wear bar that is level with the wear on the central belt. I think you have probably pushed the tyre beyond the maker's wear limit. Whilst you might have 3mm elsewhere on the tyre, it is the wear bars that tell you when to change the tyre.
Click to expand...
Where the wear bar is was still 2mm either side... Just surprised to see chord at this point TBH after never seeing it before on hundreds of tyres used to this extent...
 
Possibly a bit of over inflation making the very centre of the tyre wear faster ?

Scottish roads eh

I recall looking at a rear tyre and being confident it was good for at least 1000 miles on a trip to Scotland - 400 miles later and it was down to the canvas and I had to get a new one in Crieff
 
Schtum said:
I'm not surprised. I don't think I've ever seen more than 3.5k miles on a 100 + hp bike. They also wear much, much faster when the tread is reaching the end of its useful life.

I remember a group of us setting off from Fife for a tour up North. A late friend was on his VFR with his wife on the back and reckoned his rear Bridgestone was good for the trip of a few hundred miles.

By the time we reached Braemar, the tyre was down to the cords.
Click to expand...

Yip, 3-3.5 k seems the expectation and I even went to 1200GS tyres on the old 1150RT... :) I have watched for at least the last 20 years for the tread been off centre but chord is a new one to me and at over 1mm is a big surprise as that's the legal limit... Yes I know they recomment 2mm... ;)
 
RedRick Esq. said:
Possibly a bit of over inflation making the very centre of the tyre wear faster ?

Scottish roads eh

I recall looking at a rear tyre and being confident it was good for at least 1000 miles on a trip to Scotland - 400 miles later and it was down to the canvas and I had to get a new one in Crieff
Click to expand...

Yep, Shetland roads are cold and relatively unworn... Very hard on tyres... A recent trip through Scotland would require a motocross bike on a few of the roads...:)
 
I would contact Metzler customer services with your photos, that don't look like acceptable wear, and quote "Not of merchantable quality". Whether you brought them or not, if you have an indication of when they were fitted and they are not 'OLD' i.e. less than 8 years old (the manufacturing year should be on the side walls) Metz may look at replacing them FOC given such low mileage.

From your photos it doesn't look like over-inflated wear, that is a build quality issue and it is thankful you found it now before it blew out on you!

The last set of Metz I had on my r1100 did 11k the set, I don't like the feel of them on my r1200, so sticking to hard walled.

Metz are German design/made and normally OE fit,
 
Caerelon9176 said:
I would contact Metzler customer services with your photos, that don't look like acceptable wear, and quote "Not of merchantable quality". Whether you brought them or not, if you have an indication of when they were fitted and they are not 'OLD' i.e. less than 8 years old (the manufacturing year should be on the side walls) Metz may look at replacing them FOC given such low mileage.

From your photos it doesn't look like over-inflated wear, that is a build quality issue and it is thankful you found it now before it blew out on you!

The last set of Metz I had on my r1100 did 11k the set, I don't like the feel of them on my r1200, so sticking to hard walled.

Metz are German design/made and normally OE fit,
Click to expand...
Yes I remembered selling R1150s and k12s with the original MEZ's and they steered like a barge so had only used them on GS's since... Stuck with Bridgestone BT s but they started makin the softer edges so soft even the rear triangulated... It was mainly for people to be aware of as I didn't think it was acceptable and took me by surprise...
 
Did the chap you bought the bike off 'say' he'd only done a couple of hundred miles ? Could it be that he'd actually done a fair number more miles on the tyres?
 
Davey B said:
Did the chap you bought the bike off 'say' he'd only done a couple of hundred miles ? Could it be that he'd actually done a fair number more miles on the tyres?
Click to expand...

It's not so much about mileage which I expected but rather carcass wire showing above the legal limit...
 
That, sadly is a common sight on K1600's that have Z8's fitted. And they can go from being legal to that, literally within a day. One of my mates on holiday with us a couple of years ago in the south of France had it happen virtually overnight. Tyre fine the day before, cords showing like this picture the following day!!

Personally, I think that tyre manufacturers are making their tyres out of plasticine these days. And before people start jumping up and down about "better technology" and 'higher horsepower" I seem to remember tyres lasting a LOT longer only 10-20 years ago.

Ergo, sold my K1600 as I was sick of having to keep change both tyres every 3-4k and have recently bought a brand new GSA.

Fck me, I've only done 1500 miles on it and, whilst the rear Bridgestone has masses of tread left (6mm+), the from tyre is already on 2.9mm around the centre band. Even the outer-most shoulder is on 3.9mm. Didn't help as it started off with seemingly fck-all on it (reminded me of the old front Metzeler ME99 Lazer which came with sod-all tread new).

So, new shiny pair of Conti TA3's going on this afternoon as I'm off to the Pyrenees next week and I really can't afford to run out of tyre there!
 
Agreed DC... I tried ADV bikes again last year but I think I'm firmly RT fodder now... Wish the GT variants would last longer but as most people don't ride too many miles in a year, tyre cos seem to opt for soft compounds first .. hence my use of GS style tyres on my 1150rt... Same black round product and same speed rating but 10mm tread rather than 5 or 6 on the rears... Unless you have a k engine or similar you're not exactly on superbike territory anyway... And anyone riding 9/10ths for 15 k a year is either a TT wannabe or a bullshit merchant... Of which I have met many.... Ha ha...
 
Cheer me up why don't you.
I've just put a M8 on the rear after the old M6 had two punctures in a few months. The M6 on the front still has loads of miles on it after 10K miles.
They don't make the M6 in my size now. :mad:
The last set i had were Bridgestones. Looks like they will be the next.
Getting tyres to fit the R859R is a PITA
 
Not so much a scare you story as a heads up to watch out for... The build date was late 2019 and perhaps they had a batch that were a bit shonky... I think I'll see how the z6 fares and all that... They are much of a muchness but the prices for the "latest thing" tyres are a laugh... Jeez and you remember what you rode on in the 90s and the tyres that controlled "sports bike" performance...
 
Decompressing said:
That, sadly is a common sight on K1600's that have Z8's fitted. And they can go from being legal to that, literally within a day. One of my mates on holiday with us a couple of years ago in the south of France had it happen virtually overnight. Tyre fine the day before, cords showing like this picture the following day!!

Personally, I think that tyre manufacturers are making their tyres out of plasticine these days. And before people start jumping up and down about "better technology" and 'higher horsepower" I seem to remember tyres lasting a LOT longer only 10-20 years ago.

Ergo, sold my K1600 as I was sick of having to keep change both tyres every 3-4k and have recently bought a brand new GSA.

Fck me, I've only done 1500 miles on it and, whilst the rear Bridgestone has masses of tread left (6mm+), the from tyre is already on 2.9mm around the centre band. Even the outer-most shoulder is on 3.9mm. Didn't help as it started off with seemingly fck-all on it (reminded me of the old front Metzeler ME99 Lazer which came with sod-all tread new).

So, new shiny pair of Conti TA3's going on this afternoon as I'm off to the Pyrenees next week and I really can't afford to run out of tyre there!
Click to expand...

Exactly what happened to me with a K1600 GT. Thought i was paying attention to general wear on a long holiday, parked up just right to reveal the cord showing through.
 
Z8,s on my 1200rt lc have done just under 11k and are still short of the wear bars with no sign of metal cords .Im not that gentle on the bike either.
Trouble with yours is the unknown mileage and history. On the rear I still have 1.6mm above the central wear bars .Where yours are showing.
I’ve ridden all year round on the Z8s with good grip and no scary moments.
 
Only got 6k out of my z8s on my 1250. Now on PR5 GT, which have done about 5k and still look ok.
 
i got 8,000 miles from a pair of bridgestone battlax tyres on my R1200RT
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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