Another Metzeler failure

jbiker · Oct 13, 2007

Just surfing the forum tonight, still chapped about my experience in New Mexico last weekend. Thanks to Metzeler Tire Co.

I bought my first FJR this past July from a private party. It was a 2005 with 983 miles on it. She bought it new from the dealer. So, it was running MEZ4's. I've had MEZ4's on past BMW bikes and have had no problem.

I am faithful about checking tire pressure on trips.

I ride in LD Rally's. The 24 hour, 1,000 mile type, not the 11 day one...I'm too much of a wimp for 11 days.

So - I plan to ride one Iron Butt style rally per season as the business, wife, and children demand a little time.... This year I chose the LOE 2007. Land of Enchanthment Rally, Alburquerque, NM.

Long story short I've got 5 days away from home planned to do this rally with travel time from South Dakota. I'm excited. I get my rally packet Friday night. I plan a route with decent amounts of points. And...Saturday at 4:20 in the afternoon, 480 miles into my 1,000 - my front tire goes to ****.

Does it go flat? Does it blow? Does the sidewall blow out? Did I hit something or pick up a nail? Heck NO ! ! !

I've got a "blood blister" about 6 inches long right in the wear pattern that's popped up about a half an inch. I'm thinking the only thing that could have happened was a belt broke. Right about now I'm pretty damn pissed because my bike is not rideable, my rally is over, my stuff is in a motel in Los Lunas, and I'm in Ft Sumner at 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon.

Long story coming to a close - $841 towing bill back to Alurquerque, no other motorcycle shop available until Tuesday (thank God for Cycle Gear in Alburquerque), have Allstate RV Roadhelp plan that is supposed to pay for the tow, but of course they are trying to get out of it, and when we took off the bad tire - sure enough - belt broke through and the inner layer of rubber was delaminating from the tire. Now trying to fight with Metzeler about at least warrantying the bad tire. Giving me the run around. I'll keep all of you posted...

How the heck do you post pictures on this forum anyway? I have some pics of the tire.

Advice on what you like to run - I'll never buy Metzelers again. They ruined my trip, and my rally attempt.

Looks like the Michelin Pilot Roads are well respected. I live in flat, square country, South Dakota. So sticky is not as important as longevity on 700-800 mile days down long straight roads...

Thanks and tell me how to put up some pictures.

Jason

605-321-3298

Vstar2FJR · Oct 13, 2007

Jason:

You are but one of several FJR owner that have experienced a Metzler failure. See this thread for more information on what most likely happened to your tire. Maybe the new Z6's are better, but I never have and never will run a Metzler on my FJR. This issue goes all the way back to 2003 when the FJR's were first introduced here.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...&hl=metzler

John

painman · Oct 14, 2007

Jbiker, naturally your going to get biased opinions on tires on here but it really is old news about the Z4's having issues with the belts. Really the newer Z6's are a proven setup on many bikes and from the posts I've gone through here many folks are getting over 9000 mi. and more from these tires with no problems. Naturally if your the more aggressive rider and the road surfaces like seal and chip could in certain areas tend to wear away the tires faster, your not going to get as many miles. And really all tire names could have issues with a limited number of tires. None are immune. If one searches the many threads on this very topic here you will find this to be true. I still have my Z6's that have 5000 mi. on them in my garage and plan to put them back on when the Bridgestone 21's wear out which should be a total of around 8 to 9 thousand mi. as well. Sorry you had to find out the problem with the Z4's during a LD ride. What a hassle. Take care and good luck and really I wouldn't hesitate to slap a new pair of Z6's on the bike if I were you. PM. <><

Midlifefjr · Oct 14, 2007

I have no complaints about the Z6's on my 2007. Great traction and lots of wear left after about 4500 miles- :clapping:

Wicked Webby · Oct 14, 2007

Ya I would be pissed too !! What a bummer!!

So you say, "I won't ever buy Metzlers again," BUT

I gotta say that you will be missing out on the z6's.

Whether you care, know or not.....(here comes my rant).

They are very good skins! Long lasting, nice handling

and are very confident inspiring tires that are very

well engineered. They are not super glue bubble

gum But they stick very very well, handle good in the

rain and last a while. A perfect compromise for sport

touring tires. Not all have loved them BUT if you

do some searching you will find that MOST ARE very

satisfied with them. Now that is something to say!!!!!!!!!!

Considering how picky most of us sport tourer riders are

about tires. We all want them to stick like super glue and

last like Diamonds!! Do some searching and you will find the

Z6's are very good tires.. Whether you like Metzlers or not.

If ever get a chance to try them, I don't think you will be disappointed.

I ride very very aggressive and have over 7k on my OEM set and

am satisfied. Having said all that, I am not a Metzler Man

or follower. If reports come back that the Pilot Road 2's are

getting 7-8k out of them I will try them next. I like what

I am hearing about the B021's(rears), BUT I don't like the fact that

the front tire wears out much quicker(only the rear is dual compound).

From what people are saying.

So what I am saying is:

Thats all I am saying!!!

Which ever skins you slap on ride safe Jbiker!

WW

wpbfjr · Oct 14, 2007

this is my tire, metzler me4, from vstar's link...

yammi bought me a new front of my choice...

dana

exskibum · Oct 14, 2007

wpbfjr said:
this is my tire, metzler me4, from vstar's link...
yammi bought me a new front of my choice...

dana

Old topic, but it isn't just FJRs. I seem to recall this well flogged topic on Blackbird sites back a couple years as well. Dana's pic, and others like it are all I have needed to see. I know a lot of folks swear by great performance of these Metzelers on big sport and sport touring bikes. As I understand it, they are most vulnerable when they get thin, and I'd almost certainly have changed out that tire Dana posted before he did -- UNLESS I found myself away from home and trying to get there to do the change. And in that regard, I've read several accounts that the Metz goes very quickly from looking like it needs replacing soon to it being absolutely critical that it be replaced NOW.

All that said, NO motorcycle tire should fail the way that the one in Dana's picture (and many others showing the same thing) failed. I don't ever want to be on a tire that looks like that even for a couple seconds. In leaned over, hard braking and/or high speed circumstances, I ESPECIALLY don't want one of my tires to look like that. Even if those Metzelers gripped like race skins, lasted 10,000 miles, spooned themselves on and off, balanced themselves AND gave world class blow jobs, I would NEVER put a tire that has a history of that kind of catastrophic failure on anything I ride.

It amazes me that Metzeler hasn't both fixed this problem (to a degree of nearly perfect certainty) AND done a full scale marketing/P.R. blitz to demonstrate that this is a problem of the past. All these threads with pics like Dana's on the net cannot be very good for sales, no matter how good the tire is when it isn't coming apart. There are too many other choices out there that don't do that.

JamesK · Oct 16, 2007

I had a set of Mez 6 on the FJR rode the hell out of them, never had a problem. I did notice however, that they lost some of their grip/feel towards the end. Nothing of course like the Diablo Stradas, which felt like crap from about half way through until i changed them out, even before they were fully worn out.

To date I've not found a set of (street) tires that handles and feels as good (wet and dry) as the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT. The 2CTs work brilliantly, right up to the end, as can be seen in the pics below

clutchless1 · Oct 17, 2007

Metzler could have done themselves a huge favor if they would admit they have a problem with the ME4's. They could even do a re-call right now and not loose their ***, at least they would have gotten all of these defective tires off of the highways. Just by doing this they would basically be telling letting people they believe in making a safe tire for those like us who rely on them. I guess the biggest problem I have with all of this is If a company knowingly produced a tire that has as severe a problem as in a few of the pictures I have seen, and they produce these tires for motorcycles that when one or the other goes out at speed for no reason other than bad manufacturing, and could kill someone in the process. It's very hard for me to buy into their reputation because they did absolutely nothing about it other than to pull the design from the table. In the not too distant future I'm going to have to replace the original tires on my FJR, one thing that doesn't go over too good is the fact it looks like Metzler doesn't stand behind their product, and they let this one stay in operation too long. Granted the newer Z6's may be everything others say they are, but I can't get over the fact they didn't admit they had a problem to begin with. I haven't seen anything that indicates Metzler has addressed this problem through a re-call or notifying the Government saying so, if they did so this would at least show their interest in doing the right thing. I still don't believe they re-called the ME-4, if I'm under the wrong impression I'm quite sure someone will bring this to my attention.

Just my opinion.....I know I know....everyone has one. I just get kind of tired waiting for some of these companies to do the right thing. It's just like jbiker's post about the tire on his bike, he did nothing wrong other than just ride along a road. Now the people at Metzler are assuming he's just another abusive rider who ruined a tire and now he's trying to get a free one from them. Yeah I may also be assuming jbiker wasn't abusive........But none of the posters on this forum are abusive....Are they? For some reason I don't think jbiker was abusive, the failure I'm sure was due to the fact it's another Metzler ME4 failure.

Wicked Webby · Oct 18, 2007

Clutchless,

I agree that Metzler needs to address safety issues and do proper safety recalls. I don't know if they have or not on the 4's BUT THEY SHOULD. I find it hard to believe that Metzler could even say Dana's front tire was from abuse. That front tire looks SCARY!! I could easily see how a tire company would try and say that was from abuse (burn outs and such even if it wasn't) if it was a rear tire BUT NOT A FRONT!! I can't or won't defend Metzler these issues.. I hope they do or have done the right thing. I will continue to say that the Z6's have been good tires for me and others. Glad I don't have any 4's on my bikes!!

WW

jbiker · Oct 19, 2007

An update for all of you on my progress with Metzeler: in short - NO PROGRESS MADE. I've gotten the total run around since making a call to them on the first business day after the failure.

I'm in South Dakota and the tire is in New Mexico, so I have to rely on a friend to either ship it to me or bring it to a shop that can look at it. Metzeler says bring it to Bobby J's Yamaha in NM so my friend takes it there. That was very good of him to do. The guy at Bobby J's can't believe how the belt let go, and go's to bat for me. His name is Tim and I thank him, he was great.

However, after all this screwing around Metzeler's way out on this one is "That was never an OEM tire on that bike."

BULLL SHHHHHITTTT. Sorry, I'm so pissed I can't see straight.

I'm looking at the owner's manual as I am speaking with them, and looking at an owner's manual online at the same time. There it is - Metzeler MEZ4 right there in black and white.

Basically - go away, we don't care about your tire problem and we won't even address the issue - we're going to say that tire did not belong on that bike.

Best I can do is tell all of you and everyone I know - DO NOT EVER EVER EVER GIVE METZELER TIRE CO ANOTHER DIME OF YOUR MONEY, THEY ARE CHICKEN **** AND DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT.

Jason

jbiker said:
Just surfing the forum tonight, still chapped about my experience in New Mexico last weekend. Thanks to Metzeler Tire Co.
I bought my first FJR this past July from a private party. It was a 2005 with 983 miles on it. She bought it new from the dealer. So, it was running MEZ4's. I've had MEZ4's on past BMW bikes and have had no problem.

I am faithful about checking tire pressure on trips.

I ride in LD Rally's. The 24 hour, 1,000 mile type, not the 11 day one...I'm too much of a wimp for 11 days.

So - I plan to ride one Iron Butt style rally per season as the business, wife, and children demand a little time.... This year I chose the LOE 2007. Land of Enchanthment Rally, Alburquerque, NM.

Long story short I've got 5 days away from home planned to do this rally with travel time from South Dakota. I'm excited. I get my rally packet Friday night. I plan a route with decent amounts of points. And...Saturday at 4:20 in the afternoon, 480 miles into my 1,000 - my front tire goes to ****.

Does it go flat? Does it blow? Does the sidewall blow out? Did I hit something or pick up a nail? Heck NO ! ! !

I've got a "blood blister" about 6 inches long right in the wear pattern that's popped up about a half an inch. I'm thinking the only thing that could have happened was a belt broke. Right about now I'm pretty damn pissed because my bike is not rideable, my rally is over, my stuff is in a motel in Los Lunas, and I'm in Ft Sumner at 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon.

Long story coming to a close - $841 towing bill back to Alurquerque, no other motorcycle shop available until Tuesday (thank God for Cycle Gear in Alburquerque), have Allstate RV Roadhelp plan that is supposed to pay for the tow, but of course they are trying to get out of it, and when we took off the bad tire - sure enough - belt broke through and the inner layer of rubber was delaminating from the tire. Now trying to fight with Metzeler about at least warrantying the bad tire. Giving me the run around. I'll keep all of you posted...

How the heck do you post pictures on this forum anyway? I have some pics of the tire.

Advice on what you like to run - I'll never buy Metzelers again. They ruined my trip, and my rally attempt.

Looks like the Michelin Pilot Roads are well respected. I live in flat, square country, South Dakota. So sticky is not as important as longevity on 700-800 mile days down long straight roads...

Thanks and tell me how to put up some pictures.

Jason

605-321-3298

clutchless1 · Oct 19, 2007

Wicked Webby said:
Clutchless,
I agree that Metzler needs to address safety issues and do proper safety recalls. I don't know if they have or not on the 4's BUT THEY SHOULD. I find it hard to believe that Metzler could even say Dana's front tire was from abuse. That front tire looks SCARY!! I could easily see how a tire company would try and say that was from abuse (burn outs and such even if it wasn't) if it was a rear tire BUT NOT A FRONT!! I can't or won't defend Metzler these issues.. I hope they do or have done the right thing. I will continue to say that the Z6's have been good tires for me and others. Glad I don't have any 4's on my bikes!!

WW

Jason, I understand you being totally upset with this whole situation. The good thing is you are venting your frustration where people who ride motorcycles and absolutely rely on both of their tires see and hear about this first hand. Sure It' good to hear of a manufacturer actually doing their job and standing behind their product. But it's very important to know when a manufacturer like Metzler who spends a lot of money advertising each year and tells us how safe their tires are; and then doesn't stand behind their product. We as riders need to know information like this so we just don't get sucked into all of their hype and buy their tires because they say they sell nothing but the best.

I will say I have used Metzlers before, but this comes with the understanding I didn't have any problems with the tires either. A company is only as good as their warranty and how fast they react when there is a problem. Unfortunately it seems most manufacturers, including Metzler with this problem either won't or don't do a good job when a customer has a legitimate problem such as the tire on your bike. I could understand if it was abuse, but they act as if you are already guilty and just trying to screw them out of a stinking tire.

It is beyond me why some manufacturers seem to piss more money away trying to ignore a problem than to "Just Fix It". How much can it possibly cost? As I said earlier, Metzler has totally ignored the fact they have a problem with the ME4's, It makes me sick the bean counters care more about the bottom line than any of our *****. I like you will remember when the time comes and I need tires for either of my bikes, they won't be Metzlers. It really is a damn shame, they have done a lot of work in the past few years building their reputation and producing good tires only to have it wrecked either by the people you are dealing with directly or the Metzler attitude toward any manufacturing problems they have. I do know they need to straighten the problem out regardless of what it is.

I guess the next thing we find out is the ME4's in question were made in China.

Midlifefjr · Oct 19, 2007

JamesK said:
I had a set of Mez 6 on the FJR rode the hell out of them, never had a problem. I did notice however, that they lost some of their grip/feel towards the end. Nothing of course like the Diablo Stradas, which felt like crap from about half way through until i changed them out, even before they were fully worn out.To date I've not found a set of (street) tires that handles and feels as good (wet and dry) as the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT. The 2CTs work brilliantly, right up to the end, as can be seen in the pics below

How many miles did you get on the Mez 6's and how manyon the 2CT's????????

jbiker · Oct 20, 2007

mr.paul · Oct 21, 2007

OK, I know tire threads are the close cousin to oil threads, but at least you can see the damage from tires.

My 2 cents...I have run a number of Metz 880's with my last bike, a Vmax with up to 18,000 miles form a set and never any issues from a number of sets. Having said that, they are not Z's.

Went 11,500 on the original Z6's on my 2006 FJR and thought they were among the best tires I have run. MCN's survey of FJR riders found them to be the preferred tire. I replaced them with another set of Z6's and replaced my wife's origiinal Bridgestones on her '05 ST1300 with a set of Z6's. We'll see how the this set runs. I am that confident. Her original Bridgestones suddenly wore off on the sides of the crown and almost caused her to crash.

Next set though I might try the Pilot Roads. Just too many people love them to ignore them. Isn't choice a great thing? Sorry about your fight with Metzeler. They should be better about this. By the way, were you at CFO?

mr.paul from Minnesota

Dwavey · Oct 21, 2007

Astounding how tire companies all react the same when it comes to defects in a tire line. I had Firestone/Bridgestone tires that peeled and the only response I received from the manufacturer was that the only thing that could have caused it was underinflation, so it had to be my fault. Sure, even though I'm in the practice of checking my tire pressure weekly and before any long ride, and lots of other people were experiencing the same thing. So like many others I won't use any tire made by that company, not because of the defect itself - defects happen, that's why there are warranties - but because they wouldn't stand behind their product and tried to blame their defect on the consumer.

You'd think Metzler would learn from the mistakes of others instead of copying them. This kind of behaviour is what class action lawsuits are made of, and if it weren't for the fact that in the end the manufacturers just pass the cost of the lawsuit on to the consumer, it might be the answer.

Personally, I've run Metzlers on several bikes with great results; I have 20K km on my FJR's OEM Z6's and there seems to still be a fair bit of wear left. Granted we don't get the very high temps many of you do on the lower part of the continent, or have a lot of chipseal roads to chew up my tires. But there are enough mountain twisties and rain-soaked roads to challenge a tire.

Seems the lesson in it all is that all we can hope for is to find a good tire and stick with it for as long as they still make them.

JamesK · Oct 22, 2007

Midlifefjr said:
JamesK said:

I had a set of Mez 6 on the FJR rode the hell out of them, never had a problem. I did notice however, that they lost some of their grip/feel towards the end. Nothing of course like the Diablo Stradas, which felt like crap from about half way through until i changed them out, even before they were fully worn out.To date I've not found a set of (street) tires that handles and feels as good (wet and dry) as the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT. The 2CTs work brilliantly, right up to the end, as can be seen in the pics below

Click to expand...

How many miles did you get on the Mez 6's and how many on the 2CT's????????

I got about the same mileage out of them, around 5,000 km (3,100 mi), which is not very much but we had an abundance of great roads and not much in the way problems from the Cops, so could really ride the bikes.

The same 2CTs I fitted at the beginning of October over here now need to be changed (at least the rear) got around 4,100 miles. It's not as worn as the tire in the pictures, but is down past the wear marks on the two center grooves... Like they say there's no free lunch, the PP2CTs don't last as long as some of the "other" tires but they certainly do make the bike feel really nice.

Another Metzeler failure

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