Metzler Belt Separation

[radman]

Frank is just about to the 16 thou mark, 10 thou of which are on the Avons, which look and work better now than the stones did at 5. While I've used Metzes for years and years, they just don't seem to get along well with Fjr's given their current offerings, and I don't care to be a trend setter or test pilot when it comes to 2 wheelers and meats. The "Avon Wobble" has been present since they were installed, has yet to be an issue, and they have indeed measured up, IMHO, to all that has been written about them here and elswhere. Count me an Avon fan.

 

[XLR8]

I had the 020s on my FZ1. They are ****. I had the Z4s on my FJR and they too are ****.

I do like my Z6s though. They seem to be very good. There are several people around here riding the Z6.

-r

 

[twowheelnut]

Jeeze, rad... How'd you get 10k outta the 'Vons? Best I could get was 6.5k...

 

[radman]

10k and going strong. have at least 3 thou left in them, the rear just now is flattening out. I did not expect them to go this long at 42/42 psi, but they just seem to love that pressure setting. A lotta the miles, most actually, are freeway miles.

 

[twowheelnut]

What, you ride in hovercraft mode or has Minnesota repaved the roads with felt? 10K and they're just flattening now? Damn. I'm on my third set of tires this year! :eh:

 

[04 FJR Pilot]

You gotta remember that RADMAN has one of the very limp wrists! He is physically unable to twist the throttle very hard! :haha:

 

[GunMD]

There was a Metz meltdown during the Spank Rally this weekend...on a BMW (so speed certainly wasn't a factor).

Justin was the dude's name...that's all I can recall.

 

[crewof1]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I wanted to add yet another Metzeler MEZ4 failure, in case someone still doesn't believe something's up with these tires. I had read all the accounts on several forums about the belt separation problems happening on Z4 and Z6 tires. I had the Z4's on since I bought the bike, and thought I would just wear them out and then try the Michelins or the Avons - I never considered replacing the Z4's immediately.

I aired up the tires to 42/42psi, then went on a 30 minute ride one night last week. The ride was nice and smooth, relatively low speed (40-60mph), and the weather was low 40's. Instead of turning into my neighborhood when I got back home, I gunned it up to 70mph down a 4 lane highway, so I could circle around and go home the back way. The front end immediately started shaking badly, not a tankslapper, mostly up & down vibrations. I pulled over as soon as I could to inspect the tire: lo and behold, there's a raised area in the center of the tread about 15" long. The tumor was raised up approx. 1/2" above the normal surface of the tire. I was amazed that it hadn't blown out, and even more amazed that it happened when I was just a couple of miles from home. Anyway, I limped the bike home under 30mph and just put it away, glad I was safe.

I decided that since my '05 has 5500 miles, it was time for new rubber anyway, so a quick check locally and on the net revealed the low price for the Avons was to be had at swmototires.com. Since my local race-bike speed shop will mount and balance (I pull the wheels) for $27 each, disposal included, I went for the best web deal. Brand new Avons for < $285, ordered Friday, arrived yesterday, front mounted today.

Inspection of the front tire inside showed nothing abnormal, no splits, tears or any other abrasions, punctures, or malformed areas on the inside surface. Just that gnarly tumor on the outside that seemed to appear so suddenly.

Countin' myself one of the lucky ones and enjoying new Avons!

 

[Windjammer]

What, you ride in hovercraft mode or has Minnesota repaved the roads with felt?

Actually, MN freeways are so bumpy that your tires are actually only touching tarmac about half the time. Hence ya double yer tire life! :haha:

QUOTE (Windjammer @ Oct 10 2005, 11:43 PM) I don't understand at all why those mileage numbers would be considered impressive on a sport touring bike like the FJR. My Concours routinely got at least 10,000 miles on both front and rear using the stock Dunlops that came with the bike. Did plenty of hard cornering, and had no problems with traction at all.

The stock Metz tires that came on my FJR are sacked at both ends after only 5000 miles. Granted, the FJR is much more powerful than the Concours, so I expect a bit more tire wear, but the FJR is also lighter and uses larger tires. Tire wear should not have doubled, especially on the front. Since I'm still new to the FJR, I'm still exploring its capabilities, so I sort of took it easy at first to get used to things and was surprised at the rapid tire wear.

This was my first set of Metz tires, and their wear performance and effect on bike handling did not impress me at all. Major failure issues aside, I'll be trying something else next time around. That's not following the herd, it's following your own common sense. Brand loyalty offers no reward besides a free sticker now and then. 

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Yep. The FJR really IS that much harder on tires than the Conk. It's not the weight. It's the power on call at the twist of that right wrist. After all, look at the weight of the GL1500 and the tires usually used on it got 15,000 miles.

While I don't pin the throttle or raise the front tire, it doesn't take much in the way of the loudness control to make a big difference when used enthusiastically.

Compare the torque specs and the PtW ratios of the two.

I can understand more rear tire wear than the Concours, for the reasons you stated. But the whip is not what wears the front, it's the brakin' hook. I'm braking less mass than the Concours, with a larger contact patch. Granted I can brake from a given speed in just a bit less distance, but not that much, mostly just reduced lever effort on the FJR. Don't seem to 'splain the big increase in front tire wear.

I don't think the comparison with the GL1500 is apples to apples, since GL's use "Touring" rated tires that have harder compounds than "Sport Touring" rated tires. One would naturally expect more mileage from a Touring rated tire.

Anyhoo, bought my Avons, soon to mount them up and give 'em a whirl. Maybe I can get the kinda mileage that Rad's gettin' - WI roads are bumpy too!

 

[Kevin Daly]

Rocket,

I saw a post somewhere here in the past about this exact split pattern in your pics. As i recall the writer (who was unhappy) contacted metzler and they said that the tire is fine. dont recall where i saw this and I am not saying i would ride on it but you might contact metzler and see what they say. make them give you a written statement that they stand behind it. If they do then I am sure it would be ok to ride (just think of the liability).