Lucky Catch-Bye Metzeler

[utadventure]

Tuesday afternoon we were ready to leave to Mt. Pleasant with Alan and Annie when I by luck noticed my rear tire:

 

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr70/utadventure/photobucket-52969-1374170275570_zps7620fe16.jpg

 

I switch my gear to the Vstar 1100 and headed out.

 

Thursday I pulled the tire and took it back to Rocky Mountain ATV/MC aka Jake Wilson. They indicated they needed to send the tire to Metzeler for warranty by they would be glad to sell me a replacement and install it.......NO. After some discussion, they replaced the tire and they will work to get the reimbursement from Metzeler.

 

My last rear tire did the same thing but had 10500 miles on it. This tire had 2500-3000 miles when I threw a chunk. I told them to mount the Michelin Commander II instead.

 

We'll see how the Commander does. I usually got 11000 miles on the Metzeler rear and double that on the front. Guess I better go for a break in ride when it cools down tonight.

[sarges46]

Yikes! That would scare me for sure. Not the first time I've seen pics of this on our bikes. Funny thing is that tire worked so well for Marilyns 1100 vstar. She got just over 20000 yes 20 thousand miles on her Metz!!

 

I believe that our bikes are just too heavy for the Metz.

[Mike G in SC]

I' m at STAR Days in PA and decided to replace the rear Michelin Commander II rear before heading back to SC.

Could make it fine but, when you say that,,, then it's time.

 

Re-looking at the mileage, it is in the 20,000 (miles)neighborhood, with 4/32" left. Dealer said they fail inspection in PA at 2/32.

(They measured my new tire for me at 12/32.) They were impressed with the mileage.

Pretty happy with that mileage as my previous Avon's usually ran 13-15,000 miles. Also, the wear was very even and no cupping at all.

 

The rode great, rain and shine. And held the road well for my riding.

 

(I did talk to a RSV rider from TN last night and he said he did not not care for the Commander II he had, did not hold corners for his riding on his RSV. But he did have the small front, cause Commander II does not come in stock size front. I forgot what he runs now, Venorms or E3. I figure he's young and lives in TN. Probably pushes it harder.)

Anyhow, that's what I got out of my first one. So, I put on a second one.

 

Oh, and the dealer here said they did put a Michelin Commander II rear on the front of a RSV last week. They actually called Michelin factory and they okayed it. (150/80/16)

Mike G

[Guest]

And another happy Metzeler camper..........That happened to 2 sets of 880's on my RSV. Never will use them again.

[Barrycuda]

 

Oh, and the dealer here said they did put a Michelin Commander II rear on the front of a RSV last week. They actually called Michelin factory and they okayed it. (150/80/16)

Mike G

 

Mike, isn't the stock rear tire size 150/90/15 ?

[Freebird]

It is...but he said they used a REAR tire in that size on the front.

[YamaDuck]

I run E3's on my Ventures. I have only replace one set that had over 17,000 miles on them. I had Metzeler's on my 06 Road Star and never had any problems with them but I sold it way before the tires got worn out.

 

Several years ago when I was looking at replacing my Commands (1st type) I saw too much bad stuff on the Avon's and Metzeler's so I went with E3's. I am now on my 3rd set and I have not had one problem. If I remember right I got about 14000 out of the old style Commanders.

[bongobobny]

Yup! I am anti Metzler too!!!

[Condor]

Tuesday afternoon we were ready to leave to Mt. Pleasant with Alan and Annie when I by luck noticed my rear tire:

 

That's the exact same reason I got in a set of E3's from JW yesterday afternoon. Going to take 7of9 down to my local Y dealer to have them mounted on Monday. Prices have gone up however. The last time it was $92 bucks... This time $135..... Still not too bad for them being on the bike.

[djh3]

Funny how one manufacture of a "good" tire for one type of bike is junk for another. On the 900 Vulcans the Metzler was a popular choice and ran well. The D 404 Dunlaps were junk. 7K if you were extreemly lucky, most were in the 5-6k range. Maybe it is the weight of the RSV that causes the issues on the Metzlers. Glad you found it before it became an issue for you.

[Big Lou]

I would like to ask

 

What was the recomended air pressure for the metzler,,and how much was in it when last checked,

,,not asking what was facorty, ,,

,written. On the tire is the question,,

,,i only had one metzler in my life and it was worn out on a bike i bought, didnt like the ride, ,,,i did my reasearch before i bought my new tires, ,,,,,i put a 401 On back,, distance,,,i got 404 On front cause it is a stickier softer rubber compound,3 stage... really have, and yea expensive junk as some, ,,will i say..dont like michelin cause i have traction problems in the rain with them,,,over and over,,,,theey slide under hard braking yet are hard compound so they do last miles...just took off E3's they were great,,,just noot good in twisties as i liked, ,kind of why flat.and hard

[YamaDuck]

I don't think the Metzeler 880 was a bad tire for the Road Star. All the complaints I heard on the Metzelers were on the Ventures and the complaints were 't that many just more than the E3's.

Some Venture owners are happy with the 404. They say they get good mileage out of their 404's. I have known to many Venture owners that put 404's on their Ventures because they were on a trip a d had to get a tire and the 404 was all that was available. They only got 6 to 7000 miles out of them

The tires that the manufacturers make for the different bikes are different sizes and different model numbers. They may be made in different plants. I know car tires of the same size and same model number are often manufactured in different plants.

That would explain why a Metzeler for a Road Star is a good trouble free tire and a Metzeler tire for a Venture gives some people problems. Even the same manufacturer has more than one model tire to fit a particular model of motorcycle. Take Dunlop for example. Dunlop makes both the 404 and the E3. The 404 is available with whitewall tires. The E3 does not. The 404 does not have as deep a thread as the E3 so you don't get the mileage of the E3.

I assume all the manufacturers operate in a similar fashion.