Metzeler Motorcycle tires

Attachment 20288Attachment 20289Attachment 20286Attachment 20287I hate to admit this but I've been riding motorcycles for over 45 years.. Far out, where did all the time go? I woke up one morning and was wrinkly. As you get older life becomes more important and I'm writing this post as I have reason to warn you that Metzeler Z rated tyres are potential killers. I bought my MT650 just over a year ago and apart from the oft quoted teething problems with this bike, it never felt that it handled that well.. The frame and construction was stiff and weight was good, so by the process of deduction I assumed it was the tyres. But these were METZELERS. Should be no problem there. So after 1500km at a junction the rear tyre went POP and instantly it was flat.. The tyre had a long split in it and was a write off.. I assumed (as you tend to in China) that a lump of steel had done this. So I bought another METZELER and was off again. About 1500Km on the new tire, another split and I was thinking "perhaps there is an issue with the tyre) I managed to keep this tyre going despite two other splits and the penny dropped.. The METZELER Tyre had a construction problem. So I replaced it with a Pirelli and decided to chop the old one up to see what the problem is.
Basically the METZELER tyre is a piece of crap. I have written an in depth report about this and my email is jonsims@ksmetals.net. If you want a copy I am happy to send you.
I have tried to contact METZELER about this issue and they are not interested. I also discovered that it appears there are no standards which motorcycle tyre manufacturers have to conform with other than putting the markings on their tyres according to the standards.
I also discovered that Motorcycle manufacturing associations and watchdogs have no control over the tyres that are put on the bikes. Now, in my thinking, the stuff that goes between your rims and the road is pretty fucking important so it's very scary to discover that nobody has any say about how these tyres are built.
So if you think that is scary, my front METZELER is down to the wire on the Left hand side and still has up to 1,000km on the right hand side. The thing is I never looked at the left hand side as with the side stand down you don't really have a good look at it. SO I'm going to swap this out and put on a Pirelli today. Then I will chop into this "radial" and see what it's made of ..
The bottom line is people.. Don't use Metzeler Z rated tyres. They are killers, they are widow makers. Metzeler don't seem to give a fuck about this. The splitting issues with METZELER are common but I can't comment on other METZELER tyres but if their attitude is to ignore anyone bringing up issues, then personally, I'm never going to buy another METZELER. I am going to find out which government body in china governs tyre manufacture and sales and give them this information. I have also been talking with motorcycle mags, insurance companies and motorcycle safety associations. I honestly cant believe that riders lives are being put at risk by the tyres from reputable manufacturers that seemingly only care about bottom line profits..By the way.. We drive on the right side here in China.. Any wear due to road camber would be on the right side, not the left.

Hard to blame this on an entire production of tires from a giant tyre company producing for almost 100 years. Did you know Metzeler and Pirelli are same company? Looks to me like that tyre was not inflated correctly, even if you have been riding for 60 years. Was this a genuine Metzeler 4 ply tyre or a knock off? Perhaps an OEM 2 ply tire specifically made to satisfy a manufacturer's budget requirements to cover the rims. Did you contact an official representative of Metzeler company or some guy behind a counter at a dealership, who didn't want to get involved any further, or maybe has dealt with you before? I'm sure a Chinese government body involved with tyres will jump on this.

Never had a problem with the same tyres on my 650 MT.
Now run Trail 2 which IMO just has the edge over the Metzeler.