Metzeler Z8: good news / bad news

[mave2911]

Well, at least Metzeler is looking into it.

Unlike Michelin, when the PR3s delaminated, they denied all knowledge, without an offer to look into it, and sent a bigshot lawyer in to the court case to hush it all up.

BTW my Metzelers are and were perfect.

Manufacturing defects happen in all industries, and with all products, but in my opinion, it is how the company handles complaints that speaks volumes about their customer focus.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[motojoe122]

If the balance is good, it's got to be the tires. There is a very small chance that it's the brakes, but this is very unlikley.

Supposedly, if the pistons are sticking and the rotors are ever so slightly warped, pads heat up and may grab in the warped spots. Does not seem like a logical explanation, when going from perfectly smooth ride to immediate wobble, by swapping tires.

Yeah, tires balances out perfect. I had 2 shops verify it. The 2nd shop caught the discrepancy...The front tire has a slight bulge just off center of the tread. The mech put the tire on the balancer and hand spun it, when I put my hand just above the center of the tire I could see and feel where the bulge was. He said to try heat cycling the tires by dropping the pressure to 28-30psi and get then hot a few times. It seemed to work a little, the wobble is not as bad as it was when the tires were brand new. I think that track day we did settled most of it.

 

[Erci]

Yeah, tires balances out perfect. I had 2 shops verify it. The 2nd shop caught the discrepancy...The front tire has a slight bulge just off center of the tread. The mech put the tire on the balancer and hand spun it, when I put my hand just above the center of the tire I could see and feel where the bulge was. He said to try heat cycling the tires by dropping the pressure to 28-30psi and get then hot a few times. It seemed to work a little, the wobble is not as bad as it was when the tires were brand new. I think that track day we did settled most of it.

Warranty out of the question? Don't most of them offer 12 months for defect coverage?

 

[motojoe122]

Warranty out of the question? Don't most of them offer 12 months for defect coverage?

Honestly, I didnt even bother checking if they do. I wont deal with that shady store where I bought the tires from again. They did offer to send a new "front" tire after I sent the old one back. Funny how they knew which tire it was when I didnt mention which tire had the wobble. I only mentioned to them I had bought a set. I told them it would cost me 50 bucks to have the tire swapped. When I said to them both tires did it thats when they stopped talking to me. My plan for the tires was the track day and winter anyway and with the wobble less than it was since new, Im not gonna stress it anymore.

 

[Erci]

Took a while to get to this point, because I tried to go directly through Metzeler and then through my local shop, instead of calling motorcycle-superstore (where I bought them).

After many back-and-forth calls, I was told to work with motorcycle-superstore. Called them up and they immediately sent me electronic shipping label. Now I need to send the tire back to them and they'll pass it on to Metzeler.

Metzeler says they will take 4-8 weeks to inspect tire and if they find that it's defective, they will either send me a new one or issue a credit.

Of course I won't be sitting around for 8 weeks with no tire, so I'll have to buy new one now and hope that I get the credit.

 

[FIZZER6]

If the balance is good, it's got to be the tires. There is a very small chance that it's the brakes, but this is very unlikley.

Supposedly, if the pistons are sticking and the rotors are ever so slightly warped, pads heat up and may grab in the warped spots. Does not seem like a logical explanation, when going from perfectly smooth ride to immediate wobble, by swapping tires.

If you lift the front tire off the ground and spin it and don't hear the brakes grabbing hard at one location in rotation then it is not the brakes. Also if you spin the tire as fast as you can if the tire is not uniform you should be able to see a high or low spot in the surface as it rotates. I had this problem on a car tire once. Had a friend who runs a shop put it on the balancer and you could see the wobble on there!

 

[Erci]

If you lift the front tire off the ground and spin it and don't hear the brakes grabbing hard at one location in rotation then it is not the brakes. Also if you spin the tire as fast as you can if the tire is not uniform you should be able to see a high or low spot in the surface as it rotates. I had this problem on a car tire once. Had a friend who runs a shop put it on the balancer and you could see the wobble on there!

Brakes are dragging uniformly throughout the full rotation (normal).
I removed the calipers and spun the wheel. Cannot see high spots on tire. Just know for a fact that it's not balance.. so I'm hoping it's the tire.

Bike was smooth as glass with old tire on there. Started wobbling as soon as I put new one on.

 

[FIZZER6]

Just curious...original front wheel bearing? I don't know the symptoms of a bad wheel bearing on a bike but on a car it can cause a vibration.

 

[Erci]

Just curious...original front wheel bearing? I don't know the symptoms of a bad wheel bearing on a bike but on a car it can cause a vibration.

Yup. Original bearings but there is no play and wheel spins smoothly and quietly.

 

[SweaterDude]

Sorry mate..... To busy riding to get involved !!! :Flip: :Flip: :Flip: :Flip: :rof: :rof: :rof: :rof: :rof:

But y'all down under ride on the wrong side of the year.....

 

[Erci]

Put new tire on, last night. Just came back from a ~50 mile ride. Bike is smooth as glass again :thumbup:

Now I have to ship the old one back and hope that Metzeler confirms it was defective and give me credit. Promised turn-around time is 4-8 weeks.

 

[trepetti]

Certainly the observational data supports the bad tire conclusion. Was the balancing effort any different with the new tire? Wondering if there are any Early warning signs of a screwy tire. Glad to hear the problem is solved. Hope Metzler doesn't screw up a successful customer service effort.

 

[Erci]

Was the balancing effort any different with the new tire? Wondering if there are any Early warning signs of a screwy tire.

The *bad* tire was the 1st I ever balanced, so it took me a long time. I ended up re-balancing thinking it would make the wobble go away.

Having done few sets of tires now, balancing is piece of cake. I don't think it can point to a possibly bad tire though. I'm guessing there's something wrong with the carcass / internals of the tire, since the outside looks uniform when I spin it.

 

[Erci]

Just got a note from motorcycle-superstore. I'm getting full refund within few days!! I don't know if Metzeler had anything to do with such quick turnaround or if m-s decided to just give me the refund immediately and figure things out with Metz, but either way I'm very satisfied with the outcome :thumbup:

 

[motojoe122]

Just got a note from motorcycle-superstore. I'm getting full refund within few days!! I don't know if Metzeler had anything to do with such quick turnaround or if m-s decided to just give me the refund immediately and figure things out with Metz, but either way I'm very satisfied with the outcome :thumbup:

Thats good news!
I like their customer service, never had a problem with them.