cowpuc Posted June 25, 2014 Share #1 Posted June 25, 2014 Mounted new tires on tweeks right before we left in May.. stuck a new metz 880 on da back, conti tour front mount. Stretching all the way back to 1979, every rear tire headed to the west coast from michigan that I have ever ran was toast by the time I got here.. the metz actually did the best of any tire I have ran thus far, I have tried a huge variety of rubber, usually based on cost BUT, have ran some high end stuff for replacements on the road.. anyway, this metz had plenty of tread left when we got here so I decided to see if it could handle the trip from sac to mt st helens and the dalles rallly sand back before I stuck a new tire on.. besides, tweeks new tire hadnt come in yet here in sac, told tip I wasnt lettin that keep us from the rally, we could find something in portlland if we had to but IWAS NOT WILLING TO LET IT KEEP US FR8M MEETING ALL THOSE GREAT FOLKS AT VENTUREWEST so wevpacked er up an away we went.. there are folks out there that probably could verify that I do keep an eye on my tires, yes I do travel packed, yes I am a desert rat and my tires do tend to not last as long as they should BUT, I also DO keep an eye on em! After all the fun at venturewest, getting ready to head back to sac an pull full maintence on tweeks, I checked the rear tire and found it surprising worthy. We packed and headed out.. after taking the oong way back to sac, got in last night, found my tire here waiting.. slept in, by 9 I had the bike on its center stand with a 2x8 under it and the wheel off. Dont have my bead breaker with me so I grabbed a couple c, clamps and proceeded to pop the beads and noticed this,,, see pics.. Cant t3ll you exact mioeage on the tire.. After babying tweeks speedo for over 240k, it finally went SPOING just after we entered texas on this trip,, it parts laying in the bottom of the speedo,, minor detail cause the gas guage still works and besides,, its best if I really dont know how fas6t I am going and can prove I dont,, at least its worth a try right.. If you have any interest in how far that metz went you could take my zip, 49445, mapquest to san antonio, then to big bend np, then the south rim, around page to the north rim, out thru zion and up to lil zion, over to sac via the top of nellis airbase and over sonora pass, up to mt st helens and back to sac.. lots of detours along that route but nothing over a few hundred miles so just figure the most direct routes and you would be close.. I would do it but this tablet wont let me... anyway,, I was SHOKED to find what I did when busting down the tire! Never felt it, never heard it! I did notice a small amount of spiderweb cracking on the outer edge of the wear pattern that I wondered about before we left the dalles h3ading back.. they appeared as slight surface cracking, nothing major BUT, they did coincide with the failure you see in the pics.. knowing what I know now, I will go get a new tire and slip it on the next time I see such a small indicator again.. amtrying out a new FULL BORE, now.. got the bike back together and ready to continue our journey soon.. watch those air pressures.. puc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMCOFFEY Posted June 25, 2014 Share #2 Posted June 25, 2014 Wow, glad the tire held together. I looked at your tire many times and never noticed it. Must have happened in the last few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibvel Posted June 25, 2014 Share #3 Posted June 25, 2014 And that's what Metzlers are known for around here... chunking! Glad you didn't suffer any ill effects because of it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G in SC Posted June 25, 2014 Share #4 Posted June 25, 2014 Used to put Metzlers on my Honda's in the 80's. Great but soft and wore quick. Several years ago on my Road Star, went from the stock Brimstones to Metz. Great tire for that bike. Saw a friend's Valkyrie eat a Metz. Was not sure if it was the inattentive low pressure he ran or the tire. But about then, everyone said the Metz "chunked" on heavy bikes. See lot's of pictures since,,, like yours. Haven't seen similar pictures like that of other brands. So,,, yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibvel Posted June 25, 2014 Share #5 Posted June 25, 2014 Used to put Metzlers on my Honda's in the 80's. Great but soft and wore quick. Several years ago on my Road Star, went from the stock Brimstones to Metz. Great tire for that bike. Saw a friend's Valkyrie eat a Metz. Was not sure if it was the inattentive low pressure he ran or the tire. But about then, everyone said the Metz "chunked" on heavy bikes. See lot's of pictures since,,, like yours. Haven't seen similar pictures like that of other brands. So,,, yep. There was a post by someone about a Metz on the rear of his friends Harley that chunked on their way back from Don's Maintenance day about 2 years ago. I don't remember which Harley but I got the impression that it wasn't even the full dress model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMike Posted June 25, 2014 Share #6 Posted June 25, 2014 For a few years people raved about the Metz, now its a dawg tire. I guess once you get so popular you can't make em fast enough, shortcuts are in order. I used to Deliver and pick up at Tire manufacturing places and I used to wonder around and talk to people in the factory watch and ask questions. It's a process that is totally dependent on the person doing the work to take pride in it. Everything has to be just so. That could have gotten ugly. I have one Metz to wear out and I am done with them, and that is a rear on the Front of the Roadstar. It will probably rot before I wear it out. Like the trip stories though. Raw and uncut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted June 25, 2014 Share #7 Posted June 25, 2014 Round tires work better than square ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huggy Posted June 25, 2014 Share #8 Posted June 25, 2014 A little bit of chewing gum and tar would have fixed that little nick fine!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakester Posted June 25, 2014 Share #9 Posted June 25, 2014 Yup, had one peel the edges up on me. Heard a slap-slap-slap as I cornered and behold the edges were peeling up. I replaced it before it chunked apart. Not so uncommon on the metzlers. I did get over 16,000 miles on a roadstar rear metzler once, ran several, only had one go bad. Thank you Lord no one was hurt. Keep going Puc. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted June 25, 2014 Share #10 Posted June 25, 2014 Dunlop E3's. Tough tire. Running them on two of my 2ndGens. The '07 from The Dalles, and my '99. The '04 had a set of almost new Avons from the P.O.. If they ever wear out (ha!!) or start that sidewall cracking they'll be replaced with E3's. I've put a couple of miles on the '99 with the E3's and they still look like new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted June 25, 2014 Share #11 Posted June 25, 2014 Yup! Those suckers wear like iron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted June 25, 2014 Any of you highwaymen tried full bore yet? Gonna find out for myself shortly but ALWAYS open to opinions.. by the way,, has any one ever tried one of those fangdangled multirubber tires? Suppose to be hard in center an softer on sides? I would have already tried one of those too but I could never see payin more for a tire than I did for the bike.. I would be curious to know how they do for desert work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebrrg3rd Posted June 25, 2014 Share #13 Posted June 25, 2014 puc, you need to forget about motorcycle tires, heck, forget even car tires. You need TRUCK tires! But no re-treads, tho. -Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yammer Dan Posted June 25, 2014 Share #14 Posted June 25, 2014 I did a Kendra that is still mounted somewhere. I think up in Skid's garage? Anybody got any bad stories on them?? 6 ply tire hard to mount. I can't remember mileage I got but price hard to complain about. Paid less that 70 bucks I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMCOFFEY Posted June 25, 2014 Share #15 Posted June 25, 2014 I am curious to see how they last. I am using E3s right now. It is funny when I read reviews about them and people say the E3s wear so slow because they are so hard and do not handle well. Some Washington and Oregon roads would disagree with that statement. However it would be nice to not spend $500+ on tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted June 25, 2014 Share #16 Posted June 25, 2014 I am curious to see how they last. I am using E3s right now. It is funny when I read reviews about them and people say the E3s wear so slow because they are so hard and do not handle well. Some Washington and Oregon roads would disagree with that statement. However it would be nice to not spend $500+ on tires. I picked up my E3's from Jake Wilson in Salt Lake. The first set ran me $225 on the door step in two days, and my local Y dealer mounted them on the bike for $90 bucks in the winter. This last set cost $125 to mount, but business was picking up..... I think the cost of the tires were about the same... or close?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venturous Randy Posted June 25, 2014 Share #17 Posted June 25, 2014 I run an E3 on the back and that is the multi blend tire. So far it seems to be doing pretty good for wear. I run an Avon on the front as that gives me the best handling. I tried the Avon on the back, but mine was one of those 1st gen that got the tail waggle at about 70 and above. The E3 fixed that. With what you do and the abuse you put on tires, you need to use the best you can, even considering price. You get into some pretty remote places and might have more than a plug or a patch kit can fix. I can not imagine spending $500 to get a set of tires. That would be at least two sets of tires for me. But, I do mount and balance my own tires. I balance on the axle on jack stands and have never had a problem with any vibration. Keep up the great work on your updates. RandyA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted June 25, 2014 Share #18 Posted June 25, 2014 Any of you highwaymen tried full bore yet? Gonna find out for myself shortly but ALWAYS open to opinions.. by the way,, has any one ever tried one of those fangdangled multirubber tires? Suppose to be hard in center an softer on sides? I would have already tried one of those too but I could never see payin more for a tire than I did for the bike.. I would be curious to know how they do for desert work? OK Puc, I don't want to sound stupid.... but what's 'full bore'??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speakerfritz Posted June 25, 2014 Share #19 Posted June 25, 2014 its got to be about riding syle. I'm not a lean and swirve type of rider and barley go over the posted speed limit. On my first bike, a yamaha 1100LH , my tires lasted 23K miles. on my second bike, a Harley 2007 ultra , the bike has 14K miles and plenty of tread left on them. So I guess I am saying its hard to compare brand X or Y if you cant repeat the exact riding style on each tire try out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share #20 Posted June 25, 2014 OK Puc, I don't want to sound stupid.... but what's 'full bore'??? Oh come on jack,, you gotta KNOW by now, aint no stupid questions far as I am concerned.. that old saying, the only stupid questions are the ones that dont get asked....from what I hear, full bore is a fairly old companywho Iis tryin to break into the bike tire industry, gotta hunch there some real profitability left in that field and probably why they wanted in. got one, mounted er up, looks decent, mu85 as speced.. tire was made in korea which is ok by me.. really curious to see how it handles the heat. it was a 180 dollar retail tire, shipped from jccycle to elk grove, final cost 76 bucks.. picked up a conti tour on amazon for front before I left, shipped it was actually cheaper than this full bore.. its doing fantastic, very impressed with its heat tolorance, still looks like new. Coff was stating how well his e3, s did in the twistys of st. Helens,, and some other areas, I can attest to that! I can also say that conti did well too.. tippy and I followed CM thru those sweepers and stayed in close enough range that I can truthfully say the clearance between the boards on Exodus, the 01 2nd gen he rescued from a horribly abusive original owner, and pavement would be measured in thousants LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMCOFFEY Posted June 25, 2014 Share #21 Posted June 25, 2014 I was trying to touch hard parts, but no luck this time. I can't wait to test more tires in the same fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted June 25, 2014 Share #22 Posted June 25, 2014 I'm so glad you and Tippy survived that tire!!!! With the load you carry, you do test a rear tire pretty good. Maybe go for the best of the best on the rear? Michelin or E3? I think the E3 has the highest load rating doesn't it? A few years ago, I had a 2004 Kawasaki Concours and the forum members for that bike did not like the Metzler 880s due to its perceived lack of grip. My Concours had a worn out dual compound tire on the front when I bought it. The soft sides had worn down and left a 1"wide strip down the center. This made an already top heavy tippy bike really tippy. I vowed to never put a dual compound tire on the front of a bike. But, it might work out great on the rear with the hard compound in the center and softer sides to hold when cornering. Rear tires tend to wear flat anyway. I've never heard of a Full Bore tire. I'd trust a Korean tire before I would a Chinese tire though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrycuda Posted June 25, 2014 Share #23 Posted June 25, 2014 Dunlop E3's. Tough tire. Running them on two of my 2ndGens. The '07 from The Dalles, and my '99. The '04 had a set of almost new Avons from the P.O.. If they ever wear out (ha!!) or start that sidewall cracking they'll be replaced with E3's. I've put a couple of miles on the '99 with the E3's and they still look like new. My previous RSV had 2 sets of Avon venoms and there was NADA in regards to sidewall cracking. I looked, often bc of the Florida heat and humidity. Was able to get 13k out of the set w P.O. And was 3500 on a brand new pair before sold. No issues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMCOFFEY Posted June 25, 2014 Share #24 Posted June 25, 2014 Since you brought up the load that Puc carries, I must let everybody know a few things that I observed. First thing, that giant pack that he carries is very light. I can curl it left handed with out strain. Also next to his trunk, the roll looks huge; it is about the size of a gen 2 trunk. The weight and wind resistance are less than what I was carrying. http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/coffeyR6/Venture%20West%202014/242A3A69-A071-4868-BF1B-1CD57A68FAD2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted June 26, 2014 Share #25 Posted June 26, 2014 Yeah, but Puc is also carrying a cute chick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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