[candubrain]

Got a call from my HD dealer, asking if I really wanted the same rear tire, cause there were chunks missing!!

Turns out the chucks weren't missing, but, delamination was taking place. The attached photo was the only one in focus, sorry, but the delamination you see is happening in 3 areas.

I talked with the Metzeler rep at the Toronto MC Show, he will be picking up the tire and will let me know what they think happened. He is speculating, low tire pressure, caused overheating of the tire, which led to the delamination. I assured him that I kept the tires at the max as printed on the sidewall of the tire, 49psi, I did get 12,000 miles out of the rear, so I'm not complaining.

Will let the group know, what they said, when they call.....brian

 

[sjpr13]

Metzeler ME 880

Well, I'll be the first to say it.....yikes :yikes: I'm ridin on 880's....

 

[1bdBagr]

wow

12,000 miles....thats pretty damn good. I'm lucky if I get 6-7000 miles. Was that a 130/80/16 or 18? Good thing you caught the delamination....

 

[DynaCruizer]

Holy smokes! I had ME880s on my last bike and loved them. So much better than the Dunlaps. Was planning on mounting a set on my Wide Glide this Spring. Come to think of it, still am. Must have been a defect or something. Keep us posted.

 

[LAF]

Strange stuff for sure!

Good thing you are looking, but with 12,000 miles you should be :thumbsup:

I am riding them also so am anxious to hear your outcome. :whisper:

I rode Avon's on my Sporty, and wanted to try these and have been more than pleased.

Of interest that you run Max inflation. I run 42-44 on the rear depending if I have another and the pizza box on. Strait 40 in the front. I am not sure you should run max inflation on any tire. On the Sporty, the Avon's and Factory Dunlop, we ran 40-40.:hmmm:

 

[TXCHOP]

interesting, as the avon venom has the same warning a little while back....this is the first i have heard of the metz's doing it.....i'll just keep an eye on mine, i like them too much to get rid of them...

P.S. keep us posted.....

 

[petrock]

Its always been my understanding that you don't want to put the max pressure in tires, but instead go by what the users manual says the tire pressure should be plus a couple pounds (about 10%). Same goes for cars/trucks. Max pressure is just that, the max amount. Not the normal amount. If the presure is set to the max amount when the tire is cold, once you start riding the bike the tires will start to warm/heat up which can easily bring your presure way over the max presure which over time could cause a blow-out.

Different bikes/cars/trucks/applications take different presures and ussually for good reason. Good luck...

 

[TonyRKC]

You should not be running a tire at the max pressure listed on the sidewall. 49 psi cold will increase to well over 50 psi hot - not good. I would imagine that the ride would be super hard.

When a tire is overinflated the center will bulge resulting in less of a contact patch on the road. This should not cause delamination, but it would cause excessive wear in the center of the tire.

 

[2kflhr]

I'm on my second rear 880 and will be replacing again and the front this round before long. I got 13k on the last rear (50% 2 up) and was still not at the wear bars.

I contacted Metzeler and they confirmed that 44 psig in the rear and 40 in the front is the correct pressure on my RK.

I'll stick with the 880's. This is the only problem I've heard of and I know the local indy has installed literally hundreds without any problems.

 

[FatBobRob]

tire gauges

Remember that most tire gauges are not that accurate. they are usually off by about + - 1.5-2lbs.

 

[JamieWG]

Up until I bought this new HD, I ran Metzelers on everything. Never had a prob and consider them the best tire on the market. As soon as these Dunlops get worn, a new set of 880's will go on my DWG. {salute(

 

[candubrain]

Well the tire size is a 130/80/16, I've now have a 140 tire, same brand. Metzelers have a weak side wall, they recommend higher pressures to compensate. The posted tire pressure for this size is lower, but that is for an unlaidened bike. I weight 205lbs, I keep the bags full of junk that I might need if its the 5th tuesday of the monthhttp://www.v-twinforum.com/forums/images/smilies/yes.gif, raining, with a blue moon, and ride 2 up 50% of the time. Based on that, Mets recommends max tire pressure to reduce temps and increase mileage.

The pressure I run is the max, cold pressure. This has no bearing on how much the pressure increases as the tire gets hot. The're designed that way.
At max pressure, I can still drag the floor boards, so I'm not worried about contact patch, and traction.

I've heard of Bridgestones having a problem of delamination on their radial tires, but this is a first on Mets. I don't expect to hear from Mets for a few weeks, when I do, I'll pass it along..........brian

 

[rgraham]

I ride these, and I like em' a lot. It looks from the photos, that you have ridden that baby down to where there is no tread in the middle of the tire. I think you might have been prudent to change out before the delam.

 

[candubrain]

I ride these, and I like em' a lot. It looks from the photos, that you have ridden that baby down to where there is no tread in the middle of the tire. I think you might have been prudent to change out before the delam.

you're more than right, I just want to let everyone know, so that they are aware, and not run the risk of a high speed tire failure. Last thing I want to read, is about some one going down......brian

 

[rgraham]

I agree. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[FXDRYDR]

I work in an industry where a lot of things get misreported, misrepresented and blown out of proportion - so I'm a little sensitive to such things at times. This is one of those times.

You run the tire at max pressure for 12K miles and until there's no tread left in the middle. You get some delamination, then you post it on the web as if there's something wrong with the tire. Metz is concerned enough to take look at it and try to see why it's coming apart.

Here's a good product, backed by a company acting responsibly. You have absolutely no legitimate issues yet you post on a widely-read forum as if there's potentially something wrong. That's highly irresponsible.

 

[Sprung]

I work in an industry where a lot of things get misreported, misrepresented and blown out of proportion - so I'm a little sensitive to such things at times. This is one of those times.

You run the tire at max pressure for 12K miles and until there's no tread left in the middle. You get some delamination, then you post it on the web as if there's something wrong with the tire. Metz is concerned enough to take look at it and try to see why it's coming apart.

Here's a good product, backed by a company acting responsibly. You have absolutely no legitimate issues yet you post on a widely-read forum as if there's potentially something wrong. That's highly irresponsible.

Agreed. The tire is worn out and had been run at the incorrect pressure for the bike it was mounted on.

 

[ViennaHog]

Candubrain:
I've run 3 sets of Metzeler ME880 on my FXST with maximum cold inflation. At the end of the lifetime,(not anywhere as bald as your tire) around 7500 miles you could see tiny cracks at the bottom of the profile blocks which are entirely normal. I talked to tire experts around here about running the tire always up to the max inflation and consensus was that wear in the center increases significantly giving the tire a 'square' profile and reduce lifetime as well. Matters get worse, when the load is not anywhere near max tire capacity.
Next sets will be set at tire manufacurer's recommendation
Looks like you pushed your tire to the extreme and it started to fail at a point far beyond its useful lifetime.
IMHO no reason to panic, it ain't a Firestone size issue.............

 

[20538]

you're more than right, I just want to let everyone know, so that they are aware, and not run the risk of a high speed tire failure. Last thing I want to read, is about some one going down......brian

you agree with this,
Originally Posted by rgraham
I ride these, and I like em' a lot. It looks from the photos, that you have ridden that baby down to where there is no tread in the middle of the tire. I think you might have been prudent to change out before the delam.

but yet your title of the thread ( Metzeler tire warning ME880 ) leads one to beleive it's a problem with the tire.

I'm not trying to start an argument with you, but the title of the thread would be more accurate if it were, don't ride tire after it's worn too much.

 

[sjpr13]

Tire Pressure

Agreed. The tire is worn out and had been run at the incorrect pressure for the bike it was mounted on.

Problem is everyone you ask has a different pressure suggestion. I had a tech tell me I should run at max... what it says on the sidewall. I think it's 50....he said metzeler's were prone to "cupping" if under inflated....