Metzler Z6 Wear Indicators

[MJB]

Can anyone take a photo and post it of what the wear indictors for the Metzler Z6 look like.
I am having the darnedest time trying to find them on my bike.

Thanks

[crazyhorse]

i just went to the steel on my Z6s because i could not see them!

the sides are easy. along the center there are a few of the treads that reach a little further towards the center than the others. these have the wear indicators set inside of them.

i will take pics when i get home from work.

wes

[MJB]

i just went to the steel on my Z6s because i could not see them!

the sides are easy. along the center there are a few of the treads that reach a little further towards the center than the others. these have the wear indicators set inside of them.

i will take pics when i get home from work.

wes

How many miles did you put on the 6's before you hit the steel?
Did you like the tire?
Get them again?

[bobw]

Copied this from Metz web site. They list the "TWI" and I have seen some tires with three "arrows" is a "V" formation. Running out of tire with "no warning" is the biggest issue with the 06's, not sure if the new improved Interact 06 will be better, but in photos the sipe appears to go a bit farther into the center.

Good luck.


TREAD DEPTH
Legally the tire has to be changed as soon as the remaining tread depth is below 1,6mm. This can easily be checked by controlling the tread wear indicator height.
These indicators can be found into the tread pattern grooves, correspondingly to the "TWI" sign on the tire's sidewall. METZELER recommends changing tires when the remaining tread depth is below 2 mm .

[taosports]

The indicators are circled on my Pirelli - they look identical on your Z-6. Look for the TWI along the edge of the tire. When the tread wears down to the indicators, it's time to replace the tires. As you can see, my tires are new so I have a ways to go before reaching the indicators.

[crazyhorse]

here is the pic of my tire.

red=TWI indicator as noted above.
green=wear indicator.

you can see the steel belt showing. it shows more in other areas.
(white stuff on tire is just my daughter's sidewalk chalk.)



i bought the bike at ~6800 miles and now it's at ~7500 miles. obviously it was mostly ridden hwy before me and i did all sorts of riding. however, i didn't realize the tread in the center was so worn. the center wear indicator was harder to see until it was worn down this much.

i'm replacing with a pilot road 2 this weekend. i'm hoping the dual-compound will get a me a few more miles.

wes

[deilenberger]

Wes - that's actually a cloth belt. One person described it to me as being the real wear warning.. according to him (he cut one of the tires apart) there is actually another 2-3mm of rubber under the cloth before you get to the steel belt(s)..

Not that it's a good thing.. I loved how Z6's handled - wet/dry - but decided not to use them due to the lack of a reliable wear indicator. FWIW - the Michelin Pilot-Road-2's feel better than the Z6 under all conditions, and supposedly will greatly outwear them. Cost is a bit higher, but cost/mile probably is less - and they have real wear indicators. I don't regret the extra cost.. they even grip in oil!

[crazyhorse]

i know it's not a good idea to disagree with don, but it really does appear to be metal, the specular properties and feel say steel to me. i know you can't see in a still picture.

i took the tire off the rim tonight (yay, first time!) and i'm going to take a knife to it tomorrow, it's too dark now. then we'll see what is up with this tire!

wes

[lewellen]

FWIW - the Michelin Pilot-Road-2's feel better than the Z6 under all conditions, and supposedly will greatly outwear them. Cost is a bit higher, but cost/mile probably is less - and they have real wear indicators. I don't regret the extra cost.. they even grip in oil!

I had just the opposite reaction ... I thought the stock Pilot 2's on my R1200R felt a bit, well, unsettled, and the weird cupping / wearing on the front tire didn't help. After the new Z6 Interacts went on, though, the bike felt much better. Of course, some of that is going from old tires to new, but these feel better than the Pilot Roads did when new. I think. :-)

The shop where I got new Z6 Interacts (BMW San Jose) said they saw a number of Road Pilots with the same odd cupping, and that their customers were generally getting somewhat longer life out of the Z6.

Good roads,

- Lewellen

[Preacher]

I got 8900mi out of the OEM Metz Z6's on my R12R... was down to the last thin layer of rubber and the cord was showing.
I then bought set of Mich Pilot Road 2CT's and via my experiences with them, I'd never go back to the Metz's. By time Metz's had 5000 miles on them, the handling was terrible on back roads as fronts flatted on three areas around circumference. Wet and dry performance was superior, turn-in, directional stability and road feel were also superior to the OEM's. When I sold the bike at 12.3K miles, there was far less wear and actually was driving the bike a lot harder. The Mich's were terrific. I'm willing to pay more for better tires... safety is paramount.

I have a new K1300S with Conti Sport Attacks (not in spt touring tire class) and at 2600mi (bike is 5 weeks old) they are showing significant flatness on rear. No way will I buy Conti's again... feel so strongly about grip/handling of the PR2's I'm considering them as replacements, though will probably do Mich Pilot Power 2CT's to see how well they compare to the PR2's. My bikes are daily drivers... pile up mileage quickly so durability is really more important than extreme handling/track performance. Won't "give away" dry or wet performance for just iron treads so that's why I favor the Mich 2CT's.

[deilenberger]

I had just the opposite reaction ... I thought the stock Pilot 2's on my R1200R felt a bit, well, unsettled, and the weird cupping / wearing on the front tire didn't help. After the new Z6 Interacts went on, though, the bike felt much better. Of course, some of that is going from old tires to new, but these feel better than the Pilot Roads did when new. I think. :-)

I'm willing to make a bet here. Bet you ran higher than recommended (by BMW) tire pressure in the PR2's. I wasn't crazy about mine until I reduced the pressure to the 1 person pressure listed under the seat (32F, 34R) and the tire became awesome - just like that.

I spent this weekend carving corners (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia) - and that's from someone who never felt comfortable seeing how far this thing will REALLY lean on any other tire. The PR2's are just so predictable it became great fun to do corner after corner. For the very first time - on leading a ride - I had to keep stopping and waiting for the rest of the riders to catch up. Usually they were itching to pass me.

The PR2s now have about 2,500 miles on them - and no sign of cupping on the front, the rear is still perfectly round - at this point in the Conti Road-Attacks the rear would have started squaring off and the front would have the odd triangular wear pattern starting.

The shop where I got new Z6 Interacts (BMW San Jose) said they saw a number of Road Pilots with the same odd cupping, and that their customers were generally getting somewhat longer life out of the Z6.

Good roads,

- Lewellen

Lewellen,
Be interested to know what tire pressure the customers were running. It's tradition with BMW riders (and wrenches) to think the factory are idiots and the owner knows better - and if 32/34 is good, 42/44 is just that much better. My experience indicates the factory knows exactly what works well on the bikes. Tire pressure shouldn't be turned up to 11..

One additional comment - I found the PR2's seem immune to tar-snake slipping, in wet - did 6 hours of torrential rain on Friday getting to the riding area (HI Harry!), and then today coming back it was mid to high 80's on the way back. MD likes their seam-sealer. They don't slather it on like NY state, but there is a LOT of it used. I was avoiding it at first - but then I found that it wasn't causing the rear-end-wiggle I expected - so I basically ignored it. Never felt it.

I did get a single funny rear end step-out on Friday in the rain at about 80mph on the NJ Turnpike when I changed lanes and ran over a slightly raised brand new lane-stripe. Did a little rear end dance that translated into a front end headshake. I think the steering damper is on the bike for a reason, and it might not be quite strong enough. I could induce a bit of head-shake today on the way home - again at speed - by wiggling my butt around (it was sore after 7 hours riding). I think I'm going to talk to Klaus at Hyperpro about the adjustable damper he was designing for the R12R..

[mogu83]

(HI Harry)

The Bagel place was open, I even stopped long enough to have one with a coffee.

[deilenberger]

(HI Harry)

The Bagel place was open, I even stopped long enough to have one with a coffee.

It was on the way home.. we stopped for a bagel-breakfast. It turns out it was closed Friday due to an employee committing bodily injury on themselves while slicing a bagel..