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I was at the bash last week, my Z6 rear looked fine before and during. Ride home the 220 miles and... nice metal wires or cords showing through in the middle of the tire.

I've been keeping proper tire pressure but i think I only got about 7K on this tire! I guess with the crappy roads and lack of twisties around here, they got worn down prematurely.

Is the tire 'safe' enough to make the ride 15 miles to a shop?

Piece of cake!

Scotty;
Just pretend you didn't see'em.

Was that you doing a stationary burnout in the parking lot at the Grand Canyon of the east at the Bash?? Maybe that shortened your tire life~~~~

I would try to avoid all Highways if possible, just to be sure, I'm sure the tires would be fine, but better safe than sorry.

GO SLOW! I repeat GO SLOW on your way to getting it changed! I recently saw the cords on my Conti Road Attack rear tire (10k miles on it). The day I saw the cords, I rode home from work and did not ride it again. I bought a new one and did the change myself. When I took off the old tire, I was amazed at how thin the remaining tire material was in the center...as in VERY THIN. If I had not changed it myself, I might have never seen how thin it was.

Those last few miles sort of disappear quick. I rode home from Bash I with a slick. Could have sworn it would have made it through the weekend!

I might just take off the wheel and take it to the dealer. Unless you can convince yourself that the steel give good traction!

With my age/experience/wisdom I would take the wheel off and 4 wheel it to the dealer. Especially after changing several customer's tires in just such a condition. dnat928 is correct. It's VERY thin!!! When worn to the steel cords, a sharp pea sized pebble would push right thru the very thin carcass that's left. Think about how much a wobbly crash will cost you, then . . . . .

scotty,
I would agree with Robb and everyone else. Pull the wheel off, and drop it off to the shop. It should be less expensive to get the tire mounted off of the bike anyhow.

That is why I have not had Z6 tires for a while. I like some tread across the middle.

a little off topic, but a friend has a pair of Z6's and asked me to look at them. I thought there were wear bars in the tread at the level of the elephants, but I could not find them.

Am I wrong about that?

any photos of the elusive wear bars?

tia
John

Doctor,

There are several indications around the edges (chicken strips) that say "TWI" for Tread Wear Indicator. Follow the nearest groove from that point to the center of tire. There are two "humps" in the grooves. Those are the indicators. They are closer to the center of the tire. They are tough to see because they are rounded and not sqaure. It took me several times to try and locate. Then I asked the board. Then I still had problems finding them.

Well I'm glad I decided to get a new Z6 on the rear today!!! Ready for next week in Wisconsin.

thanks guys...maybe it was my gravel burnout on the way to the grand canyon that did it....right rob and jeff?

any trouble with putting a pilot on with the z6 front?

French tires run backwards when they see Germans in front of them.

scottybooj, There will be more of a new rear and worn front tire issue than a brand conflict.

Yeah, we saw the graceful 10 foot long gravel burnout and it's nice curving arc . . . . . but our lips are sealed.

.

scottybooj wrote:I was at the bash last week, my Z6 rear looked fine before and during. Ride home the 220 miles and... nice metal wires or cords showing through in the middle of the tire.

I've been keeping proper tire pressure but i think I only got about 7K on this tire! I guess with the crappy roads and lack of twisties around here, they got worn down prematurely.

Is the tire 'safe' enough to make the ride 15 miles to a shop?

Yup - that happens with Z6s and Diablo Stradas.

Especially if they're squared off from a lot of straight-road riding.

Stradas aren't quite as bad at it as Z6s though.

It was a nice arcing burnout.

Look at the Bridgestone BT 021. They are dual compound and a lot less than the Michelins right now.

I am back to a Z6 rear after a few Pirelli Strada sets. According to my records, the Z6 gets slightly more mileage (which for me is not but about 6K). But you do have to keep an eye on them at the end of their service life.

As to mixed sets, I made it to the Bash this year with a Strada front and Z6 rear. And as we know, that included a little rain riding! No problems, other than my valve stem issue of course, which is not really tire related.

French tires run backwards when they see Germans in front of them.

And that nearly made me snort coffee on my keyboard! Thanks Mike!

wncbmw wrote: As to mixed sets, I made it to the Bash this year with a Strada front and Z6 rear. And as we know, that included a little rain riding! No problems, other than my valve stem issue of course, which is not really tire related.

Z6 and Strada are virtually the same tyre.

Z6 and Strada are virtually the same tyre.

Yep - I know that. As far as tread compound and material. Tread patterns are different and since the grooveless center of the Z6 is supposed to work because it is designed to work with the front clearing the water out of the way while riding upright, I thought someone might be concerned about traction. Apparently the tread pattern on the front Strada works as well.

Except that my front one is not long for this world either now!

MikeCam wrote:French tires run backwards when they see Germans in front of them.

So never run a Michelin rear with a Metzeler front, but you achieve hyper speeds with the Michelin on the front and Metzeler on the back.

The Pilot Road front, Bt 021 rear combo worked fine for me while at the Bash.

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