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defective tire?

Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
666
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0
Location
Canton
First Name
Howard
Last Name
Etkind
while doing a routine (for us) rear tire swap on Jill's F650, I found the tread was good on one side of the tire, and bald on the other side. As in you put the bike on centerstand, look at the back of the tire, then rotate the tire one half a revolution and look again. The difference in tread was better than a quarter inch.

So took it to my local motorcycle shop, of a generic Japanese brand:

Their reply: we are not a michelin dealer, please leave now, we cannot help you in any way, shape or form. It actually turns out that our michelin tires come through Parts Plus, their michelin tires come through Parts Plus, but those details really didn't count.

Emailed the internet company who sold me the tire:


> My wife and I buy a good dozen tires from you a year, and we have
> never had an issue...until this Michelin Anakee tire in the 130/80-17
> size for my wifes BMW F650.
>
> The tire did not wear well or long, and one side had good tread left,
> 180 degrees opposed, as if you rolled the tire on half a revolution,
> it is worn bald. We are not seeking a tire warrentee, but wanted to
> make you aware of a potential tire defect.
>
> Let me know if you would like more information or should I contact
> Michelin directly?
>
> Thanks,
>
sorry about the tire woe. To start off , I am not sure what buying a dozen or so tires from me a year has to do with anything. I treat all customers equally well, or even non customers I treat the same. I try to treat eveyone with respect and dignity and my policy is the same for all.I will treat you the same as I do the dealers that buy 500 tires a year from me. Now for the tire, if you feel it is a warranty issue you are welcome to return it to me for a look see.

Sounds like a defect to me but I have not heard of any another anakees doing same. You might give michelin a call also if you like and see if they have heard of a problem. sorry I dont talk directly with them so I dont have a number for you



Then called Michelin using a number on the web page:

your bike must be defective, our tires never wear like that, and after talking to the guy for 1/2 an hour, they hooked me up with a local independent shop, who is a michelin dealer, for inspection

Independent bike shop was shown both this tire that came off and a previous tire, of a different brand that came off, and said: hmmmm....one side is bald, one side has good thread, lets call Michelin together and work this out. However the customer service guy at michelin had left for the day so we will find out results tomorrow.

It is not that we really are looking for a "free" tire, but this is a premium tire, of a premium brand and it died awfully fast, like 1/2 the expected lifespan, and in reality, the differential wear is a safety issue, since when we inspect tires, we look only at ONE spot!

Howard
 
<snip>... sorry about the tire woe. To start off , I am not sure what buying a dozen or so tires from me a year has to do with anything. I treat all customers equally well, or even non customers I treat the same. I try to treat eveyone with respect and dignity and my policy is the same for all.I will treat you the same as I do the dealers that buy 500 tires a year from me.<end snip>

That statement right there would make me find a different dealer. If an individual is buying a dozen tires from me, I'm thinking that's a customer for life as opposed to another dealer who buys 500 and can easily find another avenue for tires.

Good luck on your quest.
 
thought I would close this tread out...

got the tire looked at my a local michelin motorcycle tire dealer, he called michelin technical support...

...since we got 7,000 miles out of it, it lasted the expected tire life and the strange wear pattern is only that!
 
thought I would close this tread out...

got the tire looked at my a local michelin motorcycle tire dealer, he called michelin technical support...

...since we got 7,000 miles out of it, it lasted the expected tire life and the strange wear pattern is only that!


I have seen tires get low on one side and still have a bit of tread on the other. But, I have never see 1/4 inch diffrence.

I pulled my ankees at 7k with 1/8th tread all around and my bike weights at least 200lbs more than yours (1200 GS). I would say 7k is not normal, nor the discontinuty.

But, if it was me, I would not push the subject, I would just cast my vote by moving to a diffrent tire/ brand
 
I have seen tires get low on one side and still have a bit of tread on the other. But, I have never see 1/4 inch diffrence.

I pulled my ankees at 7k with 1/8th tread all around and my bike weights at least 200lbs more than yours (1200 GS). I would say 7k is not normal, nor the discontinuty.

But, if it was me, I would not push the subject, I would just cast my vote by moving to a diffrent tire/ brand

we have...current tire on is a Metzeler Tourance...

Now, this weekend, at an airhead tech day weekend up in Big Cabin, right off the Talimena scenic drive, we mounted a few of the chen shin ME33 copies to replace various worn out tires that folks rode in with. Folks seem to like them at 1/2 the price of a name brand and get decent wear out of them.

Howard
 
Parelli makes a resonable priced tire. Wear as well as the high dollar stuff. But my experiance is with heavy road bikes. YRMV
 
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