Z6 cupping

Leave the freakin' kitchen sink at home

Actually I don't know why I get good mileage from my tires. Part of it may be that I hardly ever ride two up and I always try to travel as light as possible. These bikes aren't light to begin with and then I see folks pulling trailers, racks on top of racks...

My RS has seen the occasional track day and I still get 10 to 13,000 miles

I get the best mileage when I spend more time in the twisties than I do on the slab. The slab causes the cupping on my Z6s.

rudytenorio said:

I am lucky if I get 4800 miles from a rear tire (Z6) and 5500 from the front. I run 40 psi front and 42 psi rear.

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Ditto. I get no more than 6,000 on the rears and half as much more on the fronts, at 36 and 40 psi. I weigh 235, carry no panniers and maybe 15 lbs in a soft topcase. I ride hard in the local mountains. I wear them down to 0.2 and never see any cupping in the front or cords/belts in the rear before they are tossed out.

Fred
'02 R1150R (525 lbs, more or less)

DanGreene said:

There are wear marks on the rear Z6. You have to look very closely to see them. There are three, I believe, bumps in the tread groove. Not sure how helpful they are but they are there.

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If you are doing way too much slab, they are not helpful.. I pushed one too far and discovered this as I was load my bike at an Atlanta hotel. Paid more for the one tire to buy, mount and balance than the 2 rears I had sitting in the garage at home 700 miles away.

I switched to Pilot Roads a couple of sets of tires ago, and they have been the most even wearing tires I have had on my 1150R. The Z6 cupped a little, as did the Z$, but the worst tire I had for cupping was the Michelin Macadam 100.

I think that cupping is due to a couple of things: tire pressure, tread pattern.

Here is an interesting quote from Mettzler, if you delve into the website.


"
Where are your air pressure listings, and can I run different pressures then you suggest?
We list the minimum air pressures for most bikes sold in the North Amercian on the web site in the brochure download area. We also have a chart in the brochure that gives suggestions for running corrected air pressures for when you add a load and or a passenger. A simple rule of thumb is to always run the pressures on your street motorcycle tires towards the maximum listed on the sidewall. By doing this you will increase the life of the tire over it's useful life. "

Metzeler Z6

I have a 2006 r12rt and changed my front tire after 6500 miles because of the same cupping you mention. I first noticed it as you did wih the "growling" in the turns. hear of many riders getting much more out of tires but I don't know what else to recommend since I have stayed with the Metzeler tires. If anyone has suggestions on other brands, I'd love to hear about it.

Walt

I removed those Z6's at 4k. They were totally spent. Went back to the Avons and they lasted 7.5k. The front had hardly cupped at all but the rear was getting pretty flat in the middle. I Put on another set of Avons. I now run a min of 38 in the front and 42 in the rear. Usually 40 and 42