Metzeler tourance made in China

[cakeboy]

yea dont worry ..its not like your life depends on them or something like that ;D

 

[RIVA]

yea dont worry ..its not like your life depends on them or something like that ;D
[/quote
I never said not to worry. I said and i quote "DO'NT BUY THE DAM THINGS" and I did mention old women whinging.

 

[ExTriumphExp]

I would rather buy stuff closer to home for many reasons, I am sure under the right conditions the tyres will be "the same", but the UK, US and most of Europe appears to be going bust, and the citizens of all of these nations are sending all of their money to China - and then moaning when they lose their own jobs.

Not sure any premium bike tyres are made in the USA though :question: We still have Avon, although not British owned any more the tyres are still made here - just a shame they always seem a little behind the Metzeler / Pirelli / Dunlop / Michelin / Bridgestone offerings and tyres are one area I won't consider a compromise to buy locally

Couldnt agree more Rasher, i intend keeping my money in the UK as much as possible, obviously that failed with the Explorer I bought but after recently fitting a pair of Avon Storm 3DXM to my Tiger sport I cant speak highly enough of Avon Tyres, 3000 miles around Europe loaded & there was a still a good 6mm left with NO squaring off. Better still they also come in the right size/fit,amt for the S10 if you intend using your S10 on Tarmac only. Oh & yes I also kicked the Tiger sport into the long grass too. I`m chuffed to bits with my S10 though.
Theres also an article in this months "Ride" magazine about a new Adventure tyre under development to replace the ageing Distanzia, interestingly enough one or possibly both of there development riders ( NOT press or Avon employees) had the old Distanzia fitted to a 1200GS & a Tiger 800 & stated how good they are already without re designing them!! a phot of them cranked over with a massive amount of water ( not spray) being expelled was quite impressive for a 15 year old design

 

[Bappo]

If I am not mistaken all Dunlop tires are made in the US and I are pretty durn good. Not sure what they have available for our bikes though TR-91?

I have 10k miles on a china Tourance rear and it looks like another 4k left. Same as the Germany ones.

 

[TenereStreets]

I'm happy with the Dunlop TR91s on a couple weeks ago. They're made in France.

 

[XtreemLee]

I disagree!

It wasn't that long ago that nobody would buy anything manufactured in Japan. Now look who the market leaders are now! What is it again we're all riding?

No-one has proven these tyres are of lesser quality or even tried them to judge for themselves and until someone does then it's only speculation and heresay.

I choose to be open minded and not racist.

::009::

China is in the upswing of their industrial revolution. I have seen products go to there and quality suffers. They might say it's the same trust me its not. I don't think for one second saying China makes junk is racist. Seriously dude...
20 Years from now I am sure their products will be as good, but right now trusting China is iffy, not racist jhc...

I choose to be open minded and not racist.

Go feed your dog some poison chinese dog food then get all uppity...

 

[ExTriumphExp]

China is in the upswing of their industrial revolution. I have seen products go to there and quality suffers. They might say it's the same trust me its not. I don't think for one second saying China makes junk is racist. Seriously dude...
20 Years from now I am sure their products will be as good, but right now trusting China is iffy, not racist jhc...

Go feed your dog some poison chinese dog food then get all uppity...

Until recently I worked in the supply chain for a global Engine manufacturer, they sourced parts from China, but then started having second thoughts. Virtually every time a manufacturing process was approved & we returned to the UK the supplier changed / moved the process & started supplying major defects. They seem to think it a part looks the same it is the same. Materials technology & design is there for a reason.

I spoke to a UK based tyre manufacturer whilst visiting Triumph live (nothing else better to do that day, all the DIY finished) this year. I had a chat about bike mags & test reports noting how much of a coincidence it is when manufactures lay on foreign launches with big budgets ( for the piss up) a positive review always seem to follow, along with big advertising spends to the mags that play ball. Apparently when several UK mags had been asked to write an article on where these major tyre manufacturer`s actually made there tyres (China) they baulked at the idea as they were to worried about loosing there advertising revenue. So I suppose the answer is if your buying a mag, buy one with the minimal big budget advertising, or just read between the lines.

That said Metzeler have quite a reputation too loose if they start selling poor quality product so I dare say they will be crawling all over there Chinese suppliers to ensure they stick to the original specifications.

 

[mrpete64]

car/motorcycle tires...

The tariff is now off Chinese tires. They are dumping them, in the American market, to put American tire manufactures out of business. I would rate their tires in the same class as Chinese drugs/food. I will NEVER buy a Chinese bike tire...period!!!

Mr. Pete--------->
aging hippie

 

[bikerdoc]

::026::
Grow up people, China adopted the "New China" capitalist model over 20 years ago, and started opening up well before that. They also began adopting HUGE changes in just about every other aspect. It sure isn't paradise by western standards and the Asian (not just China) views are based in a very different value system. But the stereotypes from the pre-Nixon era are silly or scary ancient history and are from before many people here were born.

OK, so most people would rather not think of themselves as hypocritical even as they wear Chinese-made clothing, drive a car made in Mexico that would go no place without the Chinese content, buy nearly anything at Walmart or Kohls, etc. Even the Apple products made in the US have Chinese content, but don't think about that.

The fact is that we ALL base everything on our own perceptions and forget to think in relative terms. We were doing a job in Dalian and we had a couple of young police officers assigned to protect the worksite and wreckage. They loved to talk about families (like anybody anywhere in the world). The dad of the 18 year old was a rail laborer and the kid didn't want to do that. He had worked hard in school to become a cop, working his way out of a 1-room home with his entire family, to his own room in the police barracks, and expected to be able to move from there after a while. HE did that on his own. By choice. The story of the other guy in his mid 20s was more middle class that most of us would recognize. He grew up in a big apartment complex, did the barracks thing, and moved into an apartment with a couple friends.

The Communist Party at this point certainly is not the same as the political system in the west and that's not what I'm saying. But few in the US realize how Democratic it has become in China. I find their current "Communist" process roughly similar to the Electoral College used in the US to vote for a President. The reality for both is that common folks at the local level vote for representatives and those reps generally (here and there) carry their local constituents wishes forward. And before criticizing the Communist Party version of insiders and cronyism, look inward:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_by_longevity_of_service

Yup, those Chinese don't care about pollution. Ummm, actually the locals don't want to live in a polluted place either and started to change their laws a while ago. I lived in LA in the early 70s when we had good soupy brown air and things had started to change, which is about where the Chinese are. You may remember that there was a LOT of talk about it going into the Olympic games in China and it continues: "In China’s war on bad air, government decision to release data gives fresh hope[/size]" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-chinas-war-on-bad-air-government-decision-to-release-data-gives-fresh-hope/2014/02/02/5e50c872-8745-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html

Well, they are a repressive government controlling their people, right? Look, they aren't up to the west yet on allowing big open air demonstrations. But it sure is coming. Labor camps? Actually that's North Korea - Dennis Rodman can't get that kind of attention in China. It's because China has been shutting down the labor prisons for a while now. Prison for any crime? China is #124 on this list and I never have the "being watched" feeling in China that I have in the US since 9-11.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate

Look, the place isn't Kansas and comes from a different outlook. But people there are able to make their own choices and many split the country life for the cities because there is more money to be made. So many that it created what is probably the bulk of their current issues. And China adopted a no-Visa travel policy nearly 20 years ago. In fact, this headline is from their standpoint . . .
"[/size]North America most dangerous destination for Chinese[/size]"

As for tires and other products, China has historically had two tiers of products. Stuff made for internal China sales has been notoriously worse than for export. People in the west learned that the internal products were cheaper and you can find lots of it in flea markets. Cheap fuses for the car or bike actually can catch fire. Some of the car tires that have made it to the US are downright scary.

However, the western companies who manufacture in China brought their quality systems. There's a good chance that your blood pressure meds came from a factory on the edge of Dalian. Metzeler is a reputable company and that's why I'd have no problem buying one of their tires, no matter where it was made.

Well put.

I'd simply add that the majority of local Chinese, are just as suspicious of locally produced products, though in some product segments this perception is slowly changing. This is where many foreign brands, multinationals (and more astute local brands) are making a substantial profit margin by exporting/importing into mainland China. Some are realising that to increase profit share and market penetration though for a generally more discerning but non-loyal customer base, that moving to manufacture in China is the way forward. KTM is an example of that. Some local Chinese consumers still are prejudiced though and will shun the locally made foreign product for one made by that companies overseas manufacturing facility, Mercedes are another example of that phenomena. Any company worth it's salt must do due diligence and appreciate and understand the need to focus on effective QC/QA programmes throughout the sourcing, supply chain, manufacturing, shipping processes. One cannot and should not just assume that a product, from R&D, development, prototype, first run and beyond will not be subject to some cost cutting measures by local suppliers, manufacturing partners and beyond - the moment the foreign enterprise's back is turned. I'd assume that most foreign brands are fully cognisant of this aspect of doing business and trade in the middle kingdo0m, and plan accordingly. The cost to the brand being what it is. Some of the more discerning local consumers are just as sensitive to lack of consistency/quality as anyone else.

As for the communist comments made earlier in this thread, I'd have to say in my 13 years living and working here, my view is that China is one of the most capitalist economies anywhere, with plenty of protectionist overtones. China also has underwritten much of America's debt, which in turn has partially/indirectly lead to the 'GFC' still being experienced in many parts of the world. Cost of living in China has also increased fourfold over recent years. It is still possible to liver cheaply here, as well as at the other end of the financial/economical spectrum, but doing so at the former likely increases ones exposure to a fairly toxic lifestyle.

It is indeed true that there are two manufacturing market sectors at work: the local market and that of and for export. Back a decade ago the two sectors were mutually exclusive, however the lines between the two have in more recent times become more blurred. However, just because something is manufactured here does not mean I can buy or find that item within the local market here.

There are likely literally millions of inferior poor quality products. However as with any market economy economics, there'd be no supply without demand. The shiet quality garments, sunglasses or what-have-you, flogged off at Caribbean beaches, nightspots, 1-2-3 dollar shops, flea markets, eBay and the like, are partially there, due to demand in one part and greed on the other, whether that be from the wholesaler, buyer, SME owner etc. Many local enterprises here work on very slim profit margins, very very slim indeed. Local labour laws have improved immensely over the past decade, and this has resulted in substantial cost increases for the majority of business models, hence why some manufacturers have moved out of China to other low labour cost destinations e.g. Vietnam, Cambodia et al. There are also a lot of other policy changes which have had both direct and indirect impact on local labour flows.

Locally made foreign branded tyres are available here, and they are not cheap. I grin and bear it - and all my local fleet (5 MC's and maxi scoots) currently run locally made Bridgestones, aside from Metzler Tourance (which interestingly are made in Germany) on my recently purchased '14 G650GS. No concerns whatsoever on any of the tyres quality.

YMMV

 

[bikerdoc]

Yup, and "street dogs" from a corner vendor can take on a whole new meaning!
::025::

Dog meat, in China this a delicacy and the dog meat for consumption are usually from dogs breed pretty much for this purpose, not much different than how 'many' farm and grow herd animals for consumption. It is also not prevalent in the whole of China by any means.

 

[mugrunch]

Phoned my tyre man yesterday to order a Metzler Tourance for the S10. He say's now that they're made in China, his customers (mainly GS boys) are only getting about half the mileage. Have been happy with Tourance up till now, but looks like I'll be going for Conti's.

 

[ExTriumphExp]

Well put.

I'd simply add that the majority of local Chinese, are just as suspicious of locally produced products, though in some product segments this perception is slowly changing. This is where many foreign brands, multinationals (and more astute local brands) are making a substantial profit margin by exporting/importing into mainland China. Some are realising that to increase profit share and market penetration though for a generally more discerning but non-loyal customer base, that moving to manufacture in China is the way forward. KTM is an example of that. Some local Chinese consumers still are prejudiced though and will shun the locally made foreign product for one made by that companies overseas manufacturing facility, Mercedes are another example of that phenomena. Any company worth it's salt must do due diligence and appreciate and understand the need to focus on effective QC/QA programmes throughout the sourcing, supply chain, manufacturing, shipping processes. One cannot and should not just assume that a product, from R&D, development, prototype, first run and beyond will not be subject to some cost cutting measures by local suppliers, manufacturing partners and beyond - the moment the foreign enterprise's back is turned. I'd assume that most foreign brands are fully cognisant of this aspect of doing business and trade in the middle kingdo0m, and plan accordingly. The cost to the brand being what it is. Some of the more discerning local consumers are just as sensitive to lack of consistency/quality as anyone else.

As for the communist comments made earlier in this thread, I'd have to say in my 13 years living and working here, my view is that China is one of the most capitalist economies anywhere, with plenty of protectionist overtones. China also has underwritten much of America's debt, which in turn has partially/indirectly lead to the 'GFC' still being experienced in many parts of the world. Cost of living in China has also increased fourfold over recent years. It is still possible to liver cheaply here, as well as at the other end of the financial/economical spectrum, but doing so at the former likely increases ones exposure to a fairly toxic lifestyle.

It is indeed true that there are two manufacturing market sectors at work: the local market and that of and for export. Back a decade ago the two sectors were mutually exclusive, however the lines between the two have in more recent times become more blurred. However, just because something is manufactured here does not mean I can buy or find that item within the local market here.

There are likely literally millions of inferior poor quality products. However as with any market economy economics, there'd be no supply without demand. The shiet quality garments, sunglasses or what-have-you, flogged off at Caribbean beaches, nightspots, 1-2-3 dollar shops, flea markets, eBay and the like, are partially there, due to demand in one part and greed on the other, whether that be from the wholesaler, buyer, SME owner etc. Many local enterprises here work on very slim profit margins, very very slim indeed. Local labour laws have improved immensely over the past decade, and this has resulted in substantial cost increases for the majority of business models, hence why some manufacturers have moved out of China to other low labour cost destinations e.g. Vietnam, Cambodia et al. There are also a lot of other policy changes which have had both direct and indirect impact on local labour flows.

Locally made foreign branded tyres are available here, and they are not cheap. I grin and bear it - and all my local fleet (5 MC's and maxi scoots) currently run locally made Bridgestones, aside from Metzler Tourance (which interestingly are made in Germany) on my recently purchased '14 G650GS. No concerns whatsoever on any of the tyres quality.

YMMV

Wel you would say that being in the P R C.

I know I had problems with Chinese suppliers at work, i don't want to find out the hard way with tyres that the they don't give a shite about Quality with some suppliers.

Learn to produce quality products & then we will buy them.

 

[Donk]

I don't like the Tourance regardless of where its made. I have them on the Explorer and they ride terrible on the highway. The OEM Bridgestones on my S10 are far superior. Now I'm curious and have look closely as to where either brand is made.

 

[kingfisher]

As the OP, I thought that I would provide follow up on the tire. Quality was fine, but it was in need of replacement by 5000 miles. Longevity was one of the draws for the original tourance in reading about the tire, but it seemed to be about the same as the EXP that came on the bike. I've since gone to the Battlewings and see better mileage with them.

 

[ExTriumphExp]

I don't like the Tourance regardless of where its made. I have them on the Explorer and they ride terrible on the highway. The OEM Bridgestones on my S10 are far superior. Now I'm curious and have look closely as to where either brand is made.

Hi Donk.... Was that the Tourance Exp on your Tex (standard) or are you referring to the the original Mark 1 Tourance? Bye the way the new Tourance Next was a massive improvement on my Tex compared to the standard Tourance Exp`s

If your looking for a Tarmac Tyre try Avon Storm 3 D XM, there were a massive improvement over the Pirelli`s fitted as standard on the Tiger Sport, no more head shaking on the bends just stability & loads of confidence whilst cranking it over in the Alps this year. The other advantage with the Avons was that the further you cranked the bike over the bigger the contact patch became.

::003::