richarddacat
Well-Known Member
I posted this on ADVRider and for those who don’t parley over there this is FYI.
I have since found out that this seam may be a silica strip, or known as a “earthing strip”. If so, why wouldnt Michelin recognize it as such??
Anyway;
I personally mounted Anankee 3's on my SuperTenere about 6500 miles ago. Around 2000 miles I noticed on the front tire a dark line running all the way around the tire. I've been keeping an eye on this and thought it might be a color streak or at worst a seam.
I have since found out that this seam may be a silica strip, or known as a “earthing strip”. If so, why wouldnt Michelin recognize it as such??
Anyway;
I personally mounted Anankee 3's on my SuperTenere about 6500 miles ago. Around 2000 miles I noticed on the front tire a dark line running all the way around the tire. I've been keeping an eye on this and thought it might be a color streak or at worst a seam.
4000 miles later the rear tire is showing the same seam and I can feel the "seam", there is a slight edge at this seam and more apparent on the front tire. I'm not exactly sure what it is but I've never seen this type of defect on a tire before. I don't see any separation...yet.
Seeing and feeling this I contacted Michelin and voiced my concerns. They replied with instructions to contact my dealer or web retailer where I bought the tires. They were polite and gave me a case number.
I bought my tires from Revilla and contacted them, as mentioned above I mounted the tires, and gave them the same spill I gave Michelin. They responded quickly and immediately started a warranty claim by sending me a questionnaire to fill out. I sent my information along with pictures. I would think they/either party would want a dealer to verify and visually inspect the tire but not so.
Today I got a response back from Revzilla, I've heard nothing else from Michelin.
Their reply;
"I recently heard back from our Michelin contact and unfortunately, the Michelin Anakee 3 Tires would not be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty because the manufacturer's warranty is voided if the tires are not installed by a professional shop. Additionally, they did want to note that they've seen that issue present if something on the bike is rubbing up against the tires, and they suggested that you check your clearance on both tires. I apologize for any inconvenience.
As an alternative, I would be happy to offer you a 20% discount on a new set of tires as a one-time courtesy.
Well the 20% offer was nice and handling the claim was excellent but I'm disappointed with Michelin. I expected that once they got the claim from Revzilla they might contact me again and maybe have a dealer do an inspection, no, they think something has been rubbing on my tires for 4000 miles.
So this is my first experience with a warranty claim over a tire concern with a huge manufacture and thought I'd share it knowing that thousands of riders mount their own tires.