I have blamed Triumph, as have many other Rocket riders, for selecting Metzler for it's stock tire when much better options were available, especially for the Touring.
Steve, great story. I'll have to drop by that shop in Missoula for a cup of coffee next time I'm out that way. And I dearly hope I'll be doing that.
Recall the Packwood Triumph gathering years ago when you, your brother Dan and I first met? A guy I rode in with who had a Touring (can't recall his name) had something similar happen to him. He lived along SR14 on the Columbia River. He set out on a not too long Washington ride and his rear tire, with only about 9K and looking in decent shape, did the same thing. All of a sudden he had chords showing. With no motorcycle dealership within about 100 miles, he pulled into a tire store and they helped him remove the rear wheel and took him to the Dark Side. He loved it. Thinking about that gathering made me recall another friend who was with me and that you met, John Wilmoth. His screen name was Native One on the other Rocket forum. He was a Cherokee Indian and a great guy who had ridden out from Texas for the Packwood event. John died of lung cancer about 2 years ago, within 6 months of retiring as the head of Probation in San Angelo and six other surrounding judicial districts. What a great guy and a fine friend. But I sometimes wallow in my good memories.
My gripe with the Metz is that it goes from OK to self destruct in very short order whereas a tire like a EMax with the same tread depth might get another 1500 miles. It is one of the reasons why I quit running Metzler Tourances on my BMW GS and will not put them on my BMW R1200C when I wear out the current ones.