Want to tour by motorcycle? Then you’re going to want a tire with long life on the superslab, but still retain corner-carving performance as well.
Metzeler figures they’ve got the solution with the new “O” version of their new Roadtec Z8 Interact tire in 190/55 ZR 17 size, for heavy sport-touring bikes like BMW’s K1600s, Honda’s VFR1200 and the Triumph Trophy.
It’s supposed to have 30 per cent longer life than their previous “C” version of the tire. It’s a dual-compound tire, with 100 per cent silica content on the shoulders, and high silica content in the middle stripe. That’s supposed to reduce slip in general, but especially on wet surfaces – something you can’t avoid during serious touring.
Supposedly, Metzeler’s engineers worked hard to ensure these tires had plenty of chemical grip on the shoulders between 0 and 35 degree temperatures. The tires are supposed to be available by the end of the month.
Question: What sort of mileage do you get on the Avons? I’m looking for a good set of touring tires that will last on an R1200RT, yet still with good grip and feel.
Is that 0 to 35F?
I agree and went back to the Avon tires also,quite a difference in handling
I hope this incarnation of the Z8 works better than the ones that I just took off of my RT. The tires wore quickly and the bike never felt right for the whole time that they were on on. Heavy steering and poor wear characterized my experience with the Z8’s. I now have a set of Avon Storm 2’s on and it’s like a new bike.
I note that the new Z8’s use a dual compound tread whereas the previous version used differing tension in the belts (side versus centre) to achieve better wear in the centre strip. Maybe this is the source of the poor wear and handling of the original tires.