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Hoops, hides, skins or just plain tires. Tire reviews and experinces

173K views 589 replies 150 participants last post by  turboLT 
#1 ·
Had to break down and get a new set yesterday and went with the Metz Z6's. Heard good things about them so thought I'd give them a try. Will let you know how things go. So far just the long way home from the dealer initial impressions are. These are comparing to the BT57's.

Only have 15 miles so far and not scuffed in but turn in seems a bit harder but once in is stable and stays to a line. Where the old would fall in and I'd have to counter-counter steer to hold the same line in the same corner.

Doesn't seem to "track" or follow road imperfections.

Today they will get their wet test.

Don
 
#2 ·
Was able to put in 100 miles today all in the rain. I was able to only put on about 15 miles the day I got them in the dry so still don't have them scrubbed in properly.

So far I am pretty impressed especially in the wet. I took one of my favorite 25mph posted 90' turns at 50 in the rain which was normal for the old BT57's in the dry. No wiggles, drama they just stuck.

Very smooth running and as I said earlier they doesn't seem to track pavement imperfections but stay on course.

I'm getting used to the turn in and find it not bad just different. (rounded profile as was mentioned earlier.) But the nice thing is that Instead of having to stop the lean with these you just go to the angle and it stops where you want it to and holds that. Or you can change if you need or want, no fuss.

I was very interested in the wet handling since in Oregon if you don't ride in the rain you don't ride and I didn't want a tire that would curtail my fun. I think so far these will do fine.

Don
 
#3 ·
I had the Z6's on a BMW. They were great in the wet. I rode in some nasty midwest thunder storms with them and never had a problem. I'll probably go with them when my BT57's wear out. I agree with your observation on the way they take to a corner. Pick an angle, pick a line and they just do it.

The BT57's just feel weird. Sometimes I think they're doing more of the driving than I am.
 
#4 ·
Another update. So far I've put in about 400 miles on the hides and have them pretty well scrubbed in side to side.

The wet grip is great. Not only in the pouring down rain but also in the nether world of fog and mist where the pavement is damp both in lean and straight up.

In the dry in some rougher corners where the BT57's would have some trouble even fairly fresh such as front chatter and walking and the rear stepping out or just plain drifting. The Z6's exhibited none of these problems or tendencies and just stuck to the game plan.

The slow and fast corners where the pavement is good and smooth are no brainers.

I'm liking these because unlike the BT57's where I would have to accommodate myself to the tires the Z6's seem more than willing to accommodate themselves to me.
I have a tendency to push the front and I'm also finding that the front tire is doing a good job of talking to me and so far it hasn't been complaining.

I'm running 36 / 38 psi Ft/Rear. So far this has been working out fine but will juggle the pressures a bit to experiment.

Don
 
#5 ·
In this months UK Ride mag there is a whole section devoted to a rider survey, amongst the test was a tyre survey by members of the public (not riding press) The following results may be of interest.

BT020 9 place out of 50 different tyres
Avon Azaro ST 11/50
BT 57 28/50
Michelin MAc 100 39/50
Mezt 3 42/50
Mezt 4 46/50

The z6 are not mentioned, I assume that they are too new.
I'm pleased with my BT 020 alot smoother in the bends and warm up quickly.
 
#7 ·
Another little update. Haven't been able to ride lately so only about 500 total miles so far.

Lately we've gotten into the start of our wet season so have been able to see the wet, dry, wet transitions in corners. Very good. One corner was a 35 mph advisory. Went X2+5 starting in the dry and in the blind went through a wet area for about 40 yards and back into the dry.

The wet handling was very important to me and I can say that they have been exceeding my expectations by a wide margin.

Dry is very sticky for a touring tire also.

Corners and curves you pick a speed, line and angle and the bike just goes there. Want or need to change your line, just look where you want to go. They track pretty accurately.

I'm glad I got them

Don
 
#8 ·
I've put a set of the Continental Road Attacks on mine. With almost 6k miles on the back and almost 3k on the front. I like them so far. I like them better than the BT57s. And I really didn't have any complaints about the BT57s except for the way the cupped.

General comments:

They haven't cupped like the BT57s did. They have done well in the rain. They grip well in the corners. The front is better planted with the Road Attack than it is with the BT57. I guess my only complaint is if you are in a corner and use the front brake, the bike likes to stand up. However, it doesn't stand up when I trail brake. They have worn pretty good so far. No cupping that I can tell. I still have a good amount of tread left. I imagine I'll get about the same mileage out of them as I did my BT57s of which I got 8.5k (tread bars were just starting to show) off of the rear and 11.5k off of the front. However, the front still had some tread left. But it was cupped pretty badly.

I can't compare them against anything else except for the BT57s.

FWIW and YMMV

Tom

'01 Red ST
 
#9 ·
I know have 7k on my rear continental road attack. It is a sticky tire. When ever I stop and touch the tire, its warm and has that sticky feel to it. Still have a bit of rubber left. No wear bars yet. Though when I checked the tire depth about 1k miles ago, I had used up about 1/2 the tread depth. It looks like I should be able to get 8.5k out of the rear like I did the BT57.

The tires still ride real nice and I don't have any compliants, except I need more twisties as they have flattened out a little in the back :(

I've run them here in the DC area over the last few months, in all sorts of weather (hot, cold, wet) and I don't have any complaints.

A caveat is that I can only compare them against the BT57s. They feel more stable and haven't deveoped that cupped whining noise I got with the BT57s.
 
#10 ·
I haven't had a whole bunch of mile lately but what they have been has been all wet.

My feeling on the Z6's is still the same. These are very confidence inspiring wet or dry. There may be others that are stickyer in the dry but These are no slouches and I haven't heard of any better in the wet.

Also being a more rounded profile you just set your speed and angle in the corners with very little to no corrections or falling or out.

Don
 
#11 ·
I ride a Sprint 900 and have a Z6 set with 6,000 miles on them. I would rate them as the best I've had on the bike which includes B'stones, Contis and Avons. I have yet to own a set that has gone more than 6,200 miles on the rear (the Avon 35/36) but the Z6 still has plenty of tread at 6k. This is also the first set that hasn't cupped the front. I'll probably buy them again. Regarding the Z6, has anyone noticed that the rear seem smaller for it's size that other brand tires of the same size?
 
#12 ·
I'm on my second front and third rear of the Z6. Love 'em. I was running Pilot Sports for two sets and they held great but wore to quickly. 1800 miles on the rear is way to expensive for me. I'm getting about 5k out of the rear Z6 now. I put a pair on my R1 street wheel set. I went with the 190 rear and hate the feeling. I should have stuck with the 180. I ride with a group of guys and most of them have made the switch to the Z6 and have liked the tire. BTW, we ride all year round on all kinds of roads and these tire do the job well. YMMV
 
#13 ·
Here is another one to add to the list.

New Avon VIPER SPORTS tyre.

Testers very impressed in British top selling "Superbike" mag pages 102 to 104.

Apparently a deal of R&D has ben done to compete with the big guns like Michelins Pilot Powers and Pirelli's Diablo

Quote:

"A back to back test with Avon's rivals will hold the truth but, and this is one of the biggest claims I've ever made as a tester of bikes or tyres, on bikes like the CBR600RR on this track, on this day, these tyres seem un-crashable.
Seriously, I'd have to do something monumantally far up the Dowdsian scale to slide off these chappies." etc.

Anyone got these things on or tried them yet?

Cheers
daveM :cool:
 
#15 ·
Michelin Pilot Power's
I have just scrubbed in my new set of tyres and today had a good high speed run through some local twisty mountain roads.

I am very impressed with these tyres, very responsive, superior grip, and excellent handling, quick steering with a great deal of feed back.

These tyres improve the bikes performance by a great margin.

A very immpressive tyre. It is the best tyre I have ever ridden on to date by far.

I will keep this thread posted with how I go for mileage on the Pilot Powers.

davem

:cool:
 
#17 ·
Metzler Z6

I have about 200 miles on them and have absolutely no complaints...except for the tread design.

That is, It's not the most popular looking tread for Sporting around with the GSXR's, but these GSXR's remain impressed that they can't shake me very easiy either. These Tires grab quite nicely, even prior to warming-up. Next time I might try the 190's as it was easy to remove all the chicken strips from the 180's.

So far, I rate the Z6's an 8.5 out of 10

Need more miles before giving a higher score.
 
#18 ·
I'm going to need new rubber on my 00RS within a week or two...

Didn't like the BT57's (front felt like tucking under/skipping when cornering hard) that were on originally.

Since then I've run Pirelli GT(S??) which have been decent for mileage, and nice and stable. Also got a great deal on those.

Now I'm probably looking to go for Pirelli GTS again, though BT020's and Michelin Pilot Raod are also being considered. In addition some garages are doing decent deals on Dunlop 220's.

From earlier threads, Pilot Road and 020's seem to get good (but not raving) reviews.

Does anyone have any further advice regarding my options here??

I mainly commute these days, so need mileage. Also, the sportier tires are unlikely to reach decent working temperature in Norwegian climate and speed limits. :???:
 
#19 ·
My RS came stock with the 020's. I got great mileage out of them but after switching to the Avon 45/46 on the recommendation of 1fastcat I would never even consider the 020's in the running anymore. The Avon's transformed the handling of the bike as to be close to amazing. Turn in was dramatic to say the least. I know I ride the bike harder because now I can. The 020 front tire had severe cupping at less than 40% wear. The Avon's now have 7000mi on them and I see no sign of cupping and the rear is just showing a flatter profile now, but the handling seems unaffected. I am sold on the Avon's and recommend them highly! Great mileage, but the change in handling is just so dramatic as I can't explain it. The other tire that many seem to like is the Metzler Z6 but I have not personally used it. I will no doubt get 10,000 out of these Avon's and might consider the Z6, but with this kind of success it will be hard to change now. The Avon rear looks to be wider than the listed size as a bonus.....looks great back there!
 
#20 ·
Hi AAA,

Pilot Roads give good wet grip and good wear. I'm on my third rear and happily recommend them.

Have run BT57s, Sportmax 220s and Pilot Powers on my last two bikes. Would have stayed with the Powers like a shot but the rear was almost worn out at 3500k before picking up a nail.

I ride hard; mainly high speed twisties on less-than-perfect roads. Cold weather too, but our cold ain't so bad as your cold I'd guess ;-}
 
#21 ·
Well, all this tyre talk is getting meaningful as time approaches for a new set.
My 020's have 11,600 kms (7,200 miles) on them and I'm off to Adelaide (3,000 kms round trip) in under two weeks time.
I have 2-3mm of tread left on the centres so it'll be line ball getting home on them. I don't want to waste new tyres on a mainly straight roads trip. So I should see 14,500 (9,000 miles) but I'll be cautious.
The front 020's hasn't filled me with inspiration lately....I think the front may have developed a slight pogo action (i can feel different heights as I run my hand along the sides of the tread pattern), just enough to make me not want to push to the tyre edge with full confidence, so to finish them off on a slab road is possibly the best way to go.

Maybe Pilot Powers when I come home.

Can the Aussies update please since it's likely you ride on similar road surfaces in similar weather conditions.
Thanks fellas
 
#22 ·
Not an Aussie, but might be able to put you at ease a bit on the 020's. My bike came standard with them and if you don't try to burn the tires off these bikes you should get enough mileage for your trip. I changed mine at 10,450mi. The rear was maybe 1mm from the wear bars, but the front was just hitting them but also suffered the condition you complained about. They do wear well, but I would never run them again as they just don't let the bike handle like other brands. They steer like a truck compared to the Avon's I put on which also wear very well. YMMV
 
#23 ·
Thanks Stlakid, California is probably close to Sydney conditions wise, certainly as far as temperatures go.

I had one of these with 020's
http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/427300/

and although the rear was toast, the front that came off at 9,200 miles had as much tread as the Sprint does now at 7,200 miles even though the bike is 30 kgs heavier.
Maybe 2001 model 020's were harder compound, maybe it was the fact that I sat more upright on the Suzi.

Don't remember the "pogo" thing though. I corner harder on the Sprint I guess. Another consideration is that an unscreened bike may lift more at the front due to the wind effect on the rider in effect changing the front/rear bias when cruising around 120 (75mph).<A HREF="http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/427300/
" TARGET="_blank">null</A>

[ This message was edited by: stevecro on 2005-10-27 07:13 ]
 
#24 ·
Just repaced my Metz Z6.

Front lasted 12k and was round when I took it off.

The first rear lasted 5.5K and had some life left in it, but I needed to change it in the middle of my WI/CA road trip. The 2nd rear lasted 6.5K and still has about 1K left in it (I am keeping it for a spare).

I am really happy with these tires. They gave great grip thru agressive riding out to CA and back to WI (7K miles) and they stuck like glue in the rain.

I got the "b" tire in the back. This was designed for heavier bikes and bike with higher HP. The "b" tire has a stiffer sidewall. Since I am *ahem* larger, I figured it wouldn't hurt. I didn't notice any difference in the tires (normal to "b"). I would still get the b if that is what the only thing that was offered.

I am tossing on another set of Z6's...I will keep using them for awhile.

The ST has been running great...14K miles since 4/15/05!

Later.
 
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