10th-12th September. Lucerne, Switzerland, to Munich, Germany.
Metzeler had very kindly invited me along to take part in a really quite challenging tyre test, covering a total of four countries, on a variety of roads through the Dolomite mountains, riding various machines fitted with their Roadtec Z6 Interact, Tourance and also the recently introduced Tourance EXP rubber.
This was by no means a sports tyre test, to see who could finish the course quickest, but an opportunity to find out how these tyres perform in real world situations, similar to a touring holiday, where the rider may be on a bike for hours at a time – which we were !
I first chose Honda’s very capable VFR800 Vtec, shod with Roadtec Z6 Interact, and we soon wound our way out from the hotel heading south for Italy. Immediately, I noticed how composed the tyre was, soaking up the differing road surfaces and allowing my arms an easy time of it. As speeds increased and the roads got twistier, the machine and tyres came into their own and the ability to put the bike on its ear through tight bends made me feel like I was on a 400cc pocket rocket. Only a slight push on the bars was required to lay the bike over, and even with my usual over-baking style into hairpins, the tyres brushed everything off without a care. I stayed on the bike for around 150km’s, which included some pretty fast stretches of road connecting the twisty bits, so I had a good chance to see what the bike/tyre combination was like at speed, and it passed with flying colours.
Our group had been told that this was going to be the longer day of the two, with the threat or promise of around 450Km’s to get us to the checkpoint hotel somewhere in Italy, so there was plenty of scope for trying a range of bikes suitable for the three Metzeler tyre models under test. Perhaps a little foolishly I next opted for a BMW R1200GS Adventurer, only finding out later (when I got on it!) that it has a much higher riding position than the regular R1200GS, so despite being nearly six feet tall, I struggled to touch the ground at rest. Still, once on the move, the height of the bike wasn’t an issue, but it’s a “lot of motorcycle” and, being fitted with a complete range of luggage, it did feel a little lardy to begin with. It was fitted with Tourance EXP, which I hadn’t tried before so this was an all round new experience. The machine is mightily impressive – which is reflected in it’s current sales figures and, big as it was, once I got moving it didn’t seem so tall. I did find that the front end felt a little nervous at low speeds, which perhaps was down to the ‘top-heavy’ nature of the machine in this trim, but, as we cracked on a bit, it was less of a problem.
The route started to become more mountainous and the road conditions changed, as did the temperature, so I knew this would be a good test for the BMW’s trail type boots, and I was stunned at the pace that could be achieved with these tyres. Sure, there are a lot faster guys out there than me, and I was acutely aware that on some sections I was going faster than my brain wanted to, but all the time the tyres stayed stuck to the road and pulled me round every switch-back bend on this typically Swiss route. Speeding down through the extreme north of Italy, it started to rain and the temperature was probably not much more than 12 degrees C (just like our UK summer really). I had changed bike again, now on Kawasaki’s ER6F, again fitted with Metzeler Roadtec Z6 Interact. I wanted to see if a smaller capacity bike with less weight would be able to get the tyres working and I’m pleased to say that the Kawasaki was a joy to ride. I even forgot it was wet, and just ploughed on in futile pursuit of the tour guide, who was far too swift to be caught !
The tyres cleared the water so well, and gave me the ability to brake so late, that I’m convinced this really would make an excellent tyre choice for anyone planning a continental riding holiday. We finally arrived in Italy at 8:15 pm, and after being in the saddle for nearly 10 hours, I was a little stiff, but content that I had used the Metzelers in pretty much every type of situation on the road, even being 2000 metres high at one point.We all slept well that night.
The second day of the trip would see us cross into Austria, and I selected BMW’s F650GS, fitted with regular Tourance tyres. I’ve had a bit of experience riding this bike on a previous tyre launch, and it’s still as good as I remember – perfectly composed, extremely usable, and very forgiving, particularly for a ham-fisted pilot like myself. These tyres need no introduction really, they’ve been top selling Adventure/Sport rubber for goodness knows how many years, and they show no signs of letting up. They just perform, simple as that and they never let me down… even at a staggering 2509 metres up in the clouds, where visibility was extremely poor due to fog - you just point, twist and go. Beautiful !
It’s a testament to the tyres that on the whole of this arduous trip not one rider went down, which tells you something about the level of technology built in to these Metzeler products. I only had one single “moment” in 800 km’s of riding, when a bit of over exuberance on the gas caused a rear end slide, and that was it.
I feel like I have done a biking holiday marathon, and so I can say with complete confidence that all the tyres Metzeler provided would make excellent choices for a rider seeking a stable, grippy tyre that more than does the business, whatever the road and weather conditions.
Thanks to Metzeler for a terrific experience, and my fellow “Experts On The Road” for their superb company.
Adam Rous. September 2008.
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