Metzeler Tires: Everything You Need To Know

An aggressive street tire developed with lessons learned from the ultimate street race of them all – the Isle of Man TT – the Sportec M9 RR is the worthy successor to the M7 RR. Developed to handle the ever-changing conditions of hardcore canyon riding, the M9 RR is Metzeler’s first supersport tire developed with a 100% silica compound. This is important because silica is a major component in a tire coming up to working temperature quickly and being effective, even when it’s wet or cold outside. In the past, the key shortcoming of high silica compounds was that they didn’t hold up well to high temperatures – like those generated at the track. This update is the result of Metzeler’s Compound Continuous Mixing, which blends the resins used with the silica so thoroughly that the final mixture is stable enough to withstand a significantly wider range of heat.

Metzeler Sportec M9 RR Tire Review

The M9 RR was developed specifically with the advanced electronics today’s motorcycles come equipped with. Both the front and rear M9 RRs receive dual-compound construction, with the center section being a harder, more wear-resistant one and the outer edges softer and grippier – though both are still full silica. Where the front soft compound goes all the way through to the tire’s carcass, the rear utilizes what Metzeler calls a “cap and base” construction, with the soft edge compound laid over the harder compound used for the center. This construction assists the rear tire’s side compounds in maintaining their thermal stability under loads caused by acceleration.

The tread design is an evolution of the M7’s, with the Pi design enhanced with the claw grooves that Metzeler says help the tire get up to temperature faster and also help with water evacuation. These are claims born straight from testing at the Isle of Man. The grooves remain until about 30º of lean angle, after which the tire is essentially a slick, giving maximum dry grip at high lean angles.

Building off the Roadtec 01, Metzeler’s top touring tire, the SE version has a bit of a performance edge, for sportier riders who predominantly tour in dry environments. Nonetheless, the Roadtec 01 SE has a higher land/sea ratio along the shoulder, giving you better grip at higher lean angles while still doing a good job moving water out of the way if needed. The sidewall construction is the same between both the standard and SE versions, so you get better communication with the road and more compliance on lighter motorcycles.

Metzeler Roadtec 01 Tire Review

There’s a lot of emphasis on making the Roadtec 01 stable and confidence inspiring in low grip situations and under braking. We’ll spare the tech talk that has gone into the tires, but from its construction to its tread design and layout, Metzeler focused on long-lasting touring performance with impressive grip to match. In fact, Metzeler claims up to 10% more mileage compared to its Roadtec Z8 – itself a worthy and respected sport-touring tire. The best part is, the Roadtec 01 SE’s performance was designed to remain consistent longer, so you can trust them even as the miles (and the wear) build up.

The latest cruiser tire from Metzeler, the Cruisetec leans more toward the performance cruiser side of the equation than most, with a pointier profile for quick handling and more rubber on the road when heeled over. Compared to traditional cruiser tires, the Cruisetec is more about grip than long wear (look at the ME88 if you care more about mileage). The rear is a dual-compound, though – harder rubber down the center for longevity and softer, chewy sides for great traction when blasting out of corners.

Greater performance is born from an all-new carcass design, so you have predictable handling, feedback, and cornering stability, even on today’s high-performance cruisers. The Cruisetecs come in a bunch of sizes, from 16- to 21 inches, to fit many members of the genus Cruiser.

Leaning heavily towards the pavement side of the adventure-touring segment, the Tourance tires are “developed and tuned for the big, modern, street-oriented Enduro motorcycles,” says Metzeler. Designed for 85% road use, these radial tires feature Metzeler’s 0º Steel Radial belt technology to help the tire deform at speed as little as possible. A thick groove depth combined with balanced carbon black and silica compounds have been used to guarantee a high level of mileage and durability together with great grip in both wet and dry conditions.

Thanks to its highly efficient mixing technology, Metzeler is able to combine silica, carbon black and the latest generation of resins and reinforcement agents to make a tire that comes to temp quickly in all conditions and provides great grip with minimal overheating issues. The large tread blocks are still able to lay down the power on the pavement, but when you do want to venture a little off-road, deep grooves between the blocks help the Tourance dig into light dirt adventures. Granted he was riding a BMW G310GS at the time, but MO’s resident dirt guy Ryan Adams was impressed with the Tourance’s ability to find traction even in muddy fire roads.

Scooters need good tires, too, and Metzeler has them covered with a wide range of rubber. The FeelFree scooter tire seen here is available in a wide range, including radial and bias ply. Overall, the FeelFree leans towards the sport-touring side of the scooter tire spectrum. The land/sea ratio draws a balance between wet and dry performance, but with a nod towards confidence when the road conditions go south. If you follow along with the Metzeler line, you might recognize the tread pattern as closely resembling that of the Z6 sport-touring tire. This isn’t a coincidence, as its well-rounded tread pattern is well suited for scooter duties.