Metzeler MEZ1 Tire Report
Michael Nelson
for my Ducati 851. Previously, I had run:
1) Michelin HiSport radials - these are the OEM tires... very
high on grip, very short life (1800 miles). Expensive. The
steering was far from neutral with the HiSports... the bike always
felt like it was falling over in turns, and lots of pressure on the
inside bar was required mid-turn. I didn't like 'em much.
2) Michelin A89/M89 radials - these have very strange contour
in cross-section. The rear is quite "flat" in the middle, with a
very sharp transition toward the edges leading to the edge of the
tread. In order to get the edge of the tread on the ground you'd
have to be scraping the mirrors. Cured some of the tendency toward
"falling into the corners", but the rear always felt "squirmy".
They also aren't particularly grippy... I used to break the rear
loose frequently on corner exits. Phenomenal mileage, though...
when I finally took them off at 5,000 miles due to my disgust with
their handling characteristics, they appeared to have another 2-3000
miles worth of tread remaining.
3) Dunlop SportMax GP radials - these tires finally started to
make the Duck feel good. They cured almost all of the "falling"
feeling in corners, although some bar pressure was still required
mid-turn. Excellent traction... these are race-compound tires, and
provide race-compound grip. Never once did I break them loose
cornering or on corner exits. They lasted about 4500 miles before
the front was "scalloped" enough that it felt unstable rolling into
corners and the rear was squared off enough that it felt funny too.
They are fairly low profile when new, and the rear has a somewhat
flat look to the center. All things considered, they are an
excellent match for the 851.
I decided to give the Metzeler MEZ1's a try after reading very
favorable reports in Performance Bikes' tire comparison test and
from racers on the race list. These are Metzeler's brand new
performance radial... aramid cord in the front, steel belt and
aramid cord in the rear. They look like hand cut slicks, with deep
wide grooves widely spaced and covering the whole width of the
tread. There are no straight grooves at all around the center of
the tire. Profile front and rear is very round in cross section...
Metzeler claims this is what provides the light steering and
progressive feel in transitions.
Laura Hardy advertised a couple of weeks ago that she had a set
in the size I needed for the 851 (120x70x17 and 180x55x17) that had
been used on their ZX-7 for one race day... $100 COD including
shipping. Since I've been tight on money lately and the Dunlops
were getting pretty worn, I decided to give them a try. The price
was certainly right, since locally the set would have cost me close
to $300 plus tax. These were the street compound, and Laura's
husband decided he wanted the race compound version for their
racer... that's why they were selling them.
The tires arrrived in about a week. Let's say they were "nicely
scrubbed in"... ;-) Scuffed REAL hard near the edges, but with
virtually 100% of the tread left in the middle 2/3rds of both front
and rear tires... in fact, it didn't look as if the middle of the
front tire had ever even rolled on pavement! I had 'em installed at
Scuderia West in SF for $40 (mount and spin balance) on Thursday
afternoon, but by the time I got 'em back on the bike it was too
late to give them a good test. I set the pressures at 32 psi front,
34 psi rear per Metzeler's recommendations.
Friday morning I got up and was greeted by a cold, foggy morning.
I waited until early afternoon for the conditions to clear up. The
overcast never broke, but the fog cleared. I suited up in my
leathers and longjohns to take a spin down to Alice's. It was a
great ride, and the tires performed REALLY well. The first thing I
noticed as I was heading down O'Shaunessy to highway 280 was that
these tires totally ignore the rain grooves that were so noticeable
with the Dunlops. The Dunlops have a center groove front and rear,
and I believe that groove "hunts", trying to follow the rain
grooves. Since the MEZ1's don't have a center groove at all, the
rain grooves have no affect on the bike.
The steering is very light, requiring less effort than any of the
previous tires to flick into turns. Once in the turn, the steering
is totally neutral... you set a lean angle and it just stays there,
with no pressure required on the inside bar, yet it still responds
quickly and easily to the slightest need to alter your line
mid-turn. The tires are very confidence-inspiring. The steering is
very accurate, allowing you to put the bike exactly where you want
it with little effort, at the same time providing a very high level
of stability.
I rode down 280 to 92, up 92 to Skyline, and then wicked it up.
The first section of Skyline (near Highway 92) that was repaved last
summer has always felt kind of strange to me with the previous tires
(including the Dunlops). In spite of the relatively new pavement,
many of the corners on that section are bumpy, and the 851 used to
shake its head somewhat mid-turn in the bumpy sections if I was
pushing it hard. The MEZ1's ate those sections up without a HINT of
headshake. Good sign!
Much of Skyline was still a bit foggy, and there were wet
sections from the dew dripping off the redwoods in many places...
also the dreaded piles of wet pine needles in the middle of the
lane, so I wasn't able to push it much on Skyline. I stopped at the
Skywood Store for a cup of coffee and checked the tire temperatures.
They felt good, so after the coffee I headed off down La Honda Road.
LHR was considerably drier than Skyline, so I gradually increased
speed as I headed down the road. The MEZ1's provided excellent grip
as I increased the pace, and I must admit that I was getting so
pumped that I was doing things I don't normally do, like passing
over a double yellow with the front wheel off the ground.... ;-)
Down in the farmland / high speed sweeper area of LHR (down by
the coast), the bike felt extremely planted at speeds of over 2X the
speed limit. I headed down Highway 1 to Pescadero Road, up
Pescadero, and back up LHR to Alice's, then home to SF.
Based upon this one day's testing, I'd HIGHLY recommend these
tires, especially for an 851. The steering on the 851 has always
required very firm inputs to get it to transition quickly, and that
effect is much reduced with the MEZ1's. They are also reputed to
provide better than average mileage... we'll have to wait a while
to see whether or not this is true. All in all, the bike feels
GREAT with these tires!
- Michael -
Michael Nelson 1992 Ducati 851
internet: nel...@seahunt.imat.com FAX: 1-415-621-2608
San Francisco, California Dod #0735
Bob Gorman
: A couple of days ago I got a set of the new Metzeler MEZ1 radials
: for my Ducati 851.
I am also running the MEZ1 on the font and the MEZ2 on the rear of
an R1100. Previous tires were 89Xs. I liked the 89Xs because I was getting
great mileage, 10,000+, but I flatted and decided to replace them. I went
to Road Rider in San Jose, fully intending to purchase another set of
Michelins. Mike, at Road Rider, highly recommended the Metzlers. So what
the heck I gave them a try. I've had this BIG smile on my face ever since.
The R1100 feels 100lbs lighter. Corners that required lots of bar pressure
I now stear with my knee against the tank only. I still haven't come close to
feeling that I'm near the limit where with the 89Xs I * felt * like I was
really pushing it. And best of all, they're cheaper than the Michelins,
$97 for the 120/70x17 and $108 for 160/60x18.
The only difference between Michael and me is that I'm running 38
front and 40 psi rear. As far as I know Metzler only recommends max pressure
and that is 42psi. Road Rider recommended the 38/40. Where did Michael
get his recommendations? I only have 500 miles on mine so it's too early
to verify wear patterns but temperature seems ok.
I second his opinion. The MEZs are GREEEEEEAAAAAAAT.
--
___________________________________________________________________
Bob Gorman, Voice: 510.568.8338 | Baxter/Novacor
Fax: 510.932.6481 | Oakland, CA.
Michael Nelson
>Michael Nelson (nel...@seahunt.imat.com) wrote:
>
> I am also running the MEZ1 on the font and the MEZ2 on the rear of
>an R1100. Previous tires were 89Xs. I liked the 89Xs because I was getting
>great mileage, 10,000+, but I flatted and decided to replace them. I went
>to Road Rider in San Jose, fully intending to purchase another set of
>Michelins. Mike, at Road Rider, highly recommended the Metzlers. So what
>the heck I gave them a try. I've had this BIG smile on my face ever since.
>The R1100 feels 100lbs lighter. Corners that required lots of bar pressure
>I now stear with my knee against the tank only. I still haven't come close to
>feeling that I'm near the limit where with the 89Xs I * felt * like I was
>really pushing it. And best of all, they're cheaper than the Michelins,
>$97 for the 120/70x17 and $108 for 160/60x18.
Yes, the light, positive steering feel was one of the first, most
noticea
>
> The only difference between Michael and me is that I'm running 38
>front and 40 psi rear. As far as I know Metzler only recommends max pressure
>and that is 42psi. Road Rider recommended the 38/40. Where did Michael
>get his recommendations?
I talked to Darren @ Metzeler (800) 722-3336, and they were his
recommendations. He seems to be the guy the racers talk to. He
recommended 30-36 lbs. We discussed it, and for high performance street
riding he thought 32f 34r would be about right. For racing, you'd drop the
pressures a bit, but not less than 30 lbs. Mind you, the 851 is a lighter
bike than your Bimmer, too. You might check with Darren and get his input,
or leave 'em the way they are if they please you now.
I only have 500 miles on mine so it's too early
>to verify wear patterns but temperature seems ok.
>
> I second his opinion. The MEZs are GREEEEEEAAAAAAAT.
>--
>___________________________________________________________________
>Bob Gorman, Voice: 510.568.8338 | Baxter/Novacor
> Fax: 510.932.6481 | Oakland, CA.
>
Paul Thompson
Michael Nelson <nel...@seahunt.imat.com> wrote:
> A couple of days ago I got a set of the new Metzeler MEZ1 radials
>for my Ducati 851. Previously, I had run:
I've been running the Metzler radials for the better part of a
year, and they're wearing like iron! I've done CLASS twice as
well as ridden on the street - something I couldn't even begin
to do with the Sportmax's I used to use. Here's the report I
posted after my first track session last May:
-------------- Begin Enclosed Text ----------------
I just got back from the racetrack, so as promised I'm reporting on how
the Metzler radials work versus Dunlop Sportmax's. I'm riding a
CBR600F2, and I had been using the Sportmax's with the GP (race)
compound in front and the street compound in the rear. I found that I
got rather poor wear on the front especially - after one track session
the tread was half gone in some places and the curvature of the tire
actually reversed near the edges, making the handling feel strange. I
decided to try the Metzlers because of their reputation for long life
and good grip. I got the Comp-K compound for both tires (somewhere
between normal street and race compound) The front was the recommended
120/60, but I went with a lower profile rear: 170/60 versus 160/60, as
I knew some racers do this. I belive they also run a 120/70 in the
front, but this requires modification of the fender. I found that I
was getting to the very edge of the front tire, but still had a full
half inch at the edges of the rear. Handling felt very neutral, with
very little tendency to stand up under braking. Steering felt a bit
heavy - this didn't present a problem at Laguna Seca, but it might be
more significant at a twistier track, like Sears Point. Sliding, both
under braking and from cornering, seemed predictable (as were the
Sportmax's) And finally, as to my lap times, I managed to better my
previous best recorded time by 4 seconds (for a 1:53). Part of this can be
attributed to a gearing change and learning the track better (I've
ridden it about half a dozen times) Nevertheless I think these tires
are on fairly equal footing. (I'm several seconds off a race pace,
though, so YMMV!) Finally, the best news is that after a day of riding
on the track my tires still look great! Lots of tread left and the
shape is intact. And riding back from the track in the pouring rain
made me glad I had the Metzler tread pattern over the Sportmax's!
-------------- End Enclosed Text ------------------
--
Paul Thompson Apple Computer
Jon Kadis
: In article <CLuH4...@myrddin.imat.com>,
: Michael Nelson <nel...@seahunt.imat.com> wrote:
: > A couple of days ago I got a set of the new Metzeler MEZ1 radials
: >for my Ducati 851. Previously, I had run:
: I've been running the Metzler radials for the better part of a
: year, and they're wearing like iron! I've done CLASS twice as
: well as ridden on the street - something I couldn't even begin
: to do with the Sportmax's I used to use. Here's the report I
: posted after my first track session last May:
OK, so here is the next question:
Has anyone switched to the MEZ1s from the ME33/ME55 combination
on their FJ1200. I've been really happy with the ME33/ME55
but I'm willing to switch if its worth it.
-Jon
I don't want a pickle, Jon Kadis
Just want to ride on my motorsickle. ka...@ritz.mordor.com
'89 FJ1200
-Arlo Guthrie DoD #1119