I am looking to ditch the Z4's that were on the VFR when I bought it. I really liked the M1's on my VTR but have heard some here and on S-T.N complain they wore too quickly.
Has anyone tried an M1/Z6 combo?
The thing I liked best about the M1's was the neutral handling. Turned in quick but no falling in, I could changed lines easily while leaned over, wouldn't stand up under braking. I loved the handling.
So I am curious if I can get similar handling characteristics while taking advantage of the Z6's longer life.
Supposedly, the Z-6 rear is designed to work in concert with the Z-6 front as the rear has a wide strip of rubber in the center without any voids.
As I read elsewhere, the poop from Metzeler is that the Z-6 front tread pattern ploughs a trough thru rainwater for the rear to pass cleanly through without hydroplaning.
You'll now ask me, "Well, why won't the front M-1 Sportec do the same dang thing?"
Answer: I don't know! :joystick:
So ask a Metzeler tire engineer and he'll probably tell you more than I can. Please post back here for us all to oooh and ahhh over their most wise reply.
Just replaced my REAR SPORTEC, M1, with a ROADTEC, Z6, while keeping the FRONT SPORTEC in place. Only 300 km DRY experience so far.
The Z6 ROADTEC rear clearly presumes that the front tire, whatever it be, has ejected a significant portion, if not all, of the surface water. I am confident the M1 front will do so. Certainty will come after the first good wet ride. Will advise.
One noteworthy difference ... the ROADTEC does NOT warm up as fast as the SPORTEC. Perhaps its still too new, but a buddy of mine made this observation and caution as well. He rides a TL1000 and put the Z6 on last Fall. As a TL1000 rider :goofy: , he *knows* of warm :wheel: vs. not warm :pissed: .
HONDA put MEZ4's on the VFR from the factory. Good tire but the SPORTEC's were FANTASTIC! However, I got 24,000 km on the MEZ4's and only 12,000 km on the SPORTEC (rear). The front's were fine. The ROADTEC should be the better/best of the MEZ4's milage and SPORTEC's handling.
C$189.00, 180/70 rear, is the best price I found in Toronto area. Taxes & installation extra.
That's exactly the setup that I have on mine - not by design, I just haven't gotten around to replacing the M1 front quite yet (there's still plenty of tread). My M1 rear was shot near the end of the season last year so I got a Z6 - I wanted more mileage out of a tire. My M1 front does have a "fall-in ridge" forming on it pretty badly now, so I won't be on it much longer. It's driving me a little crazy at low speeds. I don't think it's been a bad setup. I was just worried that such a setup might speed the wear on one tire or the other.
Word is that you'll want to keep the pairing - the "land/sea" ratio of the Z6's are designed to work in concert with each other - meaning the front is designed to clear H20 moreso than the Sportec will. And the /performance mileage quotient comes into play too - as the Z6's are a harder compound than the Z1's you'll be facing unven warm-up times and wear.
MHO - pair them together and feel the force - it's a fantastic tire combo for the VFR. I'm almost through my 2nd pair and will replace them yet again with the same.
I have never been comfortable with the idea of having different tires front to rear. I know that the Bridgestone BT010/20 combination was popular for a while with many on this forum.
I think it is best to match the front and rear tires for balanced and predictable handling. Just my humble opinion. ;)
melvis, Apr 11 2005, 07:16 AM MHO - pair them together and feel the force - it's a fantastic tire combo for the VFR. I'm almost through my 2nd pair and will replace them yet again with the same.
I have this combination and have always been a big fan of Metzeler (from my Interceptor 500 days), though ran Dunlops on my 93.
There is a bit of fall-in i get when aggressive at lower speeds- trying to figure out where that's coming from. I do lots of freeway riding so it could just be the chicken strips causing uneven handling. The M1 front is not long for this world, but still has decent tread left.
I've also ridden in a fair amount of rain (mostly all freeway speeds) in this wet spring we've been having in the SF Bay Area, and must admit my surprise at how well the bike stayed planted- even while I was creating a wake big enough to hit the car in the next lane over! The rear Z6 never seemeed phased by the fact that the front tire (M1) wasn't draining enough water for it.
My 2 cents...
-v
End of thread · 9 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 7 May 2005
