Hi Guys I'm looking for help advice/real experience/pointers for metzeler tyres for my 848. I'm down to ether Z8 interact or sportec M5, I would like great grip/handling and longevity, Its my first Ducati bought in may and love it, Came off Honda's, been riding since my 20's. The idea of the Ducati is I love Italian bikes (own and been riding Lambretta's all my life as well as bikes) and to enjoy m commute which is 32 miles each way, mixture of motorway but mainly country roads, lots of twisty winding but poorly maintained mostly in deep Somerset, Bridgwater to Castle carry if any one knows it. I like my tyres to last at least 4 plus ideally 5 plus and have great grip as it is a rubbish road and comfortable as can be. Its on Dunlop Qualifier 2's, they were was allegedly new, rear has less than 1 mm in the centre and 3mm edge, done less than 1600 miles. I'm usually enthusiastic when permitted. Looking at doing 6k a year maybe more. I know there stuff out there and I apologise if its been covered but I cant find much actual experience. I'm not tight but 2 sets of tyres is too much having a family and a fleet of other cars to keep. Thanks for any help advice Cheers Mark
I have been running Z8s on my 748 for the last 5 years or so (6k miles and counting on the second set), best tyre I have fitted to any bike since the late 70s and that includes a number of highly regarded sport tyres from Dunlop, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Metzeller and Michelin. Wet and dry grip is better than me and better than cold sports tyres in all conditions. Wear to over 7.5k miles from a rear, slightly less on the front but only due to a slight loss of feel in the wet. They are to be replaced by Metz 01s and I will probably try those next (or maybe M7rrs depending how those perform on my 999 this spring). My own commute is 17 miles through a mixture of urban and fast rural roads although I avoid using the bike in the wet it does happen throughout the year, usually clock 2.5-4.5k miles per year. First rule on reading bike tyre reviews is to ignore them unless they give you a full life cycle review. Many of the reviews on here will only tell you how great they are when new, you only find out how good a tyre is once you have worn them out and driven through a variety of road conditions at various degrees of wear. Also it will take a while to get used to or find the best pressures to suit your bike, reviewers rarely disclose their operating pressures which may be very different to the optimum setting for a specific tyre. Ducatis tend to have a narrow optimum range. IME the pressures recommended by the bike manufacturer are good starting point but some tyres need to be run 2-3 psi higher to make them work properly. On the 748 the Ducati road use recommendation is spot on for all the tyres I have used, with an error on the front of as little as +/-0.5 psi around 32psi for its optimum setting.
El Toro I posted in 848 as its an 848 and specific to my bike, not aBigger sports, multi or scrambler, I would like true representation not armchair advise or manufacturer read schpeel. Thanks Denzil this is exactly what I'm after thanks very much, hard pill to swallow wasting strong money on anything cheers mark
Hi Mark Z8's will be the most resistant to squaring off on the motorway, great wet grip in the wet, good grip in the dry, handling response is slowed down by it being designed as a sports touring tyre, and definitely slower turning than you Dunlop qualies M5's are now gone and the M7rr is the replacement, m5 stock is cheap but you may not be able to match one up down the line if you get a punture, the M7rr's are great wet and dry grip, design for the people that enjoy riding, they give very good mileage for a sports tyres and i would expect you to get close to 4k whilst keeping the bike light and nimble, how it should be, i live Burnham on Sea so know the roads your on about, if your more leant against the mileage aspect whilst compromising on slower handling then go for Z8's, if you want to keep the nimble handling and more confidence when giving more of a handful in wet and dry conditions go for the M7rr's but expect 4k, if you want to pop over and have a look at a few and have a chat give me a shout, i have run Z8's and M7's on my 749s cheers Andy
