Opinions on Metzler Z8 Road/tour

[MD]

Well the unusual wheel sizes of the Husqvarna 701 have caught me out- 18" front 17" rear and both narrow. Seems I can't fit my trusty Michelin Pilot Powers or Conti sport attacks. It has a 110/80x18 front. came with some Pirelli block tyres that didn't let me down in hard cornering but wore out way too quick. Right or wrong I love high corner entry speed and carrying as much lean as possible. For many years I have vowed to avoid Bridgestones, that I reckon dump riders without warning for no reason. Seen it happen right in front of with top riders doing nothing wrong. Sadly my perception of Brigdestones as dangerous was right. Bastards dumped me into the armco last weekend. The corner I came off was clean and dry and although my speed was up there it was nothing beyond the previous 20,000 corners I'd taken with vigor and without drama. My first 'off' in 16 years. More annoying was I was just starting to roll into the lean when the front washed out on me and I don't consider the front to have been under any extreme pressure. Hadn't reached the apex.

Sore me, sore bike. Ruined jacket, ruined bike jeans, both did and outstanding job. The kevlar layer under the denin held together in the slide. Cracked rib and even worse I cracked my phone screen. Bike needs some cosmetic parts replacement but nothing serious. My saddlebags did an outstanding job of protecting the bike.

Other brands when pushed hard give some feedback, telegraph to you that's it time to ... ah, recalibrate your behaviour, so to speak. Anyways lacking choice I took the risk, against my better judgement, and fitted a pair of Brigdestone block style tyres (the only choice that would fit!). I was careful to get used to them gradually.

Anyways been into the shop today to see what road tyres I can fit, time to give up on the cool looking block tyres. I tried the Svartpilen on gravel and it was useless, so lets fit pure road tyres and be done with it. There's nothing available in the road/SPORTS category

Looks like my only option in that size is Metzler Z8 road/TOURING tyre. Metzler is a brand I have no experience with so what are your collective thoughts and experiences please.

[Hugo Nougo]

Excuse my ignorance but what muppet fitted an 18" wheel to the front, you must have the enduro because the radial mounted brake caliper on the SM would be a nightmare to adapt to an aftermarket wheel, the SM comes with 17's.

All the tyres you mention are fine includeing the bridgestones.

[SaferRides]

Metzeler tyres are fine. I hired what turned out to be a brand new BMW fitted with Z8's in Oz, and apart from a slip at the rear when the tyres were still quite new, they were good, very good in the wet.

That front size is weird, you're probably lucky to find a road tyre.

[MD]

Excuse my ignorance but what muppet fitted an 18" wheel to the front, you must have the enduro because the radial mounted brake caliper on the SM would be a nightmare to adapt to an aftermarket wheel, the SM comes with 17's.

All the tyres you mention are fine including the bridgestones.

Husqvarna were the muppets. It's not the enduro bike they make. Here's the bike the day before when I fitted the awesome Givi crash pads.

[Gremlin]

Ran a few Metzler tyres years ago, several Z6 etc. Yeup, nothing bad to report, generally did their job.
Haven't touched Bridgestones in more than a decade, after the BT016 dumped me in the rain...

[Stylo]

I've been running the Metxler Z8 tyres on my Gen 2 Hayabusa for a few years now. Learnt to let them warm up before turning on the tap but I have no complaints about the performance or the longevity. Recommended. I won't touch Bridgestones again either.

[F5 Dave]

Best tyres I ever had were Dunlop slicks. Grip level was astounding. They weren't even that bad in the wet.
Hope this has been helpful.

I do have some thoughts on oil. . .

[Ulsterkiwi]

I have Metzlers on my tank when the dealer couldnt get me my favourite Pirellis.
They (the Metzlers) are fine but for this particular model (Tourance Next) I won't be seeking them out again.
4 sets of the Pirellis and I think my muscle memory is set pretty deeply as to how I like the bike to feel.
None of this helps you of course because you are looking at a different tyre.

It might help to remember Metzler only make motorcycle tyres so they do kinda know what they are doing.

Challenging problem to have, they probably didn't tell you about that when you were contemplating buying the Husky.

[MD]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts lads, it is helpful. I'm getting a Z8 fitted tomorrow to the front. The Shitstone on the rear is less likely to be able to dump me like a front wheel, so I will get a little use out of it first.
When I bought the Husky I did expect that my choices may be a bit limited if I decided to run road tyres on it. Didn't expect to have zero choices for a sports orientated road tyre though. It is an awesome machine so hopefully the Metzlers will keep the smiles coming with confidence.

[SaferRides]

You're not going to fit a pair of Z8's?

[MD]

You're not going to fit a pair of Z8's?

I will do but these two Bridgestone block style tyres are only 2 weeks old and I just ditched the front after 2 weeks of use. I will replace the rear soon. Quite soon because block tyres wear out silly fast. The rear is not so important when hard cornering. I did a run over the Remutakas today with the new Z8 on the front. Seems fine. Been 16 years since I last came off so I was unsurprisingly a tad cautious.

I meet a fast rider at Featherston who bugger me had the 701 Vitpilen. Loves it. Seems the Vitpilen comes with normal sized wheels and road tyres, not pretend dirt tyres. This dude does track days on it and scrapes his pegs- that is WELL OVER believe me. He likes the Bridgestone B21 or B22 on the Vitpilen (I can't remember what they were called). He said the single cylinder Husqvarna Pilen range is gone and will be replaced with a KTM790 twin range. To me that just means more $$$. 695cc Pilen single is 75hp (ultra light) and the price will double to get 105hp for a 790 twin.

[pritch]

I will do but these two Bridgestone block style tyres are only 2 weeks old and I just ditched the front after 2 weeks of use. I will replace the rear soon. Quite soon because block tyres wear out silly fast. The rear is not so important when hard cornering. I did a run over the Remutakas today with the new Z8 on the front. Seems fine. Been 16 years since I last came off so I was unsurprisingly a tad cautious.

I meet a fast rider at Featherston who bugger me had the 701 Vitpilen. Loves it. Seems the Vitpilen comes with normal sized wheels and road tyres, not pretend dirt tyres. This dude does track days on it and scrapes his pegs- that is WELL OVER believe me. He likes the Bridgestone B21 or B22 on the Vitpilen (I can't remember what they were called). He said the single cylinder Husqvarna Pilen range is gone and will be replaced with a KTM790 twin range. To me that just means more $$$. 695cc Pilen single is 75hp (ultra light) and the price will double to get 105hp for a 790 twin.

Came to this rather late but Metzeler are one of my favoured brands. I had several sets of Z6s. Recently bought a new front tyre, a change pf brand being necessary as there is no currently local Dunlop dealer. I would have been happy to purchase a Z8 but actually bought a Pilot Road 5.