| Author | Message | ||
     Barkandbite  |
As a follow on to M1Combat's posting regarding trying different compounds, I purchased a set of Z6's this weekend. I've got M1's on the XB now, and the front is going strong (1/2 done?) after 3000 miles. The back is badly squared and coming down to nothing on the rear. I drive mostly freeways (100 mile commute per day) and these just aren't going to last. SO, I thought about a Z6 in the rear and the M1 in the front, but I'm not so keen on what might end up being different profiles/grip and what that might do to handling. I'm going to use the Z6's on both. They are noticiably less sticky (duh) than the M1's given their S/T application, and it certainly seems they are engineered for more all-weather environments (I live in SoCal, so that's not a purchase point for me.) I'll let everyone know how these work out. In the meantime, anyone else got these on their XB? How do you like 'em compared to a) Stock D207's and/or b) M1's Thanks, Chris | ||
| Fdl3  |
I currently have a Z6 front paired with a BT020 rear. Life is good between these two so far. | ||
| Tpoppa |
I have Z6's on my xb9s. I like them much better than the 207's, and I get more than twice as many miles out of them. Mixing a M1 front and a Z6 rear, will probably work out fine. Per Metzeler, you can mix and match their tires... (Message edited by tpoppa on January 24, 2005) | ||
| Rooster2168  |
Fdl3, how do you like your BT020? I just ordered a set and was wondering how much different they are from the dunlops. What kind of milage can I expect? | ||
| Fdl3 |
Rooster2168: I replaced a BT010 with the BT020 at 13.5K. The BT010 was much better than the Dunlop. The BT020s are harder and less sticky than the BT010s, but they have never slid on me once. I went with the BT020 to get more mileage. I now have 21K and the BT020 is holding up beautifully. I do mostly commuting, so had hoped to get at least 10K out of the BT020. It looks like I will surpass that goal. | ||
| Fdl3 |
Rooster2168: Also, I went with the Metzler Z6 on the front because I have seen the BT020 front "cup". I am pleased with the BT020 rear, but I will probably replace that with the Z6 rear. I just want to have the same model tires front/rear, even though I have no noticeable problems with the Z6 front/BT020 rear combo. | ||
| Glitch  |
The stock Dunlops don't last very long at all do they?  This is after one weekend in the mountains. | ||
| Fdl3 |
Glitch: Nope, they don't. I was lucky - I got 5K miles out of mine. Of course, the chords were showing through!  | ||
| Rooster2168 |
I think I managed about 2000 out of my stockers with a lot of cord showing. Maybe it was the massive burnout I did at a rally  . | ||
| Builtbyted  |
I ran the Z6 front and rear on my Suzuki SV650S. I was quite pleased with the setup and I ride year-round in all weather. One word of caution: I read somewhere that you are not to pair the rear with anything but the Z6 front as it is designed to channel water away in the rain (clearing a path for the smooth center of the rear). It may just be a marketing strategy to sell more tires, but I felt obliged to pass it along nonetheless. Anyone else hear this? | ||
| Fullpower  |
yes, Z6 is a real good choice for road use on the XB. tread life is way more than double the stock dunlops, wet grip is superior, and they seem to steer real well. | ||
| Rooster2168 |
I've read that before as well BuiltbyTed. | ||
| Ethanr  |
[Cross-posted in another thread.] Would anyone be interested in a collated version of our perpetual tire discussions? Since my bike's been in the shop for two months waiting for parts (to be rebuilt after being hit by a Ford F150, and I only put 5K miles on it in the two months I owned it prior to that) I haven't swapped tires yet, but my head's swimming from all the raw info re tires. What I envision is a table that breaks down tires by sport vs sport-touring, brand, bike model, and users' comments/mileage. It would make it easier (I think) for those of us newbies to glean valuable info from those of you who have more experience with different tires. That said, I think the hard part is getting it started. If there's enough interest, I'd be willing to manage the database and web table generation (yes, I have experience in these areas) as a grateful contribution to a site that has taught me quite a bit about this little XB I've grown to love. What think you? | ||
| Cyko_bob  |
Ethan, I support your idea. There are a lot of threads on tires...recent. I am moving to the Z6 myself (replaced the back with a Z6 at 3800 miles...lots of cord showing). I have been saving a lot of the chatter to word documents on the different threads as a reference, but if you can put together a chart, that would be interesting. BTW...have a Buell and Valky myself (actually four bikes, but these two included). The only reason I bought the Valky was so my wife would be comfy. She cannot ride my sport bikes without getting cramps, ha ha! The Wing was too plastic for me...wanted more of a raw motorcycle feeling. Anyway, you have my vote! | ||
| Fdl3 |
Ethanr: I would be happy to contribute data. |
