Metzler Roadtec 01 - weird feeling
Discussion
I've recently put Metzler Roadtec 01's on to my Ducati Monster 821 recently after the demise of the not so great OEM Rosso 2's (Ok in the dry and warm, terrible in anything less than 7-8 degrees or at a sign of moisture). I usually use PR4's but took a punt as the profile looked a bit quicker and the Meltzer's seem to get good reviews for commuting and daily riding.
Anyhow they felt weird out of the gate, I ran them in for a bit (maybe 100 miles commuting), still felt weird and I got around to checking the pressures, which were a tad high, 42 and 36.
I dropped them to 36 and 34 (recommended) and it definitely felt better and have been playing around a bit, currently 32 and 34, but I'm not totally happy.
In the cold and wet commute (4 degree air temp) it does feel very nervous when leaning over and like it is trying to "drop" rather than role in to the corners.
I have yet to see whether this is repeated as temperatures are still a bit low, but when air temp was at 7 and it was dry the bike did feel much better.
I wonder if they just don't work well below a certain temperature exacerbated by the wet? or may be it's just a trait of the squarer profile of the touring tyre?
Anyone else experienced something like this?
Anyhow they felt weird out of the gate, I ran them in for a bit (maybe 100 miles commuting), still felt weird and I got around to checking the pressures, which were a tad high, 42 and 36.
I dropped them to 36 and 34 (recommended) and it definitely felt better and have been playing around a bit, currently 32 and 34, but I'm not totally happy.
In the cold and wet commute (4 degree air temp) it does feel very nervous when leaning over and like it is trying to "drop" rather than role in to the corners.
I have yet to see whether this is repeated as temperatures are still a bit low, but when air temp was at 7 and it was dry the bike did feel much better.
I wonder if they just don't work well below a certain temperature exacerbated by the wet? or may be it's just a trait of the squarer profile of the touring tyre?
Anyone else experienced something like this?
Who recommended these pressures?
Only with ambient temperatures being so low, unless I was planning on riding like a lunatic to keep the temps up, I'd not be taking 10 PSI out of the rear tyre.
I never had issues with Rosso 2s in the wet either to be honest. I thought they were absolutely fine.
Only with ambient temperatures being so low, unless I was planning on riding like a lunatic to keep the temps up, I'd not be taking 10 PSI out of the rear tyre.
I never had issues with Rosso 2s in the wet either to be honest. I thought they were absolutely fine.
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Tuesday 23 January 14:46
Metzeler's tyre selector typically recommends pressures, but I can't quickly get it to give a tyre recommendation for the 821 which slightly surprises me.
I agree those pressures seem odd. What were the recommended pressures for the OEM tyre? If something like 36/42 front/rear, I'd be tempted to start there.
I agree those pressures seem odd. What were the recommended pressures for the OEM tyre? If something like 36/42 front/rear, I'd be tempted to start there.
Edited by xeny on Tuesday 23 January 15:37
Prof Prolapse said:
Who recommended these pressures?
Only with ambient temperatures being so low, unless I was planning on riding like a lunatic to keep the temps up, I'd not be taking 10 PSI out of the rear tyre.
I never had issues with Rosso 2s in the wet either to be honest. I thought they were absolutely fine.
34/36 is the factory recommendations and the dealer. Only with ambient temperatures being so low, unless I was planning on riding like a lunatic to keep the temps up, I'd not be taking 10 PSI out of the rear tyre.
I never had issues with Rosso 2s in the wet either to be honest. I thought they were absolutely fine.
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Tuesday 23 January 14:46
trickywoo said:
Are your headstock bearings in fine fettle?
New tyres have a tendency to highlight other issues that you may have not noticed before.
Should be. The bike's only a year old and not done too many miles.New tyres have a tendency to highlight other issues that you may have not noticed before.
Hmm.. I'm at standard according to the manual.
I wonder what the carcass construction / stiffness was like compared the R2's?
The profile isn't overly aggressive, I've just found the PR4's a bit square and did exhibit the same sort of "drop".
The F3 has Rosso 3's which have a similar profile to SuperCorsas, so maybe I just need to adapt.
Wildfire said:
34/36 is the factory recommendations and the dealer.
That's fair enough, I obviously misundertood your post. I'm still not sure of the rationale of dropping below recommended pressures in winter though, especially in the front tyre.That said. This time of year, would such a small change really make any difference? I'm always a bit skeptical when criticise tyres or start going on about how the odd PSI makes the world of difference on the road, but surely this time of year surely it's doubly so? I mean these are premium tyres, you're not going to be close to the limits of anything, I wouldn't of thought just a few PSI here or there would make any odds.
Most likely you're just getting use to it, I would say.
You're still wrong about Rosso 2s though.
Prof Prolapse said:
That's fair enough, I obviously misundertood your post. I'm still not sure of the rationale of dropping below recommended pressures in winter though, especially in the front tyre.
That said. This time of year, would such a small change really make any difference? I'm always a bit skeptical when criticise tyres or start going on about how the odd PSI makes the world of difference on the road, but surely this time of year surely it's doubly so? I mean these are premium tyres, you're not going to be close to the limits of anything, I wouldn't of thought just a few PSI here or there would make any odds.
Lower pressure might encourage the tyre to heat up faster?That said. This time of year, would such a small change really make any difference? I'm always a bit skeptical when criticise tyres or start going on about how the odd PSI makes the world of difference on the road, but surely this time of year surely it's doubly so? I mean these are premium tyres, you're not going to be close to the limits of anything, I wouldn't of thought just a few PSI here or there would make any odds.
I've a mate who spent a day carrying another friend around as pillion on a bike I'd just bought. At the end of the day he was really happy with the handling. We then discovered there was 11 PSI in the rear. Neither of them is what you'd describe as "thin"....
That does seem low for this time of year.
I run 36/42 in the hornet on 01's, 34/38 on the tuono in the summer, and 42/42 on 01's on the zzr14.
I've not ridden a rosso 2 but compare to the 4 the difference is very noticable. The roadtec's feel like they have more of a side to them where as the pr4 feels quite round until you flatten them off which doesn't take long.
I run 36/42 in the hornet on 01's, 34/38 on the tuono in the summer, and 42/42 on 01's on the zzr14.
I've not ridden a rosso 2 but compare to the 4 the difference is very noticable. The roadtec's feel like they have more of a side to them where as the pr4 feels quite round until you flatten them off which doesn't take long.
Prof Prolapse said:
That's fair enough, I obviously misundertood your post. I'm still not sure of the rationale of dropping below recommended pressures in winter though, especially in the front tyre.
That said. This time of year, would such a small change really make any difference? I'm always a bit skeptical when criticise tyres or start going on about how the odd PSI makes the world of difference on the road, but surely this time of year surely it's doubly so? I mean these are premium tyres, you're not going to be close to the limits of anything, I wouldn't of thought just a few PSI here or there would make any odds.
Most likely you're just getting use to it, I would say.
You're still wrong about Rosso 2s though.
I suspect you're right (but not about the Rosso 2's).That said. This time of year, would such a small change really make any difference? I'm always a bit skeptical when criticise tyres or start going on about how the odd PSI makes the world of difference on the road, but surely this time of year surely it's doubly so? I mean these are premium tyres, you're not going to be close to the limits of anything, I wouldn't of thought just a few PSI here or there would make any odds.
Most likely you're just getting use to it, I would say.
You're still wrong about Rosso 2s though.
I think it's also to do with the temperature. Today was very wet, but the air temp was around 12 degrees and the grip was much better.
I think I'll have a bit of a play once it gets better outside.
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