Despite being a bit on the heavy side these tyres are really nice on the road. They feel light and nimble through the bars and provide feedback on changing surface conditions that is useful on rough road riding. They also do a really good job of eliminating the ‘shimmy’ effect that big adventure bikes, tourers and cruisers sometimes suffer from – it’s a vibration through the bars that is created by varying loads such as the weight of a full touring load and or a full tank of fuel.
The front tyres are a radial design with twin-layer, 4-ply diagonal tire carcass construction. The tread features Metzeler’s 0-degree steel belt technology. The rubber used is an innovative high-silica compound (85%, if you look on the specification sheet) with functionalised polymers. This translates into great wet weather traction.
On the rear the tread is either a cap and base or the new Metzeler Hyperbase structure (depending on size). The centre strip uses the same compound as the front, while the shoulder section is a dedicated wet weather tread. The shoulder has a high silica content, enabling excellent traction in wet conditions and while leaning.
During our test on the Putty road, Pommie found these tyres to have a really nice neutral feeling and they were able to easily hold their line in the twisties. They felt incredibly stable at higher speeds, even when loaded up with the top box and passenger.
