Metzeler Z6 Interacts

elars · July 7th, 2009, 06:11 PM

They come in our size. Has anyone tried them? Had any experiences with them? Tried a search but found no results on them, and the tire is relatively new. I'm guessing they've gotta be better than the stockies. They're more a sport touring tire, and I'm looking for something that's not track only or summer only. Washington sees a lot of rain, and I plan for the tires to see a lot of road

NaughtyusMaximus · July 7th, 2009, 06:17 PM

After looking at the PDF of their marketing material, I'm intrigued about these tires too: http://www.metzelermoto.com/en_IT/br...ct_summary.pdf

Wet performance is pretty high on my list

Alex · July 7th, 2009, 06:18 PM

You're talking about the new Z6 Interact, right? (couldn't find anything on a "T6"). I don't think they are offered in sizes that will work well on our bike. They are also meant for a much heavier bike, meaning traction is going to be pretty limited even if wear rates may be reasonable.

Fronts are only offered in 120/70/17 and 120/60/17 (not our 110/70/17), and the smallest rear they offer is a 150/70/17, much larger than the 130/70/17 that our bike calls for. The Z6's also have a very stiff carcass, meaning squeezing them onto a much narrower rim than they are designed for is unlikely to work out well.

I've run the Z6's on a BMW R11RT and our current R12RT, and they are not a particularly impressive tire. Perhaps the Interact version is a little better than the original, but there are quite a few better options in that sport-touring tire market.

elars · July 7th, 2009, 06:53 PM

Thanks Alex. I was intrigued by their marketing spiel. I had found them on a site that was selling them that copypasta'd their description into the distributing page. I checked the available sizes and they matched the stock sizes for front and rear. Don't recall what that site was anymore, but I was more intrigued because they were exactly the stock sizes. I'm not interested if they aren't.

Mainly, I'm interested in wet performance and reduced traction situations. I'll be getting wet quite a bit

If you haven't had a chance to try the Z6 Interacts, do you have any other good recommendations? How have the Bridgestone's you all run worked for you in the rain? Any input for a great tire is good with me.

Alex · July 7th, 2009, 07:52 PM

I took the available sizing off of Metzelers site, so my hunch is that the site you saw may have showed sizes that weren't truly available. For our bike both the Bridgestone BT-45's and the Dunlop GT-501's seem to have quite capable wet performance. The Pirelli Sport Demons maybe a little less so.

My current favorite tire on a S/T type bike is the Michelin Pilot Road 2's. Great performance, great wear, phenomenal wet-weather performance. They also feel great right up until they are completely past the wear bars and ready for replacement. That's one of the knocks against the Z6's for me, actually. Those seem to feel fine when new, but once they are halfway worn, they feel much worse than when new and it's a bit of a challenge to take them down to the wear bars before replacing them as they feel so crappy at that point.

elars · July 7th, 2009, 07:56 PM

Thanks. I'll prolly ask around on another board with more dual sporters for opinions on the Interacts. I'm not tracking a 250 any time soon, so I'd rather my wet responsiveness be as good as it can be if I'm gonna spend the dime.

Alex · July 7th, 2009, 07:59 PM

But if they don't make a fitment for our bike, what's the end goal here, to push Metzeler to make a 130/70 or even a 140/70?

elars · July 7th, 2009, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

But if they don't make a fitment for our bike, what's the end goal here, to push Metzeler to make a 130/70 or even a 140/70?

That's up to their marketing team. If they were smart they would. There's a large backing for the Ninja 250R, and a wide array of rider types, from track to daily to cross country. They're in high demand, and it's fact that the 09's come from the factory with crap for tires, so it's on a lot of people's to do list once they don't feel so green and notice the difference. Metzeler isn't as recognizable to me as Bridgestone or Dunlop or Michelin, and if they want to make money, they'll be thinking of ways to make it as known. What better way than to market heavily to a bike that's bringing a lot of people into the hobby?

If they don't make the tire in the sizes I need, I'll simply go to who does. I have interest in their tire, but if they don't have interest in me, then I guess they don't need my business

July 7th, 2009, 06:11 PM	#1
elars ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: Bellevue [ WA ] Join Date: Jun 2009 Motorcycle(s): None Posts: 45	Metzeler Z6 Interacts They come in our size. Has anyone tried them? Had any experiences with them? Tried a search but found no results on them, and the tire is relatively new. I'm guessing they've gotta be better than the stockies. They're more a sport touring tire, and I'm looking for something that's not track only or summer only. Washington sees a lot of rain, and I plan for the tires to see a lot of road

July 7th, 2009, 06:18 PM	#3
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	You're talking about the new Z6 Interact, right? (couldn't find anything on a "T6"). I don't think they are offered in sizes that will work well on our bike. They are also meant for a much heavier bike, meaning traction is going to be pretty limited even if wear rates may be reasonable. Fronts are only offered in 120/70/17 and 120/60/17 (not our 110/70/17), and the smallest rear they offer is a 150/70/17, much larger than the 130/70/17 that our bike calls for. The Z6's also have a very stiff carcass, meaning squeezing them onto a much narrower rim than they are designed for is unlikely to work out well. I've run the Z6's on a BMW R11RT and our current R12RT, and they are not a particularly impressive tire. Perhaps the Interact version is a little better than the original, but there are quite a few better options in that sport-touring tire market. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

July 7th, 2009, 07:52 PM	#5
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	I took the available sizing off of Metzelers site, so my hunch is that the site you saw may have showed sizes that weren't truly available. For our bike both the Bridgestone BT-45's and the Dunlop GT-501's seem to have quite capable wet performance. The Pirelli Sport Demons maybe a little less so. My current favorite tire on a S/T type bike is the Michelin Pilot Road 2's. Great performance, great wear, phenomenal wet-weather performance. They also feel great right up until they are completely past the wear bars and ready for replacement. That's one of the knocks against the Z6's for me, actually. Those seem to feel fine when new, but once they are halfway worn, they feel much worse than when new and it's a bit of a challenge to take them down to the wear bars before replacing them as they feel so crappy at that point. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

July 7th, 2009, 07:59 PM	#7
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	But if they don't make a fitment for our bike, what's the end goal here, to push Metzeler to make a 130/70 or even a 140/70? __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Metzeler 130/70-17 Lasertec	Rifleman	Motorcycle-related	0	June 30th, 2014 08:11 AM
Metzeler: The Road to Legend	Jono	Videos	3	December 23rd, 2013 01:31 PM
Metzeler Sportec M5 Interact	ninjamunky85	General Motorcycling Discussion	2	April 26th, 2013 03:15 PM
metzeler me 880 marathons	thomason2wheels	2008 - 2012 Ninja 250R Tech Talk	1	October 24th, 2012 09:17 PM
[motorcyclistonline] - Metzeler Sportec M5 Interact	Ninjette Newsbot	Motorcycling News	0	September 10th, 2010 07:50 PM

July 7th, 2009, 06:17 PM	#2
NaughtyusMaximus ninjette.org member Name: Jordan Location: Calgary Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 ex250 Posts: 98	After looking at the PDF of their marketing material, I'm intrigued about these tires too: http://www.metzelermoto.com/en_IT/br...ct_summary.pdf Wet performance is pretty high on my list

July 7th, 2009, 06:53 PM	#4
elars ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: Bellevue [ WA ] Join Date: Jun 2009 Motorcycle(s): None Posts: 45	Thanks Alex. I was intrigued by their marketing spiel. I had found them on a site that was selling them that copypasta'd their description into the distributing page. I checked the available sizes and they matched the stock sizes for front and rear. Don't recall what that site was anymore, but I was more intrigued because they were exactly the stock sizes. I'm not interested if they aren't. Mainly, I'm interested in wet performance and reduced traction situations. I'll be getting wet quite a bit If you haven't had a chance to try the Z6 Interacts, do you have any other good recommendations? How have the Bridgestone's you all run worked for you in the rain? Any input for a great tire is good with me.

July 7th, 2009, 07:56 PM	#6
elars ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: Bellevue [ WA ] Join Date: Jun 2009 Motorcycle(s): None Posts: 45	Thanks. I'll prolly ask around on another board with more dual sporters for opinions on the Interacts. I'm not tracking a 250 any time soon, so I'd rather my wet responsiveness be as good as it can be if I'm gonna spend the dime.