• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Tires - Metzler Z8?

Watch them like a hawk for rear tire wear. If you do a lot of flat riding you'll end up with very quickly appearing steel belts in a VERY short period of time. The twi's dont monitor the life of the tire in the center section so there's little warning. (3475 was showing belt on my k1600 and they were fine at 3350). YMMV.

I'll never buy another set
 
I have Z8s mounted on my R1200RT now. I like them at least as well as the Bridgestone 023GT tires they replaced. I'm in AZ so lots of straight and dry roads here. I will be taking them up through Utah next month and will report back after that trip through the twisties.

The Bstone 023GT tires were excellent with good grip and great mileage (>12k), but I wanted to try a non-dual compound tire because the dual compound tire seemed to have an issue with flat spot edge transition. There was still good tread, but the transition point was sharp enough that it made holding a line in a corner an effort.
 
love em!

Glad you asked. Just had a pair mounted and really love them. Crazy, but they just seem to even roll better down the interstate. They change direction more smoothly and easily than any other tire I've ever used. I seriously noticed a difference, and for the better as soon as I rode away from the shop.
 
I've got 9K on mine on the 07GT. Work well in the twisties, flattening out in the center from Interstate riding.
 
Got about 6,000 miles a front Z8 on my 1998 R1200RS. The tire was great in the beginning. There was still some tread in the center, but the off center sides were worn out.

The handling started to diminish about 4,000 miles, but I am cheap and wear my tires out. I live in a hilly, curvy road area, but am not an aggressive driver.

The tire seemed to function well in the rain, but it has been so dry I have less than 5 hours of rain riding to judge.

There was a Michelin Pilot Road 2 on the back that wore well...previous owner put it on...I added about 8,000 miles to it.

I put on a new set of Michelin Pilot Road 3's for the trip to the rally. I am very happy with these tires.
 
Watch them like a hawk for rear tire wear. If you do a lot of flat riding you'll end up with very quickly appearing steel belts in a VERY short period of time. The twi's dont monitor the life of the tire in the center section so there's little warning. (3475 was showing belt on my k1600 and they were fine at 3350). YMMV.

I'll never buy another set

3400 miles??? To what do you attribute the short lifespan?

I have Z6s on my R1100RT, and at 19500 miles total (the rear has been on for about 7400 miles, the front twice that). The rear has about 2000 miles left and the front about the same, and I plan to change them both. I always ride one-up on this bike, with side cases attached, but usually empty. Mixed riding, about 70% straight, highway speeds.

I hope / expect at least the same mileage from the Z8s
 
Don't know never had it happen before. Seems to not be uncommon on K1600's though for this tire.
 
Prefer Z8's to PR3's

I have had the z8's on my 04 1150rt now for about 2000 miles. I previously had the Michelin PR 3's and while the Michelin tire gave me over 7000 miles of use the center compound ended up being a ridge you climbed over at the end of there life. The z8's show no sign of this and rolling through corners has never been so fun. Good even wear.
 
With 880

(K1100LT 1992) I have a Lasertec on the rear and need one for the front. Rear is almost new. What are the thoughts about putting a Z8 on the front with the Lasertec on the rear? - Bob

I came upon this combination by accident. I totally wore out a front Dunlop on front and had it replaced by Blue Moon Cycle. They had the Z8 in stock. A month later, I got a upholstery screw in my rear and had to have a tire NOW. The only tire I could find quickly was a Metzeler 880.

What a great combo. I often ride loaded for camping with my wife. The 880 has a reputation for being able to handle heavy loads and wearing well. The stickiness of the Z8 on the front makes my R1100RT handle better than any other combination I have run.
 
On my second set

I have used Z8's for a while. They have good traction and good wet perfromance. I got 15,000 kms on the rear and 25,000 on the front, on the first set. I used 39 psi on the front and 42 on thr rear all the time. I rarely ride two-up but I do a lot of touring with a loaded bike.

To me watch the tire pressures and they should wear well.
 
Metzler Z8's

I put a pair of Z8's on my R1200rt 2,000 miles ago and so far they have been real good. Rode thru TS Debby in Jacksonville on them and lots of hot weather miles too. Looks as though I could get many miles out of them. Wife has Michelin P3's on her F800ST and they are real mileage kings as well.:german
 
Metzeler Z8 Tires

I had the dealer install two new Z8's to replace the Z6's I had previously run on my 2009 R1200R. I had about 300 miles on the Z8's before I left for the BMWMOA Rally in Sedalia. I rode a total of 3,400 miles to the Rally and back, so I guess that could qualify as some experience with the tires.

We encountered rain in West Virginia and Ohio for three days and the Z8's performed well on the wet roads. One of the rides was on Ohio SR555, which is called, "Ohio's Dragon." This road has about ten miles of loose stones and gravel and the tires did not slip at all on this dangerous pavement surface.

We travelled on Interstates to arrive at the rally. Once there, we had about a 40 mile ride each day on a combination of four lane and two lane roads. After the Rally, we rode to Hot Springs, AR in 107 degree heat on two lane mountain twisties with no problems from the tires.

We rode the Natchez Trace to Tupelo, MS. I would recommend this road, if you have not travelled on it. It was a refreshing change from the heat, since the road is tree-lined and somewhat shaded from the intensity of the sun.

The tires did not lose any air during the thirteen days I rode on them. Right now, they look like they have at least 5,000 miles left on them. I was happy with the Z6's, but the Z8's look like they are an improvement over the previous version.

Bill
 
I am now on my second set of Z8s. I got 10K out of the first set. There was some more life in them, but I was in the middle of a 4K road trip. I could have probably finished the trip, but I didn't want to push my luck. If I had been just riding locally, I probably could have gotten 12K or more. I liked the first set well enough to put on another set.
 
Just changed out tires from the Z8's to PR3's because we had them in the shop. Almost 11K on the Z8's and still had tread to go, but an upcoming trip made the decision for me. Overall I liked the Z8's, now comes the comparison.
 
Tires

I swapped out my worn Z6's for the new Z8's about 1500 miles ago and so far I like the Z8's very much, they feel more responsive to me and appear to be wearing very evenly. So far so good, let's see how many miles I get out of them, I hoping they will do better than the Z6's did.
 
Back
Top