BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Ok, so I posted a poll last month asking about tire recommendations. The Z6 from metzler was the overwhelming vote getter...but i think it's because most people have them on their bike currently, not cause it's the best.

I personally thought the Z6 was overall underwhelming. It was great on uneven surfaces like bridge gratings, but that middle bare patch left alot to be desired with high pressured wet stops.

So I got the new Continental Road Attacks. They are made with what they describe as a multi-curvature design. Meaning, as the bike leans, the way the tire deforms and contacts the road is different from a conventional tire. It enables it to have more contact while upright and maintain an even bigger patch when cornering.

I only have 200 miles on them in dry weather, but WOW. Just point and click. It falls in to turns so easily, holds the line so easily, and can correct within the turn REALLY easily. My Z6s NEVER performed like that. In fact, I had thought I was becoming a worse rider with the Z6s, over the years. I had Z6s for a few years now and they were better than other tires, but as they wore, I liked them less and less.

I will update this post as I break these new contis in...but I must say that me likeee!

scottybooj,
Keep us updated and let us know if the honeymoon period comes to an abrupt end. The Contis are high on my list of resplacement tires so your experience with them will be of some interest to me. The Avon Storms I put on my bike are wearing very well --@ about 3500 miles. However, they are a little squirrelly on tar patched cracked road surfaces. In fact, they are down right scary on these types of roads. They perform pretty well elswhere. They are supposed to be good in the rain, but I haven't ridden through hard enough rain to say either way. Good luck with the Contis-they have a cool tread pattern as well.

-Bruno

I've had the Road Attacks on mine almost since I bought it, so I don't have much for comparison, but have about 18K experience with them. My only complaint was the 'direction of rotation' that I posted about a few weeks ago. Mileage on them has been between 6-8K on the back and 8-10K on the front; probably low since I don't use the sides as much as some people do, but I'm trying. Total 'in the rain' experience with them is around 20-30 hours; I can only say that I'm not too concerned about a few hour stretch of rain as far as tires go.

DLS

I’m on my second set on Conti’s (10K miles total) and love ‘em, although have little to compare them to. I’ve been riding year round and find them comfortable in the rain, light snow / hail (by accident), road sand and dirt roads. They grip well and fall into corners and give me a great sense of control. They also appear to be a high mileage tire (baring a nail or two).

bruno, I must say that the roads you talk about are where I really notice the greatness of this tire!

I had always thought that the Z6s were better than predecessors and other makes/models when you would ride over grated bridges, grooved pavement, etc.

These Conti Road attacks make those Z6s feel downright piss-poor in comparison. Uber-confident over inconsistent roadways, compliant when changing vectors in a turn, etc.

Rip off whatever you're riding with and get a set of these. This is how the bike should handle.

Note to conti: send my check to....

Thanks for the advice on the conti's. I'll try a set here in about 3000 miles or so. They put some kind of very soft tar-like substance in the cracks of the roads in my neighborhood that is somewhat like riding on marbles. The first time I rode on it, I thought I had a flat that was rolling off of the rim. Yesterday, after having the crack sealer down for about six months, they put some kind of sealer (slurrey?) completely over the surface of the road and I have yet to try riding on it. I'm hoping that it hardens a little more before I ride on it so I don't sling tar all over everything.

The conti's seem like darn good tires for the price and they look great.

-Bruno

Well my rear Conti got drilled by a sea shell and I had it plugged but it didnt
hold air. Lost 11 lbs in 5 days. I had a honda hawk GT650 with 10 year old tires
and no problems. My Heart Attack had 100 miles on it, and was a bit over a month old.
Are some brands more likely to get punctured or is it just bad luck?

I had Z6's on my 800 but went to Road Attacks recently and I agree, think they do out perform the Z6's for sure.

bluelight...you just got a dose of the bad mojo. Don't fixate on it. Burn some sage and slap on a new piece o' rubber!

I am on my second set of avon venoms I love them they feel tacky in most conditions here in South Louisiana, rain or shine

i don't like the Contis, they only perform well when very hot, they are good racing tires but not good for every day riding. When cold they are downright dangerous, I know people who have gone down while making right hand turns on cold contis. The Z6 in my view is the ultimate evolution of bike tire. Every now and then I'll try to break traction in the rain with (not in a bank) with heavy engine braking and I've never been able to do so. The Z6 is simply the best. Even the tire pattern on the contis looks a little primitive. I wouldn't put them on my bike if I got them free.
Gene

While I can offer no opinion on the Contis (I await further long term reviews - hint, hint Scotty!), I have no complaints with the Z6s. My new Z6 front was strapped on last night for the weekend trip to go with the Z6 rear put on before the Bash. Of course, I did get a good deal locally on both, which helped.

I had good experiences with the Pirelli Stradas (same tire essentially) but my record keeping shows the Z6 with marginally better mileage. Mileage to me is secondary to confidence in traction, wet or dry, and both those brands deliver that for me.

Put the Conti RA's on LeRoy and, so far, have 500 miles on them mainly in the twisties. Temps here are 70 in the a.m. through mid 90's in the PM. LOVE 'EM !!!
Turn in is smooth, quick and handling is excellent....no chicken strips on the rear at all
With braking, haven't kicked in the ABS at all...with a couple of VERY hard stops needed.

I really like these tires......very confidence inspiring, especially after getting used to how easily and smoothly the tires roll into a turn.

Phil C,
You have hot weather and these tires will be hot quick. Our Roadsters have a low center of gravity and that helps. I rode a new F800S with Contis on them in the winter and nearly killed myself once and broke traction a second time will perfectly verticle, I just engine braked before a red light. On a tall bike, they behave a lot more different then they do on our bikes.

gel9001 wrote:Phil C,
You have hot weather and these tires will be hot quick. Our Roadsters have a low center of gravity and that helps. I rode a new F800S with Contis on them in the winter and nearly killed myself once and broke traction a second time will perfectly verticle, I just engine braked before a red light. On a tall bike, they behave a lot more different then they do on our bikes.

I run Metzeler ME880's on my R1150RT....excellent all around tyre with good wet and dry grip. The roads around here are mainly chip and seal and are like emery paper to tyres! The ME880's last way better than most as they are a slightly "thicker" tread tyre and geared toward touring.

I recently replaced my rear Metzler Z4 with a Z6, simply because the Z4 was no longer offered. I am somewhat underwhelmed with the Z6 to be honest. Now, I am certainly no chemical engineer or tire expert and tire opinions are very subjective but I really don't like having a blank strip of rubber on the center of the tire. ( Rear Z6 ) I would much prefer a tread pattern to shed water and also give me some tread depth perception.

I know if the engineers at Metzler were to read my comments, they would probably roll their eyes but consumers are going buy what makes them feel comfortable. I liked the Z4 much more than the Z6 and therefore, felt much more comfortable on it. When my next tire replacement interval comes up, I will be looking at the Michelin Pilot dual compound tire as well as the Continental, so I look forward to hearing anyones comments on either.

I quite agree with "ge9001", the contis work well when hot, like this time of year, or after heating up in the spring. Went out a couple times this past winter, and they were unpredictable, not good in my opinion. I will probably run them thru the fall, then replace by Thanksgiving, for my piece of mind.

i, too, was underwhelmed by the Z6s. I like the Z4s. On many occasions, the Z6s would either be slow to turn in or the rear would break loose under a heavy emergency braking.

I hope the contis are better in the winter than described. I do know that they have been modified since inception due to some recall and I hope they modified the composition.

Would BMW actually put these on as OEM if they didn't perform decent in the cold? they're from freakin' germany for god sake!

i'll tell you though...in this weather I haven't ridden a better tire.

When I bought the Rockster, part of the reason was that the handling was so freakin awesome compared to my old "R" bikes. My bike came with the Bridgestone BT020's, when it came time to replace I went with the Pirelli"s, then the Contis, still miss the 020"s.

I just finished a trip of a little over 800 miles that included several serious mountain roads on my Avon Storms (now with just at 4000 miles on them) and I wouldn't take another set of these tires new if they gave them to me for free. On uneven pavement, they walk around like pogo sticks. Heaven forbid if they put seam sealer in the cracks of the road---it's like bambi on ice--with roller skates. My BMW "master" tech (who is part owner and in the 100,000 or 1,000,000 mile or whatever club) recommended them to me. I was charged a premium price for the tires & install, but he must have needed to move some stock. Right now I just want to kick him in the ol'e twig-n-berries! Unless you like buying lots of fresh undies, I wouldn't recommend these tires.

-Bruno