Metzeler 01 tyres on RT

[Roymundo]

My 2015 R1200RT LC is due for new tyres very soon, thinking I would fit a pair of Metzeler 01 tyres.
Thing is on checking there is different types available.....normal 01...HWM....SE...E and M for rear.
Solo brisk riding style mainly, some times touring and full panniers.....Can anyone advise which tyre is suitable please.

 

[oddshapedballs]

I had a couple of sets on a TC RT - the HWM version, they were incredible especially in the wet to the point that the bike felt as sure footed as it did in the dry, but I did find the HWM version gave a much harsher ride I'm guessing down to much stiffer stiff sidewalls. If I ever own another RT I'll go straight back to the 01's but the normal version.

 

[Doctor T]

I had a pair of standard rated Metzeler 01 tyres on a Tiger 1050 and have to agree the wet weather handling is excellent. But they was a downfall for me, the rear only lasted 4500 miles. Went covering over 1500 miles a year, which was expensive to run them.

 

[C13]

My go to tyre for the rt, I use the recommended HWM rear but standard front.
As good in the wet as in the dry.
About 6000 miles per pair on the rt.
Just changed recently to Michelin road 5 and I am getting 10,000 out of the rear and 8,000 from the front, has anyone else found this with the Michelins ?

 

[Coppertop]

Always used these on my RT, fantastic in all weather's. Now use the SE version on my R, can't go wrong.

Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[RSInterloper]

"Just changed recently to Michelin road 5 and I am getting 10,000 out of the rear and 8,000 from the front"

Blimey, how many miles do you do a year?

 

[C13]

Tyres

I cover 20,000 miles a year which equates to 3 full sets of tyres a year!
Tried all different makes and all gave 6,000 ish a set except the Michelin road 5 gt’s which as stated, last way longer than any other make on my RT!

 

[exortmanuk]

On my second set of 01s on mine get around 8-9000 miles from them great wet and dry and I found the Michelins PR4s prior to these squared of much quicker and although new the Michelin had excellent wet grip before the tread was anywhere near the max wear they became quite unstable in the wet

 

[Doctor T]

After a lot of reading on the subject, This was pointed out to me from another site. It's on the Two Tyres website. BMW R1200RT/1250RT best touring tyres.
Tyre guide.


"Even though some tyre manufacturers make heavyweight tyres (called things like GT and HWM) the RT doesn’t need these tyre versions. Contrary to the myth; fitting a heavyweight rear tyre isn’t a good idea. Some riders think that’s a good way of getting more miles from your rear but the fact is the tyre itself is stiffer and just won’t give the same feel or performance as a regular tyre as it won’t get worked in the way it’s designed to be."

 

[Beancounter]

What's the profile of the 01 like? Are they quite neutral or do they quick on turn in? I'm using Pirelli Angel GT 2 just now and have no complaints but it's nice to experiment.

 

[casbar]

After a lot of reading on the subject, This was pointed out to me from another site. It's on the Two Tyres website. BMW R1200RT/1250RT best touring tyres.
Tyre guide.


"Even though some tyre manufacturers make heavyweight tyres (called things like GT and HWM) the RT doesn’t need these tyre versions. Contrary to the myth; fitting a heavyweight rear tyre isn’t a good idea. Some riders think that’s a good way of getting more miles from your rear but the fact is the tyre itself is stiffer and just won’t give the same feel or performance as a regular tyre as it won’t get worked in the way it’s designed to be."

So why do BMW themselves recommend the Stiffer version of tyres? Also here is the content of a mail from Michelin themselves when I asked about using the Road 5 instead of the GT version.

Thanks for the interest in Michelin tyres for your bike.

The Pilot Road 4 GT was developed while working closely with BMW to adapt the standard Pilot Road 4 to better suit the particular demands of the R 1200 RT and a short list of other bikes. Michelin were not entirely happy with the handling of the bike when using the standard tyres, in particular when/if the bike was pushed quite hard, and we engineered a solution to ensure rider satisfaction.

The solution was to create a new casing construction with optimised ply angles, made possible by a new assembly process to increase cornering stiffness. Cornering stifness has increased by 15% without resorting to increasing the number of casing plies which otherwise would have added approx 700g to the weight of the tyre. This construction guarantees the stability of the bike at speed without sacrificing comfort.

The Pilot Road 4 GT remains our recommended fitment for your bike, and the standard Road 5 tyres are not recommended. We are developing a Road 5 GT tyre, but it will not be available in 2018.

I hope that this helps,

Best regards,

xxxxx
2w Customer Engineering Support – Operational Marketing

Europe North and Russia

On longevity, there are only two tyres to worry about, high mileage doesn't mean a tyre hasn't gone off. I had Metzler's on my 1250RT they were good, but were done by 6k easily. I normally change before the legal limit and work on performance of tyre, not tread depth. I am now on Michelin 5GTs and am very happy with them. We run a fleet of RTs and they are all on Michelins, we have been using 4GTs as they are currently slightly cheaper, but now the 6s are out maybe 5s will get cheaper.

The LC RTs do suffer from front tyre cupping and again on Michelin recommendation, they say run the fronts with a couple of more pounds in them. I have done that for the last 6 years and it does seem to help with cupping.

 

[Doctor T]

Had to replace my new rear tyre as i found a slit in the sidewall. The company gave a no quibble replacement by next day delivery and collection. I balanced and fitted the tyre. As yesterday was dry but cold i thought a ride out would be nice. Well pulling out my road to turn right the rear tyre slide. This sent me about 5 yards with the bike sliding under me. Bit shaken and with the 2 ladies that stopped to help, i picked up the bike and parked it on the side of the road. No men stopped to help and just drove pasted looking at me.
I looked at the road surface and couldn't see any diesel or oil, so i think it was a mixture of cold/new tyre and too much throttle. This is the first time this has ever happened to me on new tyres. On looking at the tyre it does seem to have a thick layer of releasing agent. I've had Roadtec 01 on bikes before and they never slipped when new. I usually sand this agent off before the first ride but forgot this time. The tyres are not at fault and ride and stick perfectly after this agent has worn away.

The RoadTec 01 rear has a neutral shape and the front is not egg shape like some. The profile is similar to GT4.