WORDS: PETER ELLIOTT
PHOTOS: NICK EDARDS/METZELER
POWER
PLAY
Got a V-twin power cruiser
and like corners? Metzeler’s
Cruistec is for you.
T
welve cruising bikes of varying
capacity and style lined up broodingly
outside Sidney’s Harley dealership in
Campbelltown, NSW. Gleaming and shod in
the latest rubber offering from Metzeler, they
almost glowed in early morning sunshine
beneath an innocently blue sky. A gaggle
of us were gathered to test Metzeler’s new
Cruisetec tyres.
For some time the ME888 has been the
cruiser’s tyre of choice. Metzeler’s objectives
with the tyres were that they offer grip,
comfort and decent tyre life, desirable
traits particularly in places where massive
distances are the norm, like Australia and the
US. In recent years there has been a strong
move towards performance in the cruiser
sector, recognised by Harley Davidson with
its FXDR and Fat Bob offerings to name just
a couple. We tested the ME888 last year and
came away impressed – read about it here:
https://joom.ag/cTMY/p28
Metzeler says so called ‘performance
cruising’ demands a tyre that offers better
grip and a rounder profile to assist cornering
and control. The new Cruisetec is slightly
softer and will wear a little quicker but
Metzeler’s expertise and innovation arms
say they’ve come up with pattern bridging
technology that controls deflection and
maintains a better contact patch and will do
so throughout the tyre’s life. Metzeler made
much of the tyre holding its integrity and
ability through every stage of wear. The front
tyres have a single silica compound and the
rears have dual compounds with a slick track
down the middle and softer sides – in 30-40-
30 percentage.
KIWI RIDER 27