PRODUCT REVIEW
the Isle of Man . Now , that ’ s nothing really out of the ordinary – sports tyres on a sports bike . The thing that piqued my curiosity was the setting – all the adverts showed the bike being ridden in the wet . Seemed just the ticket for NZ when you can ’ t trust a weather forecast for more than an hour . Fitting was easy as . They ’ re not hugely stiff so were a breeze to go on with the machine . They aired up and popped straight onto the bead , and only needed 10g on the rear to balance , with no weights needed on the front at all .
INTIAL RIDING FEELS My first couple of rides on the M9RRs were typical winter days – sunny but below 10 ° C – and it was a perfect chance to scrub them in . I have a 35km loop from the house that takes in highway , sweeping roads and some tight twisties , perfect for getting to know a tyre ’ s characteristics . One easy lap had the shiny mould release agent scrubbed off the surface and ready to go . Maybe my outgoing M7RRs were a bit old ( the date stamp put them at five years ) but the M9s seem to soak up a bit more of the road ‘ noise ’. Grip from cold is definitely better on the newer tyres , I can gas it up quite hard and there ’ s no slip from the rear , where the M7 would slip a little from cold . A ride out with the Italian Motorcycle Owners Club to Taupo at the end of June gave the opportunity to test them in the cold AND wet . With the Metzeler adverts firmly in mind I found I was leaning over further in the wet than I might have done otherwise – a case of sucking up the advertising ? – and they really impressed me . Confident and grippy in
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