PRODUCT REVIEW
METZELER ROADTEC 01SE
Words & Photos : Mike Cross
F or those of you who ’ ve been riding for a couple of decades , you ’ ll remember riding on some really iffy tyres . When I was just getting into bikes ( a few years ago now ...), tyres had compounds that were average in the dry , at best , and really quite scary in the wet . Where I live in Auckland there are lots of white lines , ghost lines , diesel , shiny bits and many other unknown slippery substances that always seem to be on the apex of the corner . Consequently , I had a few offs back then ( nothing to do with the lack of skill as a young rider I assure you ...) which would probably not happen on the modern tyres of today . Moving forward as things do , the tyres of today are pretty amazing in what they can do , and they seem to be getting better and better with every update . I think that today ’ s tyres are so advanced in their technology it ’ s often easy to take them for granted .
WINTER IS COMING So , with Winter just around the corner , wet roads will soon become a common theme for those of us who ride all year round . In the depths of last winter , I fitted a set of Metzeler ’ s Roadtec 01SE tyres to my Triumph Speed Triple RS , which I use for my daily commute , weekend laps of the Coro-Loop , and the annual Summer trip down to the South Island . I figured this mix of riding would be a real test for Metzeler ’ s sports-touring tyre . This is the second set I ’ ve used and abused now and , despite all the varied riding I do , nothing has phased them . At all . They ’ ve proven themselves to be brilliant in the dry , the
62 KIWI RIDER