Metzeler Lasertec Tires (Stink!)

[etepesq]

Hello all, just posting a quick warning... if someone covered this already sorry.... I started riding again after a 12 year lapse. I bought a peach of a gs700es. Anyway, it needed tires and a shop hooked me up w/ Metzeler Lasertecs. Since I hadn't ridden in so long I thought even just being on a bike was great. Anyway, long story short... these tires DO NOT CORNER.
They are supposed to be "Rain Tires" but they seem more like SNOW TIRES!
They have 2 big zig zag treads in the middle where you reside when riding straight down the highway. There is actually a height difference between the jagged outer ends of the zig zag pattern and the rest of the tire. Every time you start to lean into a turn you get about 12 degrees into your lean and it feels like you have bumpy training wheels on your bike. I looked into it and found it was not just me... see pasted quote and link below. I am heading on a ride from Seattle to SF labor Day weekend and tried to get Avon Road Riders which people from my shop use and swear by. Of course they will not be here in time. I finally just went out there and SANDED THOSE BUGGERS OFF!!!!!!!!
I put it on center stand, let the wheel spin in 1st 1500rpm, and used a soft sanding pad with some 40 grit sand paper and ground those points down so that the whole profile is round. NEW BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!! unreal..... corners VERY well now. NIGHT AND DAY! if you want to try it, only sand down those 2 points just off those 2 big center strips. You can feel the bumps with your hand quite easily. Hope this helps.

Peter (Seattle)

"The rear isn't quite as impressive; it isn't breaking in as quickly. And I'm not sold on the 3 circumferential grooves, which live right at the contact patch. They seem to cause the tire to want to track straight, so when the bike is first leaned into a corner, the rear feels a bit like it's stepping out until the bike takes a set. This is exacerbated by the typical "rubber cow", hinged-in-the-middle Airhead suspension feel.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-tires/metzeler-lasertec/

[speedzter2000]

I had those on my Beemer....They squared off after 3k miles. Wasn't happy with that. And, yes, scary leaning into turns.
I replaced it with a Bridgestone Spitfire,(dual compound) since I do highway riding, and want the softer rubber for the twisties. So far, so good...only been 1k miles so only time will tell.
I LOVE the Pirelli's on my GPz, and get at least 5k out of them.

[bwringer]

They're a pretty old design. There's far better, more modern bias-ply rubber out there nowadays, like the Avon RoadRiders and Pirelli Sport Demons.

I know several here swear by their Metzelers, probably mainly because they're eye-wateringly expensive.

I tried a set on my GS850 in about 1999 (ME88 rear, I think it was -- they only make one 130/90-17), and I wasn't impressed at all. They wore out very quickly and felt like crap during the last 50% of their life. I was also dismayed to see that the rear took over three ounces to balance, and the front took almost two, far more than any other tire on this bike since. That's pretty sloppy manufacturing. I don't think my set was quite round, either, since the bike had a vibration the whole time the Metzelers were mounted.

However, if you must have that absolutely period-correct look, they're exactly the same tire as in the '80s, when Metzelers were the ultimate in sticky.

The world has moved on since then, and there are far better choices now.

[bucketsofgs1000]

I have lazertecs on my XS400 and they have treated me fine. I don't lean that little thing into corners too much though. I put a set of Sport Demons on my GS1000 and love them. They are soft and they'll start to let go a bit early, but they don't just let go completely, they seem to give a bit of warning when you push them too far.

[pano]

I haven't had any problems with them either, but I may try another brand next go around.

[slow_heavy_750]

im running them on my 78 750..i havnt had any issues. They balanced out fine, and for the past couple thousand miles have put up with wheelies, burnouts, and will lean over and scrape peg/pipe and still ride good...

[Ghostgs1]

This has not been what I've noted with the set I put on a GS1000. Close to 4,000 miles later and still like them. Ray

[willie]

I've got a pair of them on my Honda Nighthawk S and, after about 1,000 miles, I'm as impressed and satisfied as I was at 100 miles and I'm definitely into enjoying the twisties. Hmmmm.

[highmileage]

I have these on the front of two of my bikes - the Concours and the CBX. They give a very nice, soft ride and stick well.

The CBX, which I've only owned for about a month and which I've only put 2K miles on, has the matching tire on the rear and it's ready to be replaced, since it's almost bald, so I can't speak to what a good fresh one feels like. The Concours has a Michelin on the back (these are the tires that were on it when I bought it last January).

In years past I used Metzler ME33's Lazer front tires (which look exactly like what is on the two bikes mentioned above) with various rear tires, always with excellent results.

So I am now considering what to put on the back of the CBX. I don't know what it will be but I doubt that it will be a Metzler. But I'm keeping the Metzler front tire that's on it.

[Road_Clam]

Hello all, just posting a quick warning... if someone covered this already sorry.... I started riding again after a 12 year lapse. I bought a peach of a gs700es. Anyway, it needed tires and a shop hooked me up w/ Metzeler Lasertecs. Since I hadn't ridden in so long I thought even just being on a bike was great. Anyway, long story short... these tires DO NOT CORNER.
They are supposed to be "Rain Tires" but they seem more like SNOW TIRES!
They have 2 big zig zag treads in the middle where you reside when riding straight down the highway. There is actually a height difference between the jagged outer ends of the zig zag pattern and the rest of the tire. Every time you start to lean into a turn you get about 12 degrees into your lean and it feels like you have bumpy training wheels on your bike. I looked into it and found it was not just me... see pasted quote and link below. I am heading on a ride from Seattle to SF labor Day weekend and tried to get Avon Road Riders which people from my shop use and swear by. Of course they will not be here in time. I finally just went out there and SANDED THOSE BUGGERS OFF!!!!!!!!
I put it on center stand, let the wheel spin in 1st 1500rpm, and used a soft sanding pad with some 40 grit sand paper and ground those points down so that the whole profile is round. NEW BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!! unreal..... corners VERY well now. NIGHT AND DAY! if you want to try it, only sand down those 2 points just off those 2 big center strips. You can feel the bumps with your hand quite easily. Hope this helps.

Peter (Seattle)

"The rear isn't quite as impressive; it isn't breaking in as quickly. And I'm not sold on the 3 circumferential grooves, which live right at the contact patch. They seem to cause the tire to want to track straight, so when the bike is first leaned into a corner, the rear feels a bit like it's stepping out until the bike takes a set. This is exacerbated by the typical "rubber cow", hinged-in-the-middle Airhead suspension feel.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcyc...eler-lasertec/

Sorry,
but after reading all this opininated bashing on a set of tried and true Metzeler tires that have been in existance for over 20 years , I am going to venture to say it's the bike and rider, NOT the tires. I REALLY find it hard to believe a person can push the limits of a street driven motorcycle hard enough to actually tell such a huge difference in tire performance. I've had Metzeler's myself, both street and MX, and they are a TOP performing and also provide great longevity.....

[willie]

Can I change my opinion? I posted previously that I was impressed with the Lasertecs that I installed on my CB700SC. Although I'm still impressed with the handling, I'm very disappointed with the wear. They must be ALOT softer than I'd originally thought cause the rear tire is already showing the wear bars and it has less than 2k on it. To put things in perspective, that'll be the quickest wearing tire I've ever had on any bike and I've had over 4 dozen road bikes. In addition, I'm really not hard on tires. No burn outs and no skidding.
Willie in TN

[slow_heavy_750]

Well..the rear definetly died much quicker than the front....i got roughly 4k miles out of it, but it handled great right down until I smoked it. I decided to try a Bridgestone this time around...have to see how the longevity compares.

[Jeff Chandler]

Past Ex

Hello, years ago I had a Honda v65 Sabre and the front wore out so I replaced it with the Metzeler Me33,Wow what a difference,Dry,Wet it made no difference these tires bit! My Bud had a new Yam V-Max we got caught in a storm and he couldn't go over 55,and even then the front was squirrely. My Honda cut through at 60 and over! That's the only time I left him...

[Flaggo60]

..........In years past I used Metzler ME33's Lazer front tires (which look exactly like what is on the two bikes mentioned above) with various rear tires, always with excellent results............

I don't like seeing Metzelers criticized without getting in my two cents. As I've said in a few threads here, I've used Metzelers exclusively since 1987. They came on my new (at the time) BMW K75 and I loved them, and when I got my 650 that was the first thing that went on. I've used ME33's (Lazers) throughout that time, and switched over from ME 99's 10 years ago (I thought that they wore out a bit fast). Went to an ME88 Marathon which is still on it (and 10 years old, time to get it off, come to think of it).

In all this time I have never, and I mean NEVER, had a moment's discomfort with their performance, as long as the higher air pressures are maintained. This is vital.

Although my riding has quietened down a bit (I'm 63), my riding buddy in the late 80's through the 90's and I burned up a lot of twisty roads here in Ontario, northern New York state and western Quebec. The Metzies were always there, no scary wobbles, no slip and slide, to the point where you could forget they were there.

[850 Combat]

In 1987, when I put a Lazer front and ME88 rear on My GS850, it was a whole new bike. Anybody remember the stock Mag Mopus?

My GS100G has the same ones, only deckades newer. I like them.

My R80RT has the newer type described here. Not as good.

I just bought another really cean GS1000G (my favorite). What tires do you guys recommend?

PS:

I don't care for the R80RT either.