BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I've now had 4 pairs of Dunlop Roadsmarts on my 2012 TC. The average mileage has been 5,000 to 5,500 miles.

The tyres have always been legal, with about 1mm of serviceable tread remaining on both F&R. The ride was not compliant, therefore replaced them.

Most of my riding is solo, but I don't hang about, more PC to say progressive.

Dunlop Roadsmarts are now discontinued, thinking of switching to Metzeler Z8's. Looks like they have a similar lifespan.

David. wrote: I've now had 4 pairs of Dunlop Roadsmarts on my 2012 TC. The average mileage has been 5,000 to 5,500 miles.

The tyres have always been legal, with about 1mm of serviceable tread remaining on both F&R. The ride was not compliant, therefore replaced them.

Most of my riding is solo, but I don't hang about, more PC to say progressive.

Dunlop Roadsmarts are now discontinued, thinking of switching to Metzeler Z8's. Looks like they have a similar lifespan.

Got 3k on my Z8s at the moment. Must say I quite like them, always had RR4GT before, but not disappointed with the Z8s

I got just over 5000 miles from the original PR4, lots of tread left but the handling went off, especially white lines and poor road surfaces.
I changed to Roadtec 01,having ran them on a previous 2015 RT. The transformation for me was wow a completely different bike couldn’t be happier. But tyres are very personal it’s whatever gives you the confidence, each to there own.

New tyres, whatever the make, always transform a bike.

Took the original z8s off at 5500.Replaced with O1s.Great tyre but very noisy.

Sorry gents i forgot to mention my 2018 RTLE has Metz -Z8 tyres .

hammo wrote:My 2018 RT LE has Metzeler Z8 tyres.

hammo wrote:I have done 8,500 mile on my original tyres on my 2018 RT LE and as yet they still look good.

Looks like Metzeler Z8's will be my next tyre choice.

The tyres on my RT1250 are Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact. They are approximately half worn after 4,600 miles, and the rear squirms when crossing white lines at slow speed.
Has anyone else experienced this instability when crossing white lines?

Tony Fyson wrote: The tyres on my RT1250 are Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact. They are approximately half worn after 4,600 miles, and the rear squirms when crossing white lines at slow speed.
Has anyone else experienced this instability when crossing white lines?

As has been said in most of the previous responses: yes.


And so far, we haven't found a tyre that doesn't. You say it is your rear tyre that squirms. Are you sure? It certainly feels like the rear, but I feel the steering geometry on these Wetheads may be the factor that makes us feel the squirm and so it is initiated at the front end of the bike. These bikes use a steering damper to control the front end, which gives us a clue to how lively the front end is.

Tony Fyson wrote:The tyres on my RT1250 are Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact. They are approximately half worn after 4,600 miles, and the rear squirms when crossing white lines at slow speed.

Has anyone else experienced this instability when crossing white lines?

Yes, generally, rear tyres "square off" and do not ride up nicely over the height of the painted white line, which can be considerable.
This can occur whilst the tyre still has usable tread. It's at this point, (around 5,000 miles on Dunlop Roadsmarts),  that the ride isn't compliant for me, therefore, I change the tyres.
Usually both F&R at the same time.



"Many times, a tyre may not get worn out completely but that doesn't mean that it requires no attention.

The shape of a tyre matters a lot in determining whether it would be suitable for use in future or not.

The most common form of uneven wear is the squarish wear of the tyre in which the tyre gets worn out from the centre portion of the tread."

David. wrote: Yes, generally, rear tyres "square off" and do not ride up nicely over the height of the painted white line, which can be considerable.
This can occur whilst the tyre still has usable tread. It's at this point, ... that the ride isn't compliant for me, therefore, I change the tyres.
Usually both F&R at the same time.



"Many times, a tyre may not get worn out completely but that doesn't mean that it requires no attention.

The shape of a tyre matters a lot in determining whether it would be suitable for use in future or not.

The most common form of uneven wear is the squarish wear of the tyre in which the tyre gets worn out from the centre portion of the tread."

+1

PR4GTs about to come off at 7k miles.  Gone  bit square on the back now and the front is starting to cup.  Interestingly I think the front is more worn than the rear.  Will probably go same again or may try the new 5s.

Another option available is the Pirelli Angel GT 2
I've done about 1300 miles of touring in the Alps so far and no sign of wear
last two sets of Michelin PR4 GT had severe sawtoothing wear

Best tyre on the market for the RT Metzeler Roadtec 01 HWM which is for touring motorcycles. 8000 miles covered in varying conditions and tread still even across the width of the tyre and no squaring off !!