A winning hand from METZELER: four new tires for 2020

SPORTEC™ M9 RR, ROADTEC™ 01 SE, RACETEC™ TD Slick and ROADTEC™ Scooter are the new products to join the brand’s range in their relative segments

Munich (Germany), 6 November 2019 –METZELER, always at the forefront of research and technological innovation, announces that, in 2020, it will broaden its range with four new tire models.

SPORTEC™ M9 RR, ROADTEC™ 01 SE, RACETEC™ TD Slick and ROADTEC™ Scooter are the new products strengthening the brand’s range in their relative segments.

SPORTEC™ M9 RR is the successor of the multiple award-winning SPORTEC™ M7 RR, which is still considered a benchmark in the Supersport segment. ROADTEC™ 01 SE represents the evolution of ROADTEC™ 01, available in radial sizes for owners of naked, supersport and sport-touring bikes who are looking for improved handling and sportier performance. RACETEC™ TD Slick is a new slick tire for track-day lovers and club racers. Finally, ROADTEC™ Scooter, the chosen heir of the FEELFREE™ family, is designed for urban mobility, commuting and sport-touring use typical of the ROADTEC™product family.

SPORTEC™ M9 RR – Ride the unexpected 

SPORTEC™ M9 RR is without a doubt the most keenly awaited release for all supersport riders who have had the chance to appreciate the already excellent experience offered by the SPORTEC™ M7 RR, with SPORTEC™ M9 RR bringing further performance improvements across the board. SPORTEC™ M9 RR, as you may guess from the name, has a strong connection to its predecessor and its roots. The name SPORTEC™ identifies the range of sports road tires designed for day-to-day use and to guarantee a great riding experience, safety and versatility. RR stands for Road Racing and immediately brings to mind the iconic Isle of Man TT competition, won this year by champion Dean Harrison on METZELER tires. Road racing competitions bring to mind not only performance but also the typical characteristics associated with the use of road bikes, which generally include unpredictable weather and road-surface conditions. This is the concept behind the claim for the new product, “Ride the Unexpected.”

SPORTEC™ M9 RR perfectly combines the typical versatility of day-to-day use with the brand’s competitive experience in road racing, building on the important legacy of the SPORTEC™ M7 RR, a tire that boasts an impressive list of awards and recognitions. This is completed with the most recent technological advances from the German brand’s research and development pursuits.

One of the most pervasive innovations in motorcycle technology from the introduction of the SPORTEC™ M7 RR has been the development of electronic rider-assist technology, supported by sophisticated sensors that offer riders greater security, regardless of the type of motorcycle. In this context, tires play a fundamental role in allowing the electronics to interpret the true behavior of the vehicle and calibrate it to offer the best riding experience and optimum performance. The biggest challenge for the METZELER Research and Development Center was to adapt the dynamic performance of the SPORTEC™ M9 RRto a wide range of motorcycles, allowing electronic rider assistance systems to function properly.

SPORTEC™ M9 RR has been designed for motorcyclists, primarily owners of supersport and naked bikes, with a sporty riding style and who use their bikes almost every day in conditions from the urban jungle to the winding weekend roads. These riders are looking for improved performance and want a great riding experience with sporty performance even in wet conditions, but also with the option to take their bike on the track as well. These riders need a sports tire that provides precise and reliable feedback while they enjoy their bike’s performance.

The full SPORTEC™ M9 RRrange includes 3 front and 9 rear tires sizes.

ROADTEC™ 01 SE – The sporty side of touring 

Following the success of the multiple award-winning ROADTEC™ 01 that debuted in 2015 for the sport-touring tire segment, METZELER has decided to introduce the new ROADTEC™ 01 SE.

The ROADTEC™ 01 SE radial range completes METZELER’s catalog, consolidating the strengths of the ROADTEC™ 01 – with its exceptional performance in wet conditions and high mileage – and enhancing the sporty characteristics in terms of the grip and agility needed by supersport, naked and sport-touring riders.

To meet sports requirements that imply high performance at sharp lean angles, the tread design for the ROADTEC™ 01 SEbuilds on that of the ROADTEC™ 01, with an evolution towards a tire with a slicker shoulder, optimizing drive with a greater surface area coming into contact with the asphalt.

The front models of the ROADTEC™ 01 SE inherit the latest version of the full-silica compound used for the ROADTEC™ 01 and feature the same tread pattern in the middle section, a key aspect of its exceptional grip on low-friction surfaces. The shoulders are slicker, and the relative structural refinement optimizes performance through half and full lean, improving agility and steering stability.

The rear models of the ROADTEC™ 01 SE use a bi-compoundand, as with the front, feature a sportier evolution of the ROADTEC™ 01 tread pattern, aimed at offering greater drive at sharper lean angles together with comfort and driving pleasure capable of satisfying even the most demanding riders, both on long routes and winding roads. ROADTEC™ 01 and ROADTEC™ 01 SE: two products perfect for any adventurer with a sports attitude.

RACETEC™ TD Slick

RACETEC™ TD Slick joins the range of METZELER™ racing slick tires, dedicated to riders and club racers with a focus on competition and training use.

RACETEC™ TD Slick is a slick tire for the track that is quick and easy to use. It can also be used without tire warmers and does not require any special bike set-up to offer optimal performance. The key features of the RACETEC™ TD Slickinclude optimal performance, uniformity of yield even after several sessions, versatility for different track surfaces and operating temperatures, high resistance to abrasion and the option to reverse the direction of rotation of the rear tires between sessions if the circuit configuration generates more wear on one side.

RACETEC™ TD Slick has been designed for riders that want the advantages of a slick product but without the need for additional racing equipment (stands, tire warmers, generators, etc.) or a highly tuned bike set-up and suspension, as are normally needed with slick racing tires.

RACETEC™ TD Slick is therefore aimed at all riders who do not want to go without slick tires on the track, expert riders who want a plug-and-play product for long free sessions, and club riders who need a tire with endurance mileage and an excellent quality/price ratio that allows them to focus on improving lap times for the entire race weekend.

The new tire will be available in four sizes at 17 inches: 120/70 front and 180/55, 190/55 and 200/55 rear.

ROADTEC™ Scooter
 
ROADTEC™ Scooter is the new tire developed by METZELER for all types of scooters with wheels from 10 to 16 inches. ROADTEC™ Scooter boasts extreme flexibility and versatility, meets the broadest range of weather, temperature and road-surface conditions, in urban areas and beyond.

The development of the ROADTEC™ Scooter naturally took inspiration from the ROADTEC™ 01, while optimizing its features for scooter use. The full range includes 51 sizes, and ROADTEC™ Scooter will gradually replace the current METZELER catalog, including FEELFREE™, FEELFREE™ WINTEC and ME 7 TEEN™, with a single product offering optimum performance.

More specifically, ROADTEC™ Scooter, compared to the products it will replace,guarantees greater grip on wet and low-friction surfaces, along with use under a greater range of temperatures and improved handling.

The tread design of this new tire is directly based on the ROADTEC™ 01, specifically developed to allow the use of a system partially based on siping. The primary benefits of this help with warm-up and comfort, as the siping contributes to the deformability of the tread, and first-class grip on low-friction surfaces, guaranteed by the recognizable ROADTEC™ 01 groove pattern.

Compared to its predecessors, ROADTEC™ Scooter features a rounder profile to increase the tread contact area, and a more rigid structure to support the profile and improve handling.

Finally, the ROADTEC™ Scooter compounds feature a high percentage of silica for greater control in wet conditions and use at a greater range of temperatures. All ROADTEC™ Scooter rear radial tires use a bi-compound.