Pirelli and Metzeler unveil their latest

In the motorcycle segment, Italian firm Pirelli offers something its competitors don’t; not one, but two unique brands – and one of these is Metzeler, the industry’s only two-wheel tyre specialist. Jim Worland, who is the product and marketing manager for Pirelli Tyres Ltd’s Moto business unit, recently spoke to Tyres & Accessories about the latest products and developments from both brands.

We started off by discussing motorsport. Pirelli’s Moto business unit is engaged in a number of motorsport supply arrangements, including for the World Superbike Championship. Worland opines that series’ nature enables Pirelli and Metzeler to learn from their experiences. “Because we’re present in production-based championships, we need products that work on bikes that are not so far from street bikes. This is a real advantage for us. We can really draw upon our experiences in these championships for our road bike products. In 2013 we are also moving to 17-inch tyres in the World Superbike Championship, and this gives us an even better opportunity to apply our experiences to product development.”

Worland adds that motorsport is not about developing one-off specials: “We can and prefer to develop products for a variety of bikes and riding styles, and this is also to our advantage when it comes to our road bike product development.”

Pirelli Angel GT

Addressing the subject of product development, Worland also noted that while Metzeler and Pirelli share experiences on a developmental level, the two brands do not simply develop the same products with different badges. This means Pirelli can develop a product for the sport touring segment – and end up with a tyre that complements its Metzeler counterpart rather than competes directly against it.

Pirelli’s new tyre for this segment is the Angel GT, or Gran Turismo. “The Angel GT visually resembles the existing Angel product – the tread pattern is similar, giving the new tyre an Angel ‘family feeling’ – but the compounds used are new,” says Jim Worland. “We’ve gone with a dual-compound solution for the Angel GT. We like to use dual-compound when we think it offers a technical benefit.” The centre compound is harder to obtain high mileage, while the compound on the shoulders has higher silica content in order to guarantee wet performance.

The tyre will be available as of January and has already been homologated for the Multistrada 1200 S Granturismo. The Pirelli product and marketing manager says it will deliver a big increase in mileage over the existing ST along with a similar level of sporty performance and a large increase in wet grip. In a press release previewing the Angel GT, Pirelli claimed a 15 per cent or greater improvement in mileage over the Angel ST. “In fact, the unique nature of the Angel GT lies precisely in the fact that its excellent characteristics suffer limited deterioration as it eats up kilometres, all the way to the end of the product’s life cycle,” the tyre maker wrote. “Pirelli sums up this property as ‘Performance Mileage’.”

Roadtec Z8

Metzeler’s key product in the sport touring segment, the latest version of the Roadtec, was introduced last year. “Sport touring is the biggest segment in the market, therefore the Roadtec Z8 Interact is an important product for us,” Jim Worland comments. “It is the third edition of the Roadtec range, following on from the original Z6 and then the improved Z6 Interact. The Z8 is an all-new, totally different tyre. As with the Pirelli Angel GT it is a dual-compound tyre, and it has a significantly upgraded, high tech wet weather compound. We want to give riders more confidence and security – our aim wasn’t just to offer a fast tyre.”

Soon after its release the Roadtec Z8 Interact’s credentials were given a sizable boost when it won Motorcycle News’ Tyre of the Year award. After conducting a series of tests on wet roads, MCN declared: “Wet roads just got a lot less scary – a test of five sports touring tyres shows the new Metzelers have lifted the bar with phenomenal grip in the wet.” Indeed, MCN had already awarded the Z8 ‘best in test’ because the tyre showed a two second a lap improvement over the next best performer.

“MCN experts thought long and hard over what products should be considered for this prestigious award,” confirmed MCN director Andy Calton. “Staffers who ride bikes huge distances day in and day out, in all sort of conditions, came to a unanimous decision on the products of the year. Many things are taken into account when deciding which products should receive the annual MCN accolade. Things such as innovation, relevance to the market, price and simply just how well the product performed. The Metzeler Roadtec Z8’s score highly in all of these discussions. A tyre that really does perform well on a vast variety of bikes, in many different situations cannot be ignored. And at about £200 a pair, the Metzeler’s attracted a lot of attention. In all of MCN’s tests and riding experiences the Metzeler’s performed superbly well and lasted a long time. Hard to fault and relevant to the broad interests of the motorcycling market. So an easy choice in the end.”

Tourance Next

Another important new product from Metzeler, the Tourance Next, is aimed at the adventure bike market. “The adventure market is a growing market in the UK,” comments Worland. “In a world where sales are decreasing, we’re seeing double-digit growth in the adventure market. It’s becoming an increasingly important sector.”

Therefore the product and marketing manager says Metzeler is very happy to see the tyre’s adoption as original equipment on the latest BMW R1200GS, which goes on sale in January. “The BMW R1200GS is a premium bike from a premium brand. We’re very pleased to be associated with the R1200GS.” Metzeler has, incidentally, developed adventure bike tyres together with BMW since 1980.

A January 2013 release is planned for the Tourance Next. Worland shares that wet grip is much improved in comparison with its predecessor, the Tourance EXP, and mileage is also up. He adds that rear tyre fitments feature a dual compound, with a harder compound in the centre for straight line driving and a softer compound shoulder area for superior grip in corners.

Karoo 3

Adventure bike riders who prefer to leave the tarmac have another Metzeler option at their disposal. “Most riders stay on-road and therefore find the Tourance Next, which was designed for the tarmac, a good choice,” the product and marketing manager elaborates. “But some adventurers look for something that will serve them on and off-road, and the Karoo 3 was developed with their requirements in mind.”

This successor to Metzeler’s Karoo and Karoo T will be available in spring 2013, the tyre maker reports. The motorcycling world gained a sneak preview of the new Karoo 3 at last November’s EICMA motorcycle show in Italy, and when it hits the road the tyre will be available in three front wheel and six rear sizes.

Metzeler says the Karoo 3 will deliver high mileage, an important quality for riders favouring mid to long range travel, plus excellent off-road grip, top of the line stability and excellent handling. “These are all important elements if we consider that riders must often travel for many kilometres over asphalt in order to reach their off-road destination,” the tyre maker points out.