Metzler introduces MC360 motocross tyre

Its pre-launch testing is now complete, and the new, streel-legal Metzeler MC360 motocross tyre is now available. The range is offered in a choice of two compound specifications, Mid-Soft and Mid-Hard. Two front wheel and seven rear wheel sizes are available.

According to Metzeler, the MC360 is aimed at both professional and amateur riders. It views the tyre as meeting the needs of professional racers competing in motocross, supercross and freestyle who require “high performance, strong, durable and versatile tyres in order to reduce the set-up needed for optimising their machines.” At the same time, the MC360 aims to provide a solution to amateur racers who are “focused on improving their riding skills with a durable, easy-to-use and always under-control tyre” and looking for a plug-and-play solution that enables them to “perform at the top of their abilities with very few adjustments.” Cross-country racers who are “looking for both motocross-like performance and enduro versatility and durability” are a third target audience for the MC360. Lastly, thanks to the availability of 18-inch sizes, Metzeler sees the MC360 as suitable for those who engage in motocross and enduro activities for leisure and are looking for “value-for-money products” that are “able to ensure excellent performance, durability in addition to tear and wear resistance so as to prolong the riding experience for more than one practice day.”

Beneath the surface, the MC360 features a structure made of three plies of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Metzeler says this high module, low shrinkage, strong and impact-resistant material offers “a good balance between softness and toughness.”

Both MC360 compounds are 100 per cent carbon black and were developed with high tearing resistance, thermic stability and durability in mind. The key point of difference between the two compounds is the amount of stiffness encountered in the footprint area.

The tread pattern on the Mid-Hard option contains five rows of tread knobs and features what Metzeler calls CKB, or Continuous Knob Binding technology. It explains CKB as a double chamfer at the bottom of the tread grooves that improves the tread knobs’ resistance to tearing and wear. Compared with the Mid-Soft specification, the Mid-Hard tyre also has a higher land/sea ratio – this is said to “ensure an adequate footprint for maximum adhesion” and “improve the tyre’s durability.”

The Mid-Soft tread pattern is characterised by five rows of knobs on the front tyre and three rows on the rear, with alternated cuts in order to optimise progressive traction when turning. The knobs at the centre of the tread are parabolic in shape in order to maximise their penetration of the track surface, and thus traction when accelerating on medium soft terrains, without affecting mechanical resistance.

The treads of both compound specifications feature alternated diamond-shaped knobs on the tread shoulders and v-shaped groves between the centre and shoulder knobs; Metzeler says these features facilitate the evacuation of mud and dirt from the tread. A further point of interest is the reversibility of the MC360 tread. According to Metzeler, the tyres can be used in both direction, and that by reversing the tyre half-way through its life, giving the rider unworn tread knobs in the direction of travel.