Metzler M5 interim report SHOCKING UPDATE!

What is this wet you guys are talking about? I've never heard of such a thing. I take it it's something that makes the road slippery. In Cali we don't have these problems. Well be careful on your wet roads over there.

On a side note I was thinking of giving the M5's a try when I'm due for tyres but the Q2's are sooo cheap and work great for me on dry roads which is all I ever ride on. I can go just as fast as with my previous tyres and still have some tyre left over for "oh shite" moments. They seem to have a bit of a different profile. My last BT016's almost got me crunched when I was coming around a corner and needed more when someone came in my lane, but it wasn't there. I missed the 3 guys who came into my lane after dipping it down more, but then the tyres drifted me to the center line and I almost took out 3 other guys.

Ahh maybe I'll try the M5's anyway.

Grendel has done about 1200 miles on the m5s. On a long trip with friends it rained for about 200 miles of the trip. Grendel was passing friends which are normally a bit faster. Great grip and very confidence inspiring.

At 1200 miles he is very pleased with the wear. Tyres have a large component which resides between the ears. If you are not confident on them, ditch them for something else!

got a pair of interact k3's as standard on my beemer and i like them a lot.
not tryed them in the wet and the bikes still restricted to 150bhp , so not gone nuts with them
they do provide very good feedback though and feel rock solid.

So today, in advance of my operation to fix my knackered foot, (after which I'll be on crutches for three months so no riding), I thought it would be a good idea to give the SD a total clean and look-over before I put the cover on for a while.

I start to wash the bike from the front wheel backwards and soon found myself up round the spindle and brake area. As I splash water about and scrub away the recent grime and road muck I feel there's something loose making a tiny noise so I take a closer look and see that one of the bolts clamping the front wheel spindle is loose. Not good I thought, it was so loose I could undo it with my fingers and I'm thinking how could this have come so lose? Then I realised that the one next to it was lose too. Then I check the other side and all four bolts are loose and not tightened up! WTF!

Then I remember that the last time any of these bolts were touched was when I got the Metzlers fitted. I haven't checked them for tightness since but I have done hundreds of miles and two whole track days at Brands! And have been experiencing some very strange handling which I have been putting down to the these new tryes all the time.

And then I get a bit mad at the memory of the bloke that fitted the tyres and the fact that he just didn't tighten them up. He must have fitted the spindle and then hand tightened them up, then the wheel sliders and somehow forgotten to use the spanner on the bolts.

And who was this tyre fitting company?

ESSENTIAL RUBBER in Dalston, London. Have a good reputation, I know a lot of people use them, but this deed was done there.

So anyway, anything I said previously about the tyres now has to be discounted. But we'll have to wait till Spring to hear whether the bike rides better with it's front wheel bolted on properly. Somehow I think it will