I had the pleasure of road testing and conducting a review of the Metzeler M9RR Sportec tyres on the BMW S1000RR recently. The intention was to understand their performance under sport riding conditions that many motorcycle riders engage in. During this review I also undertook some study on the features of the M9RR that differentiated it from other tyres and contributed to its incredible level of performance.
Metzeler has done an amazing job in their development of this tyre, which is clearly going to set a new benchmark in regards to having a high grip tyres that also experiences good mileage and low rolling resistance.
SOME NOTES ABOUT CONSTRUCTION OF THE M9RR TYRE
The front and rear M9s are both dual compound tyres and both use the same compounds for more predictable response. In the front, the central compound makes up around a third of the tread section with the other two thirds split equally on each side across the shoulders, and are slightly softer, to provide support and grip at lean.
At the rear, the compounds are arranged using a Cap and Base layout, where the harder base compound, present across the central quarter of the width of the tyre, is also used underneath the remaining 37.5% on each of the two shoulders, as a base layer which has a softer ‘cap’ over the top, as demonstrated above.
The compounds used are 100% silica which is said to improve warm-up time and abrasion resistance. The construction can be split into three categories; the slick shoulders for the sporty riders at full lean, the mid-lean grooves for water drainage and wear uniformity plus a central slick strip to carve through standing water and offer stability when the bike is upright.
The carcass construction is new with stiffer but less cords (the vertical ‘wall’ part under the exterior), which assist with the claims of extra grip, performance when worn and riding pleasure.
Matteo Torchiana, Head of Hypersport Development, says, “It’s an evolution, a step forward from M7 - a multiple test winner all over the world - and the big effort in the development of the M9 was to overtake the M7 in all the areas from street, racing and sport touring sides. The product is changing but also so is the market, so we wanted to offer a supersport product that are not only the superbikes but also for the naked, all displacement and the crossovers too for use in sporty as well as every day and in different conditions.”