Mar
10
Wednesday
COE Results
| Impressive Interact-ion |
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| Monday, 04 May 2009 16:27 |
 MCN’s Michael Neeves tests Metzeler’s latest super-sticky rubber offering This is Metzeler’s Racetec replacement – it’s called the Racetec Interact. It’s right at the sticky end of sticky, road legal motorcycle tyres and after a day riding on them at Brands Hatch, they’re much better than I am, no question. This is a 10/10 tyre, no question. They come in four different compounds. There’s the K3 compound, designed for the road, then medium (K2), soft (K1) and super soft (K0) for racing. Don’t be tempted to go for a softer compound than you need because the tyres simply won’t work to their optimum. They won’t get up to working temperature and they’ll start to ‘cold tear’. The medium K2 compound, front and rear, was the best for a spring day at Brands Hatch, where we tried the Interacts on sports bikes. Riding a ZX-10R for a good 25 minutes there was little sign of wear on the rear, which was very impressive. I tried a set of the softer compound K1s on an R6 and the tyre showed lots of wear after 15 or so laps. There shouldn’t be any need to use anything other than the harder K3 compound for the road. They offer superb feel The old Racetec, which has been around since 2004, is still the control tyre in the National Superstock 1000 championship where they turn in impressive lap times. The new Interacts offer superb feel and the impression you’re glued into the tarmac. They’re faultless. They like the wet It takes a while to convince your brain that you can brake hard, lean, and accelerate early in the wet on an almost slick tyre, but the Interact grips superbly in the damp, and you end up leaning ever futher until you’re knee down. Incredible.  Neeves found the new Interact grips superbly well in damp conditions The competition The new Metzelers are set to cost £116 for a front and £145 for a rear. In road and race compounds, they will cross swords with some formidable rivals: Avon Viper Xtreme Bridgestone BT-003 Race Bridgestone BT-003 RS Continental ContiRace Attack Dunlop D209 GP Racer Dunlop D211GP Michelin Power One Pirelli Diablo Super Corsa Review courtesy of Motorcyclenews.com |