I couldn't be happier

[gkgeiger]

I went to Snowshoe WV on Thursday with some friends from the Youngstown/Salem area. I ended up riding 416 miles to make a 300 mile trip. We started in the rain and we finished in the rain, and by the way we had some rain in the middle of the trip. We only did about 20 miles of Interstate, and as usual rode some of the best back roads in the country. My sweet little DCT worked perfectly. Using the Sport mode and the paddles worked fantastic. My only problem was that my 5000 mile Z8's really sucked on the wet pavement. There were a couple of times I thought I was going to hit the ground. I'd be leaned over in a turn and either the front tire or the rear would just slip sideways. I must admit the rain was coming down pretty hard but I've never had that problem with any other tires. The good news is My Conti Trail Attacks showed up while I was gone. They look great and if they work as expected I'll be happy. I just wanted to say that I love my NC more all the time. It's a keeper. Oh, I've said that before haven't I? It's number 50 something on my list but at least half of those were off road race bikes. By the way, the reason for the ride was to meet a group from BMWST riders at the (Rubber Chicken Rendezvous) for dinner, drinks and tall tails.

 

[n30r3l0ad3d]

Good to hear you had a good time. The Z8's have little to no rain protection, so don't fault yourself for that.

 

[ziggie]

What Ohio road did you take?

 

[gkgeiger]

What Ohio road did you take?

I met my buds in Lisbon and took 11 to 7 to 78 to 26 to Marietta.

 

[Phil X]

Good to hear you had a good time. The Z8's have little to no rain protection, so don't fault yourself for that.

Well maybe the US NC700 bikes use a different compound or making of the Z8 tires than the bikes we get over here.
Phil

 

[dduelin]

Well maybe the US NC700 bikes use a different compound or making of the Z8 tires than the bikes we get over here.
Phil

I agree. I have nothing but good things to say about the Z8 in the rain. Portions of the USA have been getting a lot of rain this year. When I was in WV a few weeks ago there was gravel, sand, etc. washouts all over the place with lots of debris on the roads to cause tense moments. Any tire that slips or kicks out and grips again to save a get off in the rain can't be all bad.

Metzeler's Roadtec Z8 Interact wins MCN tire of the year! | Ridexperience USA

 

[ziggie]

Sounds like a good trip.haven't been in marietta in awhile.

 

[gkgeiger]

Any tire that slips or kicks out and grips again to save a get off in the rain can't be all bad.

Metzeler's Roadtec Z8 Interact wins MCN tire of the year! | Ridexperience USA

I agree with that statement. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I can only say that in a couple hundred thousand miles I've never experienced this before. None of the guys I was riding with had this experience. I didn't mean to turn this into a tire discussion.

 

[dduelin]

Neither do I. Sounds like a great trip. I love riding WV. The only part of OH I've ridden is into Zanesville on 70 then south on the Triple Nickle to the OH River. 555 is worth the ride!

 

[n30r3l0ad3d]

And I don't mean to bash or discourage people from using Z8's, but myself and others have had issues with the rear tire kicking out on wet surfaces. It's not just one or two people via forum search.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

Wait until you're riding in a hard rain, and a gust of wind blows the bike so hard that both tires lose traction. That was on the BT-023's.
My heart about stalled that time.

 

[netizen]

I have to say, after Riding this past week behind fuzzy on his DCT through the twisties at the HU meeting, I am seeing the advantages to the DCT much more clearly. He had his bike in sport mode, and didn't have to worry about picking the right gear.... there were several turns where I picked the wrong gear, or the curve went much longer and harder than I had expected, and my bike did not down shift for me as his did, so I was dealing with the higher gear in the curve while he was enjoying the automatic downshift to the lower gear. I had my hands too full to downshift at times, so I just had to deal with the gear I was in.
I am used to doing this, but not used to seeing the bike in front of me shifting to correct the situation for you.... that really made me re-think the advantages of having a DCT.

If you click on the link below you will see a pic of fuzzy leading me through a turn on the Cherohala Skyway
http://xtremesportsphotography.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0QAK01HK020049&po=49&pc=134

 

[OriginalRocket]

Just had a similar experience. Rode to Galena, IL with my girl on her cbr250r abs, and a friend rode his can-am spyder. Couple of times the spider was sliding and he had to back off as we spiritedly made our way around the most holy terrain in IL!

Amazingly the 250r kept up brilliantly. And when she pushed herself, she could out pace me on my NC. I just couldn't get the NC to flip from opposite lean angles fast enough. And I don't like the stock rear tire skidding out when the power goes on coming out of a turn.

 

[Phil X]

And I don't mean to bash or discourage people from using Z8's, but myself and others have had issues with the rear tire kicking out on wet surfaces. It's not just one or two people via forum search.

Sorry to get a bit of offtopic here. However, the OP claims about a 5000m Z8, which might very well look like a slick and could explain things very well. I had to exchange my first set of Z8 at 8000km (as opposed to miles!), the second set will last probably 6000km only. Actually the Z8 over here are quite good at rain (tested by magazines as well). I personally will change to a different brand soon, but for a totally different reason: the rear tire to me does not feel perfectly reliable when changing left and right slope very hard (at warm and dry conditions!). However, it still works well for faster turns with progressive slope. No issues there.
I will soon go with a much cheaper brand that I know it would work for quick slope changes as well, but will not last as long as the Z8.
Maybe a short video shows what kind of riding I mean (however, no tire issues in this video!):
Abfahrt Stallersattel (It) mit Honda NC700X DCT - YouTube

Once more, sorry for tire discussion, I was just wondering and I definitely do think they might use a different compound. That was not meant to be a joke.
Phil

 

[Mike Cash]

5000 miles = 8000 kilometers.

 

[Old Can Ride]

"My Conti Trail Attacks showed up "

Please keep us posted on these new tires! Would like to know how these tires perform in the real world.

Keep riding, and riding, and riding and riding.