It doesn’t matter how good you are at operating a vehicle or how advanced a vehicle is, if the rubber that keeps you connected to the road surface below is either incorrect, worn out, or aged, you are not only putting yourself but also others around you in danger. Tyres, no matter how much stressed upon, are always considered as a second priority item in general maintenance of automobiles. And their importance only multiples as the contact patches go on reducing.
TVS Eurogrip has two manufacturing facilities, one located in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and the other in Rudrapur (Uttarakhand).
That said, when riding modern powerful two-wheelers that are quick in acceleration and powerful enough to effortlessly breach into triple-digit territory, it becomes necessary to have a good pair of shoes on your motorcycle. It is that one decision that will ensure you have all the possible grip and braking force at your disposal whenever you need it. That said, we were invited by TVS Eurogrip for another ‘Tread Talks’ racetrack edition, to test the brand’s newest Roadhound tyres designed for two-wheelers ranging from 600cc to 1,400cc.
Test riders cover a distance of 250+ kms on daily basis to test the tyres.
For that segment of motorcycles, we are talking about some serious tyre business, and TVS Eurogrip is confident to have put in the required research and development, expertise and manufacturing capability which we got to witness in the factory tour of the facility before heading to the Kari Motor Speedway to test the Roadhound tyres. Before heading there, to give you an idea of stringent testing levels, the company has a dedicated team of test riders who cover a distance of 250+ kilometres daily, under varying road and climate conditions, putting the tyres through the paces in real-world conditions to get the required data for further research and development.
Various motorcycles shod with a fresh set of Roadhound tyres for testing.
On arriving at the racetrack, we were greeted by a good spread of motorcycles consisting of the Kawasaki Ninja 650 and Z650, Benelli TRK 502, Harley-Davidson Street Rod and a Honda CBR650F, all shod with a fresh set of Roadhound tyres. While TVS Eurogrip is already working on multiple sizes and tyre profiles, they are currently offering a 120/70-ZR17 tyre for the front, and two sizes for the rear, a 160/60-ZR17 and 180/55-ZR17. The reason for these sizes is that these are the most commonly opted sizes for the motorcycles that come in this segment.
The tyres come with zero-degree belt construction and Quadrazone rubber compound.
The Roadhound tyres have been manufactured using the latest technology featuring a zero-degree steel belt construction that’s wrapped around the tyres in the same direction of rotation. This method allows the tyres to achieve more cornering grip, straight line stability and while braking, maintaining the shape of the tyre under heavy loads. Next is the Quadrazone compound for the contact area, featuring four different rubber compounds for the shoulder and central region. The tyres also have a higher silica composition and wide-spread groves which together help in achieving traction even in wet and low temperature conditions.
While the Roadhound tyres are chiefly designed for road use, they can also be used for the track.
Onto with the experience, then. From the above spread of motorcycles, I decided to begin with the Benelli TRK 502. Not a bike meant for the track by any means, but possesses a good amount of weight to test the grip offered by the tyres under load conditions. Having ridden the TRK 502 earlier, I had a sense of how the stock tyres perform. In relation to them, the Roadhound tyres offered higher grip levels while maintaining their shape even under hard braking or cornering. Even on deliberate attempts to upset the tyre working, they simply refused to break traction on any given occasion.
It was easy to carry more lean than what I usually would on a street naked bike like the Z650.
Next was the Z650, Kawasaki’s middle-weight street naked. The tyres on this one were close to operating temperature as a fellow journalist had just finished riding it for a few laps. Right after exiting the pitlane, I gave a good twist of the throttle to build speed before entering C1. Knowing what these tyres are capable of once they warm up, without any doubt, I leaned into the corner, and as predicted, the tyres offered all the grip that was needed to complete the sequence of C1 and C2 corners before passing through the tight chicane at C3 and C4.
The Roadhound tyres are extremely impressive! They offer excellent levels of grip and cornering confidence, right up the alley of other premium tyres.
For the next four laps, I gradually pushed the Z650 hard to find the limit of the Roadhound tyres. From braking late to carrying more speed through the corners, the tyres continued to provide grip most of the time, apart from an occasional lockup of the rear wheel, under hard deceleration. While the tyres kept to their mark, the street-tuned suspension on the Z650 had started to max out, which is fine.
The TVS Eurogrip Roadhound tyres offer superb grip, and lean angles around the technical and sharp Kari Motor Speedway circuit.
After riding a touring bike and then a street naked, the third motorcycle to test the tyes was the Honda CBR 650F. Having a chassis and suspension that's more suited for riding on a track, with a sporty riding triangle, I was able to further test the capabilities of the Roadhound tyres, and as expected, they managed to offer consistant performance.
Also Read: TVS Eurogrip Protorq Extreme Tyres Racetrack Review
In conclusion, the Roadhound tyres from TVS Eurogrip needless to say are really good in terms of performance and grip levels. After testing them on different genres of motorcycles and deliberately pushing the tyres to the limit on a race track, I am happy to conclude that these tyres managed to tick the boxes that one would expect. Yes, other international premium brands offer higher levels of performance and grip, but then there's also the premium price to consider. While the tyres have performed well on a race track, we are keen to test them out in the real world next, testing and riding over variety of road conditions and scenarios.
Tyre Size and Prices:
120/70-ZR17 (Front): Rs 12,999
160/60-ZR17 (Rear): Rs 14,000
180/55-ZR17 (Rear): Rs 16,999
