Part of me kinda looked forward to a
Kardashian giving me mouth-to-mouth with
her monkey-gland-filled lips while Kanye
sang dreadful songs in the background
RUBBER ISSUE
Like I said, Indian got this package damn right…
in a uniquely American way.
But as I gazed at the weird-arse tyres after a
14-hour flight, a three-hour exit from LAX, and a
dose of jet-lag which had me speaking Spanish
to the bloke who carried my bag into the hotel, I
had my doubts.
“What’s going on here?” I asked one of the
Indian media-launch shepherds. “What kind of
silly gringo bull-rubber have you pendejos fitted
to this motorcycle? Do you want me to die?”
And English pendejo called Ian assured me
the chunky, flat-track-inspired Dunlops would
surprise me.
“By high-siding me into Kim Kardashian’s
front gate?”
“Hopefully not,” he said, looking mildly alarmed.
“How do you even know where she lives?”
“How do you not?” I countered.
Of course, the tyres are one of the things that
make the FTR so unique. The front 120/70-19
looks kinda normal, but the back 150/80-18
looks straight off the Sacramento Mile.
It’s got big square shoulders, the tread is block-
like, and its upright contact patch appears
much larger than the standard palm-size oval of
salvation you’ll find on a normal tyre.
But what was going to happen when I leaned
into a corner and that massive contact patch
began to shrink – unlike a normal hoop, where it
actually gets bigger?
How was this bizarre vulcanisation exercise
going to work with the tubular frame and its
stressed-member engine, the tubular trellis
swingarm, and that serious-looking front-end?
Part of me kinda looked forward to a
Kardashian giving me mouth-to-mouth with
her monkey-gland-filled lips while Kanye sang
dreadful songs in the background. It would have
been something to remember for all of us.
But the Dunlop rubber surprised me.
KIWI RIDER 99