The tyres thrummed
beautifully and the level of
grip was astonishing
ROAD PERFORMANCE
Our tyre test was to take in some 300km
of twisting Southern Highland roads in New
South Wales’ backcountry. The order went
out to pick a bike, and 12 journalists did their
best to appear cool as they casually dropped
a jacket onto a Harley SportsGlide seat, or
popped a helmet onto an Indian Scout or
Honda Goldwing. This eclectic bunch of
bikes promised much and, over two days of
rigorous testing, delivered.
Ostensibly a tyre is a round black thing at
the bottom of your bike, and as long as it has
a bit of grip and holds pressure – not much
further thought is given to it by most. But I
was about to become educated.
First up let’s get some miles under our belts.
I opted for the Yamaha Bolt, seemingly not
the favourite pick on the day, but it had pegs
where I was used to them and looked the
most comfortable. I was wrong, and not for
the first time over the next two days. The leg
position was so ‘knees up’ as we rode off that
I had double hip cramps before I’d barely left
the driveway. My heart sank. I was just going
to have to handle the pain until it passed –
thankfully just 5km later.
We sped out of town and into the hinterland,
to some of the greatest winding roads and
climbs, valleys and serpentine descents
I’ve ridden. The ride up the Macquarie
Pass escarpment, colloquially known as
“Robertson’s”, named after the famous pie
shop at the top, was endless joy. Just when
it seemed it couldn’t go on weaving swiftly in
tight snaking bends, it revealed another level
of swift, smooth, lean angles that started
the erosion of every cruiser foot peg in the
group.
The tyres thrummed beautifully and the level
of grip was astonishing. More importantly
it seemed the round profile led to accurate
cornering, giving me better choice of
positioning on the road. Instead of merely
dealing with the issue of where the tyres
went, as an end result of swift cornering, I
was able to place the bike almost anywhere
in a corner at any time.
This group of highly experienced riders
were not mucking around – they rode very
swiftly and their level of experience and skill
exceeded my own, even though I consider
myself a capable, widely experienced rider.
KIWI RIDER 29