Although these bikes were all new to me, I
felt able and safe at all times. Much of this
must come down to confidence imparted by
the tyres.
On a steep descent in a narrow, nadgery
valley leading down to Kiama the ABS
kicked in several times and the rear tyre
gave the faintest of chirps and dug in with
extraordinary feel and grip under a handful
of throttle and counter-steering, bringing a
stupid grin to my face.
Having swapped the Yamaha at Robertson’s
pie shop, seemingly one of the colder places
on planet earth, I enjoyed the increased
horsepower and low-slung weight of the
Harley FXDR Powercruiser and flung it about
with surprising alacrity during more wiggling
trails.
By lunchtime a fierce cold front was
descending, lowering the temperature and
a little of the fun quotient. As we were to
head to Goulburn through Kangaroo Valley
and another high pass I rued my failure to
predict rain and cold. Fortunately I was able
to get onto the big Honda Goldwing for the
30 KIWI RIDER
TECH STUFF
In the past extreme durability
in cruising tyres was seen as the
premium desirable characteristic for
tyres but as the market has developed
into being more power specific with
associated sportier demands, Metzeler
has responded. The Cruisetec has
been designed from the ground up for
the latest generation of V-twin power
cruisers.
Metzeler says the Cruisetec offers
greater agility from the machine,
improved grip limits, greater stability,
higher cornering speeds, with reduced
stopping distances and an appreciable
improvement in working with modern
electronic riding aids.
The elements of the tread patterns
have been designed for optimal grip
and regular wear for heavy machines
with loads of torque. The front
tread pattern has diverging grooves
crossing the centreline allowing
water evacuation and greater braking
efficiency, and the structural parts
of the tread pattern mitigate the
pulsations of ABS. Short transversal
grooves, from the centreline to the
shoulders mean quick warm up times,
and stable mechanical grip.
The rear has long alternating grooves
converging to the rotation direction
to deliver a stable contact patch
without deflection, offering regular
wear. The groove offset increases
with lean angles with the result of
solidity, grip and smoothness of