WORDS & PHOTOS: PETER ELLIOTT
T
yres are a dark art, and one largely
unknown to me, but I do know when
something is working well. My Triumph
Thruxton R came shod with Pirelli’s Diablo
Rossi Corsas, and I learnt to love them on
a day at Hampton Downs – which probably
reduced their life a little – and on speedy bits
of longer weekend sprints.
They offered grip and feel galore. However,
they had a dark side too... any hint of
precipitation caused palpitations as they
toyed with staying upright. Accelerating on
East Coast Bays Road on a damp morning
was like running with bare feet on oily glass
– reducing me from confident, swift riding to
geriatric toddling with a few drops of rain.
I needed help. Along came a
recommendation for Czechoslovakian
Mitas Sport Force tyres, supposedly pretty
capable in wet and dry… and a directive
from upon high to ‘get out and test them’.
Now here’s the thing, I have a day job, and
it mostly consists of not having broken bits,
which can slow up filming quite a bit and
make producers cross – a very undesirable
state – some of these bastards are quite
litigious. Which is a ‘passing the buck’ way
of saying I wasn’t going to test the tyres to
the point at which they lose grip like you can
on four wheels. But over time, as confidence
grows, I could take in some swifter corners,
and feel for the limits of my own ability.
At first I noticed very little difference, the
profile is almost identical and the turn in is
easy and precise, the rear carries perhaps
a little more edge but my confidence grew
quickly in grip and power delivery. The
groove pattern is designed to wick water
away, and out there on the first wet day I
felt as if I had a different bike. Admittedly,
the previous tyres were more track day
than commuter, but the feel and grip that
the Mitas delivered in the dry was carried
through consistently into the wet and again
confidence grew.
Having tyres that offer more than I am
prepared to deliver, in terms of testing,
gives me confidence and now I find I forget
about them, and just get on with riding at
my own ability. Word has it that the Mitas’
endurance is also pretty good , so I’m
expecting a longer life out of them than the
previous tyres. They can squeal a bit under
KIWI RIDER 31