What’s common between a bungee jump cord, a tyre and a condom? All of them use rubber’s unique properties — elasticity and strength — to perform their jobs safely and effectively. Well, at least we trust them to do so every time. A few days ago, I found myself trusting a rubber to do its job — keep me safe while I had fun, and before you get any ideas, it’s tyres that I am talking about — Reise’s new traceRad radials, to be specific.
This was my second session at the Coastt track in Coimbatore, but unlike the last time, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. The only brief was to carry the appropriate riding gear and that we were testing new radials from a company that pushed out its first product just two years ago. With no clue about the motorcycle(s) I was going to ride or the details of the tyres, I landed in Coimbatore where a brief presentation about the making and expectations from the traceRads was laid out.
Reise certainly played its cards right by introducing the hottest-selling sizes — 110/70 – R17 and 150/60 – R17. So, that covers almost every performance bike under 500cc. The first thing I noticed was the treads’ similarity to the Pirelli Diablo Rosso 4’s lightning-style central tread and Michelin Power 6’s side grooves. And then I saw the speed rating; the ‘W’ embossed on the sidewall was enough to instill some faith in the tyres.
We turned up at the damp track and to make things interesting, a few cars drove across the track and a truck that was stuck in mud, struggled its way out, leaving a clumps of clay and sand on the otherwise perfect track. Maybe that was meant to give us some ‘real-world’ experience. Cussing and cursing the drivers, I made it to the pits to see a line of race-prepped KTM RC 390s waiting. Now, I couldn’t wait to squeeze myself into the leathers and ‘start working’.
The first lap was a ‘sighting lap’ to spot the chunks of mud and figure a line around them, and then followed a 15-minute all-guns-blazing session. Since these RCs were part of the KTM Cup, none of them had ABS or traction control. So, the tyres had even more work to do here. Even though the first lap was meant to get an understanding of the track, I found myself scraping the big belly pan of my bike through the last couple of corners. And that was enough to tell me what to do next.
Right from the second lap, the tyres were abused to the best of my capacity. The knee slider and belly pan were leaving shreds at almost every corner. Thanks to the dual radii construction, the edge of the tyres also had enough lateral grip to do serious lean angles while carrying enough momentum. Plus, the rounder profile also aided in quick direction changes.
Almost everything felt perfect during my first session… almost. The only issue was feedback from the front tyre while going hard on the brakes at the end of long straights. Though there was no drama from the front or the rear tyre, it didn’t communicate enough to tell me that it can push through the corner without any fuss. I just trusted it to do what it is meant to do, and sliced through the apex.
After the session, a quick talk with the Reise guys about the feedback from the front tyre was enough to figure out the culprit — tyre pressures. After dropping the pressure to slightly lower figures than what’s recommended, I was back on the track for another session. And the difference was immediately felt.
Blasting down the straight before attacking the hairpin turn, I was braking much later than my previous session and carrying more speed. With the increased contact patch and the impressive grip levels of the tyres, not once did I feel the need to back off. And the zero-degree steel belt construction is to be credited here. On the track, the stability on straights and the ability to have a certain amount of flex on the sidewalls helped a lot in maintaining good speeds lap after lap.
Now, I am no racer, but observing a few, doing what they were doing on the track with the same bike and tyres was enough to tell that Reise Moto knows what it is up to and certainly seems to have a grip on things. Its wet grip remains to be tested, but a few runs over the mud trails on the track were enough to tell me that the tyre could certainly handle more than just pristine asphalt.
With the rear tyre costing ₹ 6199 and the front unit having a tag of ₹ 5199, the Reise traceRads aren’t a bad deal, after all. And if the price isn’t impressive enough, the company is offering a six-year warranty on these and a claimed life of over 12,000 km. Considering that this is a first attempt from the young company to make a radial tyre that can handle the performance and capability of the likes of the KTM RC 390, 390 Duke and even the Aprilia RS 457, Reise Moto has done an impressive job.
As my first experience testing purely tyres on a race track, this was a rewarding experience that once again instilled the same thought — whether it’s jumping off a bridge, gripping the road, or keeping things safe, life’s best adventures are all about the right rubber!
