Eurogrip Tyres invited us for a tour of their tyre manufacturing and R&D process at their Srichakra plant in Madurai, followed by a nearly 300km testing ride to Kodaikanal and back.
Story: Abhisu Poddar
Photography: Kalidas M
Eurogrip tyres take their commitment to rubber very seriously. With a formidable portfolio of 2W and 3W tyres for consumers to choose from, the TVS Group subsidiary leaves no stone unturned: from scooters and commuters to sportsbikes and sport-tourers, almost every type of rider will find an offering that suits their needs. In fact, Eurogrip is currently prototyping supersport tyres, starting with a racing slick tread design which will be supplied to racing teams as an OEM option. Superbike owners may find road-compatible versions of the same in stores soon.
After a highly enriching tour of their plant and R&D facility, Eurogrip introduced us to a wide range of sub 400-cc bikes, shod with their range of rubber, and sent us off on our way to get a taste of what they have to offer. Riding the first stint on a Royal Enfield Hunter 350 shod with 100/80-17 Beamer HS+ in the front and 120/80-17 Sportorq CR at the rear, the first 75km were spent traversing village roads, congested markets, and four-lane highways. The rubber pairing, though odd, performed well, holding up over crudely-made speedbumps, potholes, and terrible patches of (no) asphalt. On the four-lane highway, a bunch of triple-carrying joyriders suddenly decided to cut across in front of me, and the Beamer HS+ did a good job at handling that high-speed, hard-braking encounter.
Right before we began the 62km winding hillclimb, I was reallocated a Royal Enfield Classic 350, again sporting a unique tyre configuration: with 90/90-19 Terrabite DB+ in the front and 120/80-18 Terrabite DB+ in the back, one wouldn’t consider an off-road biased tyre to be a good option on a road surface where tarmac grip is paramount. However, the Terrabite’s performed impressively, the block-pattern tyres happily adhering to the blacktop as the pegs scraped away on the mountainous sweepers till we reached our stop for the night.
It was the next morning when I got to truly explore the potential promised by Eurogrip’s sportier range of products. On the way down from Kodaikanal, we were greeted by a torrential downpour that would put any tyre to the test. Mounted on a Suzuki Gixxer 155 shod with a 100/80-17 ATT625 in the front and a 140/60 R17 Protorq Extreme at the back, I started off slow, warming up a feel for the tyres’ behaviour in these extreme conditions. After a few kilometers, I found myself attacking the curves at full pelt, without an ounce of hesitation about the tyres’ wet grip limits. In fact, the water dissipation felt so efficient, I started braking much later and harder into the corners, fully utilising the tyres’ contact patch as I leaned further and further on the beautifully carved Kodaikanal Ghat roads.
Throughout this nearly 300km drive, the diverse range of Eurogrip’s tyres provided bountiful amounts of grip with no shortage of confidence. Each product lives up to their claims, and despite the odd tyre pairing in some of the bikes, the ride experience was never hindered. Eurogrip continues to impress with their constant innovation and dedication to providing the consumer with the best quality of rubber for their rides, and we are looking forward to what more they have in store next.
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