Initial Impressions Review
Given
80%
while driving a
Yamaha MT09
(180/55 R17)
on
a combination of roads
for 3,750
spirited miles
Great all round tire, with very nice feedback front and rear, you really feel the road and what the tire is doing as you are pushing it.
Grip levels really come up after just a couple of corners and never feels like its running out of grip, more like it gently encourages you to keep on exploring its capabilities.
Fantastic under breaking, even in the oh crap moments coming into a corner a bit harder than you intended, it responds to the change in direction and then hugs the corners nicely.
I have got a very respectable 6000km out of the rear which is now completely smooth in the whole middle section and only a little bit of grooves are left on the outsides, lots of scuffing present in the last 500 km most likely from excessively hard riding in very twisty country roads of varied condition. (For those that know River Road from sackville to wiseman ferry , Putty Road and the trip to Middle Mangrove will understand what I mean)
It really loves to be pushed, and you can easily find yourself right down to the pegs gunning it many times faster than the posted speed and these tires keep asking for more, and no signs of fade present. Even at speeds over 200 it feels nice and grippy on the roads.
In the wet it has ample grip when ridden sensibly, and when nice and warm it gives a clear indication as it approaches grip limits in corners before beginning to slide around a bit but is easily manageable with throttle adjustment.
I'm sure if it was ridden in a more ordinary manner it would last considerably longer than the 6000km I have achieved with it, but if you do like to really push it then I think that's a respectable mileage for some very hard riding.
Also of note, it's done about 200km of off-road riding and it was very comfortable and provided decent levels of precision and traction with sensible adjustments to throttle and brakes and felt comfortable enough to blast past adventure riders with more all terrain focused tires without issue.
