DT May 2018

The markets in the city are
a riot of colour and noise -
unchanged for centuries.
This is the castle we
wandered up to. Older than
any ruins in SA...
We found some
interesting spots...
selection of modern adventure bikes
all shod in the new Karoo Street rubber
– and we were sort of herded into the
presentation area before we drooled on
the bikes.
Ladies and Gents. To be absolutely
honest, this writer learned more about
tyre technology in the next two hours or
so than in the last twenty odd years of
having a real job. Fascinating is probably
the understatement of the century.
Modern challenges:
Motorcycle tyre manufacturers are
faced with a few hassles other than just
traction. The common ones are:
• Making the bikes handle well
(predictably).
• Making the tyres last.
• Finding compounds that suit a tyres
individual needs.
• Keeping up with modern bikes
horsepower demands.
• Here’s one that we did not know
about. Building a tyre that can cope with
modern electronic aids.
In a nutshell this means that the tyres
cannot flex so much that it interferes
with a bikes ABS system or traction
control. The electronics can read flex as
a slip… and that can create electronic
confusion which might adversely affect
your overall ride. It makes sense when
you think about it but we had no idea
that it was such a big focus in tyre
manufacture – and as you can imagine,
particularly in the world of adventure or
dual purpose bikes, this has become a
real issue.
You want the tyre to be stiff enough
that it does not flummox the electronics,
but you want it to be soft enough that
you still have some off-road traction.
Makes sense.
The Karoo Family:
The Metzeler Karoo got its name
because the original tyres were first
tested right here in our very own Karoo.
Metzeler sent some top international
riders to go as fast and as long as they
could on our loooong gravel roads. When
they got back – it made sense to them,
to adopt the use of our deserts name.
Three Karoo’s are in the family –
two have become household names
amongst adventure riders:
The Karoo Extreme: A knobbly for
your adventure – a Rally racer, noisy
on tar with very little life – but in the dirt
you will get more traction than most will
ever need.
14 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE MAY 2018