Over the last decade there has been a huge rise in the popularity of adventure and touring motorcycles in India. Today, there's at least one adv or a cruiser in every mainstream manufacturer’s portfolio and as a result, many tyre manufacturers have stepped in to provide solutions and to cater to these segments. Lately, there's been a strong demand for on/off road tyres, in both the adventure and touring arena, and that's why TVS Eurogrip has unveiled three new products to satisfy the needs of these mile hungry riders.
The brand invited me for a ride from its HQ in Madurai to Thekkady to test how these new tyres perform, but before we began we also got a tour of its manufacturing facility. Tyre making is a super technical process that's supervised at every step, but in simple terms raw materials including chemicals and rubber are combined together and pressed into a sheet and then molded together on a carcass which is then baked in molds to give it its own tread pattern, its own ‘identity’ and voila that's how a tyre is made. TVS Eurogrip’s new adventure touring tyre range includes the Duratrail EB+, a 60:40 on:off road tyre mainly aimed at adventure bikes, the Terrabite DB+, which is made for cruisers and the Beamer range which is aimed at sport commuters.
All these tyres were shod on some popular bikes and those would be our test mules on the way to Thekkady and back. I began the ride on a Suzuki Gixxer which had a Beamer HS+ at the front (it's a front-only tyre). It has a fairly aggressive tread pattern, for mixed conditions, but is the most road focussed of the lot. On a few twisties along the way, the Beamer supported spirited riding rather well, offering good confidence even on the limit. Even under a few hard braking conditions in the wet, the Beamer never skipped a beat and assisted the bike's anti-lock braking system really well.
I then hopped onto a Royal Enfield Classic 350 shod with the Terrabite DB+ and this tyre really suited the character of this cruiser. It's slightly more aggressive than the Beamer, sporting more grooves to repel stuff like stones and even water. We encountered a few rough patches along the way and that's where this tyre came into its own element providing good grip, even while riding fairly fast on broken, loose, roads while providing a good comfort level. Due to its slightly more off-road focussed tread pattern it gives the bike an even better ride quality, on broken roads. On the highway though, the Terrabite is a little audible because of its aforementioned tread pattern, but that's something which isn't a deal breaker because of its balanced performance both on and off the road.
What I was really waiting to test though, was the Duratrail EB+, the most aggressive tyre of the lot. So after lunch, I got astride a Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 to ride it up Thekkady's gorgeous hill climb. But first, we went slightly off route on an unpaved patch to have some fun. Unlike the other two tyres, the Duratrail has aggressive grooves even on its sides which are designed to provide grip on when the going gets really tough. As a result, it performs off the road very nicely. Even under strong acceleration and braking it grips, offering little to no drama at all. In fact this tyre can easily be the apt first step if you're looking to learn the ABC of off-road riding. What's also commendable is its performance on smooth roads, because it has a stiff sidewall the tyre felt very stable in the corners. There's very little differentiating all three of TVS Eurogrip‘s new adv-touring tyres but each has its own identity and each performs exactly as advertised. Even though I had a brief time in the saddle to try out these tyres, my initial impressions of them are surely positive. And as expected TVS Eurogrip has also hit the nail on the spot with super competitive pricing across the entire range.
The riding season is upon us, so before leaving I already requested the TVS Eurogrip team to send me a set of the Duratrails for long-term testing. I'm really eager to put it through its paces in the long run. Stay tuned.
TVS Eurogrip adventure touring tyre range price:
TVS Eurogrip Duratrial EB+: ₹2,125 to ₹3,675
TVS Eurogrip Terrabite DB+: ₹2,100 to ₹2,500
TVS Eurogrip Beamer: ₹1,600 to ₹3,250