A place where even the best performance tyres struggle is in Indian city conditions. A mix of badly put-together surfaces, gravel, and plenty of concrete instead of good tarmac means most tyres struggle to put the power down or bring the motorcycle to a reassuring halt.
However, the Vredestein Centauro NS tyres pack plenty of technology. It gets a slick central area to provide a large contact patch and maximise traction. It also receives a multi-angled groove design for better performance and different lean angles. As a result, the traction control light flickers a lot less as compared to the stock tyres. The large contact patch means the tyres really dig into the surface, and under hard acceleration, the front end starts to skim the surface.
While the tyres do try hard, our surfaces still manage to get the better of them. Putting down 87Nm of torque isn’t an easy task and the tyres do squirm with the tail trying to wiggle. But the dual compound technology works well in tandem with the traction control to keep things in check.
Apart from good acceleration, braking is something that is even more important when it comes to a high-performance tyre. Again the Centauro’s did well here. The extra stiffness and linear density make sure that the stress is distributed to the whole carcass, thereby maintaining the shape under hard strain. However, concrete surfaces can cause the tyres to lock up under max braking before the ABS kicks in to save the day.