GEAR ON TEST - Eurogrip Roadhound tyres
Tested by: Moto Excape
Photos: Courtesy of Eurogrip
Eurogrip tyres have arrived in in Australia, with the ‘Roadhound’ sport touring and ‘Climber XC’ MX rubber in their initial range.
Made in India, Eurogrip’s Roadhound tyres use a structure and profile that enhances handling, comfort and riding stability. A dual compound on the rear tyre boosts grip and mileage, while the tread groove geometry front and rear improves water drainage and mechanical grip. For the Australian market, available sizes are currently 120/70ZR17 (58W TL) front and 180/55ZR17 (73W TL) rear.
Eurogrip also launched in Europe recently, so Moto Excape of Italy put a set of Roadhounds to the test on an extensive ride that covered 17,000km. Here are their impressions…
Eurogrip has recently launched a new tyre for the Sport Touring segment, dedicated to riders who love to lean and ride high mileage. Its name is Roadhound and we decided to test it thoroughly.
In creating a Guide to Norway’s North Cape (the northernmost road in Europe) and some articles on Greece and the Balkans, I had the opportunity to fully test the tyre until almost reaching the plies.
To start with, the price is already excellent news - little more than 200 Euro, including VAT and fitting for both front and rear (NOTE: Australian pricing for the Roadhound is $185.00 RRP for fronts and $269.00 RRP for rears, excluding fitting).
My chosen bike was Honda’s NC750X, a mid-sized adventure sport model that’s a faithful travel companion but not known for tyre-shattering power. With a passenger and bags, weight easily exceed 400kg, so that would put the durability and performance of these tyres to the test as much as the roads ahead.
Considering that the journey from Greece to the North Cape and back would be approximately 10,000 kilometres, the initial idea was to replace the tyres before leaving for the return leg. I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to make both journeys on the same set. Here was the first surprise: when we left for the second tour in August, the tyres were still in perfect condition, so I decided to postpone the replacement and carry out the test up to the wear limit.
Remember, this test wasn’t on a very sporty bike but one definitely more suited for touring. In any case, I still tried to push the Roadhounds - from the Alpine passes at the beginning and end of the trip, to the perfect curves of the Norwegian fjords, the hairpin bends that descend above Kotor in Montenegro, and in the fast curves of the Croatian D1 – a one-lane road that runs from the northern border to the coastal city of Split.
The Roadhounds suited my high-performance riding, going into the bend in a "sincere" manner and without ever giving the impression of having reached their limit. Even though they’re almost completely worn out now, they managed to convey a sense of confidence that I would have lost many kilometres earlier with other tyres.
When leaving for North Cape, I was sure that many kilometres would be spent in rain, and so it was, with wet and almost flooded asphalt at times. However, the Roadhounds gave me great confidence right from the start, allowing bends to be taken smoothly, even in harsh Norwegian temperatures. The same applied to the Balkans. Despite the asphalt being unfriendly when wet, the tyres never let me down.
Noise at highway speed is absolutely normal, but above a certain speed, it disappeared completely. Even traveling at speeds higher than those allowed by Italian limits (on the German autobahn), tyre noise proved to be comfortable.
The only flaw is noise from the front tyre at low speeds (up to around 60/70 km/h) being slightly higher than other competitors, but still nothing that could be considered annoying.
The "flattening" after so much motorway time is lower than the average of tyres I have tested in the past, including some very well-known and significantly more expensive brands.
In conclusion, the right word to use for the Eurogrip Roadhound is "surprise". At the end of my trip, the odometer showed almost 17,000km, covered in about two and a half months – on one set of tyres!
Aside from their durability, certainly a fundamental point for a sport touring tyre, I appreciated the Roadhounds for the feeling of safety they conveyed, on dry and wet surfaces, regardless of the external temperature, and especially in more sporty riding. It is therefore the ideal tyre for sports touring, naked bikes and road crossovers.
Considering the unbeatable quality/price ratio they have (at the time of this review), I would say that the Roadhounds have few rivals.
For details on Eurogrip Roadhound tyres in Australia, click HERE.
NOTE: This review was conducted in Europe under European road and riding conditions.
