Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Rear What's it made Fronl you go under the bridge and plunge over the blind hill that leads into turn 12. On one of my early laps on the Mille, I came over the hill and hit a little dip that sent the bike into a tankslapper, and since I still wasn't completely confident in the level of grip, I was positive that the front was going feedback and feel of the taller front. As for the difference between the 180- and 190-profile rears, I really liked the 180s because of the improved handHng. The tires, regardless of profile, felt very communicative and stable under the heavy braking from 165 mph into the chicane at of~ Uke I said earlier, this tire didn't just come out of the blue. Maxxis has spent a considerable amount of time developing the Supermaxx tire. It all starts with a lot of computeraided design (CAD). physical experimentation, computer-aided engineering (CAE) and the company's uniform contour constructive method. This combination is what Maxxis refers to as VIP (virtual intelligent prototyping). The company's most important goals are quality and consistency. Maxxis goes to great lengths to insure that every single tire that comes off the assembly line is exactly the same. One way of controlling this is to keep variables such as the raw materials very consistent. Maxxis doesn't have a forest of rubber trees in their back yard, so they have to buy the raw materials from outside suppliers. In order to keep things equal, they have to put all of the ingredients through a series of tests to make sure that the materials are up to their standards. The engineers told us that, if any of the raw materials varied from their standards the slightest bit, the tire could tum out dramatically different. While taking a tour of Maxxis' North American research and development facility, we got to see not only what goes into a tire physically, but deveJopmentwise as well. The first thing that we were shown is what the ingredients look like in their raw forms. Everything from natural rubber, synthetic rubber, the oils, silica, to carbon black (the key to wear resistance) were in jars for us to shake and poke at. In addition, we were shown the physical cutaways of the tire so that we could see the different layers and how they were laid onto the tire to make the carcass. They also had smaller versions of the Banbury mixers that mix up all of the ingredients on-site, making the compounds to test. The Supermaxx rears use two layers of nylon and then a layer of Kevlar, which is jointless and wound on as a single filament - zero degrees to the tire's rotation direction. This minimizes any looseness and or separation that joint construction may cause. It also improves strength and makes the tire more uniform. The fronts use two layers of nylon topped by two layers of Kevlar, which are laid on at opposing 45-degree angles to each other. Heavy use of CAD/CAE has allowed a lot of the testing to be done in the lab before ever being constructed. In addition, Maxxis does a ton of physical testing of compounds and constructions to determine the best ingredients and properties for the application. We watched the R&D department carry out all sorts of tests in their lab trying to find that elusive combination that every manufacturer is looking for. Once they build the tires, they go thorough extensive testing on rolling roads, where computers simulate all sorts of conditions. If they pass the tests in the lab, then they go into the physical tests on the test tracks and on the street with test riders. So, as you can see, they haven't just popped up out of nowhere and said, "Now we make sportbike tires" - this tire thing is tricky and time consuming. turn, but to storm off onto the grass on the left of the track at 90 miles per the end of the back straight. Another thing that I preferred about the taller 120/70ZR17 tire was the consistent in the performance-streetbike market. So how will all of this relate to the hour. In hindsight, I think everything feel when transitioning from upright One thing that is necessary to men- street consumer? We'll have to test a would have been fine, but I just to fully heeled over. The 120/65ZR17 wasn't bad at all, it was just a little more abrupt and not quite as linear. As for the heat, it never really affected the tires - it was the riders in their leathers that were getting worn out. Never one to sit in the pits while tion is that, as you may have noticed, set on the street and see how they do, we were on twin-cylinder bikes, and they tend to be a little less violent and, as I mentioned, I think I'll throw to tuck. I opted to not complete the hadn't built that trust yet. The tire does have excellent grass traction, by the way. From that point on, I figured out the tires were working really well and that I just needed to take my head out of the equation. Something that Maxxis did that I thought was really cool was that they set up a few of each model of the bikes with different front profiles, and narrower rears on some. The set up that I liked the most was the 120/70ZR17 front with a 180/55ZR17 rear. This combination provided a large front contact patch that allowed the bike to be trail-braked deep into the corners with tons of feedback and feel, and the narrower rear gave the bike the quick turn-in it needed. A couple of the bikes had 120/65ZR17 fronts, which allowed the bike to turn in really quickly but didn't offer the there's an open track available, I suffered the consequences and kept on riding. The Falco isn't really a great track bike when pushed to the limit, primarily because of the lack of ground clearance and its soft suspension. The one thing that this resulted in was some decent slides coming onto the front straightaway from the rear tire, but it was more due to the soft suspension than anything with the tires - I'm confident that any brand of tire would have done exactly the same thing. As for the wear, I was really impressed - the tires held up really well. It seemed like the Falcos were ripping the tires up due to the reasons o 0 [j)f?D@D[JiJrI!:-<--Maxxis SuperMaxx Sizes and MSRPs FRONT 130/70ZR16 $120.53 110j70ZR 17 $113.84 $116.69 110/80ZR17 ., $114.33 120/60ZR17 120/65ZR17 $117.18 $114.33 120/70ZR17 130/60ZR17 $120.53 REAR 150j70ZR17 $152.90 160/60ZR17 ....•.........$156.24 170/60ZR17 $159.59 180/55ZRI7 •.............$162.93 $ 173.41 190/50ZR 17 200/50ZR17 $181.04 Contact your local dealer, or for more information check out www.maxxis.com. listed above, but the tires on the Milles were in fact wearing the ti res a bit more due to the bike's higher corner speeds. However, they stayed consis- them on a big-horsepower four-cylin- with their power delivery. I really der. If they're able to perform this don't know how the tires will react on a Suzuki GSX-Rl000, but I intend to well on the track, I doubt that the find out - that will be the ultimate street will be able to throw any curves test. However, I have a feeling they will be fine. into the mix that they can't handle, but we'll let you know. eN (Right) The Supennaxx rear tire features a single Kevlar filament wound onto the tire at zero degrees to the tire's rotation. (Below right) Development of the Supennaxx consisted of huge amounts of CAD and computer simulations. This is a three-dimensional cross section of the tire. (Below) This is the tread pattern for the rear tires. tent and predictable all morning long. At lunch, the Maxxis crew changed the tires on all of the Milles for our afternoon sessions, but I was really impressed with how well they held up. Once I was comfortable on the tires and learned to trust them, I didn't hold back too much. It's not a race tire, so you do have to keep a fair amount in reserve, but I rode the hell out of the tires and came away very impressed. Maxxis has done its homework, and from what I experienced on the track, I feel they have a tire capable of competing with the giants of the motorcycle tire industry cue I e n _ _ S • SEPTEMBER 18, 2002 39

• Cover