P126
PRODUCT REVIEW I
T
he Karoo 4 Metzeler's
latest ADV tire, the Karoo
4 replacing the Karoo 3, is
a 50/50 on and off-road tire (but
I'd call it more 60/40 towards
the off-road). And although
Metezler's brief was to improve
all-round performance, it was
to focus more specifically for
on-road dry and, especially, wet
weather performance.
The front Karoo 4 tire is made
with the X-Ply single 100 per-
cent carbon black compound,
and the rear uses a dual com-
pound, with 80 percent carbon
black construction for the center
tread and softer 20 percent
silica for the sidewalls.
It gets a redesigned tread
block from the center to the
edge of the tire to trap the ter-
rain and use it effectively as a
spoon to benefit drive perfor-
mance, then releases the terrain
and self-cleans in time for the
next wheel rotation. This is
achieved by the vertical wave
groove three-quarters of the
way across the tire, with the
evacuation volume (the gaps
between the side tread blocks)
significantly different to the
Karoo 3.
That tire had wider, fat-
ter blocks on the side of the
tire, whereas the Karoo 4 gets
smaller blocks with a much
wider evacuation area.
The patented Dutratec center
tread is also significantly dif-
ferent. Metzeler's gone for two
uniform blocks with a single
center groove line, doing away
with the Karoo 3's zigzag center-
line and irregular-shaped center
tread blocks. This helps with tire
stability on the street, especially
in wet conditions, and is de-
signed to work better with the
modern ABS systems fitted to
large capacity ADV bikes.
Metzeler claims the front
tire, once leaned past 15 de-
grees, will give approximately
five percent more tire on the
ground thanks to the new tread
block over the outgoing Karoo
3. Conversely, on the rear, from
20-30 degrees lean angle, you'll
get an extra 10 percent more
rubber on the road, with the
obvious benefits of increased
traction and stability that come
with it. The Karoo 4 has a
slightly flatter profile than the
METZELER
KAROO 4 ADV T IRE
Volcanic sand might not
be the average place
to test ADV tires, but
the Karoo 4s held up
brilliantly all the same.
PHOTOS: MARCO MARINI
