German horsepower, the initial
touch of the throttle allowed the
rear to squat and smear into the
tarmac, and it was surprising
how hard I could get on the gas
before the traction control (set
to level -1) would kick in.
On the BMW, it's important to
really stand it up on the meat of
the rear tire before giving it the
berries, but overall drive grip was
hard to fault until about six laps
in, when there was a definite
drop in drive grip, though it was
at least manageable and didn't
drop any further.
Edge grip was likewise confi
-
dence-inspiring, but it too began
to drop a bit earlier than I'd hoped.
However, this (at least I feel)
was down to my heavy-handed
approach, and if I smoothed out
my initial touch of the throttle
while leaned over, I found I could
get another couple of laps before
conditions were far past optimal.
I had to remind myself a
couple of times that this is still
a street tire, one that doesn't
have the constant grip of a slick.
However, the feedback from
both the front and rear as the
carcass heat rose and overall
grip fell made it easy to find a
quick, repeatable pace and stay
there for the session.
SPORTEC
ON ROAD
Transferring to the road-focused
01, I had only one machine at my
disposal, a KTM 990 Duke, and
it was interesting to note how
much harder the front tire was
compared to the 01 RS.
Part of this was due to a
slightly stiffer carcass on the
01, but the reduced weight of
the 990 and less stress on the
tire itself also contributed to a
different feel, one not quite as
connected as the RS.
That's not to say the 01 isn't
an excellent tire, because it
absolutely is. The ride we were
on was essentially an 80-mile
stretch of tarmac spaghetti,
smooth as could be and never
letting me spend more than half
a second in the upright position
before I was slamming the Duke
onto its side for the next corner.
This is the kind of road many
dream of, and it highlighted the
front Metzeler's incredible agility
and turn speed. Just like the RS,
the road-focused 01 has plenty
of feel to throw at the rider, but
that slightly harder character
takes a bit to get used to.
Once you're leaned over and
the Duke is loaded, you can re
-
ally push the front tire hard and
expect it to stick. Quick transi-
tions over crappy potholes were
easily dealt with, and those bas-
Here's the 01 RS's chart. All action is
the name of the game, with much higher
racetrack performance and reduced
wet-weather capabilities.
VOLUME ISSUE MAY , P129
