MRW Issue 1

it of movement, but nothing
that was too off putting, and
considering the amount of
force I was loading it with it
handled it all very well. Once
off the brakes and committed
in the turn I could feel the
softer side walls holding onto
the tar like a kid to a candy
bar. While the grip was good,
there was still a hint of movement,
especially at full lean
angle when trying to bring the
bike back to the apex. A little
off putting, but again, this was
me throwing everything I had
at the tyres, so the movement
could be expected.
The rear tyre also felt
more responsive and grippy,
happily following my every
command. At full lean angle
around the long turns I could
still feel that slight movement,
but nowhere near as
much as on the harder compound.
Once up on the fat
part of the tyre an abundance
of grip takes over and helps
leap the bike out of the turns.
Overall, I have to give both
Bruce and the new soft slicks
a pat on the back as they
have both adapted and listened
to what the end user
would like more of and made
it happen. For now, the new
soft compound UHP slicks
are not yet available in SA but
MORE GRIP MEANS FASTER
LAPTIMES AND THE NEW BATT UHP
SOFT SLICKS GIVES YOU BOTH.
hopefully will be soon. It is a
big, expensive exercise for
Bruce to carry out but maybe
with my approval it might just
happen.
For more information feel
free to contact Bruce on 073
777 9269.
Last year, Batt released their
UHP slick track tyres, catering
for the track day rider
looking for a tyre that offers
suitable grip levels, great stability,
and most importantly,
longevity. The Batt UHP (Ultimate
High Performance)
slicks offered all of the above
and have been a huge hit
with track day riders across
the land since their release.
I have personally tested
the UHP slicks and approved
them for their purpose, which
was a track tyre aimed at the
group B, C, and D track day
rider. Decent enough grip,
but the main highlight being
the stability under braking
and longevity – these things
last forever!
While the price conscious
rider loved the UHP, the faster,
but still budget conscious
rider wanted a bit more grip
out of the UHP slicks. A softer
compound, one that would
still last but offer more side
grip. Bruce de Kock, the motorcycle
tyre genius here in
SA, and the man behind Bike
Tyre Warehouse, listened to
the cry from faster track day
riders wanting the same price,
longevity, and stability the
UHP hard compound slicks
offered but with more grip.
The hard compound has
very hard side walls, so while
there is ample amounts of
grip available at full lean angle
on the front and back
tyre, there is a bit of movement,
due to the fact the side
walls are very hard. Bruce
then decided to do some
homework and has since
created a soft compound of
the UHP tyre, which he gave
to me to test and critique
before deciding on bringing
a bunch of them into SA for
the track rider market.
Fitted to our then red
Ducati Panigale V4, I could
straight away feel the softer
compound sticking to the tar
with more intent compared to
the harder ones. Stability was
still there in abundance, a real
highlight of both the hard and
soft tyres, but the real gain
was found whilst trail braking
hard and deep into the turns,
loading the front tyres side
walls with massive amounts
of pressure. There was a slight