Re: My ownership review of the KTM Duke 390, and how it pushed me back towards owning a Royal Enfiel Completed my first 500 kilometre round trip to Mount Abu over the weekend on the new Apollo H1's.
First things first - the flat grip on the front tyre is amazing. By Flat Grip - I mean the surface area grip when the tyre is upgright vertically (not leaned over). The leaning grip is however a little less than the Metzlers (which is to be expected). The way it leans over is also very different to that of a Metzler. The Metz would turn in gradually; while the Apollo starts leaning and then suddenly its tipped over. There is no gradual consistency in terms of tipping over but rather a sudden edge. Took me a bit of time getting used to it - but once I had the hang of it, it was smooth sailing.
However, what I love about the H1's is its grip over broken roads, dirt and gravel. With the previous setup of Metzlers in the front and the Pirelli's in the back, the incredibly soft rubber did not give me enough purchase when it ran over broken roads, dirt and gravel. It sounds counter-intutive but it is true. The soft rubber was meant as a track only tool where you could carry off incredibly high speeds and extreme lean angles while shedding rubber when riding in that fashion. However on broken roads and gravel; the surface would 'pierce' the soft rubber.
This slightly harder rubber of the Apollo does not let the broken roads and pointy gravel pierce the soft rubber but rather, the friction between the two gives off resistance.This friction lets me get the required purchase and I can get the grip that the soft compound Metzler did not give me on broken roads. Weird but it works.
However - all did not go as planned. I believe I accidentally ran over the windshield parts of a fresh car accident and the new rear tyre got a large cut inside its groove. One minuite I was accelerating at speeds over 100 and the next minuite - I felt like the rear wheel would not move freely. I was not sure it was a puncture owing to the fact that I did not know how the wheel normally behaves owing to my lack of experience with this tyre but as I slowed down; the resistance became higher and higher which made me sure that something is wrong.
Thankfully; I passed a roadside puncture shop just as I was slowing down. There was more bad news to come. Normally fixing a tubeless puncture is a 5 minuite affair when the offending item is either stuck in the wheel or has made a hole and fallen off. However - in this case, this was almost a 4 centimetre vertical cut inside the groove which just couldnt be fixed the normal way.
Hence the guy had to remove the entire wheel; fix the puncture from inside the wheel by applying a rubber compound inside the curvature of the wheel carcass and then reinstall the wheel on the motorcycle. Took him more than 1 hour but boy was it hard work indeed. Not having a centre stand meant; it took 3 people to position the wheel and the bike while inserting the brake disk inside the brake caliper. Fun times indeed!
Next long trip for the Apollo's; Ahmedabad to Noida for watching MotoGP in September. Will keep you all updated on how the tyres behave.
Last edited by rahul4321 : 27th June 2023 at 01:27.
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