Installed Apollo Vredestein Tyres on my Honda CB650F

I really wanted the Michelin Road 5's, but the skyrocket price tag of 40+ on these and the Pirelli's led me to the Vredestein's.

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Tire update: Vredestein's.

So this is a late update here, just because I did not want to put something up here right after the tire purchase. I have now completed 2000+ kms on the Vredestein Centauro ST and believe I can give a verdict on the performance of the tires.

So we (me and @krishnaprasadgg) started early to Tire guys, Cochin for the replacement of my Pirelli Angel ST to the Vredestein, which was just launched and apart from a few reviews from abroad, no one knows what these were or how these performed. I got my tires from the very first lot which Apollo shipped out as my Angel ST's had squared out and was bit of a hassle going into corners and coming out of it.

I really wanted the Michelin Road 5's, but the skyrocket price tag of 40+ on these and the Pirelli's led me to the Vredestein's. My usage is mostly highways and I thought that I should give it a shot at Rs. 25k compared to almost double for other brands.

On the way to tyre guys in one of the baddest weather possible.

The tyre guys team did a really good job. Nothing to complain at all. Did the wheel balancing too. They had the right paddocks for both front and rear which makes their work a lot more comfortable.

All the axle bolts where torqued to spec.

@Krishnaprasadgg testing the new tires while I run the mill on his R1.

Verdict

I have ridden around 1200kms in pure rain and around 900kms on dry tarmac and I can confirm that the wet grip is really superb, perhaps on par with the Road 5's. But one issue I feel is that the profile of these tires are a bit flatter than usual and hence looks bulky on the bike. That may not be a bad thing in anyway, but it does feel heavy. The whole bikes handling felt a bit heavier than usual. Grip is right there when you ask for it, but going into corners, somewhere in my mind it tells me that these aren't tested tires and I am one of the first testers, and this thought isn't allowing me to try the cornering grip like how I tried on the Pirellis or Michelins. Somewhere it struck me that these might give up, but they never did that yet. Corner grips are decent, please do not expect Road 5/Rosso 3/4 levels, but its right up there. The reviews put up by the journos which happened for these at the Buddh Circuit felt paid to the T, because no one ever explained anything in detail.

Overall, for the price, I would suggest to go for it. There are a hell lot of bikes which can utilize this price point which Apollo sells the Vredestein's. But seeing the prices in Thailand, I do think Apollo took advantage and as its Made in India, the prices should have been around the 20k ballpark. They are really taking advantage of the current Indian scenario, but yeah that's how business runs. But still for super sports which can see extreme speeds at a fraction of seconds, I would still suggest to stick to tried and tested tires as of now. Hope this helps.

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