Vredestein is a relatively unknown brand in India, but the company has a 110-year-old legacy, and is quite well known in Europe. India's Apollo Tyres acquired the Netherlands-based brand in 2009, and the Centauro tyre range for premium bikes is now manufactured in India and offered in two broad flavours. The Vredestein Centauro ST is a sport touring tyre, while the Centauro NS is a road sport tyre, built for sportier bikes, but not racing slicks, but with superior grip. According to Apollo tyres, the Vredestein range of motorcycle tyres will offer an alternative for premium bike owners, and will go head on against brands like Pirelli, but with a slight price advantage.
The Vredestein tyres for premium bikes will compete with Pirelli, and will be slightly less expensive, and more easily available in India.
The Vredestein Centauro ST is made from special compound for sport touring and designed for the best performance in a wide range of conditions and temperatures. The tyre construction uses a zero-degree steel belt inside, and the multi-radius profile promises safety and stability in all conditions, as well as uniform wear. The Centauro ST offers a wider range of sizes, from 170 section to 190 section rear tyres, but all for 17-inch wheels. For the front the ST offers just a 120-section option.
Overall performance and grip levels of the Vredestein Centauro tyres leave no doubt that these are good products, built keeping in mind international levels of quality.
The Centauro NS is designed for road and sporty riding, with a dual compound technology for the rear wheel, designed for improved handling and to offer leaning control. The multi-radius profile with an optimised zero-degree steel belt is said to provide high-quality dynamic behaviour in all conditions. The NS isn't a race-bred tyre, but built for road use, with high levels of grip, and from the limited outing at the track, these are impressive tyres indeed.
Performance of the Centauro NS is quite likeable, and grip levels are pretty good, even though these tyres are not meant for race use, and primarily designed for road use.
For the Vredestein Centauro ST, I was assigned a Kawasaki Versys 1000, and considering it's a sport tourer, I didn't quite get to push it around the corners of the track. Coupled with a front suspension of the Versys 1000 which kept diving, it was kind of slow going. But even with the tall-ish suspension, around the corners, the Centauro STs offered good grip, never for once letting me get nervous, or feel any doubts about the traction offered.
The Vredestein Centauro ST tyres for sport touring aren't designed for track use. A real test would be to go on a multiple day, long ride to see how these tyres perform what they are supposed to do best. Nevertheless, grip levels and performance is quite good.
In the next session, I switched to a Kawasaki Ninja 1000 kitted out with the Centauro NS tyres. The Ninja 1000 has sharper handling and offers much better confidence to push around the track. With just about 6-7 laps around the short loop of the track, I'm happy to report that the Centauro NS tyres offered adequate grip and more, to push to knee scraping lean angles around the chicanes. Leaned over, and accelerating out of corners, there were no "Oh my God!" moments, and that speaks highly about the confidence and grip levels offered by the tyres.
The track experience had a wide variety of motorcycles kitted out with Vredestein Centauro NS and Vredestein Centauro ST tyres.
With import restrictions on premium tyres, getting a set of replacement tyres is extremely difficult these days, especially for big bikes. And with Apollo Vredestein getting into the game, it's extremely good news for big bike owners in India, who now at least have an option which promises to be available around the country. These tyres are made in India, to be sold in the domestic market, as well as in markets abroad, including Europe. The Vredestein Centauro range will compete with the Pirelli Angel GT and Pirelli Diablo Rosso III, and will be priced at between Rs. 25,000-30,000. While prices are not very competitive compared to the Pirellis, they still offer very good value, and the fact that Vredestein tyres will be easily available, makes them that much more attractive.
The outing at the Buddh International Circuit was not with very high speeds, but from the limited track time, it's easy to be impressed with performance and grip levels of the new Vredestein Centauro tyres.
Our outing at the Buddh International Circuit wasn't exactly with very high speeds. But considering the usage these tyres are designed for, there was not a single moment, where traction was felt lacking, or any alarming moments which led to loss of confidence or stability. Overall grip levels and performance was quite likeable, and for the premium bike owner looking for a set of replacement tyres, the Vredestein Centauro range offers good quality tyres. Would I recommend these? With the limited track time at the BIC, there was nothing to dislike, so yes, the Vredestein tyres are definitely worth considering.
