Metzeler announces spring 2013 debut for Karoo 3
The successor to Metzeler’s Karoo and Karoo T will be available in spring 2013, the tyre maker reports. The motorcycling world gained a sneak preview of the new Karoo 3 at November’s EICMA motorcycle show in Italy, and when it hits the road next year the tyre will be available in three front wheel and six rear sizes. Metzeler describes the new knobbly tyre as a product “designed for bikers who love adventure and off-road travel.”
Karoo 3, the manufacturer elaborates, is the “perfect tyre for modern, large and medium displacement enduro bikes which have to travel both on asphalt and off road, precisely like the latest addition to the BMW family, the R 1200 GS, which, in fact, can be equipped with this latest product in 120/70 R 19 on the front and the brand new 170/60 R 17 on the rear.”
Metzeler says the Karoo 3 will deliver high mileage, an important quality for riders favouring mid to long range travel, plus excellent off-road grip, top of the line stability and excellent handling. “These are all important elements if we consider that riders must often travel for many kilometres over asphalt in order to reach their off-road destination,” the tyre maker points out.
In comparison with the two tyres it replaces, the Karoo 3 is manufactured using a more highly dispersible compound, which means a greater uniformity of mix was obtained and thus the compound offers better mechanical resistance to lacerations – which adds up to enhanced mileage while maintaining high dampening capability. The tyre’s polyester structure is said to guarantee a sturdy yet flexible product as the tyre is able to better follow any unevenness in the terrain when riding off road, and in doing so improve handling and traction.
The Karoo 3 tread pattern features the trapezoid shaped-knobs. Metzeler says these “have an innovative geometry which ensures progressive off road traction at various lean angles.” The ‘V’ shape of the pattern provided by the knob arrangement is said to optimally distribute the lines of strength transmitted to the ground, allowing more regular wear on asphalt. The centre knobs are larger and their mobility is thus reduced, decreasing their mobility; Metzeler says this allows for greater stability, even at high speeds. Furthermore, the spacing varies from the centre to the shoulder: Metzler explains that at the centre the knobs are spaced farther apart to guarantee better penetration in soft terrain, offering better traction off road, while on the shoulder the knobs are closer together in order to guarantee more rubber on the road and hence more grip when leaning into a curve on asphalt.
The Karoo 3 will be available in the following sizes:
Front:
110/80 – 19 M/C 59R TL M+S
120/70 R 19 M/C 60T TL M+S
90/90 – 21 M/C 54R TL M+S
Rear:
150/70 – 17 M/C 69R TL M+S
170/60 R 17 M/C 72T TL M+S
130/80 – 17 M/C 65R M+S
140/80 – 17 M/C 69R M+S
140/80 – 18 M/C 70R M+S
150/70 – 18 M/C 70R M+S
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