After riding many thousands of km on my Pirelli tyres, and with a trip across the boarder from Thailand to Laos coming up, I thought it would be a good time to look at replacing the tyres on the Kawasaki Versys with something with some more bite to it.
Searching through the various Facebook groups in Thailand, it seemed a lot of adventure riders were opting to run a tyre that is manufactured here in Thailand from a company called Vee Rubber.
Personally I have never heard of them before, but this isn’t to say they are not worth a try.
The Vee Rubber Company was first established in 1977 and has become a proven manufacturer of a wide variety of quality motorcycle tyres and tubes in Thailand.
The price of these tyres compared with well known brands is considerably different. Locally two new shoes cost me 3400THB from SKR Proshop in Nakon Pathom.
With the tyres fitted, a decent review of them will come after I have put some km’s on them on varying surfaces. So far riding on the black stuff they have totally changed the feel of the bike.
Aside from the loud road noise that starts at about 50kmh, the huge groves in the tyres have given the steering a very htht feel which will take some time to adjust to.
Obviously being an adventure touring tyre, tipping the bike in hard on the corners will be something that will more than likely have to stop, as a tyre like this isn’t designed for that style of riding.
The size tyres I ended up fitting were a 140/80 R17 on the rear, and a 110/90 R17 on the front. Both of these tyres are taller than the OEM tyres fitted to the Versys so some adjustments need to be made.
The front fender needs to be lifted about 5mm, and the rear hugger/chainguard also needs to be spaced up slight to avoid rubbing.
UPDATE: Having just returned from a recent 1500km round trip to Ko Chang Island off the coast of Trat I have some general feedback on my experience with VeeRubber tyres. On the island I ventured down some pretty hairy roads, one in particular was 4 km long out to a secluded beach.
This road, well listed as a road was dirt and rocky in sections, with some very steep ups and downs. Traveling with the bike packed and a pillion on board, the tyres were great.
I was able to stand up on the climbs even with a pillion, and hold the throttle mid way and keep generous momentum and was left feeling quite confident at the top.
The downside I must admit is the grip on the black stuff. Compared to the road tyres, these things are slippery.
Corners that I would normally have been able to ride comfortably at 100kms leaning the bike right over I have found I am now riding at 70kmh and trying to take a wide line and not lean even close to the same amount.
Also worth noting is when accelerating off from traffic lights, there is slipping when you take off with some enthusiasm. It has left me feeling somewhat concerned what wet weather road riding will have in store for me.
Will have more to report after a trip over to Laos in the next month.
[sm-youtube-subscribe]