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everything from the latest upcoming super- cars and high-performance sedans to SUVs and delivery vans being put through their paces. Confidence in the tires would be tested


early as we were guided to the wet skid pad paved with Belgian blocks. As the techni- cians outlined our exercise, I was thankful that we weren’t testing the adjacent tiled wet surface. (I couldn’t imagine myself trying to stop a motorcycle on a wet bathroom floor.) The exercise allowed us to take out identi- cally prepared Suzuki Bandit 1250 ABS models, one with the previous generation Z8 tires and the other with the new Roadtec 01 tires, for three controlled stops from 40 kph. Both Suzukis were equipped with the same Metzeler data acquisition equipment that was used in developing the new Road- tec 01; it would measure braking distance and vehicle dynamics. So, three trips each, get up to 40 kilome-


ters per hour then stop as fast as you can on the Sett blocks? No problem. The first passes on the previous generation Z8 were sure and predictable. The typical squirm one felt as the brakes are applied more aggressively was present, as was the light, reassuring shudder from the ABS system. The following three passes on the new 01 tires were similar, but free of any squirm or shudder. As the front forks compressed


further, the tires bit better and better with none of the previous sensations. Once the exercise was completed the technicians broke out the laptop to download each of our results. The mathematical results were as impressive as the tire feel during the test—our group aver- aged stops six feet shorter with the Roadtec 01 tires than with the Z8s. The technical staff further explained that the advanced data acqui- sition system they used allowed them to design the tread compound to complement the ABS on modern motorcy- cles and improve stop- ping distances and feel. Our next stop was


the road course or rather the “Handling Course” in Bosch termi- nology. Split into two variable configurations, it smacked of a high-class go-cart facility with one major difference; irrigation! Rather than true irrigation being the goal, Bosch designed in sprinklers to saturate vari- ous portions of the track to


August 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 31


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