Over the spring and summer period Dom Humby has been testing some new tyres out on the trusty Honda. Having a 16-inch front wheel means that tyre packages can be somewhat difficult to find with only a limited selection to choose from. Thankfully Graham, from Cambrian Tyres, was on hand to get me sorted. And he did just that using the Continental Sport Attack Hypersport Continuous Compound tyre.
For those of you who may be new to motorcycling and not know what a continuous compound tyre is, here goes. Continental feature a unique manufacturing process in all of its premium tyres which gives all the benefits of dual compound, but with an added bonus. Typically, a dual compound tyre has a clear dividing point in the tread between the different types of rubber. With a variance of wear rate between the two compounds a small ridge can appear later in the tyre life, which leads to a feeling of insecurity when cornering. In the final manufacturing process of curing the tyre in a very hot mould, Continental have engineered a way of varying the heat across the single compounded treaded area. This variance of heat makes the finished rubber compound react in different ways. The gradient of heat variance is smooth, avoiding the step change between hard and soft rubber. The benefits of this process are the same as dual compound with more durability in the centre and corner grip on the edges. The bonus with the Continental Continuous Compound is that these benefits are maintained throughout the tyre’s life without any drop off in performance.
Centralised at the Continental Sport Attack’s construction is a patented zero-degree steel-belted construction. This provides synchronicity of performance from both front and rear tyres, allowing impeccable straight line high speed stability and forgiving, neutral turn in and handling response. Switching from a Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport to a Continental Sport Attack Hypersport, I saw a noticeable improvement in handling immediately. Although Bridgestone offer a really good amount of grip, I found that the Continentals really keep you planted through the bends, giving you a lot more confidence when cornering at speed.
The Sport Attacks didn’t take very long to generate heat and remain at optimum temperature, which was very useful when heading out and not returning until later in the evening. To achieve fast warm up times, the Continental Sport Attack is equipped with their unique Black Chili compound, this enables the tyre to operate effectively in cooler conditions and provides wet weather grip that only increases and inspires confidence.
Having covered a little over 1500 miles on them now, I’m really looking forward to see how they will fare in the winter, as throughout this season they’ve been amazing and continue to impress. Given that they are sold as a summer tyre they do give a lot of grip in the wet, so using them over the winter shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
In my opinion they’re brilliant and worth investing in. Check out your local tyre specialist for a full range and pricing. I’ve never felt more confident in a set of tyres than I do now and will continue to give as much feedback as possible into their durability throughout the winter months.
www.conti-bike.co.uk
www.cambriantyres.co.uk
