It has been a while since we’ve spoken about our long-term Hero XPulse 200 4V. The bike had been put through hell at the Pune Off-road Expedition towards the end of last year and had to go back for some company formalities. And once it did come back, the Maxxis knobby tyres meant it couldn’t be ridden daily. Plus, I didn’t have the itch to switch back to the stock Ceats. 
Thankfully, Reise Moto’s new TrailR rubber just came at the right time. So, while I haven’t been able to take them out for a thorough thrashing, here’s how the first few hundred kilometres on the new shoes are showing incredibly positive signs that they are something that Hero should consider offering as a standard OEM fitment.

Reise Moto is a relatively new tyre maker in the Indian context. We did have a small trial of the company’s TrailR dual-purpose tyres’ off-roading capabilities earlier this year. PD came back super pleased with just how confident he felt riding a not-so-peak-condition Royal Enfield Himalayan up tricky trails at 19 Degrees North adventure park in Lonavala. 
Unlike the Ceat Gripp XLs that came stock, the TrailRs are evenly balanced towards on and off-road performance. The tyres have a stiff carcass, multi-compound tread layer, big blocks with directional crossover pattern and a 50:50 rubber void ratio. Basically, the intention is to offer better all-round traction on every terrain.

Fitting new tube-type tyres has become quite a tedious task of late, with only a handful of roadside puncture-wallahs willing to do it. So, we spent nearly a day getting the tyres changed from the knobbies to the TrailRs. 
Much to my surprise, the slightly wobbly feeling that you get when you ride a bike with knobby tyres on tarmac was present with the TrailRs. The larger block pattern does give you this initial feeling of jitteriness as you even lean the bike ever so slightly into bends. The wider void portion plays its part here as you feel a bit unnerved initially. Not to mention, the taller stance with the Rally Kit parts amplifies every small moment.
However, as the miles have started flowing, this slight bit of tippiness has disappeared with the rubber bedding in. What becomes more and more apparent on every ride is just how different they feel in comparison to the stock tyres. It doesn’t feel dead or numb like the Ceats, which make sure that you keep your spirits in check always. Instead, you have ample cornering feedback and the traction levels are far superior too.
Manaal even took it for a short weekend trip to Mumbai and back and came back praising just how good they felt on the old Pune-Mumbai highway, which has its fair share of bad stretches. So, my next agenda with the tyres is going to be…

It has been a while since I have muddied myself silly. The last time I did, the XPulse took a beating. That, though, was quite a serious and technical day of adventure riding. I need to slowly but surely get back to the basics. And with more and more boys in the office getting bit by the adventure bug, it is time we get down and dirty. So, in the 1,500km report, I should hope to bring you a downlow on how the tyres hold up off-road and maybe even bring a touring story to tell you lot.
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