Spencer recently attended the launch of the Aprilia RS 457. With such a high end manufacturer like Aprilia opting to fit an entirely new tyre brand to a significant part of its line-up, in this case Eurogrip Protorq Extreme hoops, we got curious. After all, such a decision would seem a hefty departure from the tried-and-true tyre brands that OEM manufacturers have fitted to their more sporty machinery in the past.
This piqued our interest. After all, tyre brands come and go, but this one looked pretty serious and warranted a bit of research.
Just what is this all about then? On investigation we became familiar with the brand Eurogrip, and thought we’d delve a little deeper to see what’s happening globally with the brand. Is it here to stay? Is it to become a major player.
Some recent history to get the tyre rolling.
Incorporated in 1982 and headquartered in Madurai, TVS Srichakra has manufacturing facilities in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) with a production capacity of over three million tyres a month. The company has a design centre in Milan, Italy supporting the R&D centre in Madurai and the tyres are tested in Indian, European, and Japanese road conditions. TVS Srichakra’s products are available in over 85 countries across the world.
While that’s all very well, if the brand was going to take on the world market, there would need to be some corporate focus. In line with global growth and more accessible marketing recognition, the brand has cannily streamlined its brand name to Eurogrip. It seems, most segments are in the eyeline of Eurogrip’s intended applications.
The range includes the tyres that Aprilia opted for with its RS 457 – Protorq Extreme – the Roadhound for sport touring, and the Climber XC, XC-R, and MX Junior for the off-road segment.
The brand also offers Trailhound SCR, Trailhound STR for the dual sport segment and Bee Connect, Bee Classy, Bee Moving, Bee Connect UHP, Bee City, Bee Sport and Conta 545 for scooters. Down under the brand is distributed by whitespowersports.com.
So, there you go… A new player looks set to shake things up with competitive OEM clout at the ready. We will watch with interest.
Snag’s career in motoring journalism spans 30 years with stints at major bike mags Australian Road Rider, Motorcycle Trader and AMCN along with contributions to just about every other outlet worth a hill of beans. He was editor of Unique Cars magazine and hosts his legendary podcast ‘Snag Says’ when he gets off his date.
