MRF Masseter Tyres Road Test Review

MRF Masseter Tyres Review

The MRF Masseter tyres aim to offer the best of both worlds – grip and practicality

In recent times, the biking community in India has progressed far beyond our imagination, there used to be a time when motorcycles were just meant for commuting and people would just look for fuel efficiency. However, bikes have become a part of our life and more than anything they have become a symbol of who we are. In today’s era, bikes are judged on every factor, from looks to features, comfort to mileage, even price to practicality, etc. One such aspect are the tyres. Tyres are the only link between the bike and the road. They play a major role in how your motorcycle performs and balances. There are different ways to differentiate tyres, i.e. the compound, size and section, level of grip, tread pattern, etc.

The Indian market is crowded with companies competing against each other i.e. to launch a product that would rule the market and one such company is MRF. Established in 1946, MRF is India’s homebred company and one of the largest manufacturers for both two and four wheeler tyres. With companies such as Michelin, Pirelli, Metzelers, CEAT, etc. competing to give the best performance tyres, MRF was out of the game for a while. Recently MRF has rolled out its new born baby known as ‘Masseters’ in the market after putting in 7 years of R&D. Despite the entire market revolving around radials, even MRF did the same last year with the Revz series. But this time, MRF has taken a step down to bias tyres to create the Masseters but is this change really worth it?

MRF claims that Masseter is by far the most promising product rolled out. These tyres were specialized using L.A.P.S. (Lean Angle Performance System) technology, mainly to ‘RULE EVERY CURVE’ and master superior grip on road in both wet and dry conditions. The key factor about these tyres is that they were designed especially for the twisty lovers. We were called to test the tyres on at the launch in Coimbatore in December 2016. When I got my chance to test the Masseters they blew me up with surprise. The Masseters not only help you maintain a clear line but also give good braking control and improves lean angle.

Keeping the Indian weather in mind, they are made of soft compounds, designed with superior tread grooves for water jetting. With all these features under the belt, the MRF Masseters are the perfect cornering tool allowing you to carry more speed and lean angle in corners along with proper control over the vehicle. The Masseters surely did pass our tests and expectations on the track and now the question was how good are they when they’re put to test in the real world?

Compared to the stock TVS tyres, these MRFs offer way better grip

Owning a TVS Apache RTR 180, the bike came with stock TVS tyres, tyres which didn’t even wear after usage of 15,000 kms, the griping of the tyres was nothing more than what was needed for a common man to do his day to day commute. The tyres had an everlasting tread and poor wet grip. Later I upgraded to MRF Nylogrip Zapper which exceeded the TVS tyres in all aspects and also gave the bike a tough look from the rear. Now, it was time to change the rubber again. For the Apache, the Masseters come with 80/80/17 front and 120/80/R17 for the rear. The motorcycle looks more aggressive than ever as the front-end was lower while the rear was beefy with deep grooved rubber.

Riding on a daily basis on Mumbai streets was where the actual test was. The Masseters were sticker than any tyres used on the Apache by far; the control and feedback offered by the Masseters stood way beyond expectations. Being aware of the potholes situation in Mumbaim most of us try to dodge the potholes rather than slowing down as we are in haste but we barely make it due to the lack of grip and braking feed. However, once the Masseters had hooked on to the rims, this wasn’t the case, the tyres respond as if they were an extension of your body, putting you in charge of the bike. Due to grip offered by the soft compound, the braking was phenomenal and cutting through traffic was never this smooth. I fell in love with the tyres from day one itself.

The tyres are quick to response and adhere to throttle. Even on sudden change from tar to concrete, the tyres wouldn’t stop giving optimum performance which most tyres fail to cope up with. Being bikers, there is more to us than just dogging potholes. As we all know, bikers always tend to lane filter in traffic which often introduces us to off-roading, sidewalks and jumping on and off potholes. Well, doing so we make our getaway but sometimes with minor cost such as slips, flat tyres or most commonly eroding more rubber from the tyre. However, the Masseters showed me a different picture; being of soft compound, the tyres did grip well but surprisingly the bonding of the rubber was so good that I haven’t faced a single puncture yet. Surprised? So was I. Well, that definitely shows that those 7 years of R&D weren’t for nothing. The Masseter surely qualifies for the city.

In spite of being soft compound, the Masseters aren’t prone to punctures

The second test was the wet grip of the tyres but the question was, would they still stick the same way on wet conditions? Well, the timing was such that rains had already begun in Mumbai and like we all know, when it rains here it means business. Most tyres tend to give away during the rains but the Masseters held up to their mark, not only on wet patches but on completely wet stretches too. The grooves cut in the tyres played a vital role in jetting the water out and allowing the rubber to maintain contact with the road. When riding with these tyres, one can actually feel safe because of the stability offered in such conditions. Even on braking hard on wet patches, the bike wouldn’t wobble but instead maintain its line and slow down, allowing the brakes to do their part of the job.

By now the Masseters have done around 2500 kms and have performed well in the city. But something was still lacking. We wanted to know if it had the pure wanderer spirit. So it was time to test it beyond city limits like a true biker. I got my gear on, saddled my luggage and headed to Kanyakumari, all solo. The route taken was Mumbai – Pune – Bangalore – Kanyakumari. The initial stretch up to Pune was quick and easy as the Masseters did their job on each curve on the old Mumbai – Pune highway. Even with luggage on, the Masseters gave complete confidence without a single hitch. As I took my first halt at Pune after the Ghats, there were bare chicken strips on the rubber. I had that proud moment every biking enthusiast has after completing the Ghats and now it was time to head on the highway.

While cruising at speeds between 110 km/hr to a max of 130 km/hr, the tyres held steady throughout. However, with the long continuous stretches, there was a slight temporary deformation in the rubber but that did not stop them from offering the same performance or give away to any sort of braking issue. While braking hard on the highway, despite the luggage and weight transferring to the front, the Masseters took the entire braking load without any hassle, slowing the motorcycle in a very calm fashion. Similarly even in damp conditions, there was no fuss with braking inputs. The only downside with the Masseters was that the tyres create a whizzing sound on open highways.

On reaching Kanyakumari, to my surprise some of the local roads were made of dirt and gravel. But irrespective of the rough terrain there were no cuts, scrapes or any sort of puncture, though it wasn’t any different on my way back. Every layer of rubber in there functioned like it was built to do the same work. After riding for about 6000 odd kms, anyone would expect wear in such tyres but the Masseters never fail to surprise! With minimal wear, the tyres surely have a long way to go unlike any other soft compound tyres. Considering the price and features; introducing the Masseters has been a real game changer for MRF.