MA-3DS Supermaxx Diamond

 

 

Maxxis' ground breaking MA-3DS Supermaxx Diamond - sports touring radial - features an eye catching Diamond shoulder tread pattern, incorporating micro pore technology, combined with Maxxis' new 'Ultra' tread compound to deliver outstanding levels of dry traction and increased wet weather grip.

The unique high tension carcass construction incorporates jointless mono-spiral Kevlar® belts which increase carcass strength and maintain uniformity under extreme load conditions ensuring increased stability at high speed.

New stiffer side walls ensure that the MA-3DS maintains its handling characteristics under typical loads for touring applications without compromising handling or performance.

• Developed for European weather and road conditions using Maxxis' industry leading Virtual Intelligent Prototyping
• Traction under normal dry conditions is increased by 15%*
• Wet grip is increased by 10%*
• Cornering camber angle is increased by 10 degrees*
• 10% larger footprint at 35 degrees*
• Fuel saving performance

 

• Introducing Maxxis' third generation of performance motorcycle radial: the ground breaking MA-3DS Supermaxx Diamond
• Developed specifically for European road conditions, using Maxxis' industry leading computer aided deign technology, Virtual Intelligent Prototyping
• Instantly recognisable, the latest addition to the Supermaxx family features aggressive central channels to maximise water dispersal, this is combined with a new distinctive profile and eye- catching Diamond shoulder tread pattern
• Maxxis new 'Ultra' graduated tread compound features high levels of silica, combined with natural rubber, sulphur, and carbon black to ensure longevity. On top of this it delivers outstanding levels of dry traction and wet weather grip
• Fuel efficiency has been improved by lowering rolling resistance: this has been achieved through a combination of carcass development and chemical compound advances
• Traction under normal dry conditions is increased by 15%*
• Wet grip is increased by 10%*
• The Supermaxx Diamond's unique high-tension carcass construction incorporates a jointless mono-spiral Kevlar belt, which increases carcass strength and uniformity under extreme load conditions
• Maxxis' Diamond carcass has been developed to equalise pressure distribution, minimise distortion and increase the tyres contact area by 10% at 35 degrees, increasing cornering stability, and as a result cornering camber angle can be increased by up to 10 degrees*
• Stiffer side walls ensure that the Supermaxx Diamond maintains its handling characteristics under typical loads for touring applications, without compromising handling or stability

• Traction under normal dry conditions is increased by 15%*
• Wet grip is increased by 10%*
• Cornering camber angle is increased by 10 degrees*
• 10% larger contact area at 35 degrees*
• Fuel saving performance

 

 

MF catching and passing Gary Mason on a Z1000 at Portimao from Visordown on Vimeo.

 

Check out these reviews

 

When self-employed builder and road racing sidecar passenger Martin Hull decided to take his recently acquired 1999 R1 for a couple of days ride to the Lake District from his base in West Cowick near Goole, things didn’t quite turn out as planned: in fact, there were no plans!

Having had his bike fully serviced at Maxxis dealer Adi’s of West Cowick, Martin plumped for the new Maxxis Diamonds (‘Good reviews and almost £100 cheaper than my previous Pirelli choice,’ he smiles). It was after the TT in June where he took two 8th places in both Sidecar TTs accompanying Leeds’ Douggie Wright, that Martin decided on a couple of days riding solo up North – but that’s not how it turned out. Martin takes up the story.

“I set off in my jeans, trainers, my old leather jacket (the zip bust on the first day so I had to wrap a belt round it!), gloves and a little rucksack containing a bit of underwear and one change of clothes. It was a nice day and I was enjoying the ride when I came to the sign saying A1/A64/Hull. I changed my mind and decided to head for the ferries: I’d got my passport and thought I’d see where they were going. When I arrived, one was going to Zebrugge and one to Rotterdam. I’d never been to Rotterdam so decided to get a single ticket. When I arrived, I saw a sign saying E30 Berlin; I remembered a friend who lived there I met on the World’s Highest tour on Royal Enfields in India so thought I’d go and see him.

“I spent a couple of days with him before another snap decision to visit a friend in Poland who I hadn’t seen in seven years. He lived in Warsaw so off I went. Through Germany I spent hour after hour doing 160 mph on autobahns, hooking up with German riders; I didn’t even notice my tyres, the bike was stable and predictable. It was a different matter riding on Polish roads: they were poorer than anything I’d seen in Africa, some main roads were like riding in a skate park as lorries had worn huge grooves into the lanes so you were riding leaning over on straights! When I got to my mate’s, I found out that it was his wedding that weekend!

“I stayed a couple of days and thought I wouldn’t be out here again on a bike so I headed for Lithuania (saw it next on the map!) and its capital, Vilnius. It was then onto Latvia and its capital, Riga followed by Tallinn in Estonia. Being English I was greeted like a hero in some of these places! I had a two-day wait for a ferry to Stockholm before heading to Gothenburg to see another friend from Australia who was living there: staying in hostels for the last few countries! Two days later I caught a ferry to Denmark and then back through Germany, Holland and finally Rotterdam onto a ferry homeward bound.”

Martin’s weekend trip ended up being around 25 days and over 4,000 miles. He didn’t get rained on all the way round and in Poland he had to take his jacket off and roll his jeans up such was the heat! On the short trip from Hull to home though, he got soaked!

Martin’s R1 is totally standard except for a Scottoiler and Supermaxx Diamonds. He had done a few thousand miles on them before his ‘weekend trip’ and added a few more over in Europe. They were fitted at 9,698 and the rear was taken off at 19,101, a total of 9,403 miles. In case you were wondering, the front is still on and still perfectly fine!

We’ll leave the last word to Martin: “I’m quite an impulsive person so didn’t see anything special in the trip. I knew the tyres had received good reviews and with the money saving, I went for them. I wasn’t disappointed and the high-speed stability is excellent. It was a fairly fast tour but I had no wear or grip issues and, although Adi’s fitted a new rear recently, I reckon it would have done 10,000 if pushed! I particularly wanted a single compound tyre because I do a lot of miles and some dual compounds I’ve had have started to get misshapen well before their shelf life. The Maxxis Supermaxx Diamonds were reliable, wore evenly and I totally trust them.”

Where will Martin end up next? Wherever it is, you can be sure he’ll be on Maxxis!

MAXXIS DIAMOND: REAL ROAD RIDERS REVIEW 1 - YAMAHA YZF-R1

 

 

The initial set of Supermaxx Diamond tyres were fitted to a 55 plate Honda VFR 800 VTEC in April 2011. These had originally been used at the Maxxis launch earlier in the year and had covered over 600 miles during initial testing prior to fitment to the VFR.

From day one, the tyres “felt right” on the bike and were first used on a day ride out which covered 184 miles. The key element that stood out on this first ride was how the tyres allowed the rider to retain more control when cornering on shell grip covered road surfaces – rather than the tyre feeling as if it were fully gripped by the road surface. This control was felt on dry and wet roads, both of which were encountered on this first ride.

As part of the long-term evaluation of the tyres, over the next three months 5,000 miles were travelled through the UK and Ireland, usually riding solo, however, on the majority of trips laden panniers were also on the bike. Riding in the UK between April and June presented a variety of both road surface and weather conditions to assist in the testing of the capability of the tyres. Roads ridden were both primary and non-primary.

First long test on the VFR was a tour of Ireland in April which took the tyres over a variety of surfaces from the saturated M1 Irish motorway to the country roads over the Wicklow Mountains and the challenging and undulating Sally Gap. Suspension of the VFR was tested on the Sally Gap, which presented both narrow and tight turns, with varying road surfaces from decent tarmac to broken potholes but tyre grip held irrespective of changes. Heavy rain was encountered which the tyres dealt with flawlessly on the journey north to Belfast which, again, gave reassuring confidence of the grip available in adverse weather conditions during the 700 miles travelled on this particular trip.

Numerous roads were ridden through North Wales over a bank holiday weekend in early May 2011 covering a further 700 miles. This time weather conditions were favourable, however, on the Monday, high winds were met whilst travelling through the Snowdonia range which at times led to counter steering being required but at no time was there any let up from the grip of the tyres.

In mid May 2011, a 1,600-mile trip to the MotoGP at Le Mans was undertaken. The tyres responded well to the grippy French road surfaces. Having over 500 miles of UK motorway to endure on the ride to and from the port of Dover, we used, where possible, all available side roads in France to avoid the Autoroutes, allowing the tyres to be tested on tight twists and turns and undulating local roads in the Normandy region.

Between April and July numerous IAM motorcycle tests were conducted on a mixture of A and B roads throughout Cheshire and the North Wales area. Again a variety of weather conditions were encountered and the tyres performed well at all times.

From 10th to 22nd June 2011 a long distance tour to Tuscany & Umbria in Italy was undertaken with in excess of 2,500 miles covered. This trip had the VFR fully laden with panniers, a heavy tank bag together with rider and a pillion. Temperatures on this trip varied from 15˚ in the UK to 30˚ in Italy. Weather conditions encountered were a mix of light rain and showers, a torrential downpour west of Milan on the A1 Autostrada, sunshine and 30˚+ heat.

A very good test for the tyres was the torrential downpour in Italy which ultimately brought a 38 mile section of Italian motorway to a standstill due to the volume of water: it can best be described as like riding into a carwash on full flow. Visibility was reduced to a matter of feet within a few seconds of entering the area of the downpour with standing water being in excess of 2” deep. The tyres dealt with the initial change in road surface conditions tremendously well allowing the rider to retain full control of the motorcycle at all times. Owing to the road surface and weather conditions, speeds were reduced to a crawl.

During this tour our routes involved travelling:

• through France on Autoroute and scenic country roads,

• Germany on fast running Autobahns and well surfaced

country roads

• Switzerland involved crossing the Alps on the challenging roads of the Gotthard and St. Bernard passes.

• Riding into Italy on Autostrada before picking up the winding and challenging roads of Tuscany & Umbria.

The tyres were tested on the tour using the entire breadth and circumference and neither front nor rear gave cause to question their ability to hold the road throughout the entire tour.

Two varying challenges encountered on this trip were a 45-minute excursion over gravel and shale track (shown as a proper road on the map!) and in stark contrast the superb Chianti Road though the undulating Tuscan vineyards. The road was so impressive and such fun to ride that it deserved three visits over two consecutive superb summer days. For both experiences the temperature was hot and under clear blue skies. On the gravel the tyres never faltered even in company with a pillion, which included quite steep climbs and descents. The Chianti road can be described as a ribbon of well laid tarmac winding through the vineyards which offered an excellent grippy road surface with twists and turns and the tyres gave the rider confidence to carry a positive amount of speed through the continuous series of corners and bends.

Due to the total mileage covered, the rear tyre required changing as it was approaching the minimum legal tread depth. As a result both front and rear tyres were replaced with a new set of Supermaxx Diamond tyres on 6th July 2011. This was to continue the long-term test as to the efficiency and longevity of both tyres.

First test was an extremely wet weekend in the Cleveland area, which saw not only torrential rain but also localised flooding over the 490 miles covered. The tyres were run in on the 160-mile trip north to Yarm using predominantly motorway. This proved to be a good bedding in process for the very wet conditions which were to follow the next day which included the “Helmsley TT” route. The new tyres maintained the confidence in the product that had been established by using the first set of Supermaxx Diamonds. This was fully tested on the Sunday on the return route home to Cheshire via the M62 where weather conditions deteriorated with temperatures dropping to less than 5 degrees, seriously reduced visibility and standing water.

MAXXIS DIAMOND: REAL ROAD RIDERS REVIEW 2 - VFR 800 V-TEC

In late July 2011, a 500-mile weekend tour of Mid Wales took place, fully laden with luggage and tank bag. Weather conditions for this trip were dry and the tyres performed faultlessly. As with all rides on the bike the tyres were regularly inspected and tyre pressures checked on a daily basis to ensure they performed at the optimal level. This tour included narrow country lanes and the wide-open A470 through the Brecon Beacons National Park before descending into Llandovery via the A4069 over the Black Mountain.

The next tour departed from Plymouth to Santander in September 2011, on this trip the bike was fully laden together with both rider and pillion. Whilst waiting to embark onto the Pont Aven ferry, several riders had gathered at the rear of the VFR to pass comment and ask questions relating to the Supermaxx Diamonds. Positive feedback was related to the riders based on evidence and experience gained since April 2011.

The Picos de Europa in Northern Spain and the Douro Valley in Portugal presented yet more excellent opportunities to gain more information about the tyres on extremely grippy road surfaces. The temperatures on this tour were usually in excess of 30˚, however, one day in particular stands out when the temperature reached 40˚ on a days ride in the Douro Valley where the endless curves and bends tested both bike and rider. This ride was undertaken with a pillion on the VFR and the Supermaxx Diamonds performed superbly keeping pace with a Suzuki GSX-R 750 throughout the entire day.

We also encountered several lengthy sections of cobbled roads on a very long detour travelling through Portugal due to major motorway construction projects, which caused fairing fasteners to become dislodged together with nuts and bolts to lose their tension on a variety of motorcycles. However, the VFR was not affected and it is felt that the performance of the tyres assisted in negotiating this difficult road surface without incident.

The Picos de Europa provided a variety of roads from twisty tight valley gorges to the vast expanses of endless sweeping bends, which followed the shores of several lakes. A single-track country route was also negotiated with broken surface and in all cases the tyres held grip throughout.

In stark contrast to the above, a 450-mile weekend tour of North Wales was undertaken in late October with driving horizontal rain, high winds and sea mist encountered on the Lleyn Peninsula. Visibility was so reduced that on a couple of occasions the rider missed avoiding speed cushions in a 30 mph limit, however, the tyres did not lose traction during this rider error.

During the winter months several IAM motorcycle tests were conducted in a variety of conditions including snow. The grip and performance delivered by the tyres allowed the rider to concentrate on conducting the examination of the candidates without having to doubt that the tyres would perform under the road surface and weather conditions encountered. A ride out on Boxing Day 2011 was undertaken with dry road surface conditions and air temperature near freezing: again, no issues with the Supermaxx Diamonds.

In March 2012 a four-day 1,200-mile tour of Northern France was conducted in near perfect riding conditions.

Throughout the period of riding with Supermaxx Diamonds from April 2011 to March 2012, both ferries and the Eurotunnel have been utilised in foreign trips. The decks of the ferries for the French and Italian trips in 2011 were greasy, however, the decks for the Santander and Irish crossings were dry. The floor covering of the Eurotunnel carriage appeared greasy. In all cases the tyres retained their grip allowing safe passage into and out of the designated stowage areas.

In April 2012, a 500 mile weekend tour of Mid Wales was undertaken and presented typical April showers combined with sudden changes in conditions such as setting off into the Elan Valley in brilliant sunshine and leaving it at Devil’s Bridge in hail and snow.

In summary, the first pair of Supermaxx Diamonds was on the VFR for 7,015 miles before being replaced. It should be noted that there were several hundred miles put on the tyres prior to being fitted to the VFR. In addition it should also be noted that there was still sufficient tread on the front tyre to be used for a similar distance. The change of both tyres in July 2011 was required to ascertain the mileage capability of both tyres from new.

The rear tyre was replaced in March 2012 after having covered 6,445 miles. This change was required due to an impending 1,200-mile trip of Northern France and subsequent mid-Wales tour. The anticipated mileage for the rear tour would have been between 7,500 and 8,000 miles, which would be a comparable performance to other tyres that have been used on the VFR in the past nine years. At the time of writing this report (mid April 2012), the front tyre has covered 7,645 miles and again the tread wear is comparable to the previously fitted Supermaxx Diamond and it is anticipated this tyre will do in the region of 12 – 13,000 miles.

To conclude it must be stressed that the initial feeling of the tyres being right on the bike on day one continues through to the present day. The element which stands out is that the unique tread pattern assists the rider in maximising control of the motorcycle whilst negotiating corners and bends in all road surface and weather conditions.

John Geraint Hughes has travelled in excess of 100,000 miles on three Honda VFR 800 VTECs since 2002. He is the co-owner of DragonMotoTours Ltd and a former police advanced motorcyclist and BikeSafe presenter. He is a current motorcycle examiner with the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists. During the testing period of the Supermaxx Diamonds, Jan Hughes has ridden pillion on the long distance tours to Italy, Spain and Portugal. Her confidence in the performance of the motorcycle has never wavered whilst both sets of Maxxis tyres have been on the VFR. Jan has tens of thousands of miles experience as a pillion before becoming a rider in her own right. In previous years the performance of a rear tyre from another manufacturer caused her significant concern about its road holding capability whilst negotiating corners and bends and in particular on shell grip which led to the tyre being changed. Both Geraint and Jan are very aware of the requirement that both rider and pillion should be confident that the tyres would perform as expected.

 

 

I’ve been a fan of Maxxis tyres since 2007, ever since I had a pair of Maxxis Supermaxx Touring tyres fitted on my first SV 1000S K3. During my time in using these tyres I have done over 70,000 miles, had 2 non fault accidents, 2 more SV 1000S K3s, several sets of Maxxis tyres, two nails in the rears and also a set of Pirelli Angels; I have even done my IAM.

I’m an Information & Performance Data Analyst and have been contracting within the NHS for a long time and use my motorbike to commute to where I work from the Midlands on a daily basis in all sorts of weather. I’ve worked in the East Midlands, East Anglia and various parts of the West Midlands. Prior to having the Diamonds fitted, I was getting up to 20,000 miles out of the front Supermaxx and 10,000 out of a rear Supermaxx, clocking up between 600 and over a 1,000 miles a week.

I’m all for value-for-money and Maxxis tyres certainly give you that! Yes, the profile of the Diamond tyre takes some to time to get used to, however this gives you an advantage because it allows the bike to turn in quicker in to corners thus keeping on the power all the way through which is perfect on right handers. On left handers it is even better, as the extra leaning capabilities give you more confidence to counter steer harder should you go into a left tight hander quicker than you should, thus leaning the bike over more, ideal for those who like to get their knee down!

I had my tyres fitted at Redcar Motorcycles in Leicestershire, who are a Suzuki solus dealership and also a Maxxis stockist and fitter. I had a ride in and ride out service on a Friday morning and then rode to my place of work in the West Midlands along the country A and B roads of Leicestershire along with the motorway networks.

It was on these roads where I then put these tyres to the test. As a touring tyre, they reacted as expected on the dry trunk roads but when I came along the A512 from the M1 to the A42, my bike was a totally different machine. The A512 is a great road with a series of crests and dips and 90-degree corners within a national speed limit, which has caught 100s of riders and drivers out over the years. With the tyres being barely on the bike for 30 minutes, I was able to corner and counter steer at angles I wouldn’t have dared do before and still maintain the speed limit.

The grooves in the tyres certainly give a different perspective to the rolling profile and disperse water really well: I would strongly advise owners to fit a “Fenda Extenda” and also a rear hugger just because of how much water is dispersed. On some journeys where my total mileage for the day would be 134 miles and then see my fuel light appear; I would only need to put in £11.20 litres of unleaded fuel to fill the tank from it being full the night before. That’s just over 54 mpg, travelling at motorway speeds on 3 motorway networks and also A and B roads!

During January 2012, when we had snow fall and cold icy conditions, the tyres performed exceptionally well, especially on the concrete sections of the M42 from Junction 10 to 9 which is notorious even for car drivers to have accidents in the wet due to loss of grip. But no, these tyres gripped to the surface at motorway speeds.

Coming through the heavy traffic and diesel coated roads of Birmingham the tyres still gripped: even when I had a moped rider go down in front of me and I had to swerve at 40 mph to avoid hitting him, the bike was still planted to the bumpy pot-holed surface of Great Charles Street.

I’ve now done just over 10,000 miles on the Supermaxx Diamonds and the rear is just starting to square off. However I still have over well over 5 mm of tread left on the front and even the rear. I was hoping this to be the case on the front but was surprised on the rear! Besides my daily commute to work I have also planned for 650 miles of travelling to Lincolnshire and the Southwest before I need the rear changing.

Are they value for money? You bet! In case you’re wondering, I’m 36, 6’ 4” and weigh just over 19 stone: I weigh nearly 23 stone with my bike kit on and I carry a lot of luggage as well. I also take my wife pillion; she is nearly 6’ and roughly the same weight. So these tyres get more usage than what a normal motorcyclist would expect even with the excessive weekly mileage.

So the next time you’re looking for a new set of tyres, give some thought to the Maxxis range of tyres and, if you have a Sports Tourer, the Supermaxx Diamonds are definitely worth fitting.

Lee James

Freelance Information & Performance Data Analyst

MAXXIS DIAMOND: REAL ROAD RIDERS REVIEW 3 - SUZUKI SV 1000 K3

 

 MAXXIS DIAMOND: REAL ROAD RIDERS REVIEW LI - ZZ-R lLiDD

My name is Alastair McFarlane, I am the proprietor of MCi Tours and I ride 25-30,000 miles a year as a motorcycle tour

guide taking people to destinations all over Europe. I have used a Honda Blackbird for years and last year met up with

the guys from Maxxis at a trade Show in Birmingham. They had a rear tyre on display that still had tread left and had

travelled 9,000 miles - allegedly. This sparked a discussion and subsequently a tyre test as I did not really believe that

anything more than 5,000 miles is realistic for a rear tyre on a sport touring bike. I am not easily persuaded and I am

not one for taking freebies so I paid for a pair of Diamond Maxxis tyres and fitted them to the Honda. Then it was off

to Brno for the MotoGP.I expected the tyres to be hard compound without grip. I had a similar experience quite a few years back with one

of the first dual compound sport touring tyres that left me cold. Literally. That tyre took ages to warm up and the

grip in wet or cold weather was lamentable and at times frightening. So believe me, I was not expecting much,

especially in view of the price that I paid - take note that the Maxxis tyres are significantly cheaper than the premium

brands!

At first the experience with the tyres was a little bit odd. Difficult to describe but the tyres felt pointy? I was left

wondering whether the diamond pattern on the higher sidewalls was just a marketing ploy. However,I persevered

and became quite accustomed to the feel of the new tyres and as my confidence grew I found the unusual tyre pattern

reassuring, particularly when cornering in the wet. Usually  I find that autobahn speeds really do hammer the tyres and

I was expecting to replace the tyres when I got back after this trip, because that's what I usually do. Brno and back is

about 3,500 miles so I thought I would be adding to the pile of part worn tyres round the back of the shed. But no - the

tyres stayed on and completed two more tours and still had life left after 9000 miles.

I was so impressed that when I bought a ZZ-R 14OO at the beginning of the 2012 tour season I bought a pair of Maxxis

front and rears to go on the new bike. Bear in mind that Kawasaki fit a very soft compound as original equipment

so I was a not really expecting much when the OEMtyres had to be replaced with less than 3,000 miles on the new

machine. The Kawasaki is the DBFperformance edition that puts out close to 200 bhp at the back wheel. If anything

is going to shred a tyre it's the ZZ-R. So off we go to the Pyrenees,then Assen for the MotoGPand then a tour across

the former East Germany to Colditz Castle and the Maxxis tyres still have plenty of meat left now that the speedo

reads 11,000 miles. This is truly a revelation.

 

Tyres are a very important consumable in my touring business. At the same time I cannot afford to take chances

with impaired handling of my bike. I did not need to worry. On a bike that does not have traction control I am still able

to exploit the full potential of this powerful machine and the grip in the wet has been a pleasant and confidence inspiring

surprise.

When I find something that works I tend to stick with it. I have owned nine Honda Blackbirds and must have ridden

over half a million miles with MCiTours since I started over twenty years ago. If I could go back a few years and fit

Maxxis tyres I would have saved a fortune. And there would not be such a huge pile of part worns around the back of the shed.

 

Alastair McFarlane

MCiTours Ltd

MCiTours, POBox 750, Altrincham, Cheshire WA158GE

Phone: 0161 9Ll1 71Ll9 • Fax: 01619Ll12121 • Mobile [on tour): OOLlLJ (0)7785331333

Email: [email protected]·Website:www.mcitours.com/ mcitours.com