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Exclusive tyre knowledge sharing session at Pirelli Tyre Seminar

The Pirelli Tyre Seminar was conducted yesterday at Passion Shop Malaysia located in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

The exclusive and free workshop focused on basic tyre knowledge, functions, and other useful information to dealers and bikers.

Things such as tyre types, fitment and proper repairs helped participants gained some practical and real-world understanding.

The folks from the legendary tyre manufacturer Pirelli conducted a very special seminar yesterday to a group of motorcycle enthusiasts. Organised at the grand Passion Shop Malaysia located in Sentul (right next to GIVI Point), two groups consisting of dealers and bikers where presented with some very useful knowledge about Pirelli motorcycle rubbers.

Carried out by Pirelli Asia’s very own tyre specialists and engineers Mr Soo and Mr Justin, the seminar focused on the basic fundamentals of motorcycle tyres, types, constructions, functions and many more. We were fortunate enough to join the afternoon session which ran for almost three hours.

Both Pirelli masters were more than keen to share their knowledge to everyone in the seminar. With the tagline “Power is nothing without control”, Mr Koo took the floor to explain how the major Italian tyre manufacturer not only produces a variety of premium tyres for motorcycles but also cars, trucks and even bicycles.

Yesterday’s clinic focused on basic tyre knowledge, major functions of tyres, tyre classification, tyre construction plus many more. The three-hour long seminar offered great interaction between the Pirelli experts and consumers plus sellers alike.

If you’re not familiar on how good Pirelli tyres really are, you would be amazed to know that they’re already in collaboration with Ducati in which all new production bikes are fitted with Pirelli rubbers as standards. The same goes for a lot of other manufacturers around the globe including the latest one which is MV Agusta.

To know more about the newly-formed partnership between Pirelli and MV Agusta plus their limited edition 2018 MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR Pirelli edition, CLICK HERE.

Image source: WorldSBK

Pirelli is able to achieve this thanks to the latest tyre-manufacturing technology which transmits over to their successful participation in all sorts of motorsports from Formula 1, WorldSBK to Malaysia’s very own Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSC).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foSq61_6fSA

There are a number of factories around the world producing all sorts of rubbers for the global market but only four plants are dedicated to producing only motorcycle tyres which are Germany, Indonesia, China and Brazil. The most amazing factory can be found in Germany where all the high-performance Pirelli rubbers are made using automated robots with zero human interaction from start to finish.

With the life-long motto of “We race what we sell, we sell what we race”, Pirelli assures that their products are nothing but the best. Their motorsports involvement have proven to be successful and together with 145 years worth of experience, those same levels of dedication and technology are made available to anyone who prefer nothing but the best.

We were also enlightened by a few eye-opening information such as how tyres work under different riding conditions, what causes them to malfunction which can result in tyre failures and bulging, and most importantly, how to repair a punctured tyre using the method recommended by professionals.

This is considered by all attendees as very informative due to the fact that Pirelli focuses a lot more than just producing premium-grade tyres but also how to properly maintain and the right techniques to fix them up in case of unfortunate punctures.

Based on what we’ve been informed, basic emergency tools such as the tyre puncture plug kit aka cacing or “tyre worm” or even inner tyre patches are only good for emergencies and temporary uses; NOT A PERMANENT FIX. The main reason is because these ‘tyre worms’ can actually cause more damage than the original puncture if done wrongly whereas inner tyre patches are still exposed to the elements from the existing hole in the tyre.

This will ultimately make the tyre patch inefficient after short period of time and cause more damage to the inner carcass thanks to outside factors such as rain and debris that can damage the steel wires. A lot of research and development have been invested by Pirelli to ensure that their products always perform at optimum levels even after being properly treated for minor damages.

On the subject of tyre repairs, both Pirelli experts informed us that there is a way to repair punctured tyres properly and that is by using several key methods including a needle-like rubber patch that looks like a mushroom or umbrella. This awareness is slowly but surely being transformed into general knowledge for motorcycle owners and workshops alike because at the end of the day, none of us want to jeopardise our precious lives over a simple yet ineffective tyre repair methods.

NOTE: Tyre punctures can only be repaired successfully IF AND ONLY IF the damage is sustained in the middle part of the tyre, specifically 25% on either side starting from the middle. Any further and you’ll be advised to change the tyre for safety reasons.

One of the things that Pirelli proudly offers is a five-year manufacturer’s warranty for all of their tyres. Based on their calculations, they made sure that each and every tyre will be able to perform optimally once fitted onto your precious bikes. This is provided that during the period of time from production to shipping and delivery to the dealers, proper methods of storage are implemented.

NOTE: You can tell the ‘age’ or when the tyre was manufactured based on a circled four-digit code which tells the week and year. For example, a tyre with a four-digit code of 2417 means that it was made in the 24th week (around June) in the year 2017.

Even if somehow your properly fitted and mint-condition Pirelli tyres suffer from any damage or failure, you can file for a claim and they will do their best to provide the best after-sales services to their customers.

Photo source: bikebandit.com

On a side note, you can help prepare yourselves in case of any motoring-related emergencies through some of our valuable tips. To know more, CLICK HERE.

Before the seminar ended, a stream of questions were presented to the two individuals and they were generous enough to cater to our every enquiry from what all tyre markings mean on the side wall, suitable sizes, high-performance Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa, shelf life of tyres and many more.

Based on our personal experience in attending the Pirelli Tyre Seminar, we’ve managed to learn a lot of things that are sadly unknown to some dealers and workshops. By equipping the consumers with the right tyre know-how from choosing the right set of rubbers to proper maintenance and repair works, Pirelli together with Passion Shop Malaysia is doing the right and respectable thing by organising this complimentary eye-opening lesson.

There will be more to come from Pirelli and Passion Shop Malaysia. To know more, head over to the official Passion Shop Malaysia Facebook page. Did we mention that the seminars are FREE OF CHARGE?

Additionally, you can also head over to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) today for the fifth and final round of the 2017 Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship from 8.00am to 7.00pm. Entrance to the Main Grandstand is free! Or you can watch it live in the link, below.

A passionate individual when it comes to anything related to two wheels (or sometimes more), he enjoys the chaotic and magical world of motorsports as much as riding leisurely to the shops on his beloved Vespa. With an education-based background, he is always eager to learn and share about the poetic arts of motorcycling.

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