-To get Apollo Tramplr XR tyres instead of Pirelli STRs
-Government ban on imported tyres to blame
-No change in the price of the bike
Customers of the new Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 have been crying foul ever since news of the motorcycle being dispatched with Apollo tyres instead of Pirelli tyres surfaced. At the time of launch and during the first ride of the Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 a few weeks ago, the bike was seen shod with Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres. However, they aren’t available anymore.
The Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR is an imported tyre and for the price of the bike, these hoops contributed to the Svartpilen 401’s value for money quotient. The joy for customers, however, was short lived after the bikes being dispatched to showrooms were seen with Apollo Tramplr XR tyres.
We reached out to the company to know the reason and they say that shortly after the launch of the Svartpilen 401, the Government of India banned the import of tyres. This meant that they couldn't source the Pirellis from international markets and hence had to look for an alternative. The Apollo Tramplr XR’s proved to be the ideal replacement for the Pirellis and hence these have been fitted on customer Svartpilens.
While customers may not appreciate this, one must understand that there’s very little that a manufacturer can do but comply with the regulations. Also, a manufacturer can always choose to change the tyre brand and type on a motorcycle as per market conditions, without the need to alter prices, as is being demanded by customers of the Svartpilen 401. At present the Svartpilen 401 is priced at Rs 2.92 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.
All said, during our tests of the Apollo Tramplr XR tyres on other bikes, we found them to be pretty good for a majority of use cases. We expect these tyres to be good enough for the Svartpilen 401, however, a proper test will hold the answers.
It is likely that other motorcycles in the Rs 2-4 lakh price bracket that run on imported tyres might be affected because of the import ban. The KTM 390 Duke, for instance, runs on Metzeler tyres and we are yet to know what happens in the case of that bike.
