Good day guys, and welcome to another episode of the A DB podcast. We're chatting today with our technical editor, Matt Boyd, but we do apologize for the audio quality. We didn't shoot this underground or under the water. It was just while we were on the road in the car, so apologies for the audio quality. It's a really awesome podcast. Bodie gets a chance to talk about how to make an 85 cc motocross go even faster and how he's doing it. For the fastest kid in Australia. So tune in guys, and apologies again for the audio quality. We promise it won't happen again. Or maybe it will. It just depends where we're on the road at the time. Anyway, have a listen all. All right. Matt Boyd, ad B'S technical letter. Welcome to the a DB podcast. You're one of our first guests on this podcast, although I probably shouldn't call you a guest because you're a mainstay with a DB. That's been the case for the last 15 years. How you going, mate? Yeah, good. We're, uh, trying to stay dry here in, uh, Newcastle at the moment, but, um, other than that we're pretty good. Cool. Cool. Now we've got you on the podcast today to talk about the Pelli Tire launch that you went to, uh, last month. We wanna know what Pelli is. Spruiking, what's their latest tire? What was the whole shindig about? And also how they performed. So tell us where did you go? What was the launch like? So we were pretty lucky. It was a one day launch. We flew up to Queensland. It's a nice, uh, early start for me. Happened to, uh, get outta bed at four in the morning and drive. Newcastle Airport, uh, jumped on a plane. We flew up to the Gold Coast and we got to go to Troy Bayless's place. Uh, he's got a pretty cool private property there. Got some makers. Uh, Troy's a very accomplished Australian motorcycle racer. Um, and he's got a flat track there. He's got a grass track and he even has this really unique cool. Full size, full spec, straight rhythm, uh, set up on his property. So, uh, that's pretty unique. Haven't actually got to, I've got to ride a lot of things in my life, but that was a, a straight rhythm was a, was a first for me. Uh, but the dirt there is awesome. He's got this, uh, this dirt on his property that, yeah, it's a, a farmer's dream. It's that black, thick, rich soil, and he grates it. Uh, gets around with a water cart, waters it. Um, yeah, it's quite cool. Full, like flat track set up on the side of the, the, the highway there. And, uh, yeah, Pelli banners set up. Uh, we had the Ducati, uh, road race rig there set up for us. Um. Tire change machines, you know, all the catering, food, drink, music, um, photographers, video, everything all in hand. It was a pretty cool day. And, uh, we're cutting laps on. We had multiple different bikes from Yamaha, the beta, KDM, Husky, uh, gas gases, um, two strokes, four strokes. We had a lot. So we gotta test the, the tires on multiple different bikes from. To, you know, 4 54 strokes. Uh, we're cutting the laps. There's guys pulling up on the fence, you know, watching, uh, cheering us on. It's a pretty cool event. Cool. And tell us, so the tie that they, they were getting up there to test, is that, uh, which, which were version of their scorpion, was it? And are we talking Motocross tire? Enduro Tire, trail Tire. What were those bridging? It's the Pelli Scorpion MX 32 Midof. So ideally it's kind of marketed as a, as a motocross tire. But as you would know, I think you've mentioned to me several times that that mids soft's a, a favorite tire of yours. Um, it is a tire that's loved by a wide range of riders like motocross. Guys love it. Supercross, uh. There's even trail riders and you know, your average wreck and Duro guys weekend, guys love that tire. Uh, so it's an interesting tire for them to change, in my opinion, because it's a tire that is already really, really good. You would think they would, you know, if you're gonna make something better, you'd think you'd make it. Uh, a tire tire that's not very good. Better would improve on something that's not great. They've taken a model that's already a really popular and really good. That was a, that was interesting, but they did a great job at it. Yeah. Okay. So you're right. I have liked the MX 32. I think I, uh, particularly liked it, especially when I was doing lots and lots of trail riding. I reckon it wear wears well and the midof is pretty sticky. Um, you know, for trail riding. I'm personally not a motocross. I've done some motocross, but it's very average. So I haven't ever tested it on a motocross track, but I do like it as a trail bike tire. Um. So then what's new? So they brought you out there to Queenstown, you're testing a tire, like I said. And like you said, that we've seen for years. What is new about the MX 32 and do you think those improvements have made a difference to the tire and if they have where? So it's a bit of a bold strategy for'em. The MX 32 Midof is a good tire. Um, but they've changed everything about it. Everything is new. The whole structure of the tire is new. It's a stiffer structure. Uh, the rubber compound is, is new. The tread pattern is new. Uh, they no longer have these center knobs down the center of the front tire. They're offset to the center of the tire. Uh, yeah, the sidewall, the, the rear tire looks a lot like a scoop tire. Uh, but the structure and the shape of the knobs is, it's more, um. It's designed for less tearing so the tire doesn't rip apart so much. And then yeah, to look at, they're totally different. So it's, it's a bit of a, a scary move when you look at a tire and go, that's already really good, but you've changed everything about it. So it could have gone the wrong way for them, but it didn't. Everything works really good with that front and that rear tire. And not only have they, it's only a one day test. So we, we can't really comment on is this tire gonna last X amount? But I can tell you it, uh, looking at the tire, I would expect it to be a lot more, um, durable and last a lot longer. Okay. Um, so carcass of the tie, is the carcass quite a firm carcass? Um, or is it quite soft and. In terms of like sidewall traction, straight line traction, cornering traction, where do you reckon it, it was good, or where do you reckon it was bad? So, well, first off, the, the, the sidewall and the structure of the tire is stiffer. The old pellis, anyone's fitted them before, you know, they're, they're, they have the softest structure and the softest carcass and side there, any tire overfitted. Um, so much so that you can almost turn'em inside out with your bare hands. They're a very soft tire. Uh. That means that if you're gonna run standard tubes with'em, you're probably gonna get pinch flaps or you have to run them up around, you know, upwards of 6, 7 18 p aside and not get pinch flaps, especially in rocky or, or on tree roots or anything that's square edge. Uh, so that was a downside to the old models. Um, if you happen to run like mooses in them, they work great. Or a, um. Ultra heavy duty tube. It was very unlikely you were gonna get like any pinch flats or anything like that. But that was just common knowledge that everybody learn with that tire. And we got used to, and hey, you bought a set of mid soft perellis, you better buy a set of, uh, heavy duty tubes as well, that now I can see changing. Uh. I would like to, uh, test these ties a little more with different tubes in them. Maybe they don't work so great with that ultra heavy duty tube anymore. Maybe you have to run a softer tube or a lighter tube or like a medium grade tube. Uh, that'd be interesting, but that'd be something we can, you know, we'll test, we'll keep, we'll keep playing with these tires, you know, we'll figure out what's the best pressures with different tubes. And that's stuff we could, we could relay at a later date when we have more data ourselves on that. And so we did tire works. Are we talking like, uh, Sandy, Rocky, loose, wet? Uh, what kind of terrain do you reckon suits the new tire? So the terrain we wrote in is it's that rich black soil. So, uh, when it's wet, it's icy, but when it's got that perfect amount of moisture in it. Traction is super easy to find and I found the Lean Angle, but it is, is greatly improved. But not only just that, the braking and the feel of the traction on, on the front tire, uh, that older, uh, NX 32, mid Soft because the firewall was so soft, the tire would move like under heavy braking where you are really charging into a corner and you are putting all the weight into the, that front, all the power, but raking power into that front tire. It would be kind of vague and, um, the tire, if you didn't have a decent tube or you were trying to run pressures too low, the tire could fold and move around in the rim a lot, which would give a funny feeling. You get a bit of washing, that's completely gone, that's not there anymore. The way that front tire bites into the, into the ground under brakes is pretty impressive. But the other thing that really stood out to me was the lean angle. You can push on these tires. Um. It's a little bit, when you start off, you think you've gotta gotta push that edge. You've gotta keep going a bit further, a bit further, a bit further, and you're like, wow, these tires really can keep going. And then once you learn to trust them, it's amazing how much throttle you can apply on a big bike, like a four 50 usually when you're. On those side dogs, you gotta be fair or controlled, but you can be really aggressive on the side of those tires and they hook in and bite up really well. So that front, front, that bite on that front tire and the, the, the lean angle drive was the two, I would say the two most impressive parts of those tires for me. So you also mentioned harder carcass. Does this mean you can run lower tire pressures and maybe get a little bit more, um, kind of, uh, conforming of the tire when you're riding to the terrain? Or would you still suggest running, you know, hot berma tire pressures look from motocross. I think the lowest you gonna goes is around 12. That 1213 mark. Um, it's the speed in motocross. You need a certain amount of integrity. To remain in the tire for motocross. It's not that hard in J speed, and you can allow the tire to move and basically walk over rocks and logs and things. Motocross. You need that tire to hold its integrity. You need them knobs to stay formed so they buy into the dirt. I would love to do some more testing in the bush on rocks. I can't see why that. I wouldn't work, but the only thing I'm having trouble with is telling you what kind of pressures you could run with this tire.'cause we haven't done it yet. Uh, if we do some more testing with it, you know, it's only gonna take us a day or two. We get out in the rocks, we play around with stuff. I can't see why the tire won't work. But yeah, with that stiffer structure, I'm sure you could run lower pressures down like the eights, nines. Uh, you know, as low as you know, I've seen hard and injury guys wanna run as low as six. Like, um, I would still say you're gonna want a decent tube if you wanna run them that low, but I can't see why they wouldn't work. Okay. Uh, alright, so motocross and in Duro Tire, you wouldn't use it in, would you use it, the desert high speed stuff? Think had a Don or, and would you use it in hard andro? I mean, everyone wants to run a gummy in hard andro, but would it get by in either of those conditions? I think it would get by, would it be competitive at an elite level? I think at an elite level, I think a gummy tire is gonna suit you better. If you are, if you go out and you wanna ride up some rocks, you know, once every two or three months, sure, fine. But if you're a pro level. Um, hard and Giro guy. You know, there, there are purpose built ties for that. This isn't a purpose built, um, gummy for hard and Giro it. You know, if you have got enough skill, I'm sure it'll work for you. Uh, but same as desert. Yeah, it'll do it. Uh, you know, I know guys who rented it had are this year. Um, but that isn't its purpose either. So it, it's more like, you know, it's, there are, there are tires that are purpose made for those that would be better. Okay. Uh, alright. Highlight of the launch. Obviously these things are pretty fun as journos and, uh, you are our technical editor. You've been to launches in all parts of Europe. You've been to the bikes, you've been to tire launches all over the country and bike launches all over the country. You've also been a professional racer, all that kind of thing. So you've done a lot of fun things on dirt bikes. What was the highlight of this launch? It could have been testing the tires, but was there something else that stood out? Yeah, yeah. Get like. It's, uh, the event being at Troy Bayless's place. He's, you know, Australian Superbike legend. Uh, but there was a lot of other Australian superbike guys like there, like we had, you know, Yamaha guy, uh, Mike Jones, he's, dude used to doing 300 kilometers hour, three corners, uh, who was watching the jumps going? That's crazy. Um, that's, you know, it, it, it's always interesting when you get those guys, they. Those road race guys, they can get around a flat track or a grass track pretty well. They're not afraid to go fast. Uh, they go way faster than we, we can on a dirt bike, uh, around corners. So it was cool riding with those guys. They have a different, unique. Style compared to what US dirt background guys have, but they make it work. And it was cool to ride with those guys and have a chat and get different perspectives. Like we watch guys like that go 300, uh, kilometers an hour around a fence, like around a, a, a corner, you know, couple of feet from the fence. And we think that's mental. And they do that without even thinking about it. But they watch us do a 60 foot jump and think we're nuts. And we're like, yeah, that's nothing. It's, uh, they're two. We're all noticed. Cyclists. Right. But they're two different disciplines and it's what you're comfortable with. That's kind of the, the cool thing we get together and chat with these guys and, you know, it was, it was a good time. Cool. Uh, all right. And before I let you go, you did mentioned before that scoop rear attire. There's a lot of talk around the industry here and Europe and us. As the who's running a scoop tire, who isn't the argument that a scoop tire is great for getting off the line and getting a hole shot, but in the minute you gotta fight the rest of the track with a tie that wears that typically cooker or doesn't have the side wall knobs to have hold you into ruts and corners. Are you a fan of, I know this isn't a scoop tie, but like you said, the pattern is slightly scooped. Like, are you a fan of the Scoop tire? Do you think because this rear tire had a bit of a scoop action on the MX 32, it could be prone to some of the fears that people have had with the scoop tire racing motocross before. I can personally attest to people questioning it, seeing it going into Scoop Tire. It's not gonna be any good just because of the fig, like the, the, the structure of the knobs. Uh, but I had no issue with this tire. Like in lean, like the problem with the scoop tire is the, the knobs are soft, uh, and they're meant for soft terrain. So when you start getting ruts, any rocks, any hard ax stuff, uh, that tire just does not want to, uh, a grip well on that stuff, especially if it's LT over. I could certainly see this tire being a bridge between the two. Uh, but I would urge also urge people not to call it a scoop because it behaves different to a scoop. It rides very much more like a noby tire than a scoop. But the traction and drive you get out of it is awesome. So yeah, like in my day racing motocross, uh, we didn't have the scoop tire. It's kind of a current generation thing. It did start to come in at the end, but it wasn't super popular. I think maybe only Mitchell and had one Belli might have had one then, but wasn't really a thing. It's, it's kind of much more, uh, popular these days, but my answer to a lot of that is whether you got a scoop or a knobby on the guy with the most skill is still gonna win. So I think people are weighing too much on it. Okay, so Jet Lawrence could run a road bike tire and he is probably still gonna win a round of, uh, a MA pro motocross. It doesn't matter if he's on a scoop or not. And well, yeah, that's as far as Jet's case. Uh, if you put him on a, um. On a road bike tire, you could stick him on a motr bike around a soundtrack, and he's still gonna be faster than, than than 99% of the population. Uh, but you know, will he win no matter what tire he is on? Maybe he won't win on a scoop tire if he's meant to be on a noy, but I'm sure he'd be second or he'll be on the podium. Like it's just, it's. It's not like I'm gonna put a scoop tire on and I'm gonna qualify for a MA motocross. It's not, it's not, they're not a magical tire. You've still gotta have the skill. Uh, you know, we've seen Eli run them at tracks where it's rutted and the guy's still fast and people are sitting back going, that tire shouldn't work there. He's got the skill, he can make it work. So it's, it's not that black and white. That's interesting. That's good. Probably a good way to end it, mate. I'll let you go. But thanks for jumping on to talk to us about the, uh, Pelli Scorpion MX 32 launch that the new tire that P are bringing out. Sounds like it's interesting. I'm keen to do some more testing when we can get a couple of sets, uh, and do some tire precious testing and also some wear testing so we know how well it's gonna wear. But thanks again, Bodie and we'll get you back on to talk about what you've been testing for us, uh, in the next couple of days.