Generalities are dangerous. Over the last 40-50 years many previously under-developed countries have massively improved their manufacturing capability.

Stage 1 - the journey starts using very low cost labour to reduce costs. They also need to develop their domestic market where price is a major issue. Often products are copies of European or US - albeit without the quality of materials or precision.

Stage 2 - they start signing joint ventures and licencing deals with first world companies. Quality increases - as do costs as local economies start to grow rapidly.

Stage 3 - they have caught up with first world manufacturers. Prices are still a little below the competition so products are perceived as good value.

Stage 4 - far east companies move ahead in product quality. Prices are close to European levels. They have a culture of continual improvement and are responsive to change - unlike some European manufacturers who can be very complacent.

This simply development model can easily be applied to cars - Japan and South Korea have followed precisely this development path. And we may now be seeing the Chinese making inroads, albeit presentlt at about stage 2.

I suspect this simplistic view of life also extends to TV's, computers, household appliances etc etc.

What does this mean for tyres - ditchfinder is a reasonable term to use for those at stage 1. By stage 2 (Pirelli?) they will be starting to perform adequately. Whilst the best are still European, in 5-10 years the ditchfinders may have morphed into good performers at a reasonable price.

I dunno if y'all consider Taiwan to count as Chinese, but Maxxis (local Taiwan brand) used to be well spoken of on the local Forumosa foreigner website by people who used them on motorcycles, and didn't appear to be idiots.

(These days the idiot ratio seems to be quite a lot higher so I would no longer consider that a generally reliable source.)

As per above comment on Pirelli's, tyres are arguably even more important on a motorcycle.

I wouldn't know really. I've got locally made Bridgestones, and they seem ok, but then I don't very often drive a car close to a tyres limits, and if bad things happen when I do (I've spun cars unexpectedly a couple of times) I would think its quite likely to be my driving, or because I've let the tyres get too old.

I bought a set 20 years ago. My BMW left the road and burst 3 tyres and bent some suspension parts it was also cosmetically damaged on every panel.. I replaced the suspension parts and had it aligned and 4 of the cheapest tyres available fitted as I was young and poor and needed to get to work. I would then save to get another car. The tyres were awesome grip, wet and dry. They felt soft and comfy and I liked that. The downside was that they wore out in 9 months by which time I had saved enough to scrap the car and got a new one. I went back to the tyre shop to get 4 more of these tyres for my new car, I couldn't remember the name so asked them to tell me some of the cheapest makes and none of them rang a bell so ended up with Goodyear. These days I go for the well-known Korean brands and have found them to be excellent.

Andrew, I would argue you could have done something about that - you say "there was very light rain after several days of dry weather", so you should not have taken the bend at the "usual" (presume dry) speed?

If the circumstances were indeed due to something like oil having been spilt on the road, how could you know this to adapt your speed accordingly?. Otherwise, no, of course not!. Maybe if you have the aforementioned Chinese ditchfinders, but a good quality tyre, even a summer one, will have no problem dealing with very slightly damp conditions. What on earth kind of tyre do you use that you'd feel the need to slow down on a 35-40mph corner in those conditions?.

OK, I give in.

I suggest it be mandatory for all car drivers to drive a motorcycle all year round before they are allowed to drive a car. Darwin should sort it out.

A fair point has been made that one can drive safely with more or less grip.

I think that is a variant of what I said earlier - drivers adapt their style to their current car. When that changes, some familiarisation has to happen. An unexpected 'situation' is always possible, but planned braking and cornering are the essential moves which will depend most on the prevailing conditions - and the tyres fitted.

If, having become accustomed to a vehicle, new ditchfinders are fitted, unexpected things may happen. Maybe the hardest examples are drivers who have to use various vehicles with differing characteristics?

It's just simpler to fit known quality tyres if one can afford them. I don't do that because I am very worried about it, but so I don't have to worry about it!

Just so. More expensive tyres usually last longer as well as being safer. Problem with that is with buyers who don't see a reason to invest in a later owner's safety, as they don't expect to keep the car very long.

Why risk it for a few pounds?

This is the crux of it, i don't usually go for the premium makes, but go for carefully chosen second level which are often every bit as good as the premium but don't spend a king's ransom on sponsoring motor sport or advertising, by shopping around they are often to be found in the middle pricing of the numerous unheard of Chinese products.

Years ago daughter's BMW compact came sporting a set of Sumitomo's on the back, despite it's traction control on wet roads that car could suddenly swing the tail out for no good reason, a swift pair of Vredesteins in their place saw that problem gone never to rear its ugly head.

It doesn't matter how safe or good drivers think they are, the unexpected happens exactly as the word dictates, you can be the best driver in the world and never get into a situation of your own accidental making, but being able to dodge someone else who got it wrong might just save the day.