If you're referring to the Nankang tires
there, you might not have seen them mentioned
here all that much, but those tires are not only well know here, but they are also used by quite a few people here in Oz, simply because we don't get all the same tires you do over there.

But most who run them here don't expect the absolute highest level of performance, altho most do feel they still get acceptably if not significantly better performance than they got from the OE Spec Kendas in all respects (when they run them at the right pressures!

) as they are more after reasonably good value for money and reasonable all-round wet/dry performance with significantly longer tire life across the wide range of conditions most riders experience here - remember that here, just riding into the next State for many means wearing out a new Kenda rear tire to get there, let alone get home! And the majority of users here are pretty happy with their Nankangs for what they are, as they suit their riding needs, the conditions they ride in, and they last long enough to get there & back again without having to find a new set of tires or two along the way! :thumbup:
But you are right in that very few Ozzie riders expect those tires to be 'high performance' tires in any respect; so yeah, that as you called 'outlayer' is probably well classified as one of those, albeit possibly just to try and stir the natives up a bit; but you're not right about the tires except maybe in your own 'field of view', cos here in Oz, Nankang tires are a well know, often used, largely middle of the road (with some high performance offerings/sizes!

), value for money, reasonably performing brand of tires; with many Spyder Owners/riders more than happy about their longevity and 'acceptably without necessarily being startlingly' better than OEM Spec Kenda in terms of outright performance! And Nankangs are readily and widely available in sizes that fit our Spyders/Rykers here, while Vredesteins & Generals are not if at all! It's a '
Horses for Courses' thing, and our courses are not only somewhat different to yours, they are a long way away from yours, with a lot of distance between each of them here too, plus a whole different/wider set of conditions and supply issues! :2thumbs:
Just Sayin'