Bridgestone BT023 300 mile review.

[martin734]

After 300 miles of commuting and shopping trips I thought I would give my views on the new BT023 tyres I had fitted last week.
My bike is an ST1100 non ABS and was fitted with Avon Storm ST's. When I replaced them they had about 2-3mm tread left on the front and about 3-4mm on the rear.

From the first time I rode with the new tyres I noticed a big difference. The steering was noticeably lighter at walking pace and when moving at town speeds it took a little getting used to and until I got used to the lighter steering it did feel a little twitchy. One thing I did notice was that I definitely noticed much more how uneven the road surface was, as a result of the lighter steering, dips, potholes and bumps in the road do result in a more noticeable twitch in the bars. Out of the town centre and on to the dual carriageway bypass the new tyres were absolutely stable at whatever speed I road. That was something I really did like about the Avons, their stability was superb and the Bridgestones seem to be just as good. I did notice a big difference at roundabouts though. The initial "tip-over" on the Bridgestones was much quicker than on the Avons, which almost caught me out, but the roll was totally linear, even when rolling off the throttle when some myopic muppet didn't look properly before entering the roundabout. The Avons intially had a fairly slow initial tip-over but then almost dropped into the turn and if I closed the throttle even slightly then the front would try to tuck under requiring a big counter steer.

Away from the town and onto Dorset's brilliant B-roads brought the biggest surprise. The Bridgestones feel so much more responsive than the Avons. They give brilliant feedback and feel, much more than I had before. On fast sweeping bends the difference was amazing the turn-in was so much quicker and once in the turn, the steering felt much more precise and it held a particular line with much less steering input than when on the Avons. Again though, bumps, grooves and potholes did cause more of a twitch at the bars, but nothing scary.

Overall I am more than pleased with the Bridgestone tyres, they have transformed the feel of the bike completely. It is obvious that the Bridgestone is a much more sport oriented tyre than the Avon which is more touring biased. The Bridgestone has faster and more linear roll-over, holds a line better on fast bends and gives much more feedback. It isn't quite as stable as the Avon but the difference is only slight.

The best thing I can say about them is that they make my ST1100 feel much more like a sports tourer, than a tourer, it made it feel almost like my old VFR. I haven't done many miles in the wet, but in the bit I have done, the grip on cold damp roads felt excellent with no sliding on the brakes or power.
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Current bike: ST1100 "Big Red"

[Kris]

The 023 was released back in 2010..

I agree however that it is a great tyre. I was running these for years when running a variety of bikes - including a Pan.

On an SV1000 I was using 016 front and 023 rear for extended tyre life. That was a great combo on that bike too.

Their latest sports touring tyres are the T30 series, now up to T32 with a GT spec for heavy bikes.

What I love about Bridgestones is that they have a predictable profile and fast warm-up times. Also good in the wet. The last tyre that had poor reviews from them was the ill-fated 021. I use their latest S22s and they are amazing tyres.
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NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[sickpup]

In my experience the Avon Storm ST is a very stable tyre that is 2/3rds the cost of the 023 and lasts twice as long. These were replaced about 3 years ago with the Storm 3D.

Try some modern tyres, the difference will surprise you.

[to v or not to v]

im a bit skeptical of reviews that compare an old worn tyre to a new one.
(no offence intended op).
had you put on a new tyre of the same make as the old one, you would have noticed a big difference too, i imagine.
as a tyre wears, its profile changes, which can have quite a big impact on the bikes handling.

only comparing new against new, would give fair results, as far as im concerned.

[martin734]

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