Bridgestone BT-016

[slofox]

i.e... http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/402/37...ypersport.aspx

If it has a 'M' after the Battlax BT016r then it is the standard fitted tyre on the 600.

Mucho Gracias senor...

[300weatherby]

I ride a Busa in the real world and race a 675 on the track- I put Bridgestones on my Busa, the 016 on the rear and a 003 on the front- The Busa on standard suspension with road settings and standard brakes will do low1: 40's round Ruapuna,dragging the knee,the toe,the engine case and the mufflers around all the corners (including the dipper) - as long as you are progressive not greedy on the throttle the Bridgestone just keeps hanging on and lets you drive out strong,( I take the Busa on the track just for a giggle sometimes ) I trust them enough to go around the outside of R1's and Gixxer thou road riders ect at practice days and fun type track days, the 003 up front slides a little on a Busa ( won't happen on a shorter lighter bike ), but it happens early, progressively and doesn't give nasty suprises- the feel and control is great- I am going to try them on my 675 as a track tyre for winter bears racing and save my Dunlops for warmer weather- The people that slag Bridgestones off, maybe wanna look at their riding, it's a poor workman blames his tools....

I rate them, am convinced they are nearly as good as sliced bread!

[R1 Nutter]

Yeah, couldn't agree more. Same story, got talked into t hem by Cycletreads. Had the 016 on my R6 and it would never move off the line and had it right over to the edge. A friend on his 1200 Kawa is equally impressed. I went from Metzler M1's and they were crap on the R6. Even in a straight line they'd let go at an unexpected moment. In my experience the Metzlers on our cold roads don't go well. I've had the M3 on my R6 too and found the same problem. Went to Corsa 3 and was amazed but still rate the 016 up there with the Corsa. Am now considering the Corso Rosso on the R1, anyone had any experience with these? Or how bout the 016 on an R1, anyone??

[sinned]

I replaced the BT015 on rear of Busa at 7250kms with a BT016 and at 14000kms (8000kms this tyre) it has plenty of life left in it. I don't get a lot of time for hard cornering in but found when I do the sides wear/melt quickly. With my riding the BT016 is not flattening in the center which occurred on the previous 2 bikes I had in similar riding conditions on Avon Storms. So the hard center in the BT016 seems to be working. The front BT015 is at the wear markers so I will soon be replacing both tyres.
I have been very pleased with the BT016 but am thinking I may get similar performance and better distance out of a set of Pirelli Angels or the new BT023 if they are available?

Has anyone got Angels or the new BT023 on a Busa or other big bike and can report on non track use?

Reading about BT023
http://www.sportrider.com/news/146_1...ire/index.html
http://www.visordown.com/product-new...ted/10045.html
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/402/68...re-Review.aspx
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Pr...023-impresses/

Pirelli Angel
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/402/47...re-Review.aspx

[sinned]

Since I put the BT016 on the rear I have recorded the rate of wear. Interesting that both the BT015 and BT016 would have done the same distance on the center of the rear.
I replaced the first rear tyre about 1000kms early in preparation for a long ride and that was 1000kms less than what I got out of the BT016. However the sides of the BT016 have worn much more than the BT015; a few corners melt the sides. The result is little squaring of the rear until the last few hundred kms.

I got 8300kms on the rear and 15500kms on the front. The busa is easy on front tyres; or it could be my quiet style of riding . Anyway as soon as the Angels arrive they will be going on front and rear.

I have attached my tyre wear record.

[Stylo]

Since I put the BT016 on the rear I have recorded the rate of wear. Interesting that both the BT015 and BT016 would have done the same distance on the center of the rear.
I replaced the first rear tyre about 1000kms early in preparation for a long ride and that was 1000kms less than what I got out of the BT016. However the sides of the BT016 have worn much more than the BT015; a few corners melt the sides. The result is little squaring of the rear until the last few hundred kms.

I got 8300kms on the rear and 15500kms on the front. The busa is easy on front tyres; or it could be my quiet style of riding . Anyway as soon as the Angels arrive they will be going on front and rear.


I have attached my tyre wear record.

Sinned, much appreciated information ...be interested in how the Angels go mate . Nice to hear about the tyre pressure thing too from this forum.

I'm only a humble country boy with a 200 +hp Hayabusa in the shed , makes a change from the tractor I guess.....all good

[sinned]

I have just replaced the Angel on the rear with a BT016. The previous tyre was a BT016 and I decided to try out the Angel - "thinking I may get better distance out of a set of Pirelli Angels". Well I got around the standard 8000kms that is now my measure of tyre life on 3 motorcycles and a number of different tyres.

This caused me to think why this is and how important is the choice of tyre? Different riders and roads make most of the difference in tyre wear - not a stunning conclusion. However, what makes a difference for me is the need to ride for 38kms on SH2 until I meet up with anything the could described as a decent corner. This is very different to the Upper Hutt sports bike rider who goes back and forth over the Rimutaka Hill a few times each weekend. So most of my tyre wear is going to be in the centre and while the BT016 tends to melt on the sides with a run over the hill, that is not what determines tyre life for me and my Busa.

Back to the Perilli Angel: It wore out in the centre at the same distance as previous tyres including the BT016. However, it squared off more than the BT016 and this loss of shape has been noticeable for the last 2000kms. Another factor with the Angels is how they go bad as reported by Hitcher. This loss of rubber and appearance of carcass when the tread depth seems okay was beginning to concern me. Then just when I was about to change the tyre a nail confirmed the need to change.

A thought is that the soft and fast wearing rubber on the mid area and edges of the BT016 may be what helps the tyre to maintain shape as it wears out.

This review and link to another test of the BT016 confirmed my decision.

If I have a small concern it lies in Gremlin's post as I did have the last BT016 spin up on a slightly damp Rimutaka corner - at the time I put that down to a bit of oil in the mix.

I was doing 68kph in a wet corner, barely leaning, and the bike lowsided on me in such quick fashion I had but a brief moment of being in mid air and thinking this wasn't quite right.

Fact is, the tyres have bugger all grip unless they're at temperature (or near enough). On wet slippery roads, its impossible to get to, and keep the tyres at temperature... I found out the hard way. Not enough grooves for water dispersion either.

I replaced the BT015 on rear of Busa at 7250kms with a BT016 and at 14000kms (8000kms this tyre) it has plenty of life left in it. I don't get a lot of time for hard cornering in but found when I do the sides wear/melt quickly. With my riding the BT016 is not flattening in the center which occurred on the previous 2 bikes I had in similar riding conditions on Avon Storms. So the hard center in the BT016 seems to be working. The front BT015 is at the wear markers so I will soon be replacing both tyres.
I have been very pleased with the BT016 but am thinking I may get similar performance and better distance out of a set of Pirelli Angels or the new BT023 if they are available?

Has anyone got Angels or the new BT023 on a Busa or other big bike and can report on non track use?

Reading about BT023
http://www.sportrider.com/news/146_1...ire/index.html
http://www.visordown.com/product-new...ted/10045.html
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/402/68...re-Review.aspx
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Pr...023-impresses/

Pirelli Angel
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/402/47...re-Review.aspx

Since I put the BT016 on the rear I have recorded the rate of wear. Interesting that both the BT015 and BT016 would have done the same distance on the center of the rear.
I replaced the first rear tyre about 1000kms early in preparation for a long ride and that was 1000kms less than what I got out of the BT016. However the sides of the BT016 have worn much more than the BT015; a few corners melt the sides. The result is little squaring of the rear until the last few hundred kms.

I got 8300kms on the rear and 15500kms on the front. The busa is easy on front tyres; or it could be my quiet style of riding . Anyway as soon as the Angels arrive they will be going on front and rear.

I have attached my tyre wear record.

[slofox]

Thanks for an interesting and informative post.

I've run through two sets of 016's and am pretty happy with the way they perform. I'm not surprised that the review cited the quick warm up time - this is something I notice too.

I have spun the back up once on a wet piece of shiny tar but I did try to get it to let go and succeeded. Nothing too dramatic though - quite docile when it happened.

Had a couple of minor slides over the summer but again, nothing dramatic. I'm a little surprised that Gremlin had the experience that you cited in your post. But then he probably rides with a little more ardour than I do (which wouldn't be hard to do...).

I'd still use them, any time.

[Gremlin]

I ran out a set of Angels on the KTM as well... in my opinion, muuuch better than the BT016 (which I couldn't get off the bike fast enough).

Wet weather grip with the Angel was so impressive, I never found the edge of traction, which in itself is a little alarming (I don't like finding out suddenly). Little over the limit, state highway, middle of the night, pissing with rain, and barely a murmour from the Angels. Performance, extremely happy.

The downside (and its been stated in other threads) of the Angels is life. It replaces the Diablo Strada, a sport touring tyre, and there is no way the Angels should be called a sport touring tyre. I got about 8000km from a set on a 100hp supermoto.

Can't comment on the BT016 life. Their dry grip was excellent, but I removed them as soon as my preferred tyres were back in stock (1000km used on the BT016).

[LBD]

I would not fit anything but BT016's to the S4Rs transformed the biike handling to something magic.
Had the rear let go on a wet tar snake when overtaking but then most tires would.
Pegs down no worries.
6500km from the rear the front had a bit left....the shoulders were shredded.

[Latte]

+1 on the shoulders , front is dead after 5k, 0mm on the sides , and still 1.6-1.7 in the middle. I do 50/50 motorway commute and weekend riding, and have done 4 track days.

The rear was replaced later on (bit over 3k maybe), and although still has some life left in it, it's still got more in the middle than the sides.

Grip seems good for my limited experience, would like to try the pures for comparison as others have raved about them, but happy to throw another set of these on depending on the deals out there.