Bridgestone T30R - 5/10

[James Deuce]

I'd watched all the discussion on here when the T30s were originally released with some interest. I've had a love/hate relationship with Bridgestone since the early '90s, when their first radial tyres released into the wild were almost, and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't deliberate, actually called "Excrement". Bridgestone spelled it "Excedra", but you know how other cultures sometimes inadvertently use English in odd ways. I spent a couple of weeks swapping ends on my RC30 before the rear mercifully just gave up the ghost and went flat. By then Yokohama had released a range of radials and they were light years ahead of the Bridgestones in terms of gaining and keeping heat and actually gripping.

Since then I've had some very different experiences with Bridgestones. The factory combo on my Z750S was brilliant, but not obtainable once worn out and the BT021s I tried were nasty. The tread blocks moved around when changing direction rapidly, especially flip flopping from decent lean to decent lean and the front tyre made a humming noise when approaching the edge of the tread which was unnerving.

I was a bit surprised to see Maha re-gift his free T30s. A free tyre is a free tyre, but a couple of wet weather scares 2 up were off-putting. I spoke to him at length and he was totally convinced that they weren't for him. It wasn't until the first time I rode the Versys in the wet that I found out what he was talking about. A gentle right instituted a long front end slide followed by a gently fishtailing rear after gathering things together, then it all stopped abruptly when the coarse seal started again and normal service resumed.

Since then I've discovered that in the cold and wet they will simply just stop gripping the moment they hit shiny tarmac. Once you know it's going to happen you can adjust accordingly and be aware of the likely skating about without overreacting and doing something regrettable and you can plot a course that mostly misses the shiny bits. Even in the dry they give up all pretense of grip on tar snakes which is a bit of an arse in spots where they proliferate, such as passing under the Petone Over-bridge, an off-camber right-hand downhill corner when heading North that used to be an easy 100kph (100kph+ actually - tell no official-type people) corner but is now posted at 80kph+poo-in-your-underpants if you have T30Rs attached to your bike.

In the dry and on an easily judged and consistent surface they are fantastic. They steer well without being overly quick with no sensation of either dropping into a turn or pushing back as lean angle increases, both profiles seem to be well matched and braking produces consistent responses at all sorts of lever pressures. They're compliant over bumpy surfaces and they are wearing really well. The dual compound rear is prone to revealing its boundaries when put through a proper heat cycle, with the two different compounds being made obvious by them turning different shades of grey. Commute to work and it returns to a consistent colour across the radius of the tyre.

Getting the tyre pressure right for your riding and the combined weight of the bike and rider is vital, as get it wrong and the front and rear seem to fight each other and the superbly neutral steering becomes lardy. I've settled on 36 front and 38 rear, with rebound set toward the middle and preload maxxed out front and rear. The suspension became compliant and the tyres started working once I made that change. Bear in mind that the Versys has a 160/60 rear so my description of the neutral feel once suspension and pressures are right is probably aided by less effort being needed to steer a smaller rear tyre than the 190 and 200 section behemoths that seem to be standard nowadays (Get Orf My Lawn!).

They were brand new when I bought the bike, so I've gotten used to them as I've gotten used to the Versys. Adequate power, smaller tyres and more torque than one would expect is crammed into the bottom two thirds of the rev range so it's a completely different experience to the XJR, with its excessive weight, flat, monstrous torque "curve" and good handling only limited by a lack of ground clearance. I prefer the Versys to be honest, but I wouldn't buy Bridgestone T30Rs with my own money. I've a couple of months left to wear them out before it starts raining all the time so I can put some Michelin PR4s on it. I understand they deal with a broader range of road conditions. Or so you lot reckon anyway, except that Blackbird fella who reckons the PR3s are better and last longer.

[SVboy]

I had a very similar experience in all regards to your post,on my GSX 1200 with a new set of T30s.I totally lost faith in them in the end. Too many slides for no reason. I like Bridgestones, esp s20s but I will never have T30s again.

[Ulsterkiwi]

I made the change from AngelGTs to the T30GT yesterday. I admit it was driven by two factors, 1. the TWI were less than 0.5mm from jumping up and smacking me, 2. I was VERY badly miffed when the dealership I had remained quite loyal to quoted me a price for the Pirellis $200 more than the last set. I protested and had 3 staff explaining it was just too bad the prices had jumped that much and their margins were now lowered.

So under these dual clouds I rang around and got a better deal, on T30s as it happened.

Now I am nervous. I commute in all weathers and the word was this tyre performed in the wet and dry. I am curious now if its a bike/tyre/rider combination thing......

[eldog]

I was a bit surprised to see Maha re-gift his free T30s. A free tyre is a free tyre, but a couple of wet weather scares 2 up were off-putting. I spoke to him at length and he was totally convinced that they weren't for him. It wasn't until the first time I rode the Versys in the wet that I found out what he was talking about. A gentle right instituted a long front end slide followed by a gently fishtailing rear after gathering things together, then it all stopped abruptly when the coarse seal started again and normal service resumed.

Since then I've discovered that in the cold and wet they will simply just stop gripping the moment they hit shiny tarmac. Once you know it's going to happen you can adjust accordingly and be aware of the likely skating about without overreacting and doing something regrettable and you can plot a course that mostly misses the shiny bits.

Getting the tyre pressure right for your riding and the combined weight of the bike and rider is vital, as get it wrong and the front and rear seem to fight each other and the superbly neutral steering becomes lardy. I've settled on 36 front and 38 rear, with rebound set toward the middle and preload maxxed out front and rear.

Adequate power, smaller tyres and more torque than one would expect is crammed into the bottom two thirds of the rev range.I can put some Michelin PR4s on it. I understand they deal with a broader range of road conditions.

Maha offered me some good advice too which I listened to and like you found out he was right.
Shiny Tarmac is something I would like to see dissappear on ALL NZ roads.
I now ride to avoid the shiny bits in any wet conditions.

Your comments about getting tyre pressure etc are right on the money:niceone::niceone:

Myself I have been in a long rear slide as Maha described to me (PR3 GT) and didn't react properly (lack of knowledge of what to do) and have lived with the consequences(after the PR3 regained traction). At least it wasn't too fast.

Keen to get info about PR4 but now careful when I ride in any damp conditions.

Nice write up about what you found, should be compulsory for riders to read. Doesn't apply just to those tyres as they can apply this to their machines as well.

[Blackbird]

I've a couple of months left to wear them out before it starts raining all the time so I can put some Michelin PR4s on it. I understand they deal with a broader range of road conditions. Or so you lot reckon anyway, except that Blackbird fella who reckons the PR3s are better and last longer.

Tut, tut Jim! I didn't say that at all! If you're referring to this: http://geoffjames.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/michelin-pilot-road-3-end-of-life-review.html , I said that Michelin's claim of 20% more life for a PR4 than a PR3 was not substantiated by my personal experience and the grip was much the same. I did say however that as the PR4's were more expensive, the PR3's seemed to offer better value for money. Since writing that, I'm not actually sure that PR3's are imported any more although they're readily available overseas.

Just to finish off, yesterday, I ordered a set of PR4's for the GSX-S. The OEM D214 sport compound tyres have lasted a tad over 3500 km before needing replacing. That's more or less normal road use, not track days. No issue with grip on warm dry days but I didn't trust the bastards on cooler wet days at all. For the type of riding I do, it's sport touring tyres all the way! :yes:

PS - nice write-up of your experience!

[James Deuce]

Just fishing for a reaction Mr Blackbird. I suspected it was a value proposition based on spurious manufacturer marketing for the "new" product. Thank you for posting the link.

[James Deuce]

I made the change from AngelGTs to the T30GT yesterday. I admit it was driven by two factors, 1. the TWI were less than 0.5mm from jumping up and smacking me, 2. I was VERY badly miffed when the dealership I had remained quite loyal to quoted me a price for the Pirellis $200 more than the last set. I protested and had 3 staff explaining it was just too bad the prices had jumped that much and their margins were now lowered.

So under these dual clouds I rang around and got a better deal, on T30s as it happened.

Now I am nervous. I commute in all weathers and the word was this tyre performed in the wet and dry. I am curious now if its a bike/tyre/rider combination thing......

Let us know how the GTs go, as I suspect they're a completely different animal.

It's a bugger when the "rules" change at a dealer, but sometimes we take the special treatment we get for granted. I do understand though.

[Ulsterkiwi]

Let us know how the GTs go, as I suspect they're a completely different animal.

It's a bugger when the "rules" change at a dealer, but sometimes we take the special treatment we get for granted. I do understand though.

am very keen to see how they go myself :msn-wink:

I don't think the pricing was peculiar to me previously and you are right, its all too easy to expect special treatment or feel entitled. That said, the purchase of two near new bikes, lots of accessories (expensive ones!) for both, servicing, tyres and gear purchases all done through the same dealership should count for more than a lecture from 3 staff about how little money they are making and its just too bad the prices have gone up followed by impotent shrugs all around.
Something along the lines of, "ok, lets see what we can do" would not have gotten my hackles up. Even $20 or $30 of what was quoted originally would have placated me as I really liked the tyres in question (this would have been the third set). I was also set on putting the same tyres on my wife's bike, until that particular conversation.

Anyway, I am hijacking the thread, apologies, not my intention. Shall report back on the T30s after a few kms.

[george formby]

Anyway, I am hijacking the thread, apologies, not my intention. Shall report back on the T30s after a few kms.

Good. I've been thinking the Pirelli Angels will replace my T30's. A comparison would be lovely.

Having said that, I really like the T30's on my TDM. No issues wet, dry or tar snaky. Oh, melted tar caused a twitch but you would probably need tracks to avoid that.

[The End]

Now I am nervous. I commute in all weathers and the word was this tyre performed in the wet and dry. I am curious now if its a bike/tyre/rider combination thing......

I've got a set of T30s on my Hornet 900. I've got approximately 15,000kms on them so far, and would estimate they have another 2-4,000 left.

For a period, I was commuting up to 130kms a day from out in the rural middle of no where to Auckland city every day; rain, hail or shine. This entailed a mix of country roads/highways (think cow shit, and tar snakes), motorway and city traffic.

Not once in the ~14 months I've had the T30s have I had a slip or any sign of poor grip. I've taken them to the track twice (Hampton Downs) and had a few weekends of fun on them. I'm not a racer, but I'm not slow either and love going hard through corners.

Smooth is fast, smooth keeps grip. That's what I've always told myself anyway.


The S20 Evo rear on the other hand...great tyre in the dry but the only one I've managed a 'whoopsie' moment on since I've had the bike. Going in to a right hand sweeping corner at ~75km/h in the wet and the rear started to get loose, slid around for a little bit and managed to catch it. Only managed to get around 8,500 kms (from memory) out of the rear. Having travelled that same corner many times in the rain since then, I haven't had that issue on the T30.

[50Shades]

I just put a set on my 600 yesterday, so I'll keep everyone informed on progress

[SVboy]

Interesting thread, and I am not surprised. Almost a marmite tyre. Some swear by them, some swear at them!

[AllanB]

Had them on my Hornet 900 and they suited the bike and me well. To me fair the wettest it got was a mildly moist road and I adjust speed to suit. Tar- snakes are a arse on most tyres - cheap-arse patch-up rod work to satisfy some council bean counter.

[eldog]

Tar- snakes are a arse on most tyres - cheap-arse patch-up rod work to satisfy some council bean counter.

Agreed, foundation and or road spec wrong in first place:spanking:

[nzspokes]

Tut, tut Jim! I didn't say that at all! If you're referring to this: http://geoffjames.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/michelin-pilot-road-3-end-of-life-review.html , I said that Michelin's claim of 20% more life for a PR4 than a PR3 was not substantiated by my personal experience and the grip was much the same. I did say however that as the PR4's were more expensive, the PR3's seemed to offer better value for money. Since writing that, I'm not actually sure that PR3's are imported any more although they're readily available overseas.

Just to finish off, yesterday, I ordered a set of PR4's for the GSX-S. The OEM D214 sport compound tyres have lasted a tad over 3500 km before needing replacing. That's more or less normal road use, not track days. No issue with grip on warm dry days but I didn't trust the bastards on cooler wet days at all. For the type of riding I do, it's sport touring tyres all the way! :yes:

PS - nice write-up of your experience!

PR3s move about when you are on the edges. PR2s are a lot better for this and are stable.

PR4s looked to have solved this with not having the sipes right out to the edge.

[haydes55]

I replaced PR3S with T30s and the bike handled 10x better in the dry, the tires lasted double as long before wearing out and the only times it let go of grip was caused by gravel. Just slide through, regain traction and carry on as if the gravel wasn't even there. I'm replacing my new bikes tires with T30s when the old ones die.

[James Deuce]

I replaced PR3S with T30s and the bike handled 10x better in the dry, the tires lasted double as long before wearing out and the only times it let go of grip was caused by gravel. Just slide through, regain traction and carry on as if the gravel wasn't even there. I'm replacing my new bikes tires with T30s when the old ones die.
The T30s are actually really good on gravel. The work better on dry gravel than they do in shiny wet tarmac. Thanks to a lack of regualr maintenance and heavy truck traffic about 30% of the roads around here suffer from this with, so you can probably see the issue. I don't think it's acceptable that a Whale (the XJR) on PR2s should cope with the wet so much better than a featherweight on the T30s. Shiny tarmac just wasn't the issue it is with the T30s. By slide I mean no grip until you get to coarse seal. The worst episode I had was on a corner posted at 75kph which doesn't even rate as a corner, you barely lean off centre to go around it at 100kph. This was the first time they let go without warning and I got control back when I ran off the edge of the road into the gravel. I tipped gently into the corner and skated straight ahead. That corner is fun in the wet now because you know it is going to happen so a touch of gas and opposite lock makes the corner, but I'll get it slightly wrong one day and all my internal organs will fall out.

[george formby]

The T30s are actually really good on gravel. The work better on dry gravel than they do in shiny wet tarmac. Thanks to a lack of regualr maintenance and heavy truck traffic about 30% of the roads around here suffer from this with, so you can probably see the issue. I don't think it's acceptable that a Whale (the XJR) on PR2s should cope with the wet so much better than a featherweight on the T30s. Shiny tarmac just wasn't the issue it is with the T30s. By slide I mean no grip until you get to coarse seal. The worst episode I had was on a corner posted at 75kph which doesn't even rate as a corner, you barely lean off centre to go around it at 100kph. This was the first time they let go without warning and I got control back when I ran off the edge of the road into the gravel. I tipped gently into the corner and skated straight ahead. That corner is fun in the wet now because you know it is going to happen so a touch of gas and opposite lock makes the corner, but I'll get it slightly wrong one day and all my internal organs will fall out.

:laugh:Every cloud has a silver lining.
Speaking of gravel.... I ride on gravel roads, grass and occasionally wet clay on me T30's. They cope well. Wearing well, too. Could be the first tire that I wear out the edges before the middle.

Somebody said a Marmite tire, love or hate. I've yet to understand how tires can create the polar opposite opinions, not just Bridgestones.

[neels]

Replaced the PR3 rear on my ST2 with a T30, dry riding it's been fine, Recently did the first real wet riding off the main roads on the thing and it scared the crap out of me, as above any wet shiny road and it squirmed about like crazy, and the thing was spinning the rear wheel riding uphill several times when there was water running across the road.

Reading the previous comments, I'm glad I've still got the PR2 on the front, at least it kept going where I was pointing it.

Might be time to have a look at a PR4 for the rear, didn't mind the PR2 rear that was on the bike when I bought it, PR3 stuck good but wore very strangely I think in part due to the small size of some of the tread blocks but still did reasonable mileage.

Perhaps my old italian shitter just doesn't make enough hp to get the tyre working properly, anyway as far as the T30 is concerned, disappointing and would not trade again.

[AllanB]

I've yet to understand how tires can create the polar opposite opinions, not just Bridgestones.

Easy - different bikes, different riders, different road conditions, different weather use.

The vast majority of my riding is in the dry - so my references are 90% bias that direction. I ran a set of Pilot Powers on my Hornet 900 after reading a lot of high praise for them on a owners forum. I did not warm (haha) to them - reckon it was the front profile and I sold them off after a thousand kms or so. Does not make them a bad tyre just not one that suited me on that bike.

My Ducati has a odd sized rear - 180/60/17 - (measures more like 190) if I want to keep that size when it wears out (and it won't last long) I have f-all choice in NZ (I see more brands offer this in the USA).

I ran Continental tyres many decades ago when starting motorcycling and like them. Then they went crappy ..... but have come back with some excellent rubber in the past 10 years. I have enjoyed their sport/road attack's in recent years.

Some people swear by a specific brand and don't deviate from that maker - In the past I've tended to get reasonable life out of mine and annual kms are relatively low so there is usually something new on the market at a good price each time I change.

I can't remember consistently bad reports of a main brand tyre maker for a long long time :-) which is all good for us.

[caspernz]

Easy - different bikes, different riders, different road conditions, different weather use.

It's as simple as that really. Over the years have used most of the big brands, with a bit of a preference for Bridgestone and Michelin in the last decade or so.

Going thru the Michelin PR, then PR2, PR3 on three different bikes and having them "feel" quite different from bike to bike is a weird experience. To me the PR2 was a better tyre than the PR3. Now on a PR4 and that does quite nicely on a big heavy bike, roughly doubling the distance to replacement compared to a sports tyre and yet not giving away a great deal in performance at my end of the envelope.

Always amuses me to hear of riders on sporty bikes getting huge claimed distances on sports type tyres, can't help but feel they're either nana-ing the bike or not being upfront about distance run on soft rubber.

[AllanB]

Another thing I've learnt over the years - ignore any USA ramblings about tyres. The road conditions they run on appears so different to NZ's that the rider reports are almost pointless. If they say 10,000 miles expect 7,000 kms!

Shit even between the North and South Islands of NZ you'll find as you head south the road surface is courser - affecting your expensive rubber.

[Ulsterkiwi]

Good. I've been thinking the Pirelli Angels will replace my T30's. A comparison would be lovely.

Having said that, I really like the T30's on my TDM. No issues wet, dry or tar snaky. Oh, melted tar caused a twitch but you would probably need tracks to avoid that.

I did about 250kms yesterday. It was pretty gentle, the wife was with me on her new bike and I was breaking in the new T30s. After 100kms they certainly settled, not because I leaned a lot and "scrubbed" the tyres but because they got a decent bit of heat into them. I have not used the whole tyre yet, that will be an evening later this week when I take a punt around some of the local twisty bits.

Because of my physical size and general ineptitude I have put a bit into getting the suspension on my TNAB sorted. My hope is that will allow me to get the best out of the T30. On the basis of one quite short run then its certainly no worse than than the AngelGT. Shall come back to once I have negotiated a tight turn or two.


Let us know how the GTs go, as I suspect they're a completely different animal.

you are probably quite right. The tyres I got are the EVO version and the GT at that. There was a bit of discussion with the dealer about which to go for. The non-GT probably responds to more spirited riding better, the GT I was told has a stiffer sidewall, aimed at reducing flex on the beastie type bikes (FJR1300 was cited as an example) My TNAB is 260ish kgs but I am not small and often have a pillion so went for the tyre most likely to give me some mileage. I hold my own but would not consider myself fast by any means.

[50Shades]

I have now done 300km on the new T30Rs, feel really good in really hot conditions over the week end, but then any new tyre will feel better than the old ones.
The Metzeler M5 lasted 6000km on the rear, 600cc sports

[KoroJ]

I had a T30 fitted to the rear of the ST last week (front Z8 still has a few thousand km on it). I opted to try the T30 after about 4 sets of Z8's to try something different and cheaper and after thinking the 020's were OK, but the 023 were utter crap (soft sidewalls felt squirmy when pushing it in the curves)

Rode up to Waihi on Friday (644km because I couldn't go straight there), did 1630km around the Nth Island on Saturday and Sunday (on a real mix of roads, temperatures (27 - 8 degrees) and conditions (tar melt to wet slick), then another 260km back to Tokaanu on Sunday and 319km to Welly this morning.

I have no complaints so far.

Just to qualify that though. At 300Kg dry (so about 450Kg fueled, loaded and with me) the ST has a lot of momentum and if a bike is going to move sideways on a marginal surface, the ST is likely to do so. I therefore ride with traction at the top of my priority list and I'm very particular about picking lines, riding the rut if there's grit on the hump (or even if I'm unsure of the surface) or riding the hump if the ruts are slick. There's always moments when one doesn't quite totally avoid the slick patches though with a twitch resulting but I had no moments in the 2800+km.

Observations were that the surface of the tyre looked like it had got pretty hot after Friday's ride, but I was just cruising, so that led me to think that it was probably a soft rubber and I wondered if that was why it felt planted and if I was going to get good life from it?

No complaints so far.

[Ulsterkiwi]

The dual compound rear is prone to revealing its boundaries when put through a proper heat cycle, with the two different compounds being made obvious by them turning different shades of grey. Commute to work and it returns to a consistent colour across the radius of the tyre. ..........

Getting the tyre pressure right for your riding and the combined weight of the bike and rider is vital, as get it wrong and the front and rear seem to fight each other and the superbly neutral steering becomes lardy.......

Agree on all counts. Had a decent run at the weekend where the tyres got some decent heat in them. It was like a white stip in the middle! In to work this morning and normal service has resumed. I guess its a sign the compounds are working as planned.


Let us know how the GTs go, as I suspect they're a completely different animal.



The T30s are shaping up ok. I had a couple of interesting "moments" on them. Coming from Wanganui heading south, overtaking a truck, put some power on and the arse of the bike danced around a bit. Was a shiney bit of tar seal at that point. Same thing happened to the wife as she passed the same truck, ironically she has Angel GTs on her bike, the very tyre I moved from.
2nd incident was coming into a corner, downshift and a bit of heavy braking happening close together. Back end got out of sorts for a short time. I am inclinded to think thats my lack of talent not a fault of the tyre.


It's a bugger when the "rules" change at a dealer, but sometimes we take the special treatment we get for granted. I do understand though.

I went back to the dealership I was miffed with. Had a good chat with the owner. Nothing was promised other than a different approach next time. Thats ok, I wasnt expecting a free bike lol



Good. I've been thinking the Pirelli Angels will replace my T30's. A comparison would be lovely.

Having said that, I really like the T30's on my TDM. No issues wet, dry or tar snaky. Oh, melted tar caused a twitch but you would probably need tracks to avoid that.

I have run a few more kms now including a two up run over the tukas and some twisties on my own. The two up run left the tyre a bit chewed on the outsides. I think thats a preload thing but the tyres worked well and gave good feedback. All in very good conditions mind you but quite happy with the tyres. I was very confident with the Angel GT in the wet, remains to be seen how the T30 goes but looking around there are more positive reports out there than negative. They cannot all be wrong lol

[george formby]

I have run a few more kms now including a two up run over the tukas and some twisties on my own. The two up run left the tyre a bit chewed on the outsides. I think thats a preload thing but the tyres worked well and gave good feedback. All in very good conditions mind you but quite happy with the tyres. I was very confident with the Angel GT in the wet, remains to be seen how the T30 goes but looking around there are more positive reports out there than negative. They cannot all be wrong lol

No doubt about it, the T30's hold no secrets. I think their is a big difference between the compounds. You can feel it when you push your thumb along the tire. Usually the middle of my rear is smooth and light, the sides, dark and chewed up.

Oh, I've been known to get the back wheel a tad sideways braking and changing down into a corner. Clumsy me.

Cheers for the observations.

[Maha]

I'd watched all the discussion on here when the T30s were originally released with some interest. I've had a love/hate relationship with Bridgestone since the early '90s, when their first radial tyres released into the wild were almost, and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't deliberate, actually called "Excrement". Bridgestone spelled it "Excedra", but you know how other cultures sometimes inadvertently use English in odd ways. I spent a couple of weeks swapping ends on my RC30 before the rear mercifully just gave up the ghost and went flat. By then Yokohama had released a range of radials and they were light years ahead of the Bridgestones in terms of gaining and keeping heat and actually gripping.

Since then I've had some very different experiences with Bridgestones. The factory combo on my Z750S was brilliant, but not obtainable once worn out and the BT021s I tried were nasty. The tread blocks moved around when changing direction rapidly, especially flip flopping from decent lean to decent lean and the front tyre made a humming noise when approaching the edge of the tread which was unnerving.

I was a bit surprised to see Maha re-gift his free T30s. A free tyre is a free tyre, but a couple of wet weather scares 2 up were off-putting. I spoke to him at length and he was totally convinced that they weren't for him. It wasn't until the first time I rode the Versys in the wet that I found out what he was talking about. A gentle right instituted a long front end slide followed by a gently fishtailing rear after gathering things together, then it all stopped abruptly when the coarse seal started again and normal service resumed.

Since then I've discovered that in the cold and wet they will simply just stop gripping the moment they hit shiny tarmac. Once you know it's going to happen you can adjust accordingly and be aware of the likely skating about without overreacting and doing something regrettable and you can plot a course that mostly misses the shiny bits. Even in the dry they give up all pretense of grip on tar snakes which is a bit of an arse in spots where they proliferate, such as passing under the Petone Over-bridge, an off-camber right-hand downhill corner when heading North that used to be an easy 100kph (100kph+ actually - tell no official-type people) corner but is now posted at 80kph+poo-in-your-underpants if you have T30Rs attached to your bike.

In the dry and on an easily judged and consistent surface they are fantastic. They steer well without being overly quick with no sensation of either dropping into a turn or pushing back as lean angle increases, both profiles seem to be well matched and braking produces consistent responses at all sorts of lever pressures. They're compliant over bumpy surfaces and they are wearing really well. The dual compound rear is prone to revealing its boundaries when put through a proper heat cycle, with the two different compounds being made obvious by them turning different shades of grey. Commute to work and it returns to a consistent colour across the radius of the tyre.

Getting the tyre pressure right for your riding and the combined weight of the bike and rider is vital, as get it wrong and the front and rear seem to fight each other and the superbly neutral steering becomes lardy. I've settled on 36 front and 38 rear, with rebound set toward the middle and preload maxxed out front and rear. The suspension became compliant and the tyres started working once I made that change. Bear in mind that the Versys has a 160/60 rear so my description of the neutral feel once suspension and pressures are right is probably aided by less effort being needed to steer a smaller rear tyre than the 190 and 200 section behemoths that seem to be standard nowadays (Get Orf My Lawn!).

They were brand new when I bought the bike, so I've gotten used to them as I've gotten used to the Versys. Adequate power, smaller tyres and more torque than one would expect is crammed into the bottom two thirds of the rev range so it's a completely different experience to the XJR, with its excessive weight, flat, monstrous torque "curve" and good handling only limited by a lack of ground clearance. I prefer the Versys to be honest, but I wouldn't buy Bridgestone T30Rs with my own money. I've a couple of months left to wear them out before it starts raining all the time so I can put some Michelin PR4s on it. I understand they deal with a broader range of road conditions. Or so you lot reckon anyway, except that Blackbird fella who reckons the PR3s are better and last longer.

I bought the T30's Jim, was not gifted them. But yes they were not for me, five 'let goes' over two days in both dry and wet conditions, they were coming off.... before I did. I will concede that the one slip in the dry was possibly something on the road.

Sold them to http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/member.php/19728-my_r32

[nzspokes]

I had a T30 fitted to the rear of the ST last week (front Z8 still has a few thousand km on it). I opted to try the T30 after about 4 sets of Z8's to try something different and cheaper and after thinking the 020's were OK, but the 023 were utter crap (soft sidewalls felt squirmy when pushing it in the curves)

Rode up to Waihi on Friday (644km because I couldn't go straight there), did 1630km around the Nth Island on Saturday and Sunday (on a real mix of roads, temperatures (27 - 8 degrees) and conditions (tar melt to wet slick), then another 260km back to Tokaanu on Sunday and 319km to Welly this morning.

I have no complaints so far.

Just to qualify that though. At 300Kg dry (so about 450Kg fueled, loaded and with me) the ST has a lot of momentum and if a bike is going to move sideways on a marginal surface, the ST is likely to do so. I therefore ride with traction at the top of my priority list and I'm very particular about picking lines, riding the rut if there's grit on the hump (or even if I'm unsure of the surface) or riding the hump if the ruts are slick. There's always moments when one doesn't quite totally avoid the slick patches though with a twitch resulting but I had no moments in the 2800+km.

Observations were that the surface of the tyre looked like it had got pretty hot after Friday's ride, but I was just cruising, so that led me to think that it was probably a soft rubber and I wondered if that was why it felt planted and if I was going to get good life from it?

No complaints so far.

I just fitted some Z8s to my bike, what are you thoughts on them?

First ride and Im a little meh on them. At this stage they will come off and go on my Bandit.

[James Deuce]

I bought the T30's Jim, was not gifted them. But yes they were not for me, five 'let goes' over two days in both dry and wet conditions, they were coming off.... before I did. I will concede that the one slip in the dry was possibly something on the road.

Sold them to http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/member.php/19728-my_r32
Ah right - that was around the time there were T30 giveaways going one, so I wrongly assumed you were one of the recipients.

[Maha]

Hitcher got them in the North and Willy in the South I think?

[James Deuce]

That's the ones.

[bungbung]

Mrs Bungbung got a set of T30s on her Er6. I went out to the end of Wainui Coast road and back to scrub them in for her.
The bike feels so much better tipping in than the OE tyres, but that'll be mostly the squared off rear than anything else.
She's pretty careful so I'm not concerned by what I'm hearing above

[KoroJ]

I just fitted some Z8s to my bike, what are you thoughts on them?

First ride and Im a little meh on them. At this stage they will come off and go on my Bandit.

I quite liked them, although I've had variations in life from 9,000 to 12,000+ Km with varying amounts of squaring and I just wanted to see what I could get for less.

[nzspokes]

I quite liked them, although I've had variations in life from 9,000 to 12,000+ Km with varying amounts of squaring and I just wanted to see what I could get for less.

Ive come off sport tyres to these, think Im being a bit rough on them. They just dont tip in as well.

[KoroJ]

Ive come off sport tyres to these, think Im being a bit rough on them. They just dont tip in as well.

Can't say a sport tyre would cope too well on 300+Kg of ST. It needs really firm casings and will eat a soft or slightly under-inflated tyre. Many like the PR4's but I wasn't fussed with them so it's all very subjective.

[nzspokes]

Can't say a sport tyre would cope too well on 300+Kg of ST. It needs really firm casings and will eat a soft or slightly under-inflated tyre. Many like the PR4's but I wasn't fussed with them so it's all very subjective.

Yeah my bikes 100kg lighter.

[Madness]

Today I scrubbed in a pair of new T30 Evo GT's on the ZX12-R. So far I love them. They make the old Metzeler Z8's I took off feel like they were carved from a very hard block of wood.

I read in some blurb that the T30 Evo GT's were developed to offer a more comfortable ride. Honestly, that's not what I was looking for in new tyres but by feck they are comfortable, it's noticeable and actually a thing.

I went to Boyd's after seeing a 190/55, 120/70 set of T30 for $440.00. Upon some discussion it appeared that the $440.00 deal was for the older, non-Evo version T30's, which the salesman assured me were nowhere near as good as the new ones. Oh well, what's another hundy?

They seem to handle well. I did a mini Coro Loop today, Kopu - Whangamata - Waihi - Paeroa - Tahuna, plenty of corners in that lot. The T30 Evo GT's actually performed outstandingly well.

I was a bit worried they were going to be shit. I won't pretend to be a tyre guru but I've had tyres that were shit before (ahem, Pirelli Angels, the first ones), which is why I tend to stick to a good thing for a long time. Being the GT version of the T30 Evo, I figure they're for heavy bikes. The ZX12-R isn't uber-heavy at 210kg dry but I figure that on my bike the rider sort of takes up the slack, so to speak.

So far, 8/10 - would buy again.

[Owl]

I went to Boyd's after seeing a 190/55, 120/70 set of T30 for $440.00.

So you weren't interested in a set of Pilot Power 3's for $419 then? Not that they're all that flash, but they are cheap and ok longevity wise.

[SVboy]

Will watch this thread for updates and wet weather performance with interest.

[Madness]

So you weren't interested in a set of Pilot Power 3's for $419 then? Not that they're all that flash, but they are cheap and ok longevity wise.

I do not buy Michelins.

[riffer]

A real love them or hate them tyre it would appear.

I'm on my second T30 on the rear of my RSV Tuono. The first lasted 12,000 kms and I didn't have a single slide on it - more than I can say for the Diablo Rosso II on the front!

Now, I'm running an S21 front/T30 EVO rear combination and I think it's great. Sure, they could be softer, but then I'd get shocking mileage on the rear. I ride predominantly commuter (Upper Hutt - Haywards Hill - SH58 - Paremata Rd - SH1 - Tawa) with the occasional weekend ride when for some crazy reason all the budget hasn't gone on the family.

Seems to me that they suit different bikes - perhaps a lighter bike like a 650 isn't the bike for the tyre - maybe they need a bit of weight or power to warm them up properly.

[StoneY]

A real love them or hate them tyre it would appear.



Seems to me that they suit different bikes - perhaps a lighter bike like a 650 isn't the bike for the tyre - maybe they need a bit of weight or power to warm them up properly.

Had them on:
RF900
ST4S
GSX1400

Loved them. Had massive long life by comparison to anything else. Never let go of the road on me but I'm not a hard ass rider by anyone's measure to be fair)

Bang for buck and solid steady performance for entire lifespan of the tyre I have fount the T30 series to be an all round winner for me, will be putting a set on my VFR1200 once its due new feet

[george formby]

I'm a fan of the T30's, too. Not immediately, I had to adjust (soften) my suspension to get the best from them. My TDM could be considered portly and not exactly overpowered but I try to overcome that with prodigious amounts of throttle. Never had a grip issue wet or dry. Prior to adjusting my shock the rear felt flighty over bumps and would shift line which was disconcerting. Due to a very stiff carcass IMHO.

That stiff carcass is the winner of 5 stars for me. I punctured the rear quite early on it's life and rode a good few k's sans air. Tire looked munted, Isle of Man munted. I got it plugged and hoped for the best. Had no issues since. I ride a fair bit of gravel and the tires are pretty chewed up but still wearing well, I expect about 8000 km from the rear, maybe more. Edge grip on tar seal is excellent, I have enough confidence in the grip to get quite beansy coming out of a corner rather than feeding the throttle in as the bike comes up. They track pretty straight, no issues when crossing wet rail tracks at an angle, not really any issues riding on cambered wet clay, either. Both wheels obeyed gravity equally and I kept going straight despite slowly going downhill.

As an all round tire for the conditions I ride in up here I have no criticism.

[StoneY]

Will watch this thread for updates and wet weather performance with interest.

Most positive feeling tyre I ever used in the wet. Thats in a 34 year riding history.

Ride all year all weather, best example I can give is my GSX1400 never ever let go once in the wet and I wan't exactly 'gentle' on her throttle but again it was no sport bike

My mate John has em on his SV thou, loves them, great life span for a big v-twin sports bike.

My SV650 came with some mitchelin things on...will get the T30's next pair. Same for my VFR still on the tyres it had from the shop. I must admit being a bit self conscious I am currently on tyres I did not select... but I am a big fan of Bridgstones, found them better than Pilots or Conti road Attacks. Went through the S21, S23 stage and TSS put me onto the T30R series back with my RF900 and never looked back. Had them on the ST4S and the GSX14 after as well.

But to be fair I buy tyres I know I will get lifespan from, not for stickiness and while I don't think I am a slow rider, I am also far from being the fastest or bravest

[caspernz]

Watching the comments with interest on the T30s. I've had a number of different Bridgestones over the years, last being the S20. The preferred hoop for me is Pilot Road 4, though running Pilot Power 3 at the moment.

Having talked with a few riders, in real life, yes the T30s seem to polarize folks. I'm not one eyed about tyres, and I can almost draw the conclusion that the guys who understand how to set the suspension on their ride to suit them (and to a small degree the tyre) then the T30s do well. For those with less affinity for setting up properly seem to be down on the T30. Mmmm, will have to try a set myself.

Thanks for the various opinions and feedback fellas :woohoo:

[Owl]

Went through the S21, S23 stage and TSS put me onto the T30R series back with my RF900 and never looked back.

Just for clarification Stoney, you sure you don't mean 021 and 023. Not sure the S23 is a reality to date lol.

[James Deuce]

Back on Michelin PR2s and much happier. No more random slides.