Free tyres!

[jrandom]

I dont believe top end sport tyres grip any better than top end sport tour tyres... Your just as likely to fail on a sport tyre running at under 70degrees as a touring tyre at normal operating temp.

That's very tyre dependent. Some 'sport' tyres warm up very quickly.

Again, it's about choosing a tyre that's appropriate. And you're talking about cut racing slicks again. Those are generally inappropriate for the road because they work poorly in the wet due to lack of tread. (And sometimes due to temperature issues, as you say; Super Corsas being the worst offenders IMHO.)

[Pussy]

I'm prepared to run sports tyres instead of sport/touring jobbies for the extra adhesion.
Don't last as long? Probably. Stick better? IMHO, definitely. I have a real aversion to road rash....

[mossy1200]

That's very tyre dependent. Some 'sport' tyres warm up very quickly.

Again, it's about choosing a tyre that's appropriate. And you're talking about cut racing slicks again. Those are generally inappropriate for the road because they work poorly in the wet due to lack of tread. (And sometimes due to temperature issues, as you say; Super Corsas being the worst offenders IMHO.)

http://www.bridgestone.eu/press/pres...otorcycle-tyre


Ok i withdraw some of what i said because even though claimed tyre is track suitable its really only a sports version of battlax and not Super Corsa killing treaded race tyre that f2 will want to race on.

[mossy1200]

I'm prepared to run sports tyres instead of sport/touring jobbies for the extra adhesion.
Don't last as long? Probably. Stick better? IMHO, definitely. I have a real aversion to road rash....

And you never speed and dont search the tightest winding road judging performance by knee scraper wear?

[pritch]

I am familiar with the expression, "Better to have more tyre than you need, than to need more tyre than you have.' And I don't disagree with that at all.

The best advice I've come across though is different.
"The more honest you are with yourself as to how you will use your tyres, the better service you will get from them."

The guy who buys sports rubber because he thinks he's the next Valentino Rossi but rides like a nana is just wasting money. These guys do exist.

If I was planning on a track day I would change to a sports tyre. Since I'm not currently planning on a track day, I use ST tyres because they will give me all the grip I need, better grip than a sports tyre in the wet, and they'll last longer.

Some of the fastest riders I know use ST rubber without problems. I think perhaps you don't realise just how good the latest ST products from Metzeler, Pirelli, Dunlop, and Michelin are.

Just realised I omitted Bridgestone from that list. A Freudian slip perhaps? I threw my last set of BT 020s away early because they felt lethal in the wet.

[jrandom]

better grip than a sports tyre in the wet

We may be talking at cross-purposes, then. I wouldn't put a tyre on my bike that didn't work well in the wet, either. In fact I'd probably choose wet performance over dry performance.

I wrote my post with the Pilot Road vs Pilot Power question in mind. In that particular instance, there's never a good reason to choose the Roads. But other manufacturers undoubtedly offer different tradeoffs. And, for that matter, Powers are what I'd call 'sport touring'.

Wet grip is paramount.

I threw my last set of BT 020s away early because they felt lethal in the wet.

I did exactly the same. BT020s are dangerous.

[jrandom]

Getting back to the OP, I see the website claims "Bridgestone tests show that the S20 wet grip is even better than the BT-016 Pro, already the established standard in the wet. Results also show the high stability that comes from improved grip, with easy control in heavy rain conditions."

Based on that, they sound like a pretty good choice.

[mossy1200]

A premium sport tyre inspired by Bridgestone’s MotoGP technology

Bridgestone has strengthened its motorcycle tyre line-up with the launch of a premium sport tyre: the Battlax Hyper Sport S20 for riders of high-powered machines from 600 to 1300 cc. Using the “S” (= Sport) symbol for the first time on a Battlax tyre, the premium S20 completes Bridgestone’s Hyper Sport product line-up that includes the Battlax BT-016 Pro and BT-016 amongst other sport specialists for road and track.

MotGP technology = black and fits onto rim
Using the “S” = we think it sticks more than standard battlax


Immediate grip

The new compound with Silica Rich and Bridgestone’s proprietary NanoPro-TechTM polymer, which reduces heat build-up during tyre rotation, provides improved grip in the wet and at low temperatures. This gives confident grip right from the start during warm-up, without sacrificing mileage performance on front or rear.

The triple-layer compound (3LC) with an optimized segmentation of soft and harder compound has been applied on front and rear, improving dry grip as well as giving high stability in cornering and good mileage.


NanoPro-TechTM polymer = now we have you with big words



Conclusion S20 = sports tour tyre in the style of Pirr 2ct not track dry condition comp orientated sports tyre

[Hitcher]

I threw my last set of BT 020s away early because they felt lethal in the wet.

The 021s were little better than the 020s. I had 020s as OEMs on a ZRX1200R, ST1300 and an FJR1300T. My current steed had 021s as its OEM rubber. Podgy and lardarse on the handling stakes, skittery in the dry and disturbingly ambiguous in the wet. The rears outlast the fronts. Hence my reluctance, fuelled by online tyre reviews, to avoid the 023s. Meanwhile Bridgestone's competitors in the sports touring tyre market have had a considerable lead on them since 2007, a gap that Bridgestone hasn't closed even to that point. Meanwhile other manufacturers have since 2008 moved even further ahead with such tyres as the Avon Storm Ultra, Conti Road Attack 2 and 2 GT, Dunlop with the Roadsmart and now the Roadsmart 2, Metzeler with the Z8, Michelin with the Pilot Road 2 and PR3, Pirelli with the Angel, and so on.

[Hitcher]

Ill vote for banditrider. He rides in anything ALL the time. Real world performance and he is litterate. If they only last 5k then you will have your report in 3 weeks

Sounds like a good choice. A Connie should be a good test mule too.

[BMWST?]

Yeah, I largely agree. When the Power Pures first came out I wanted to try them for the supposed light carcass construction. Compared to the Pilot Road 2s at the time the difference in 'feel' and 'flickability' was significant. So for me I run a set or two of Pures during summer and then a set of Pilot Road 3s over winter.

I have an XR6 Falcon as well, so does that qualify me for BCSD as well? As in Big Car Small Dick...

xr6....no only xr6 turbo or xr8 will qualify

[mossy1200]

The 021s were little better than the 020s. I had 020s as OEMs on a ZRX1200R, ST1300 and an FJR1300T. My current steed had 021s as its OEM rubber. Podgy and lardarse on the handling stakes, skittery in the dry and disturbingly ambiguous in the wet. The rears outlast the fronts. Hence my reluctance, fuelled by online tyre reviews, to avoid the 023s. Meanwhile Bridgestone's competitors in the sports touring tyre market have had a considerable lead on them since 2007, a gap that Bridgestone hasn't closed even to that point. Meanwhile other manufacturers have since 2008 moved even further ahead with such tyres as the Avon Storm Ultra, Conti Road Attack 2 and 2 GT, Dunlop with the Roadsmart and now the Roadsmart 2, Metzeler with the Z8, Michelin with the Pilot Road 2 and PR3, Pirelli with the Angel, and so on.

BT-020 and S20 hypersport are 2 different tyres

OE zzr1400 GSXR1000 CBR1000rr 2012 models.

[Hitcher]

It is possible and, in fact, usual, to ride within the performance envelope of 'sport touring' tyres. However, it is undeniable that they offer less traction, wet and dry. The tradeoff of less traction for more life is their raison d'être. My argument in favour of 'sport' tyres (and by this I mean tyres that work well in the rain, not cut slicks like Super Corsas, etc) is that on a motorcycle, at any time, one could find oneself needing to step outside the performance envelope of 'sport touring' tyres to stay alive.

My mother once said "Hitcher, don't argue on the Internet!"

I have had some experience with sports tyres (a set of Qualifiers on an Aprilia Shiver, and a set of Diablo Rossos on a GSX1250FA). In both cases they went well when they were well warmed up. The Qualifiers suited the Shiver very well, with nice sharp handling and even grip around the curvature of the tyre. But the Avon Storms that replaced them were just as good in those terms.

The Rossos didn't suit the Suzuki. Even when they were really hot, they didn't feel any better in terms of their handling than the Z8s they replaced. When only warm they were very heavy on the steering stakes and uncertain handling in the wet, if the Waioeka Gorge in a thunderstorm is a good test.

I stand by my view that most riders, on the road, are unlikely to get a sports tyre's temperature to a point where it will materially outperform a sports tourer in the same conditions.

"Yes Mum, I hear you."

[jrandom]

I stand by my view that most riders, on the road, are unlikely to get a sports tyre's temperature to a point where it will materially outperform a sports tourer in the same conditions.

I offer you the Pilot Power 2CT and, quite possibly, the new Bridgestones that this thread is about as counter-examples that do in fact heat up quickly without being thrashed, and offer real performance benefits over longer-life tyres in all conditions.

[jrandom]

Of course, this is all somewhat academic for me. With a Scorpio and a Sportster, Metzeler Lasertecs are pretty much my only reasonably sticky option. I do wish tyre manufacturers would make a bigger assortment of sticky rubber to fit non-sportbike wheels, but I guess it wouldn't be commercially viable.

HD put 17" rims on the XR1200 for good reason.