When the tyres arrived at Road and Race New Brighton, and Roger gave me a call to arrange a fitting time I was just over the moon!, what perfect timing...as I can't keep riding on whats left of the current set
"Sure!, Thursday sounds great Roger, thanks for making the time mate"(Especially seeing as he's currently booked out till the start of june!)
...But in hindsight, next time I WILL check the long range weather report!
Even Roger had a giggle at the thought of shiny new tyres and wet roads...the perfect environment for testing survival skills!
As you can see the old tyres needed to be changed many weeks ago due to a frantic run down to Oamaru recently...the sweltering heat combined with constant speed, road works and some of the longest, most boring straight roads in NZ had just cooked the tyres and left me with a set of "flat spot specials".
The first thing we both noticed about the New T30's, was the weight!....these are NOT a light Tyre.
But when you compare the side wall construction strength and the tread depth to the previous BT015r rear Tyre on the VFR, and a new set of contis that Roger had in...the weight is clearly explained in the build strength and general stiffness of these tyres.(the side walls are extremely stiff)
And yet, as the above picture shows, the tread rubber is very soft and malleable, even on a cold day you can "push" the tread around with your thumb, a complete contrast to the ultra stiff side walls.
And speaking of tread, here is the pattern Bridgestone are using on the T30's
Rear-
Front
The fitting went smoothly and the tyres were balanced easily, and after spending far to long talking with Roger about bikes and his new guzzi project, I hit the road...and it was of course raining!
With the words of Roger ringing in my ears "A normal person would take it damn easy on those for a while lol...good luck!", I set out to see if I could get home with no drama's.
I'm very pleased to report that "out of the box" these tyres stick!, not a single moment, Nada!, none!...it was UN-natural!
I gave the tyres a wee work out the next day on my trip into work....and again, not a single moment in the wet and cold at 0630am on a Friday morning - Brilliant!
The VFR, although 18yrs old and this one having over a hundred thousand K's on the clock, is In my opinion, still! one of the best sport tourers ever made (Its why I always wanted one)...and these tyres have so far perfectly complemented the bikes friendly and ultra usable nature, making for a great test bed for this review, plus, many of us don't have the latest greatest 30k bike sitting in the shed, and yet most reviews seem to be done on these so the old VFR should be a welcome change for some.
I will be doing another update this weekend once I have had more time on the bike & tyres, and again one week later, then monthly...so check back if your a daily rider, because this review will NOT be one involving track days and adrenalin fueled high speed roads, instead this review is for the regular rider, the daily grinder like me who rides in rain hail or shine and use's there bike as there only means of transport and sanity...so that means a mix of highway & town riding mixed up with the occasional "blow out" run up into the hills
I hope my limited grasp on the written English language will be enough to persuade you to come back and have a read as this Tyre review progresses...I will try my best to describe the events and personal experience with these tyres.
I would now like to end this start with thanks
...thanks firstly to you!, the KB members who voted for me and gave me the chance to review these new donuts, and secondly thanks to the folks at eurotred NZ/Bridgestone NZ for giving the KB community the opportunity to review a set of there new tasty tyres..and of course lastly, my Mechanic Roger @ Road & Race, for putting up with me rummaging around in his shop and putting my sticky fingers over everything while he fixe's my latest mechanical faux pas
Ride safe KBers
Willy
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Originally Posted by AllanB
(All I got was this photo and an assurance that "he had fun"
)
:
), even got some hot grips arriving next week to help my aging & battered body through winter...suspension is next on the list, poor old girl is getting a tad saggy in the arse 
...they didn't even budge!
(And I was trying pritty hard!
...No seriously!, these things are simply not of this earth!
...I mean what the hell right?....this isn't normal, in fact....that shouldn't be POSSIBLE!, to jump on a bike with dead cold tyres and be able to hussle it in those conditions??, shouldn't be possible...OR enjoyable!
(Slow speed drift, nothing flash or dangerous, the road set up etc "usually" assists this exiting "fun")
...but now I can retain the feeling in my fingers 
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