Bridgestone S20 tyre review

[mossy1200]

This must be like being married to a porn star and only SHAVING her hair


post of the week right here.

Fixed that for you

[caspernz]

Fixed that for you

Teehee...in that case I'd recommend handcuffs, leg restraints, ball gag and applying the hotwax in liberal doses...

Oohhh, no hang on, wrong forum for that subject innit?

[G4L4XY]

I got my rear S20 all roughed up through the twisties from whanga - waihi. Nothing more satisfying than seeing how hard they grip through some of those tighter corners. Damn bastard roadworks gone and ruined all my fun now!

[Drew]

I got my rear S20 all roughed up through the twisties from whanga - waihi. Nothing more satisfying than seeing how hard they grip through some of those tighter corners. Damn bastard roadworks gone and ruined all my fun now!

That's interesting to hear. Since they look like I've just popped to the shops on a Sunday, after I go as fast over the Rimutaka hill as I think I ever have on them.

What pressure are you running it at? Might be an idea to back off a bit on the compression damping if it's mid thirties.

[haydes55]

I got my rear S20 all roughed up through the twisties from whanga - waihi. Nothing more satisfying than seeing how hard they grip through some of those tighter corners. Damn bastard roadworks gone and ruined all my fun now!

I went Hamilton-Whangamata-Waihi-Tauranga on Saturday. Roads were mint! Followed a bike 2up between Whanga and Waihi going pretty hard for pillioning.

The road works weren't for long.

[G4L4XY]

I went Hamilton-Whangamata-Waihi-Tauranga on Saturday. Roads were mint! Followed a bike 2up between Whanga and Waihi going pretty hard for pillioning.

The road works weren't for long.

Yeah your right they weren't long haha. Next time you head on such a trip you should let me know if you want some company.

[G4L4XY]

That's interesting to hear. Since they look like I've just popped to the shops on a Sunday, after I go as fast over the Rimutaka hill as I think I ever have on them.

What pressure are you running it at? Might be an idea to back off a bit on the compression damping if it's mid thirties.

I'm running at the ones recommended on the swingarm. Haven't played around much with pressures. Bike handles much the same/I adapt to whatever the bike gives me feedback-wise. The ripped up tyre is just from me cane-ing it through the gorge getting hot from working.

[Drew]

I'm running at the ones recommended on the swingarm. Haven't played around much with pressures. Bike handles much the same/I adapt to whatever the bike gives me feedback-wise. The ripped up tyre is just from me cane-ing it through the gorge getting hot from working.

This is gonna sound wankerish to the baddest, but I'm not just beating my chest here. I thrash the living shit out of my bike over the hill, and the S20 looks smooth and normal afterwards. Trust me when I say, not many ride on the road as quick as I do.

A more compliant rear shock could save you some coin on hoops, and give you more traction.

[Deano]

This is gonna sound wankerish to the baddest, but I'm not just beating my chest here. I thrash the living shit out of my bike over the hill, and the S20 looks smooth and normal afterwards. Trust me when I say, not many ride on the road as quick as I do.

A more compliant rear shock could save you some coin on hoops, and give you more traction.

Mine's been over the hill a couple of times now and is looking mint - no balling up or tearing.

Then again I'm a bit of a nana eh Drew.

[Drew]

Then again I'm a bit of a nana eh Drew.

Total pansy. We make concessions since you ride a Honda though.

[mossy1200]

This is gonna sound wankerish to the baddest, but I'm not just beating my chest here. I thrash the living shit out of my bike over the hill, and the S20 looks smooth and normal afterwards. Trust me when I say, not many ride on the road as quick as I do.

A more compliant rear shock could save you some coin on hoops, and give you more traction.

Your lucky. I might have a defective tire also. Mine goes all funny and smokes a bit. Sometimes it tends to discolour the road around corners. Its started getting lighter also and thinner. I never seem to catch a break when selecting tyres. I don't know where im going wrong.

[roogazza]

This is gonna sound wankerish to the baddest, but I'm not just beating my chest here. I thrash the living shit out of my bike over the hill, and the S20 looks smooth and normal afterwards. Trust me when I say, not many ride on the road as quick as I do.
A more compliant rear shock could save you some coin on hoops, and give you more traction.

Mine's been over the hill a couple of times now and is looking mint - no balling up or tearing.

Then again I'm a bit of a nana eh Drew.

Plus 3 ! mine wear smooth and even and all my riding is Kapiti to Martin/B. (I prefer a very soft setup too?)
You guys must be getting closer to the pensioner group now maybe that's the answer ??? lol.
Also we haven't got a gauge anymore? No GP riders on zx10s

[JayRacer37]

I got my rear S20 all roughed up through the twisties from whanga - waihi. Nothing more satisfying than seeing how hard they grip through some of those tighter corners. Damn bastard roadworks gone and ruined all my fun now!

That's interesting to hear. Since they look like I've just popped to the shops on a Sunday, after I go as fast over the Rimutaka hill as I think I ever have on them.

What pressure are you running it at? Might be an idea to back off a bit on the compression damping if it's mid thirties.

I'm running at the ones recommended on the swingarm. Haven't played around much with pressures. Bike handles much the same/I adapt to whatever the bike gives me feedback-wise. The ripped up tyre is just from me cane-ing it through the gorge getting hot from working.

A more compliant rear shock could save you some coin on hoops, and give you more traction.

Interesting conversation here (from my POV). The S20 usually doesn't show much wear, even on track it stays pretty smooth. Its a harder more wear resistant rubber than a full race tyre, so won't ball or tear so easily. Mine showed some distress after a long, hard ride on coarse chip, with an unforgiving setup for the tyre, but returned to normal pretty quickly.

Given the pressures are as standard, for the CBR600RR the info I can find suggests 36F 42R cold. If run at this pressure (and we are talking rears only at this point, to save confusion) there are a host of different effects on the tyre. For example, the carcass of the tyre won't gain so much heat. In theory, this will give you longer mileage - it will certainly give better load characteristics, hold the profile of the tyre more rigidly (less contact patch deflection) and therefore make the bike turn well and have better rolling resistance. The negatives are less outright grip (narrow contact patch) and harsher action over bumps, and less suspension/compliance from the tyre mid corner.

The key part there is the heat thing - high pressure should keep the carcass temp down by having less deflection and therefore less movement and friction being converted to heat. Which it does. BUT - this does not necessarily end up in the result of better wear characteristics (from my experience). What it does do is ensure a narrow contact patch, even if you are pushing on hard. This narrow contact patch means that a little bit of the tyre at a time is working extraordinarily hard to stay gripped, as the load isn't being spread over a larger contact patch. This in turn can lead to pronounced wear, as this narrow band rips and wears. It can almost look like cold shear on a track tyre, and the solve is similar - drop the pressure and spread the load.

In this case, with an S20 on our roads on a 600, my advice would be to try lower - 36-38psi rear for a start. It should help with wear, life, grip and feel. Potential negatives are virtually zero, maybe a little slower side to side, if that.

Drew's shock comments are on the money too - less comp may help with tyre life and feel. Sounds like the bike is very abrupt and the tyre is needing to do all the work.

[caspernz]

This is gonna sound wankerish to the baddest, but I'm not just beating my chest here. I thrash the living shit out of my bike over the hill, and the S20 looks smooth and normal afterwards. Trust me when I say, not many ride on the road as quick as I do.

A more compliant rear shock could save you some coin on hoops, and give you more traction.

Must say I like the S20 so far. But so far the only bit of road that leaves some form of distress on the tyre surface is the Wainui hill where they've got traction chip which contains aluminium. Even then it's only minor.

The first decent longish trip will tell the story on how it holds up...but for now

[Owl]

Well a fraction over 5000km and my front S20 is rather poked. While I liked the feel of the tyres, I can't say I'm impressed with longevity, or the unusual wear on the front. In fact it's the worst worn tyre I've had since my suspension was upgraded nearly 4 years ago.

Here's hoping I have a better run with the T30's.