Bridgestone Bt-021 Review

[Guest VFRbar]

See press intro: Bridgestone BT-021

In the past, I've had Michelin Pilot Roads, Dunlop D204s, Pirelli Sport Demons, Pirelli Diablos, Diablo Stradas, and Bridgestone Bt-012s. My favorite was the Diablos by a large margin. Unfortunately, the last set I owned lasted 2500 miles for the rear and about 4k for the front. I simply cannot afford to put on tires that often. So I continue to try sport-touring tires.

Up to this point, I've yet to be happy with an ST tire. I liked the Pilot Roads, but they went off badly as they wore. I got about 4500 miles out of them. The last set of tires I've owned were the Diablo Stradas and I did not like them at all. Perhaps it was a bad set, but I slid around on them way too much. I got used to it, but they just did not inspire confidence. Got about 3.5k out of the set.

So I decided that was it and I was going back to sport tires. But the miser in me gave in to trying yet another set of sport-touring tires--the Bridgestone BT-021. This is a brand-new design for Bridgestone that promises longevity and the stick of a sport tire. Kind of reminds me of their BT-045 that came on Blackbirds a few years ago. The profile appears a bit more triangular than the old BT20s, but I've never owned a set of the former, so take what you will from the comparison.

How do they ride? Well, quite nicely, thank you. I took it easy today since the tires were brand new, but they warmed up quickly and in no time, I had them scrubbed to the edges (rear). Dry grip was better than the Stradas, but obviously not up to Diablo standards. I had plenty of stick in the corners, even on less than perfect pavement. The sidewalls are pretty stiff, so compliance was not at the level of a sport tire. With a hard center, one issue that concerned me was braking. I stood on the binders pretty hard and the tires hauled me down surprisingly well, better than I expected. The turn-in was very linear and compared to well-worn Stradas, it was sharper. I don't remember how the Stradas turned-in when they were new. Again, not like a sport tire, but nice and stable. I have a ride-height adjustable Penske so I'm more interested in other characteristics besides turn-in.

A couple of concerns. I haven't ridden them very hard, so I do not know how they will take to some heat cycles. Riding in the North Carolina mountains will uncover a tire's weaknesses much better than the local farm to market roads. Jury is still out on how they will take a sustained thrashing. I also have no idea either how long will they last and how well they will grip as they deteriorate. And finally wet weather. I don't ride in the wet unless I get caught in it and I slow down when that happens. As long as a tire has decent wet-weather grip and will get me home safely, I am happy.

So as a new tire, my conclusion is the Bridgestone BT021 is the best sport-touring tire out there for dry grip levels. The tire literally feels like it was made specifically for the VFR; it just makes the bike work like it should. Still, any sport tire current out there has more ultimate grip. If you have the financial wherewithall to use sport tires, they are still your best bet.

Here are a couple of snapshots of the tread. Please, no flames about the dirty tires nor the Sanford and Son workshop that I plan on cleaning "tomorrow."

BT021rear3.jpg

BT021rear2.jpg

BT021front.jpg

[tinyminds]

Glad to hear about the new tires. I've been fairly happy w/ the 020's, might give the 021's a shot after I burn up the M3's I have laying around. Odd front tire thread pattern it appears, kinda looks like PPowers rear integrated to the front. :thumbsup:

[ki-speed]

I've had Z4's, BT-020's, BT-014's and Pilot Powers. Z4's sucked, BT-020 cupped in front. BT-014's better that 020's and did not cup (got about the same milage). The Pilot Powers are great. Now I'm not a very aggressive rider. I had gotten about 8000 miles on a rear and 6000 miles on a front with the ST tires. With the Pilot Powers it looks like I will get the same.

I'm very satisfied with the PP.

[Bent]

Keep us posted as the new tires wear and how they perform. :thumbsup:

[afennell]

BT021rear2.jpg

What is that zip tied to your left passenger peg?

[Guest]

BT021rear2.jpg

What is that zip tied to your left passenger peg?

Remote reservoir for my Penske shock.

[afennell]

Remote reservoir for my Penske shock.

I thought it was your nitrous oxide.

[ki-speed]

I used BT-020 on rear and BT-014 in front several times. Worked good. I never liked the 020 front (it cupped bad).

Now moved on to Pilot Powers.

[Nicole]

Anyone know the difference between the 020's and the 021's? Don't laugh!! I have done no research!! I loved the life of my 020's so ordered another set - just waiting on the front to arrive this week. I am not an aggressive rider either and most of my riding has been commuting but they held up just great! (Oh and yes the front is cupped!

[il Duce]

I also roll on BT-020s and the front is so cupped that I could shave parmesan on that thing.

Actually, that's what I use it for. ...wife hates that I keep the bike in the kitchen...

Center stand, lean back, spin the front wheel, shave the cheese.

[Guest]

Anyone know the difference between the 020's and the 021's? Don't laugh!! I have done no research!! I loved the life of my 020's so ordered another set - just waiting on the front to arrive this week. I am not an aggressive rider either and most of my riding has been commuting but they held up just great! (Oh and yes the front is cupped!

The 021 is the direct replacement for the 020. The 020 is a four or five year old tire design, so my thinking is that a new and improved tire from Bridgestone should hold up better (last longer, resist cupping). Only time will tell if this is the case. If you can get the 021 for a comparable price to the 020, to me at least, it is a no brainer.

That said, if you like the 020, don't want to go through the hassle of swapping them out, then by all means, keep em. It appears they have served you well so far. :thumbsup:

[Nicole]

AHh!! Well good - then once you get some miles on yours we shall know how they hold up! Thanks! :lol:

[Guest]

1500 mile update. Thought I would pass this along since I've had several questions about the review I did a while back. I'm still happy to recommend these tires. Compared to the Stradas, turn-in is a little sharper, compliance is about equal, and dry grip is noticeably better. I'm not so sure about wear rates. I've got about 1500 miles and they are wearing about like the Stradas. I'll be happy if I get 3.5-4k out of the rear. Of course, better turn-in and grip with comparable sport-touring tire mileage isn't such a bad thing. I've noticed they get a little gummy when you really push them hard and get some heat into them, but they stick well.

If I were to take a shot in the dark, I'd say I'll get approximately 1k more than a true sport tire. That's about a 30% improvement in mileage and to me, it is worth it.

BTW, I just did about 800 miles, much of it was interstate and only had a slight flat spot at the end of the trip. Keep in mind that I had both hardbags loaded to capacity, a large tankbag full, and 250lbs of hauling yours truly. Not bad.

[spud786]

Up to this point, I've yet to be happy with an ST tire. I liked the Pilot Roads, but they went off badly as they wore. I got about 4500 miles out of them. The last set of tires I've owned were the Diablo Stradas and I did not like them at all. Perhaps it was a bad set, but I slid around on them way too much. I got used to it, but they just did not inspire confidence. Got about 3.5k out of the set.

(((((((((((((((((((

I wonder what the exact difference is between a met Z6 and perilli strada other than the tread pattern slight difference?

I'm running a Z6 front and Pirreli strada rear 39 degrees and wet in tight twisties , very good grip to me. even Right out of the drive way no warm up really needed they had great grip.

But If ya cant get 6,000 out of a Z6 front on the street, somethings wrong , the rear I've not run on the Z6, iheard the pirelli rear yields better, so this is my first one.

[Dead Stiff]

Tire life is mostly dependent on the rider.

My original BTO-20 rear lasted 8600 miles, with the last 1000 showing noticeable slippage coming out of a corner.

The BTO-20 front would have lasted 14-16 thousand miles with severe cupping but a nail ended it short.

I replaced the rear with a Z6 and got a trouble free 7000 miles out of it, no slipping right up to the end

The front was replaced with a Pilot Power which now has 6000 miles on it and looks like it will make another 4-6 thousand, I might wear out the sides on it before the middle.

[vfral1]

Anyone have an opinion on how a 021 rear would work with a worn 020 front?

[Guest]

I just switched from Dunlop Qulifiers to BT-20s.

The Qualifiers were toast. I kept them on there much longer than I should have. About 5000 miles. But I never really had any trouble with them as far as riding the twisties even after they were worn out.

I have a few problems with the BT-20 front tire. Under heavy braking it feels a little mushy. As if the tire is getting deformed down there. Also if I do any braking once the bike is leaned over, it wants to stand back up. This obviously causes me to have an oh-sh*t moment, and takes anoter correction in steering so I don't run wide.

With the Qualifiers, I could get on the front brake even after the bike was leaned over and did not have this problem. I always run 36psi in the front and 42 psi in the rear. I am thinking maybe I should go down a few psi. Thoughts?

[bmv]

VFRbar et al,

Thanks for the reviews. I will be in need of new skins very soon. Currently have BT010's that are pretty much pooched. I like them. Probably going with BT021's this time around.

Any wet weather reviews of th BT021??

VFRD rocks!

:thumbsup:

[Guest]

I got caught in a gully washer a couple of weeks ago and they worked very well. Found out later that I had picked up a nail in my back tire on that trip and by the time I got to the house, the tire had about 25 psi left in it. Still, the tires cut through the rain with no problems at all and stuck like glue.

Since I had to replace the rear before it actually wore out, I still cannot speak of the tire's longevity. I estimate that I would have gotten about 4k out of the rear, which is as good as anything else I've ever used. Next tire will be the new Michelin Road 2CT when it comes out just to see if it is any better, but I'm very satisfied with the performance all the way around. :thumbsup:

[BonusVFR]

I have put about 1,500 miles on my BT021s, which replaced PRs. I replaced my PRs a little earlier than normal at 7500 front and almost 6,000 rear so I could go on tour. The PRs had replaced BT020s which flat spotted the rear after 4500 miles. I have been running 36 psi front and 38 rear on my PRs which seemed to cause almost uniform wear especially on the rear.

I did a 1,400 tour/loop through California fully loaded with softbags and lots of crap including camping gear. I rode mostly twisty roads and some of them were less than perfect ie broken/rough pavement, sand etc. Impressions on the BT021s, which I mounted and balanced myself and pumped to 36/42 psi are:

1. Better turn in than PRs (could be new perfect profile but anyway much better than my shagged PRs)

2. More Comfortable/compliant and I seemed to have better control and no wandering even on really lousy pavement.

3. Incredible braking including one emergency stop caused by a Rebel doing a left U turn from a scenic overlook off Lake Tahoe right in front on me. My HARD stop from about 50 caused me to do a stoppie (impressive considering the loaded bags etc on the rear of the bike). The front did not even chirp! Just grapped like crazy - which the cruiser rider was! <_< :goofy: Missed T boning the cruiser by about 2 feet.

4. Cornering grip was great as well although I do not rail all the time on tour - but I do ride almost exclusively twisty roads.

5. Don't have a read on wear yet.

So far so good. Will see how I do on mileage before I screw around with air pressures on the rear. Good Choice!

[cruzinaz]

Anyone have an opinion on how a 021 rear would work with a worn 020 front?

Sure, but you know what they say about opinions tho,, I put on the 021 rear at 5k, with the 020 front, last month, no problem, the bike handled great, I have 8500 on the bike now and just picked up a 021 for the front today, was getting a bit scary thru the corners, really cupped bad now, next time I will get rid of it sooner.

Got them from southwestmoto, in Tucson, nice people, and a great price, at least I think so, 119.00 rear, 92.00 front, course I dont shop around much, they were in stock, and 10 minutes away, makes it an easy decision.

[vfral1]

Anyone have an opinion on how a 021 rear would work with a worn 020 front?

Sure, but you know what they say about opinions tho,, I put on the 021 rear at 5k, with the 020 front, last month, no problem, the bike handled great, I have 8500 on the bike now and just picked up a 021 for the front today, was getting a bit scary thru the corners, really cupped bad now, next time I will get rid of it sooner.

Got them from southwestmoto, in Tucson, nice people, and a great price, at least I think so, 119.00 rear, 92.00 front, course I dont shop around much, they were in stock, and 10 minutes away, makes it an easy decision.

Thanks Dude! :thumbsup:

[vfral1]

I went ahead and replaced the old BT-020's with new Front and Rear BT-021's. Took my first ride on them yesterday. Everything feels good, except I notice that the bike seems now has a tendency to "fall over" in a sharp curve. That's not the best description, but when going through my familiar twisties, my normal amount of push caused the bike to tip over too far and oversteer. I believe this will be a good thing once I get used to it because the bike seems easier to steer, like the front is lighter. Anyone else notice this from the 021's? Anyone have an explanation.

[Guest]

I had 2 BT021 since 2500 miles now and they are very good to my limit, whether on wet or dry road. :thumbsup:

No cup wear-out sign at rear, but it seems that the front will be out before rear!!!

But the front is not a 2 components as rear is.

[enzed_viffer]

I have a few problems with the BT-20 front tire. Under heavy braking it feels a little mushy. As if the tire is getting deformed down there. Also if I do any braking once the bike is leaned over, it wants to stand back up. This obviously causes me to have an oh-sh*t moment, and takes anoter correction in steering so I don't run wide.

With the Qualifiers, I could get on the front brake even after the bike was leaned over and did not have this problem. I always run 36psi in the front and 42 psi in the rear. I am thinking maybe I should go down a few psi. Thoughts?

Try going UP a couple of PSI in the front. I have a feeling that the problems with 'cupping' and handling are due to the dynamics of the VFR. I found with my current tyre (Avon Azaro 49-SP) that it helt much better with MORE air in the front. Currently I'm running 39-40 (!) and it feels good. Conversely, if it drops below ~37 psi, it wanders, and flops into corners.

I went ahead and replaced the old BT-020's with new Front and Rear BT-021's. Took my first ride on them yesterday. Everything feels good, except I notice that the bike seems now has a tendency to "fall over" in a sharp curve. That's not the best description, but when going through my familiar twisties, my normal amount of push caused the bike to tip over too far and oversteer. I believe this will be a good thing once I get used to it because the bike seems easier to steer, like the front is lighter. Anyone else notice this from the 021's? Anyone have an explanation.

It's probably the profile ( a bit more triangular than the rounded BT020). But, it could be that more air will make it turn more progressively: try going up 2 or 3 psi. If you don't like it, you can always let some air out again.