5000 Mile Update On Bt-021s

[Guest tpierce(MP)]

Figured i'd throw this up here.

I'm comming up on the 5000 mile mark on my BT-021s. They were installed around 29 July and here is my initial review.

I end up riding mostly highway miles, i'd guess a good 70%, just the way it is living in the city, but they have also spent a good amount of time on the twisties. These tires are holding up great. They still stick great, inspire confidence in me, and have yet to let me down. The rear is wearing a good bit in the center (due to all my highway time), but these tires have allowed me to push the VFR harder with more ease than i have been able to before. No cupping of the front tire, as i experianced wtih my 020s. I am also very anal with my tire pressure checks though, i always keep them at the recommended 36/42. I hope to get 7000 out of the set, which shouldn't be a problem. I'll probably end up getting another set of 021s depending on how the pricing is for the Pilot Road2s. I recommend these tires to anyone that wants a great sport-touring tire.

[sirimiri]

You'll laugh, but I got nearly 11,500 out of my BT-020 front tire. It cupped horrible, very uneven wear. Crap tire.

The rear is utterly square but I still have some mileage on it. Yes, I commute a lot, 90% slab.

I just put on a BT-021 on the front and so far it seems OK. It's been about 250 miles and I'm hoping it doesn't go to hell like my old OEM 020 did by 8000 miles.

[Guest]

holy crap...11,500 miles?? was there anything left of it? As mentioned before, no cupping problems thus car, my 020s were cupped horriblly by now. Best of luck

[sirimiri]

holy crap...11,500 miles??

yeah, actually, if I didn't mind the bumps on the tire surface and crap ride, I probably could have gotten another 2000 miles out of the it. But that would be pushing it by that point....

The rear is still going strong. I must be a wuss. But, I have a rear 021 tee'd up, sitting in the hallway..kinda stinky but I like looking at it.

[BCsnowcat]

holy crap...11,500 miles??

yeah, actually, if I didn't mind the bumps on the tire surface and crap ride, I probably could have gotten another 2000 miles out of the it. But that would be pushing it by that point....

The rear is still going strong. I must be a wuss. But, I have a rear 021 tee'd up, sitting in the hallway..kinda stinky but I like looking at it.

Hey ..agree with you!!!..I have 7000 miles on mine now, mostly good speeds in the mtns.., and the rear is just over half gone, the front maybe half and very minor cupping....By now my 020's were always shot on the same roads. ..great tire...

[keithbob]

After several sets of 020s, I switched. I've got two long trips on a pair of BT-021s now. The rear grips great - better than the 020. The front is probably as good but doesn't give me the same feel that the 020 had. Even though the front 020s cupped pretty badly, they were always very predictable and gripped well, so I've never seen what the complaint is with that. (the tread pattern on the 020 front was vulnerable to cupping due to the shape of the blocks)

With 6000 on them, the 021s are still looking good. 2500 of those miles were two up and loaded through BC, and the rest are solo on a trip through Nevada. The rear is worn in the center from a lot of heavy and straight up miles, but the front is surprisingly not - it seems to be keeping it's shape quite well. I have noticed quite a bit more tread noise from the 021 front compared to the 020, but that's no issue to me.

I like these tires, but I'd like to try the new Pilot Road 2 for the next set. My riding style is a lot of fast two-up and long-haul solo riding. And it does get wet out here in the rain-forest.

BTW - I expect to get another 1500 out of the 012 rear. That's about 1000 better than the 020 usually did. My 020 fronts tended to last about 9000-10,000

[Veefer800Canuck]

Local road conditions have a lot to do with tire wear.

IE: how abrasive is the pavement near where you live?

It varies greatly across the country.

[fuldogg]

I've read numerous threads relating to tire wear and am always amazed at the wide disparity. I've even kept track of my fellow VFR sport touring riders tire wear thinking that if we all ride the same bikes over the same (mostly) roads then we could compare various tire brands for mileage results.

Well it turns out that the guys who get 4K miles out of brand X tire also get 4K out of brand Y and brand Z as well. The guys who get 8K out of one brand also get 8K out of all the other brands they try as well. Seems to me that the largest factor in the tire wear equation is how hard you ride.

[BCsnowcat]

I've read numerous threads relating to tire wear and am always amazed at the wide disparity. I've even kept track of my fellow VFR sport touring riders tire wear thinking that if we all ride the same bikes over the same (mostly) roads then we could compare various tire brands for mileage results.

Well it turns out that the guys who get 4K miles out of brand X tire also get 4K out of brand Y and brand Z as well. The guys who get 8K out of one brand also get 8K out of all the other brands they try as well. Seems to me that the largest factor in the tire wear equation is how hard you ride.

no doubt it depends where you ride all right..I dont ever try to compare to other guys ..I just compare my own to see the diff...the only way.

this last comparo was easy as i did basically the same mix of mtn and hiway miles and had a direct comparison. I sure wouldnt even think about comparing to a guy riding stop and go a lot, or on the prairies...either way..I had a good one..

[Bent]

I've read numerous threads relating to tire wear and am always amazed at the wide disparity. I've even kept track of my fellow VFR sport touring riders tire wear thinking that if we all ride the same bikes over the same (mostly) roads then we could compare various tire brands for mileage results.

Well it turns out that the guys who get 4K miles out of brand X tire also get 4K out of brand Y and brand Z as well. The guys who get 8K out of one brand also get 8K out of all the other brands they try as well. Seems to me that the largest factor in the tire wear equation is how hard you ride.

Very true to a point. As long as the tires are made for the same use.

I only know one person (you know who you are) that can get Sport Touring mileage out of a Pilot Power.

Can't compare a Pilot Power or M3 life to a Sport Touring tire. Other than that, I think you're right...at least my experience bares that out. So, for me, it comes down to handling now.

[skuuter]

I've read numerous threads relating to tire wear and am always amazed at the wide disparity. I've even kept track of my fellow VFR sport touring riders tire wear thinking that if we all ride the same bikes over the same (mostly) roads then we could compare various tire brands for mileage results.

Well it turns out that the guys who get 4K miles out of brand X tire also get 4K out of brand Y and brand Z as well. The guys who get 8K out of one brand also get 8K out of all the other brands they try as well. Seems to me that the largest factor in the tire wear equation is how hard you ride.

Very true to a point. As long as the tires are made for the same use.

I only know one person (you know who you are) that can get Sport Touring mileage out of a Pilot Power.

Can't compare a Pilot Power or M3 life to a Sport Touring tire. Other than that, I think you're right...at least my experience bares that out. So, for me, it comes down to handling now.

"WHOM" are you implying........... :unsure:

[superfunkomatic]

i really like the pilot roads, i'm at 14,000 kilometres and they still have about 2,000 kilometres left.

i read the initial post about switches to the bt021 tires, they weren't available here yet, but now they are.

i think i'll try a set of them in the spring and see what kind of distance they'll go.

thanx for doing a long-term update guys, very helpful!

After several sets of 020s, I switched. I've got two long trips on a pair of BT-021s now. The rear grips great - better than the 020. The front is probably as good but doesn't give me the same feel that the 020 had. Even though the front 020s cupped pretty badly, they were always very predictable and gripped well, so I've never seen what the complaint is with that. (the tread pattern on the 020 front was vulnerable to cupping due to the shape of the blocks)

With 6000 on them, the 021s are still looking good. 2500 of those miles were two up and loaded through BC, and the rest are solo on a trip through Nevada. The rear is worn in the center from a lot of heavy and straight up miles, but the front is surprisingly not - it seems to be keeping it's shape quite well. I have noticed quite a bit more tread noise from the 021 front compared to the 020, but that's no issue to me.

I like these tires, but I'd like to try the new Pilot Road 2 for the next set. My riding style is a lot of fast two-up and long-haul solo riding. And it does get wet out here in the rain-forest.

BTW - I expect to get another 1500 out of the 012 rear. That's about 1000 better than the 020 usually did. My 020 fronts tended to last about 9000-10,000

[Guest]

Ive got 2800 miles on my Bt-021s, and the rear tire still looks new, but the front is down to the wear bars. Im not too thrilled with the front if you cant tell. It handled well untill about 300 or so miles ago, then started wearing erratically. Im in contact with Bridgestone about this at present and awaiting their reply. But in the meantime these will be the next tires to go on the VFR:

[superfunkomatic]

that's cool, i really like my last set of pilot roads, i'd love to hear updates from you on the road2 tires.

Ive got 2800 miles on my Bt-021s, and the rear tire still looks new, but the front is down to the wear bars. Im not too thrilled with the front if you cant tell. It handled well untill about 300 or so miles ago, then started wearing erratically. Im in contact with Bridgestone about this at present and awaiting their reply. But in the meantime these will be the next tires to go on the VFR:

[Guest]

It will be the week of Thanksgiving before I will install and maybe a little while after I can let you know what I think of them.

[Guest]

The guys at Bridgestone were no help, "Your bike is too heavy for this tire" which is a sport/touring tire. "The factory recommended tire pressure is too low." By 4psi, OK. " You should use the tire that came on the bike originally" well they came with either Bridgestones or Dunlops, so if I dont like the Stones I should go to another company? Not looking for any repeat business I guess. So here are the pics of the front after 2800 miles, you be the judge: look closely and you can see the wear bars:

2006 Honda Interceptor 065.jpg

2006 Honda Interceptor 066.jpg

2006 Honda Interceptor 067.jpg

2006 Honda Interceptor 068.jpg

And now the rear tire for comparison, looks great to me too bad their front doesnt wear like this:

2006 Honda Interceptor 069.jpg

[Guest]

so bridgestone recommended running 40 psi up front? I've noticed my front is getting a bit bit of wear on it, too.

[Guest]

What are those a picture of? My BT-020's were very different to that. Crap all the same. Really bad cupping of the front after about 5000klms and the back just kept picking up nails. (I have no idea how)...

On my 92 Viffer I had a Metzeller MeZ 2 on the back and a Mez 1 on the front when i bought it. Loved them great feel but not very handy, wore out in a few thousand K's but fun and sticky. I would highly consider getting MeZ 3's all over or the Pilots look similar. But never again with the BT020's I haven't seen the BT021's yet but unless they are vastly different to the 020's Bridgestone can lose my repeat consumerism.

My 2000 Viffer came with the OEM Dunlops. They were like riding on plastic tyres. No feel, no grip.

Brandz

[Guest]

Yes Bridgestone recommends 40psi in the front tire.

Those are the BT-021s not the 020s that came stock. I also had cupping on the front 020 that is why I tried the 021s. Not happy with the Bridgestone fronts, or as Im calling them now the Firestone Wilderness tire. :goofy:

[BonusVFR]

Yes Bridgestone recommends 40psi in the front tire.

Those are the BT-021s not the 020s that came stock. I also had cupping on the front 020 that is why I tried the 021s. Not happy with the Bridgestone fronts, or as Im calling them now the Firestone Wilderness tire. :goofy:

My 21s are holding up after 3k miles. Tough to make an estimate of how much longer they will go.

Did the Bridgestone boys recommend a rear pressure?

[Guest]

No, and I didnt ask because I wasnt having any problems with the rear tire. Im guessing the factory recommended 42psi is OK or they would have said something.

[NorthernVFRDave]

How are the road pilots and the BT21s in the cold?

I've got BT20s and out yesterday when it was +8c outside so the roads where not very warm so I did a lot of sliding though the twisties

[BonusVFR]

so bridgestone recommended running 40 psi up front? I've noticed my front is getting a bit bit of wear on it, too.

Talked to my RT1100 buddy last night ..............his new 21 front is shagged after 3000 miles. His worst mileage ever for a front and he is running BMW factory psi not 40s like the guys at Stones HQ say.

I think I will pump mine up to at least 38+

[Bent]

so bridgestone recommended running 40 psi up front? I've noticed my front is getting a bit bit of wear on it, too.

Talked to my RT1100 buddy last night ..............his new 21 front is shagged after 3000 miles. His worst mileage ever for a front and he is running BMW factory psi not 40s like the guys at Stones HQ say.

I think I will pump mine up to at least 38+

The fronts don't last long because they're sticky. 021's stick well but tire life is sacrificed....including the rear tire. I'm on my last set due to handling going away much too quick. They lose handling very quickly with not so much wear but do handle great when new. 2 cents.

[BonusVFR]

Well I just retired my BT21s. The log is mostly good but..................... .

I chose the BT21s as they were the latest sport touring tires on the market and the PR2 was not available yet. And my riding buddy Stoner liked his Bridgestones ...........didn't he???

I was able to put about 4,900 miles on the both tires. The rear mileage was about average (204s, BT20s, PRs) but not what I hoped for as I was looking for 6,000 or more. My last Pilot road had 6,000 when it went in the trash - as an experiment I had reduced the rear psi to 40 on that tire. The BT21 rear profile at the end still looked pretty good. The cords would probably have come out in all their glory with the next ride.

The front wear was decidedly below average and the worst mileage of any VFR front tire so far. Normally I get from 6 to 7.5K out of front. The tire looked pretty inconsistent in the end with some miles left in middle but the sides were cupped and past the wear bars. The worn contour was just odd. With local "cruise" riding I may have been able to coax another 500 miles out of it............but why? At the 3K I had upped the psi to 38 in order to enhance tire life. My buddies RT 21 front shagged at 3K.

This is a shot at about 2,000 loaded touring miles in the Sierras/Cal Coast with mostly twisties on unfamiliar roads.

Tour start with 50 miles on.

I was happy with the tire as far as traction whether cornering or braking. Indeed the front tire was superb as I did a emergency stop (spelled stoppie) in the Sierras with full tour bags plus. Not a chirp or slide. The ride and compliance I have to subjectively state was the best of any tire so far and the turn in was crisp.

Next up Roadsmarts!