adg44 Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 So I got these tires roughly 1500 miles ago to replace the dried out tires that were on the bike when I got them. You can see the full thread here: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/77191-its-time-for-new-tires/ I researched a lot of tires and decided on the Bridgestone Battlax T30s as they were a new offering, and they were priced amazingly well - $229 shipped. My previous tires on my 6th gen were ContiRoadAttack2s, which I thought were perfect. Quick turn in, amazing grip, decent tread life, and always had grip, even when cold. When I had these tires installed and I went out for my first ride, the first thing I noticed was how they needed to be scrubbed in, badly. The Contis had grip right when they were installed, but it took these Bridgestones about 150 miles to really wear in. The more I kept riding on them, the more they seemed to get a bit better each time. When cold, they don't really have much grip, or rather they don't give the feeling of having a lot of grip, but they have never slid or skidded. They are a very, very quiet tire and are extremely stable at speed. As a touring tire they are absolutely fantastic. With 1500 miles on them now, they still look as new as the day they were installed. No squaring of the rear tire and even wear. They do seem a bit firm over bumps, but never harsh. On my 500 mile ride this past weekend, I hit lots of twisties on Skyline drive and over Rt 33 into West VA. The more I leaned into the tires they more I started to appreciate them. The rears are a dual compound and the transition between compounds seems unnoticeable. While the feedback through the bars never seemed like they were out of grip, the tires never seemed like they were glued to the road like the Contis. As for turn-in, that's where the Bridgestones are a bit slow. You have to push them into the turns rather than the Contis which would just fall into the turns. Granted I'm also comparing a 6th gen to a 5th gen, but on my prevoius Bridgestone Battlax BT-020s which were on my 6th gen, they felt the same way, and then putting on the Contis was night and day different. So if you are looking for a sport touring tire that focuses on touring more so than sport, this is probably one of the best choices as it's considerably less expensive than the PR3 or PR4. If you want a more performance oriented tire, I'd go for the new ContiRoadAttack2 Evos, which just came out a few months ago. Once these Bridgestones wear out, which at this rate seems like they will get at least 8,000 miles from them, I'd replace with another ContiRoadAttack, whichever number they are on by then. Anyone else with T30 experience care to chime in and add their thoughts? - Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zupatun Posted August 15, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 15, 2014 Anthony...come to WDGAH in New Hampshire Sept 5, 6 and 7 in W Lebanon NH!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted August 15, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 15, 2014 Anthony...come to WDGAH in New Hampshire Sept 5, 6 and 7 in W Lebanon NH!! http://www.wdgah.net/ Hmmmm this is a first for me, did not know about this . 1000 miles from my house .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zupatun Posted August 21, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 21, 2014 Anthony...come to WDGAH in New Hampshire Sept 5, 6 and 7 in W Lebanon NH!! http://www.wdgah.net/ Hmmmm this is a first for me, did not know about this . 1000 miles from my house .. People coming from Michingan, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland etc...I'm coming from Virginia. Used to have people come from Wisconsin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RolandHTG Posted September 17, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted September 17, 2014 So I got these tires roughly 1500 miles ago to replace the dried out tires that were on the bike when I got them. You can see the full thread here: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/77191-its-time-for-new-tires/ I researched a lot of tires and decided on the Bridgestone Battlax T30s as they were a new offering, and they were priced amazingly well - $229 shipped. My previous tires on my 6th gen were ContiRoadAttack2s, which I thought were perfect. Quick turn in, amazing grip, decent tread life, and always had grip, even when cold. When I had these tires installed and I went out for my first ride, the first thing I noticed was how they needed to be scrubbed in, badly. The Contis had grip right when they were installed, but it took these Bridgestones about 150 miles to really wear in. The more I kept riding on them, the more they seemed to get a bit better each time. When cold, they don't really have much grip, or rather they don't give the feeling of having a lot of grip, but they have never slid or skidded. They are a very, very quiet tire and are extremely stable at speed. As a touring tire they are absolutely fantastic. With 1500 miles on them now, they still look as new as the day they were installed. No squaring of the rear tire and even wear. They do seem a bit firm over bumps, but never harsh. On my 500 mile ride this past weekend, I hit lots of twisties on Skyline drive and over Rt 33 into West VA. The more I leaned into the tires they more I started to appreciate them. The rears are a dual compound and the transition between compounds seems unnoticeable. While the feedback through the bars never seemed like they were out of grip, the tires never seemed like they were glued to the road like the Contis. As for turn-in, that's where the Bridgestones are a bit slow. You have to push them into the turns rather than the Contis which would just fall into the turns. Granted I'm also comparing a 6th gen to a 5th gen, but on my prevoius Bridgestone Battlax BT-020s which were on my 6th gen, they felt the same way, and then putting on the Contis was night and day different. So if you are looking for a sport touring tire that focuses on touring more so than sport, this is probably one of the best choices as it's considerably less expensive than the PR3 or PR4. If you want a more performance oriented tire, I'd go for the new ContiRoadAttack2 Evos, which just came out a few months ago. Once these Bridgestones wear out, which at this rate seems like they will get at least 8,000 miles from them, I'd replace with another ContiRoadAttack, whichever number they are on by then. Anyone else with T30 experience care to chime in and add their thoughts? - Anthony I have one on my 99 VFR and on my 08 Concours and my experience matches yours pretty much word for word. I had Pilot Powers on the VFR previously since I was using it for a track day so of course it was apples to oranges but the T30 seems as good as any of the many ST tires I have tried and looks likely to last longer. On the C14 it replaced a PR4 which is a great ST tire but for the better be be. If the T30 last 75% as long it will be a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motographer Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Sounds a lot like the BT-023 as far as handling characteristics. The one thing I never liked about those was how much effort they took to turn in initially, but they held a line very well and were very easy to change direction on when leaned over. The PR4s are much lighter on initial turn-in and make the bike feel much lighter on its feet, so as much as I liked the Bridgestones, I think I'm stuck on the Michelin train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adg44 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Interesting. You are right that once they are turned in, it is easy to change direction. How was the tread life on the BT023s? I had some BT021s on my old Triumph and the rear squared off badly after 4k miles. These new ones seem drastically improved in the wear department. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burner Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I ride with BT023GT and it lasts 6K miles and is dead on sides and has maybe 30% on the center section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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