has anyone tried battle axe tires

New to vfr land, I put them on my r65, and wow it changed so much I had to look down and make sure it my old reliable beemer. please chime in if you have installed them on your vfr.

I just bought an 05 vfr silver. sliclster

 

Which ones? Model number? But year the BT series are nice tires. Ran BT016 tires on VFR and they are sweet. My guess is the BT 23s are good as well. Have not run S20s yet. Anything other than stock OEM will improve your love of the bike.

 

My 85 750 has BT 45's on it, on dry surface they stick like glue even in this cooler weather but on wet they are slick (could be just too cool when wet this time of year)

 

I hav a BT021 on the back and a BT54 on the front and they seem good enough for my level of riding. The rear has lasted pretty well too.

 

I am on my third set of BT 30's. I have gone through 1 set on my 1991 ST1100 and got 9k miles out of them and them replaced them with a new set and put the same tires on my 2000 ST1100. I like these tires at least on these bikes. They have a great feel and let the bike really move through the twisites. I have not had any issues in light or heavy rain either. For a $110 per tire they are well worth the money.

I actually like them better than the BT 023 which are no longer made.

 

I just put the T30's on a few months ago but it got cold before I had a chance to put too many miles on them. With the 1000 or so miles I have done so far I'm very impressed, I like them better than the Michelin Pilot Sports that came on the bike when I got it early last year. I have always put the sportier Bridgestone rubber on my bikes and have always been mostly happy but I don't ride on the track and I don't do super crazy* stuff on the the road either. (*Crazy is a subjective term based on your experience and skill level.) My thinking on tires is that just about all of the sport/sport-touring rubber availble today is good enough for most riders. With the tire performance available today you have to be really really good to push the performance limits on most tires.

 

I found that on my first set of the BT30's that they will take heavy handling in the corners very well. I ride the ST pretty hard sometimes and I had extremely even wear across the entire tire from the center to the edge of the side walls. No chicken strips. I really like these tires for the price point.

 

I've got a BT021 front, a BT023 rear and I'm not a big fan. I've never spun the rear tire on a motorcycle as much as on my VFR. Usually in the wet, but my previous CBR600F2 had Pilot Power 2Cs and I only lit the rear up on two occasions in the rain during my three year ownership. As a result I have little confidence in them as a wet weather tire, I'll likely be getting Pilot Roads for my next set.

 

BT45

Good Stick, Good Wear.

Rears are Dual Compound, though I still seem to wear'em down fast (I like "Spirited" Riding).


Good Pricing too.

 

Your rebound is set too hard.

I'm in a toss up between the T30's and PR4 tires. Here's my curiosity. I can get a set of T30 for $164 plus install fees or i can get a set of PR4 for $350 plus install fees. Now I know, on the surface, the T30 seems like the tires I should get because of the 46% price difference. My concern between the two different tires is which one is better in the rain and which one is going to grip the best while having the best tread wear? I know that from experience, the PR3 tires I had last and last and I have never had them slip, even to the edges of the front tire. And, I had about 10K miles on my rear PR4 and I still have the front on at 12K+, but it is well worn.

I've read reviews that enthusiastic riders get about 6K - the above post 9K on the rear. I suppose that if I got 8K out of the rear, it would be a good tire for the price difference, but I am riding to NW Montana this June or July and I want a tire that will hold up to the droning tarmac of getting there. I have read in a multitude of places tha the T30 have great tip in and stellar grip, but I have also read that the PR4 have a better profile that also has a better tip in and I already know that they grip very well too.

Those that have had either the T30 or PR4, what do you say?

First world problems? I'm all for saving money, I just want the best value.

 

I was in the same boat as you, after doing research and reading a bunch of reviews, I ended up getting a set of the Pilot Road 2s and do not regret it in the least. They provide a great amount of grip and stellar traction in the wet.

 

After working through 2 sets of BT23s mostly in long distance touring, I was planning to fit a 3rd set, but I moved on to the T30s last spring (as the BT23s were not available here) and have not been disappointed. Overall the tyre(tire) performance was very similar - but it looks like it will be an even longer lasting tyre. With nearly 6,000 km since they were installed, the front looks good for the same again, with the rear perhaps a bit less. They behaved well on a long motorway haul across Europe with spells of heavy to intense rain, which eventually turned to snow and slush as I climbed into the Alps. OK I backed off a lot, but at sensible speeds there were no nasty twitches from the VFR even when the road had approaching 2 inches of fresh snow cover. Thankfully I was not fighting with thickly rutted snow which always makes for very uneasy handling, but on balance if your riding focus is mostly on touring, then the T30s will do you very well. What impressed me is that they warm up very quickly even when the temperatures are in low single figures. Once the temperatures get really warm they stick like glue and encourage progress on twisty mountain roads, and were perfectly stable on a blast down the Autobahn chasing a friend on his Fireblade.

If however you want a bit more sporting focus, then over in Europe, Bridgestone now offer the T30 EVO tyre which is more expensive but are meant to offer even better mileage and improved cornering grip. They only came out after I had the T30s fitted so I suspect they will be my next replacements, if only to see if the extra cost is justified for the sort of use my VFR sees.



SkiMad

 

Hey SkiMad,
Thanks for the response! I do want to try a set as I've read some great reviews that day similar things as yours, however, I must say, your review is the only one I've read about riding in the snow!
I think the only thing doing me from getting them is that it sounds like they are fairly fast wearing tires. I'm interested in trying the EVO versions, but they are not yet available here in the Colonies. Bummer too.

I left a voicemail for a representative at Bridgestone USA asking if there is a timeline for the tires here. I'll post back when I get an answer.

 

Hey SkiMad,
Thanks for the response! I do want to try a set as I've read some great reviews that say similar things as yours, however, I must say, your experience is the only one I've read about riding in the snow! I think the only thing stopping me from getting them is that it sounds like they are fairly fast wearing tires.

I'm interested in trying the EVO versions, but they are not yet available here in the Colonies. Bummer too.

I left a voicemail for a representative at Bridgestone USA asking if there is a timeline for the tires here. I'll post back when I get an answer.

 

Sorry for the double post, I tried editing using Tapatalk and it posted it again. Oh well

 

I bought my 2007 with S20's on them and they are really good tires for that bike. I just had a new set put on the other day. They're sticky enough to drag hard parts and I couldn't wear the center flat... at least not on the first set.

 

What about angle gt's. I've had em on for a year, and about 15k km. Love everything about em.
They still look brand new. I've had a few "spirited" twisty runs, but usually 100km/day on the motorway to and from work...

 

I am basically trying to decide between these and the T30

 

I had the Bt23's on my Gen5, good tires gave me the grip I needed around the corners and also gave me good mileage. When I got my Gen6 I was deciding between the following 3 the Bt23 GT, Angel GT and the Pilot 4, the general consensus was that the Pilot 4 was the best tire overall but was much more expensive that the other two on this side, so decided to take the Angel GT, so far I am happy with the tires, gives me good grip and will see what the mileage will be on them but would think I will get enough on them. I have no experience on the T30's.

 

For the record, they are Battlax, not Battle Axe... Just sayin'