Feed back on the bridgestones

[BusaPrime]

Just changed the rear BT56J at 7500 miles. I live in Florida so there are not much twisties.

Here is what I know of the rear tire: Tread used up to 1/8- 1/4 " from the edge. Tire is softer on the edges than the center. The side roughs up really good after some hard riding and sticks ok with some predictable slip. Hard to steer when near it's edge so it's good warning before a major slide from the rear. The center will rough up if you go 180-196 mph for more than a few miles. Don't do the really high speed runs when rear tire is halfway thru or tread bars are gone from center area. Tire looses grip when about halfway worn out.

Front tire still going after 7500 miles but to me the front needs to be stickier. I have never taken it to the edge near the sidewall like I have the rear. Seems like rear gets near edge first. Which is fine by me since I rather loose the rear first than have the front tuck under. I have roughed the front up by going into turns and braking real hard and by going into turns fast enough to drift some. I can tell when the front end is drifting when I am leaned over far enough and accelerating harder causes you to go wide in the turn, and then the only way to tighten the turn is to either let off the gas or apply some brakes. I definitely don't like going into a fast turn and running out of steering cause the bike pushes the front.

So Thats about it. Going to try Michelin HPX next.

 

[Bad Dog]

When I spoke of the OEM's I forgot to mention that these tires were the BT56J. Last time I checked Bridgestone also made the BT56SS and BT58R. I'm thinking this is the same as the BT56J but in a slightly softer compound. I did like the OEM tire because it always gave plenty of warning before it slipped. As I had mentioned earlier.. this tire wore VERY fast.

 

[BigDog]

When you mentioned that the OEM tire was a 56J, that is actually reffering to the contour of the tire. As some of you may have noticed, some tires are more rounded than others. The original J profile was built just for the Hayabusa to give the bike more straight line stability. The J profile is generally a less rounded, more flat in the center belt design, which allowed the Suzuki engineers to run a quite agressive steering head angle. This is what makes the big heavy Busa actually feel very light while cornering. There are quite a few tire manufacturers that offer the J profile tire, as well as a regular profile in the same tire. For instance, Bridgestone makes the BT010 in the standard profile, the J profile and the OEM profile for the CBR929RR (which also has a letter designation, I just can't remember it right now). The 929 profile is almost the opposite of the Busa, as that bike is designed to turn in fast and hold a hard corner. They didn't care about top speed, so the tire is shaped like a triangle with large sides to give a large contact patch in a corner, and a narrow center to turn in quickly.
Also, I know a lot of people go to a 180 width tire to corner harder, but what this in effect does is flatten out the tire as you are mounting a narrower tire on the same width rim. But you are giving yourself a larger contact patch up to a lesser lean angle. To extend the lean angle of the tire, you should actually go to a 200 series tire. This will give a smaller contact patch in the center, but will allow the tire to lean further without getting on the shoulder. I myself find that I prefer the 190 width tire in the standard profile. This is just slightly more rounded than OEM, and still gives a large enough contact patch in the center to keep from wearing the tires out too fast.
If anyone wants to check it out, there is a really good tire test at http://www.tl1000.com/pb_tires/sport_rider_sep_2001.htm
The riders tested a ton of tires, and they did not know what they were riding when they were testing. They tested everything from full race tires to standard sport tires. Now, I agree with what was said before about the tires handling differently on a heavier bike, but you have to decide what you are looking for in a tire. If you want to push corners and show up at track days, then look at the Metzler Rennsports. They feel great and stick like glue, but they will wear faster than the BT010's. I find that is mostly because when you get a tire that sticks that well, you can't stay off the gas! For everyday riding and a good balance of grip, feedback, and mileage, the 010's are hard to beat.
One other tire that some of you may want to check out is the Metzler MEZ4. It didn't fare that well in the test I mentioned earlier, but for touring and stability at speed with some canyon carving thrown in, it makes the bike extreemly stable. My friend has them on his TL1000R and loves them because that bike is a little twitchy on anything else.
Good riding, hope to see you out there!

 

[BigDog]

Just one other thing, Bad Dog, when I read your review, I was reminded of a friend of mine who had the same thing happen to his D207's on his GSX1100. His front cupped badly and both the front and rear tires seemed to develop a triangular wear pattern. When I rode the bike it would dive into corners like mad and then stop at half lean. To put it over further required a huge push on the bars. When I checked it out for him I found he was running only 28psi in the tires! Way too low. The manual for the Busa Calls for 42psi cold in front and rear. You could run as low as 38 in the rear if riding alone, but only if you are under 180lbs. If at that pressure you find either of the tires pushes or lets go, then buy softer compound tires. If you drop the pressure, the tire will cup, because the contact patch is squirming and wrinkling under the cornering load. It also puts excess heat in the tire making it unsafe at high speed. NEVER run wide open top speed without having the tires at full pressure. Really bad things can happen real fast. Remember, during any driving, top speed, cornering, braking etc., you are putting all your trust in two pieces of rubber about the size of the licence in your pocket (assuming we all have one). Take care of that rubber and buy rubbers that fit you.

 

[terrahawk]

Bridgestone withdrew the reccomendation from the 010's for the 'Busa due to front end stability problems and possibility of de-lamination which meant the BT56J was the only one reccomended.
I use the Avon Azzaro Sport II's.
New tyres are the AV45/46ST and the AV49/50 which comes in three different compounds from road to track only. Highly reccomended and better in the wet than the old sport II's.