Bridgestone BT-023

These are new from Bridgestone...yet another to consider!

A new and improved Bt-021 perhaps?

Bridgestone's new BT-023 sports touring tyre will be launched officially in March, but here's the first information on the fresh rubber.

It's claimed to offer improved mileage and better performance in the wet than before, as well as improved grip and steering control.

More:

New Bridgestone BT-023 revealed

They look and sound promising. Only thing is I have yet to find a retailer that sells them. I opted out for the Pilot Road 2s. Nice rubbers.

If the BT-023's are anything like my current set of BT-021's, they should be a darned fine set of tires.

I have just under 2,000 miles on my BT-021's and don't see any appreciable wear. They stick to the road no matter what I've thrown at them, and they ride so much smoother than my stock Dunlop Sportmax D-252's that came on the bike.

BT-023's will likely be my bikes next pair of shoes:thumbup:

I received an email ad from Cycle Gear and they have them available. When I saw BT-023 I started researching, because I wasn't aware they existed!

Dang - when I shopped around in Cycle Gear a week ago the BT23s were not listed. Oh well, next time. Tell me how you like them.

Oh I'm good for now. I have Dunlop Roadsmarts and they're treating me well.

In case anyone is looking...

Cycle Gear

I just put a BT023 front on with a BT021 rear, rear has 3K miles and shows very little wear. Went for a ride on ACH Sat and the bike felt very planted, transitions were nice and smooth and the ride was improved over the BT020 front and rear combo, so far a nice combination.:thumbup:

Jerry

champion221elite said:

If the BT-023's are anything like my current set of BT-021's, they should be a darned fine set of tires.

I have just under 2,000 miles on my BT-021's and don't see any appreciable wear. They stick to the road no matter what I've thrown at them, and they ride so much smoother than my stock Dunlop Sportmax D-252's that came on the bike.

BT-023's will likely be my bikes next pair of shoes:thumbup:

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I got the 021's as well, and yes they do last long. Logged nearly 4Kmiles on 'em and they still look new without the skiddish feel.
Just got to remember to keep my tire pressure in check, that's what ate up all my front tire.

I really liked the BT-021's when I ran them on the FZ6. The downside for me was in cool weather they didn't give me the grip I needed in the corners. In hot weather they were great. I then switched over to the BT-016's and the only time I had slippage was when I lost my front in a really tight turn, using them on the R1, that I can't blame on the tire. I'm betting the BT-023's will be a great tire and replacement for the BT-021's

The BT21s were great for touring but had 2 disadvantages:
1) Needed more time than other equivalent tires to get in temp
2) The compound used on the edges was too soft for sport riding. It would overheat after some abuse in the twisties. I confirmed my suspicisons when I changed to a stickier tire.

Hopefully the 23s are better in this respect...

GConn said:

The BT21s were great for touring but had 2 disadvantages:
1) Needed more time than other equivalent tires to get in temp
2) The compound used on the edges was too soft for sport riding. It would overheat after some abuse in the twisties. I confirmed my suspicisons when I changed to a stickier tire.

Hopefully the 23s are better in this respect...

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GConn, if you don't mind, can you explain #2 a little further? I'm thinking about picking up a set of 21's and I want to make sure they'll work for my style of riding. Keep in mind, I've had both 20's (stock) and 16's (sticky!)

Are you saying the edges of the 21's would overheat and actually get slick instead of sticky? Hmm...something to think about.

I am no expert, so this just represents my personal experiences. I'll try to explain

BT21 has 2 compounds in 3 zones. (middle is hard and 2 edges in softer for better grip). The soft compound is sometimes a bit too soft.

Advantage: better grip.
Disadvantage: When you push for an extended period of time (i.e. you ride like it's on sport tires rather than touring tires) the compound exceeds its optimal temps and becomes a bit wobbly, giving less confidence when you're at the edge of the tire.

If you don't normally ride at the limits, this shouldn't be a bad tire. In fact, I liked the grip most of the time. Like I said in my previous post I could only confirm this when I bought my Pilot Sports.

P.S. I think that the factors relevant to the tire performance are practically unlimited. So what happens for me, at the pavement in Cyprus, in hot weather may not be the case for you

HTH :thumbup:

EDIT: a short summary. If you are after a touring tire, this would be one of my choices, along with the Conti Road attacks. I have not tried the BT16s so I can't really compare. About the BT20s, you could have better grip if you used concrete tires (but concrete tires would give less mileage )

It seems all of the major tire manufacturers have new-ish tire models out that are dual compound, aimed at the sport-touring segment, to name a few:

Bridgestone BT-023
Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart
Pirelli Angel ST
Michelin Pilot Road 2
Continental RoadAttack 2
Metzeler ROADTEC Z6 INTERACT
Avon Storm 2 Ultra

etc. etc. etc.

I'm a new rider with almost 2 years under my belt now, and (after the stock Dunlop D252) I've had BT-016 and now Roadsmarts. The BT-016 are grippy and lightweight and good for the people pushing it to the limit, which is not me at this point. I commute mostly and these wore out in about 4K, which is expected because of their softness. The Roadsmarts fit my situation. They look like they will last 10K miles at least.

Sorry, I'm fascinated by tires.

I like the OEM Bridgestone BT-020 so much that I will most likely either get the 21 or 23 next. I read a lot of excellent reviews of the Dunlops as well, but don't feel like messing with something good. Like you, I commute daily probably in more inclement weather than you get in SD and they have held up very well. 8500miles of city riding and more to come...probably will need to replace before next winter.

dankatz, I know exactly what you're saying about the 020's. I think you and I might be the only two people that actually LIKED them!

I got 10K out of my stock 020's, then wanted to try something a little stickier and went to the 016's. I said when I bought them, if I could get 6K out of them, I'd be completely happy. Well, that's exactly what I got...6K miles.

Unfortunately, that only got me to about October of last year and I still had some riding left to do, so a friend gave me a set of Metzeler Z6's with about 2K miles on them. They've been great, but they're almost done at this point, so I'm looking for my next victim...lol.

I liked the stock 020's so much (and the mileage that came with them), that I'm thinking I'm gonna go with a sport-touring tire this time (as opposed to a sport tire like the 016.) So, I'm leaning towards either the 021's or 023's. Can anyone who's had the 021's comment about mileage lifespan? I've searched around but not been able to come up with a good number.

One thing drawing me to the 023's is the fact that Bridgestone says they'll have 30% more mileage than the 021's!!! That's an incredible number and from the magazine reviews I've read on the 023's, they stick really well too. So for someone like me, who commutes a lot but then hits the twisties on the weekends, these sound like the perfect tire.

CCHOUSEKY said:

Can anyone who's had the 021's comment about mileage lifespan?.

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Our asphalt seems to be completely different than yours, thus affecting the mileage, but hopefully it will be useful for comparison between tires:
Pirelli Strada - 4200km
BT20 - 8000km
BT21 - 5500km
Conti Road Attacks - 5800km
Pilot Sports - don't have a clue, the bike was sold with these on

HTH

CCHOUSEKY said:

One thing drawing me to the 023's is the fact that Bridgestone says they'll have 30% more mileage than the 021's!!! That's an incredible number and from the magazine reviews I've read on the 023's, they stick really well too. So for someone like me, who commutes a lot but then hits the twisties on the weekends, these sound like the perfect tire.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the BT21 and 23s are good tires for you

Thanks, GConn, that actually helps a lot. And I'm sure you're right about the road surfaces being a bit different and affecting the mileage, but it's good to have some numbers to chew on.

Now I just have to decide...21's or 23's? Hmm...:rockon:

*edit* Wow...after converting those numbers in kilometers to miles, I see you got less than HALF the mileage out of the 20's that I did. You guys must have some seriously rough pavement over there! But I can extrapolate from that that I might get twice the mileage, so that made me feel better...lol.

Check out Jake Wilson. They have BT021 for less than $200 w free shipping. BT023 are a little more

I just put on a set of Dunlop Q2 tires,and it was like having a new bike.Like having power steering and the grip is very good.Got them from San Diego,and including the shipping to Hawaii,it was $150 cheaper than buying them off a dealer in the Hawaiian Islands.
I have almost 12000 miles on my 2006 and it has not given me a moment of problems.They passed a new law here and if your caught going over 85 mph. for any reason,you lose your license for 3 months.........a real pain since I can break that law in 2nd gear.......Aloha, Capt.Morgan