Bridgestone 021

[Stu]

Not much chat about these tyres? :confused:
My quote for tyres so far is
PR2's £201, Z6 £184, Roadattack £149 and 021 £167 (all loose wheels or +£20 RoRo).
I was told the 021 are a 2CT tyre just as good as the PR2 so which one do I go for? Any reviews?
TIA

[thebluelion]

Stu in same predictament but im quoted £99 fitted and all for a BT021 rear but then again im in N.Ireland. dont know which to fit a pilot or 021, pilot is £110 but guy in shop told me to go for the 021. im running pirella diablo strada the told me he would only use them as a last resort so it must be only personal opinion

[fizzwheel]

Stu i think you should be the forum guinea pig and give them a try. :p

[orose]

Too late - I've got a pair of 021s on over here.

2000 miles in, I've barely worn the bobbles off, so I think there will be plenty of life in them.

However, this is my first proper bike, so I'm not really qualified to tell you that they're good at anything or bad at anything - they're easily a match for the BT56s that my old man had put on his GPX, but thats a G plate with similar original power output to the SV.

For what its worth, they're giving me more confidence on the chicken strip measure - I'm definatly over further than on the D220s. If anyone can give me a guideline as to what I'd feel if they were weak, I might be able to give some better feedback.

[SV Muppet]

I may be wrong but I believe that only the rear 021s are dual compound, not the fronts.

[Stu]

I may be wrong but I believe that only the rear 021s are dual compound, not the fronts.
Yess that's what it says on the Bridgestone site. But that is exactly what you want. it's only the rear centre that wears away - so you want that hard, everything else (rear shoulders & the whole front) oesn't normally wear down so you want it grippy. I'm not sure what the PR2's are theough?

A bit more reading on the site has revealed that Spanner Man is dead against 021s from his feedback. So Road attacks are strong in the running at the moment.

[plowsie]

Not read up on the Road attacks as of yet Stu... AFAIK the PR2s or Z6's are best for wet which is what i am looking for. As you say the 021's are a bit of a grey area, my grandad has them fitted to his Sprint ST so i will be gettin feedback from him soon.

[thebluelion]

guy in garage told me the Z6 were slippy in the wet so is he bullshi-ing
:confused:

[Berlin]

Given the choice above I'd go for the Road attacks.

[fizzwheel]

guy in garage told me the Z6 were slippy in the wet so is he bullshi-ing
:confused:

IMHO yes he is.

[plowsie]

IMHO yes he is.
PMSL that told you :smt110

[Essex of Essex]

I have the 021's on my Sprint and so far I'm very happy with them; they grip well wet or dry and the wear rate is low.

[RingDing]

IMHO yes he is.
+1
Best road tyre I've used in 17 years of riding for wet grip. It might be that the BT021 is better for all I know but the Z6 is still an excellent tyre.

You do have to be careful with some garages as they have deals with some manufacturers.

As has been stated on here before any modern sports touring tyre isn't going to be bad. A lot of people opinions come down to personal preference over the shape of the tyre and how that effects handling plus even what the tread pattern looks like!

[thebluelion]

IMHO yes he is.
LOL
It seems its down to personal choice everyone has different opinions

[fizzwheel]

LOL
It seems its down to personal choice everyone has different opinions

thats the trouble everybody you ask will have an opinion. The only way you are going to find out for yourself is to buy a pair of what you think you'll try next and then use those, if you dont like em try something else.

I guess where Liz and I, particularly Liz do some many miles we do get through tyres quickly ( I went through 4 rears on my GSXR last year ) so I do get to evaluate different tyres back to back.

I really like the Z6's the warm up fast and they for me give a nice amount of feedback and they're not twitchy, you can feel the slide before the tyre really lets go, they work brilliantly in the wet and they are great on cold days to.

I got so frustrated with the Bridgestone 014's on my GSXR I was at the point of putting a set of Z6's on it just to get my confidence back, they really are that good IMHO.

I'll never ever put bridgestones on any of my bikes now I've lost faith in the brand and even though I expect most of it is in my head, having read of people with similar experiences on other forums to mine I dont think I am on my own on my dislike of 014's

I liked the Michellin Pilot Power 2ct, but I love the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III's I run now, they feel like a stickier Z6 which is what I was after, even though I probably cant use anywhere near the limit of the tyre.

IMHO anything that makes you feel confident, and lets you relax and focus on riding rather than thinking all the time "Is this going to slip" or "I cant feel whats going on" etc etc isnt what you want, so what might work for me might not work for you due to different riding styles etc etc.

As has been said any of the modern tyres are going to do the job, its just personal preference, and the only way to be sure is to try for yourself and make your own mind.

[thebluelion]

Cheers for that fizzwheel:salut:you are the only one who has taken the time to explain things in full

[plowsie]

Fizz i looked at the Pilot Power 2ct's the other day, on the Michellin site they were rated the best for Dry and Wet grip - better than the PR2's :-o

Just got myself some Pilot Sports for £120, the Qualifiers i am running now are a very good tyre in the dry, as is evident from North Wales weekend but in the wet they give me no room for error - meaning they dont give and indication when they are about to let go.

Thing is the Bluelion, things can be variated with tyres, different tyres are for different riders/styles etc, riders with pillions may find a tyre better than a lone rider.

From my past experience of looking through the various tyre threads and speaking to other riders at meets etc. The Z6 and PR2's are the chosen tyres that can be recommended.

I'm trying out these Pilot Sports mainly because of the blummin price, and to give others a bit of feedback on them before the offer is out :D lol

[fizzwheel]

Fizz i looked at the Pilot Power 2ct's the other day, on the Michellin site they were rated the best for Dry and Wet grip - better than the PR2's :-o

I thought they were OK, I'm still adamant that for me, I found the Z6's better in the wet that the Power 2CT. I remember Liz riding away from me in the wet on her SV with Z6's on it and I didnt have the confidence in the 2CT to be able to keep up with her, especially when tapping the power on on the exit of roundabouts.

I find the Corsa III much much better, it just for me gives me much more confidence in the wet, the tyres talk to me more and I find it easier to feel what the bike is doing. Sometimes I'd find the 2CT's a bit wooden in that respect I couldnt really get a good feel for the bike in the rain. They were fine in the dry though.

I've not tried the quaifiers I was going to and then I read very good things about the Diablo Corsa III on the gixerjunkies website and I thought I'd give them a try and I'm very glad I did.

[plowsie]

Although the other day i posted up about the Qualifiers maybe not being the right tyre for me i seem to be getting on okay. Maybe i just needed to learn how to ride in the rain again because its a new bike in the rain for me, not ridden it in rain till i rained this week, had showers but nothing that soaked the road. They seem to be okay once heated up, only prob is they cool down very bloody quickly. I was at petrol station to get a drink, by time i got back outside they were losing heat from what they were quite sinificantly.

Will be giving them a bit more time to wear down just incase they decide to prove me wrong that they are a good tyre for me. But i will put these Pilot Sports on probably next month either way i think.

OTH the dry they are a bloody good tyre for grip, we could see when i got to Barmouth that the tyre had been slipping away the other week, i think i only felt it once where it was really going to let go at all. Very grippy in dry so may keep them to put back on next summer :)

[Hazzar]

I start a new job next week where i will be doing a lot of duel carrage way riding .I havent got much life left in my 020s so what tyre will be best for me. I will be using the a50 from stoke to uttoxeter anyone who knows this road will no that it surface is very harsh concrete sections so what tyres do i use ?:confused:

[Stu]

I start a new job next week where i will be doing a lot of duel carrage way riding .I havent got much life left in my 020s so what tyre will be best for me. I will be using the a50 from stoke to uttoxeter anyone who knows this road will no that it surface is very harsh concrete sections so what tyres do i use ?:confused:
If you want an answer, probably best to get quotes on the usual suspects and go from there.
I went for Conti Road Attacks as they were substantially cheaper with good feedback. Pilot Road 2's might be worth spending more on or 021s if you liked you're 020s.

[Pedro68]

Considering this thread's title there seems to be fook all about them! LOL

Well I have just got a pair of these on my SV650S.

When I bought the bike (with about 3,400 miles on it), it still had stock tyres (Dunlops D220's IIRC). At about 7,000 miles I had an Avon Storm ST chucked on the rear. Front still seemed ok. Now at 13,500 miles I've just had the BT021's put on (front & rear). Yeah, I actually got 12,000+ miles out of the front tyre (although it did have less tread than I've got hair by that stage). The Avon had squared off (thanks to about 50 motorway miles per day), but still had a bit of tread left so I reckon I coulda got about 7,000 - 8,000 miles out of the Avon. However, I got a puncture, so thought may as well replace it since there was so little life left in it.

Boy oh boy! What a difference!

Having both tyres changed together and getting a matching pair, the bike feels so much more "planted" now. They truly are confidence inspiring pieces of rubber. God only knows how much better it COULD be if I put the PR2's or Z6's on, but suffice to say ... quite happy with the BT021's so far.

They've only done about 400 miles so far, but in the dry I'm getting leaned over a lot more than I dare previously (not surprising still being on a D220 after 13,000 miles!). In the wet, the (BIG) limiting factor is my confidence as a rider. So I'm pretty sure the tyres will perform a LOT better than I currently do ;-)

I am also starting to actually understand what people mean when they say "feedback from the tyres" ... somehow just never really got any of this from the Avon (but that's no bad thing ... may have just been down to my riding style, the roads I ride/commute on, and the stability of the tyre). But I am definitely starting to get some more "feeling" from the BT021's.

I'll post up some more info in here if and when I have any, and in case anyone else wants to read my ramblings on the BT021's.

My commute is 100 miles a day, half motorway and half A-roads. Bit of stop/start traffic in places, few uneven roads, few nice greasy roundabouts (uuugghhhh!), and I also like to get out on "better" roads when I can.

So far the BT021's have been pretty good :D

Pete

[Pegasusman]

I got 021's on my K4 650S and I like them, especially good in the wet...Dunlops before, but these are better...go for the 021's, you wont be dissapointed...

[Tomcat]

I've got the 021 on my bike... albeit a cbr600 ! They have taken me to switzerland, done a track day, and general bombed about .... cracking tyre! Would defo recommend :D

[Pete1987]

On this topic i am getting some 021's but was wondering what sizes do you have, for some reason the previous owner put a 180 section metzeller on the back and from memory that isnt right.

Any recommendations?

[orose]

Standard size is a 160/60-17 on the rear, assuming you're talking about your K4 there.

[Pete1987]

yeah sorry should have mentioned that.

I thought 180 was a tad big lol. my CBR has a 180 section but that is expected.

would a bigger rear slow the steering down then?

[jay boi]

has any1 had these and contiroad attacks. im stuck between the 2. ill only be riding in the dry and will be doin some scratchin but i want half decnet miles for the long trip 2 college.

which is betta for dry grip?