Bridgestone Motorcycle Tires – On The Right Track
When you think of a motor vehicle, whether you prefer the freedom of a motorcycle or the feel of a car, you would think of an an open highway and an exotic vehicle in your control, waiting to respond to your every command.
But whatever the vehicle, two wheels or four, whether it’s the open highway or a crowded city street, whatever the horsepower your engine may make, what most people don’t realize is that the only thing responsible for putting all that power down on to the road is that little contact path from your tires.
Tire Grip and Tire Control
Without traction, grip and control, all the power in the world wouldn’t be worth anything.
Tires are a critical and integral part of your motoring experience and choosing the right ones can make all the difference.
When it comes to making tires, Japanese tire giant Bridgestone are legends who have been making on-road, off-road and track tires for all sorts of motor vehicles for a long, long time.
Bridgestone Racing Tires
Bridgestone tires have been used in various premier racing events including Formula 1 and MotoGP – two of the highest classes of motorsport. Bridgestone have also been the sole supplier to Formula 1 teams for a while, and when it comes to quality and performance, there is absolutely no compromise. Which is why most automobile manufacturers use Bridgestone tires as original equipment on many of their models.
Bridgestone motorcycle tires are among the finest sets of rubber available for your motorcycle. And whether you’re looking for an all round set of tires, or need tires for off-road purposes, or even a track day, Bridgestone will have a tire for you.
Not everyone looks into the details of tire purchase. The amount of effort and thought that goes into not just designing the tire, but also in making it, is tremendous and a lot of highly qualified engineers are assigned to turn raw materials into finished products of the finest quality. You see tires can be of various compounds ranging from soft to hard, depending on their application. For instance, in MotoGP, you have super soft, soft, medium and hard compounds – and these are just for dry weather.
Bridgestone Tires in Wet Conditions
When it starts getting wet, the selection goes up to include not just the compound, but also the tread pattern, which will determine how well the tires disperse water and how much grip they offer in a straight line and while cornering.
Soft compound tires offer greater levels of grip than harder compound tires, but on the downside, they wear faster as well. Similarly, using tread tires whether intermediate or full wet spec on a dry surface can reduce tire life drastically. Picking the right set of tires can be the difference between finishing at the head of the order, or in the gravel by the side of the track.
Bridgestone Battlax Tires
When it comes to road, or occasional track riding, one of the most popular models of Bridgestone motorcycle tires is the Battlax range. The BT series have made their presence felt on millions of road going motorcycles including the awesome foursome from Japan – Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, who have been using Bridgestone motorcycles tires on their big name motorcycles including the Fireblade, R1, R6, GSX series including the Hayabusa, and the Ninja. Of course, there are multiple options available for American and European motorcycles as well.
Bridgestone Motorcycle Tires
Most motorcycles may not be used on track very often, and so there are quite a few alternatives as well. For instance, most of the motorcycles mentioned earlier use a 120/70 ZR17 up front and a 180/55 ZR17 or 190/55 ZR17 at the rear. Track models usually use even a 120/65 ZR17 up front and 190/50 ZR17, which offer lower tire profiles. Of course, the requirement is dependent on the rider and the conditions he or she wishes to use his motorcycle in.
It’s not just the big sport and supersport motorcycles that need good footwear, tires play a critical role for every vehicle on the road, period. So whether you use a moped, a scooter or a dirt bike, you’re gonna need the right shoes for those feet. You can’t hit the dance floor wearing trekking shoes now, can you? Similarly, you can’t expect a set of Battlax tires to perform for too long when you run out of tarmac and encounter bad roads, or no roads.
When it comes to conditions and selecting the right tires, most would be content with the tires supplied with the motorcycle by the manufacturer. All that’s needed in this case, is to ensure the correct tire pressure. This is one of the single most important things you can take care of because it doesn’t just give you better ride quality, it affects the handling of the motorcycle, the fuel economy and it may even cause tires to overheat.
At high speeds, this can be dangerous, and you may even end up either shredding the tire, or blowing it out entirely. Back to conditions, if you are an off road enthusiast, you probably have a Japanese lightweight dirt bike, or a KTM! And the Trailwing range of Bridgestone motorcycle tires are exactly the heavy duty off-road tires you need.
The TW series are standard fitment for BMW’s GS and Suzuki’s V-Strom ranges of multi-purpose motorcycles. These tires use a harder compound with multiple treads and, above all else, are designed to offer maximum traction in the worst of conditions. Of course, this takes it’s toll on their life expectancy as well.
There are a few motorcycles out there that are used for commuting as well as venturing out to the occasional trail or two. In countries where rain and sun alter road surfaces and conditions drastically, many motorcycles users have multiple sets of tires – lightly treaded softer compound road tires, as well as harder compound or even knobbly tires, like the Gritty range from Bridgestone motorcycle tires.
These can be mounted onto the wheel rims with a quick visit to your local garage depending on what sort of activity comes calling. Of course, there are different rules and regulations for motorcycle tires everywhere which need to be followed, and these vary with almost every country. Of course, when the rules are sorted out, it is up to you to decide what sort of tires you specifically need for your motorcycle, keeping in mind the safety, reliability and performance aspect, that will ensure you get the best experience possible.