OEM Bridgestones: Uncool beans.

[Spud]

I seriously think you may have a defective rear. I've been amazed at the traction in the wet on the 023GT's. Same with Avon Storm2 Utlra's--also very impressive tire in the rain.

Here's some comparison pics w/PR2's and a nice write up on another board.

https://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?t=29755

 

[wheatonFJR]

Well, I will certainly post up in this thread on my experience, not that anybody knows how I ride. But again, more info for people to chew on for this tire.

 

[BigOgre]

I seem to be the only person that is reporting a traction problem so it may be my tires or my riding style. I wouldn't let my one data point discourage someone from going the BT-023 GT route. I would encourage people to report their experience with this tire, NEPRT or not.

Ok, being he encouraged me . . .

Put on the -023 GTs end of last year so had maybe under a 1k when we headed out last month. 42/44 for the trip. Got stuck in at least six hours of heavy downpour and then another hour of lighter stuff as it passed. All interstate but pulled off a few times for quick stops. Can't say I gave much thought to how the tires handled other than feeling the harder ride from the upped psi, but never had any moments where I didn't feel confident in how they gripped. IOW, no YAHOO moments. FWIW.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I seem to be the only person that is reporting a traction problem so it may be my tires or my riding style. I wouldn't let my one data point discourage someone from going the BT-023 GT route. I would encourage people to report their experience with this tire, NEPRT or not.

Ok, being he encouraged me . . .

Put on the -023 GTs end of last year so had maybe under a 1k when we headed out last month. 42/44 for the trip. Got stuck in at least six hours of heavy downpour and then another hour of lighter stuff as it passed. All interstate but pulled off a few times for quick stops. Can't say I gave much thought to how the tires handled other than feeling the harder ride from the upped psi, but never had any moments where I didn't feel confident in how they gripped. IOW, no YAHOO moments. FWIW.

Let us know when you ride the twisties in the rain.

My bald rear PR2 didn't slip in the rain back from Ohio a couple weeks ago...so the test is when you get some curves involved...or some serious pass going on.

 

[ionbeam]

I have run 4 brands of tires on my FJR over 91k miles. Using 3 of the brands I never thought of traction, wet or dry and the tires never brought the subject up. With the current BT - GT traction is on my mind anytime I'm not dry, straight and vertical. I'm thinking that I may swap out the rear tire as soon as I have a chance.

 

[not2shabby]

I currently have ~3k miles on some BT-023GT F & R tires. I don't know if it is unique to my tires but they are some of the slickest tires I have run since bias ply days....

Dammit! I was just about to order a set of BT's and now I read this...

.... Never tried the BT-023s, but I've heard that alot of folks like them quite a bit.

Yep...that's what I thought...so I thought I'd try them for myself...Thus the GTs sitting in my garage waiting for griff to put his Nomar to work.

Get ready for the magic carpet ride Mark. I'm on my third set of 023GTs and they are the best handling / riding tire I've ever had on my FJR(s)...

Now I'm just confused....nothing unusual....

I had read good things about the BT-023s so I thought I would chance it. I have run Bridgestone tires in the past and didn't like them on my Honda.

Since my previous post I put my recently rebuilt Wilbers back on and redid the front suspension to match the much improved rear shock plus confirmed the tire pressures were correct. Riding home earlier this week in a moderate and sometimes substantial rain I was able to enjoy the rear tire loosing traction upon acceleration in 5th gear @ 65 mph when pulling out to pass a truck that was filling the air with spray. A short while later I was taking a left turn being cautious due to the rain but still got a YAHOO moment when the rear tire gave me another sideways slip.

I seem to be the only person that is reporting a traction problem so it may be my tires or my riding style. I wouldn't let my one data point discourage someone from going the BT-023 GT route. I would encourage people to report their experience with this tire, NEPRT or not.

I think I might try a pair of regular 023's. I've been running the regular PR2's since I'm usually solo...and they're cheaper, and have had no issues with them holding up the FJR's considerable mass and I still got about 10k miles out of a set. Maybe the non-GT's are a little stickier.

 

[Neil San Diego]

since this is now neprt - i will ask it hereI bought a 2012 new - and someone earlier did too but they had bridgestones - i have metzlers - i know they got a bad rap on earlier models but i have 7k on mine and they look great still

So my questions was - am i the only one with metzlers on a 2012 ? did my dealer switch them out ? Based on the comment/question -" why dont they put the best tyre on ?" it seems they do try differnet brands ?

I remember when you first mentioned that, because I was kinda pissed that mine came with those crap OEM 021s when someone else was getting the Metzlers OEM on our 2012s. Although I have heard of older bikes coming with OEM Metzlers...

I took a ride up to Eureka shortly after I got the bike, with only 2000 miles on it. It handled poorly for the ride up there, but the ride home was really bad. The bike had a mind of its own, verging on dangerous. Changed out the tires a couple of days after I got home, with only 4500 miles on them.

 

[wheatonFJR]

since this is now neprt - i will ask it here

I bought a 2012 new - and someone earlier did too but they had bridgestones - i have metzlers - i know they got a bad rap on earlier models but i have 7k on mine and they look great still

So my questions was - am i the only one with metzlers on a 2012 ? did my dealer switch them out ? Based on the comment/question -" why dont they put the best tyre on ?" it seems they do try differnet brands ?

I remember when you first mentioned that, because I was kinda pissed that mine came with those crap OEM 021s when someone else was getting the Metzlers OEM on our 2012s. Although I have heard of older bikes coming with OEM Metzlers...

I took a ride up to Eureka shortly after I got the bike, with only 2000 miles on it. It handled poorly for the ride up there, but the ride home was really bad. The bike had a mind of its own, verging on dangerous. Changed out the tires a couple of days after I got home, with only 4500 miles on them.

Neil,

Unless I have missed something, I think yer talking about your -021 experience, while this thread is about the new -023s.

Don't want the waters muddied for the viewers. I agree, the -021s sounded like they were a loser tire. The jury seems all over the place on the -023s. I will find out for myself within a couple weeks firsthand where I stand.

 

[BigOgre]

I seem to be the only person that is reporting a traction problem so it may be my tires or my riding style. I wouldn't let my one data point discourage someone from going the BT-023 GT route. I would encourage people to report their experience with this tire, NEPRT or not.

Ok, being he encouraged me . . .

Put on the -023 GTs end of last year so had maybe under a 1k when we headed out last month. 42/44 for the trip. Got stuck in at least six hours of heavy downpour and then another hour of lighter stuff as it passed. All interstate but pulled off a few times for quick stops. Can't say I gave much thought to how the tires handled other than feeling the harder ride from the upped psi, but never had any moments where I didn't feel confident in how they gripped. IOW, no YAHOO moments. FWIW.

Let us know when you ride the twisties in the rain.

My bald rear PR2 didn't slip in the rain back from Ohio a couple weeks ago...so the test is when you get some curves involved...or some serious pass going on.

Since my previous post I put my recently rebuilt Wilbers back on and redid the front suspension to match the much improved rear shock plus confirmed the tire pressures were correct. Riding home earlier this week in a moderate and sometimes substantial rain I was able to enjoy the rear tire loosing traction upon acceleration in 5th gear @ 65 mph when pulling out to pass a truck that was filling the air with spray. A short while later I was taking a left turn being cautious due to the rain but still got a YAHOO moment when the rear tire gave me another sideways slip.

Point being there were the occassional ramps/interchanges and we weren't exactly traveling in the right lane the whole time either. But again, FWIW.

 

[Old Guy]

At 3635 miles, I'm at the wear bars on the original BT023Fs. I'm not unhappy with the profile as it wore. But this only includes a few hundred miles of interstate. I've got a new set of 023 GTs in the shop to be mounted, so I planned it pretty well to have these ready to replace before my June Colorado trip. I had wanted to ride it to a friend's in Huntsville next weekend, but there's not another 800 miles in them. Maybe I'll take the ZRX.

I rode in quite a bit of rain this weekend and the tires held well. This is my first bike with traction control; I enjoyed playing with that in the rain.

 

[Makuna]

I have the Continental Road Attack 2 GT's mounted now -

What model of Continental tires have been tried on the FJR's?

I also put Conti RA 2 GTs on. The side walls were a little soft when spooning them on (fall NW tech meet) but I like the ride and they don't feel soft. I can only compare to the original crap tires so I cant offer much yet.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Just came from Griff's with the new spooned on Bt-023GTs. Sidewalls very stiff. This bodes well.

 

[glory racing]

You will like them. I have twistied up probably 10 sets of them and liked all 10.

 

[deanw]

No opinion on wear yet. I may not wait to develop one.

As I've stated elsewhere: Whether they are holding on or not- the 023GTs offer me no confidence in wet conditions. I've slid the front several times in familiar corners that PR2s / PR3s never gave me any concern.

PR3s before winter, if these are worn out or not.

 

[Old Guy]

No opinion on wear yet. I may not wait to develop one.
As I've stated elsewhere: Whether they are holding on or not- the 023GTs offer me no confidence in wet conditions. I've slid the front several times in familiar corners that PR2s / PR3s never gave me any concern.

PR3s before winter, if these are worn out or not.

Like I said earlier, I rode mine last Thursday for several miles in the rain in southern Missouri on very crooked roads without a hint of a problem. Maybe Oregon surfaces their roads differently. I did, of course, slow down in the rain.

FWIW, I'm running the recommended 36/42 pressures.

 

[gumba]

I have 50-60k on the 23-non GTs. I like um. They mount easy, have the balance dot, and at 10k I don't get the 45 mph h.s.. At 10k the front looks like shit and doesn't handle very well but 10k is good mileage. Can't attest to wet handling. I live on the high desert and we are in 12 yr. drought. Got to love it.

 

[AKjitsu]

I’m back on PR2’s and life is bliss. Smooth, easy turn in. “Set it and forget it” lean angle. Excellent feedback of what is going on at the road surface. The more I read, the more convinced I become that the OEM 023’s are a “special” volume-buy deal that are a good cut below genuine, pedigreed GT’s.

 

[Old Guy]

AKjitsu, I sure hope you're right about the volume deal OEM 023s because mine lasted 3436 miles, and I've got a 3500 mile trip coming up -- leaving June 7th.

I rode my bike yesterday on my brand, spankin' new BT023GTs and experienced the same thing you did with the PR2s. Truth is, any new tire is likely to perform better than the old, worn-out tires you replaced. Unless I could ride a new Bridgestone then a new Michelin back to back, I'd have a hard time comparing them. I don't remember it feeling this good new, though. Of course, I was still learning the bike, trying to sort out the suspension, etc.

I had planned to try the PR3s next. I expect I'll just go with the longest lasting tire as long as there's no weird handling to worry about. I expect any good tire will feel fine.

I see you used the PR2s. Is that just because you don't ride much in the rain, do they handle better for you, or what?

 

[AKjitsu]

AKjitsu, I sure hope you're right about the volume deal OEM 023s because mine lasted 3436 miles, and I've got a 3500 mile trip coming up -- leaving June 7th.

I rode my bike yesterday on my brand, spankin' new BT023GTs and experienced the same thing you did with the PR2s. Truth is, any new tire is likely to perform better than the old, worn-out tires you replaced. Unless I could ride a new Bridgestone then a new Michelin back to back, I'd have a hard time comparing them. I don't remember it feeling this good new, though. Of course, I was still learning the bike, trying to sort out the suspension, etc.

I had planned to try the PR3s next. I expect I'll just go with the longest lasting tire as long as there's no weird handling to worry about. I expect any good tire will feel fine.

I see you used the PR2s. Is that just because you don't ride much in the rain, do they handle better for you, or what?

I live in Southern Arizona. The extra $ for the 3's are difficult to justify. And in the rare times I do ride in the wet, the 2's ain't half bad.

 

[Old Guy]

I live in Southern Arizona. The extra $ for the 3's are difficult to justify. And in the rare times I do ride in the wet, the 2's ain't half bad.

I appreciate the input. I do get caught in the rain from time to time, but I just slow down and try to be smooth. I put a hundred miles or so on the OEM BT023s on crooked roads in the rain a couple of weeks back, and even they did OK.

I plan to run one set of BT023GTs (on the bike since last Saturday) and a set of PR3s to determine my preference. Maybe I'll check the PR2s as well.