Bridgestone BT-016 Review and BT-002 RS 1st Impression
 

Well, I changed out my BT-016 tires for the BT-002 RS tires today and here's my take.

BT-016:
Good tires, at first I was leary of them especially at initial takeoff but I may have been unfair to the tires because as they wore in, they seemed to get better at launch. They were very stable and supremely predictable. I felt that even though they were at the end of their life, they acquitted themselves reasonably well at the Gap. They did turn a bit heavy though...

BT-002 RS:
Whoa! Instant confidence! I have enough time in the saddle to differentiate between new tire giddiness and an actual difference in profile. They remind me of an argument we had on this forum a while back about profile and tire size... even though it is labeled as a 190/50 allow me to emphatically assure you that the profile on these tires is much narrower and taller than the BT-016 tires they replace. These are the first tires in a long time that are making me reconsider my 36/42 tire pressure regimen. These babies literally fall into corners almost too easily. They would have been great at the Gap but they may take some getting used to on the long sweepers around here. I'll post more impressions as I have them. As a 1st impression... well if some of you Pirelli and Michelin snobs are willing to take a chance on tires that cost $239 shipped, I think that you'll be pleasantly surprised.

How many miles did you get out of the BT-016s?


I'm actually running the same pressure you referenced, 36/42 and when we go up into the mountains, GAP, Snake etc, I usually take a few psi out of each while there and add it back afterwards

I actually just started using the BT021 sport touring tires and LOVE THEM. Never slipped once (well except for some gravel on the road) and are showing no signs of wear. I was only getting about 2500 miles out of the BT014s. I think I will be sticking with the 021's from now on.

Wow, I got 48XX out of my 014 rear, and 7100 on that front. I did run them too long down to chords on the back and the front was close.

I like the sport touring compounds out there right now. On my 1000rr right now I have a Dunlop Qualifier on the front with the Dunlop Roadsmart on the rear, I love it with this setup, I've clocked 3400 miles on the rear and it appears it's going to make at to about 7,000 or so, I've not had any major slips and we ride pretty aggressive on the mountain roads of NC. I'm likely going to stick with this setup unless I find a killer deal like I just missed. A local shop had a one day only Pirelli special on Rossos set of 120/180 for $189 and 120/190 or $199.

I love my rossos. I'll show you what 1000 miles of superslab does to a pair of used stradas here in a few weeks though. A friend is using my rims with Rossos on em at a track day one weekend, then the next I am using his with stradas on em to do the iron butt. I'll get before and after pics.

I am most likely going to be putting 016s on mine after these rossos are toast.

I got 3500 out of BT014 & 5000 out of BT021.

Have a set of 190/55s on the way... Thanks for at least posting the cyclesector link and getting me a set of tires real cheap.

BTW what's the manf date on yours?

I wore through a set of BT021 in 3500 miles. PP's lasted 3500 miles and they were waaaaay better tires. BT016s had 3000 on them and I could probably go another 1000 or 2. The only thing I didnt like about the BT016 was that they took a lot longer to warm up and they slipped when cold. Once warm I was happy with their performance.

Yea but PP and BT-021 are totally different tires, for completely different conditions/uses... I've run PPs myself and I guarantee that these BT-002 RS tires are as good if not better. What I don't know is how they'll stack up against Rossos and 2CTs.:idk: What I do know is that I'd try a 190/50 before I went with a 190/55 because this buns are tall!

I think OTB has or had the 002's on his Bimota. They felt fine to me (with only about 100 miles on them)...but at the time I much prefered the Pilot Powers I was riding on.