Bridgestone BT-023: Testing Sport-Touring Tires In Japan

My trip to Japan this past April was originally scheduled to be a two-pronged affair: 1) visit Bridgestone's Nasu tire-manufacturing plant and proving grounds (50-degree banking!) to learn about the new BT-023 sport-touring tire; and 2) ride Open-class naked bikes and sport-tourers shod with said radial rubber through the cherry-blossom-covered countryside to Honda-owned Twin Ring Motegi for the second round of the MotoGP world championship.

Unfortunately, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland and its resulting ash cloud brought air travel throughout much of Europe to a halt, result being postponement of the Japanese Grand Prix until October 3. Bummer! I flew with three other American moto-journalists to Tokyo, anyway. For our effort, we were treated to an opportunity that no other keyboard jockey had ever experienced: an opportunity to lap the Nasu proving grounds—both the high-speed and handling sections—on motorcycles.

Actually, we got quite a few laps during the dozen 10-minute sessions. An evolution of the BT-021, the dual-compound BT-023 is said to offer 30 percent longer life, reduced road noise, enhanced stability and greater feedback. In addition to the standard model, a second "GT" spec available in 120/70ZR17 front and 180/55ZR17 rear sizes was developed specifically for the Yamaha FJR1300, and BMW K1300GT and R1200RT. Retail pricing for the standard and heavier-duty "GT" spec is identical.

While a conclusive statement regarding tire life will have to wait until we can put a set of BT-023s through its paces stateside, warm-up, turn-in response, high-speed stability (at an indicated 150 mph) and both dry and wet grip on street and track received high marks.