The Bridgestone Battlax R11 DOT Race Tire Might Be The Best You’ve Ever Tried

You don’t spend six years as the official spec tire of MotoGP and not learn a thing or two about making really good tires. Especially when your clientele is the most skilled riders in the world, and demand the absolute best performance every time they head out on the track.

When Bridgestone relinquished the MotoGP spec tire reins two years ago, the Japanese tire company ended a 12-year participation in the series that saw its tires go from the butt of paddock jokes to the brand that nearly all the top riders wanted (Valentino Rossi forced the Yamaha Factory Racing team to allow him to switch to Bridgestone in 2008, while Dani Pedrosa forced the Repsol Honda team to allow him to switch to Bridgestone during the middle of a season). That impressive performance was built on the back of some major R&D, and the company's production street tires eventually started seeing some of that technology trickle down, starting with the S21 sport tire that was introduced two years ago. The new A41 adventure and T31 sport-touring tires introduced earlier this year also benefited from some racing technology infusion.

So with its aging R10 DOT race tire in need of an upgrade, Bridgestone recently gave me the opportunity to test its replacement—the new R11—aboard Yamaha’s 2018 lineup of R model sportbikes at Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly known as Miller Motorsports Park) in Tooele, Utah.

Part of that MotoGP technology trickle-down involves the use of Bridgestone’s proprietary “Ultimat Eye” system that features a test bench (originally developed for the company’s Formula 1 and MotoGP racing tires) with the ability to simulate the dynamic stresses of riding placed on a tire via a huge rolling drum that has tiny pressure cells embedded in its surface. Using Ultimat Eye allows Bridgestone engineers to actually see the tire’s contact patch under different loads and slip angles, and the varying amount of pressure across its surface area. By tweaking tire construction and compounds to change that pressure, Bridgestone was able to achieve significant improvements in every area of performance over the old R10.

The R11 features a slightly new tread pattern design that was developed with the help of the Ultimat Eye technology. By analyzing the directional forces on the tires throughout every phase of cornering (the deformation during braking and cornering, along with the abrasion angle during acceleration), Bridgestone engineers were able to position the tread grooves so that they enhance the tread rigidity during cornering while offering enough deformation to cut warm-up time and provide an optimum contact patch for grip off the corner. Interestingly, unlike most DOT race tires that have no tread grooves near the edge of the tire’s profile (to theoretically provide maximum tire contact at full lean), both front and rear R11 tires have some tread grooves in that area.

Bridgestone’s trademark Mono Spiral Belt—utilizing a single steel filament that is wound along the circumference of the tire, eliminating any overlapping belts, seams, or joints—also received some tweaks, with the new Variable Mono Spiral Belt (V-MSB) featuring different spacing of the wire cords across the profile of the tire to provide optimum rigidity. For example, the front tire has the wire cords spaced closer together in the center to provide a stiffer carcass under braking, with wider spacing toward the middle and edge of the profile to allow more flex for better feel and grip on corner entry, and at max lean in the middle of the corner. The Ultimat Eye system showed this resulted in more pressure on the contact patch, leading to more cornering force (meaning better turning) for a given lean angle. The rear V-MSB wire cords are closer together in the center for less expansion growth at high speed, with wider spacing in the fat part of the profile allowing more deformation for more grip, and then closer spacing again near the edge of the tread for an optimum contact patch at full lean. The larger rear R11 sizes also get an additional new GP Belt (first seen on Bridgestone’s V02 racing slicks) over the V-MSB to further stabilize the tread for better drive grip. Tire compounds in both front and rear were slightly altered, though Bridgestone reps were obviously tight-lipped on any details.

All told, Bridgestone claims the new R11 is 1.5 seconds per lap quicker than the R10, using a Honda CBR600RR at the Oschersleben circuit in Germany. That's a significant chunk of time on a racetrack, so naturally we were anxious to find out just how much of an improvement the R11 really is over its predecessor.

Yamaha Motor Corp., USA brought out its full 2018 R sportbike series lineup to Utah Motorsports Campus, all shod with fresh R11s in order to show that Bridgestone is offering numerous sizes for fitment to a wide array of bikes. My first exposure to the R11 would be a day spent lapping the 2.23-mile, 15-turn East Loop on a Yamaha R3. While the 321cc twin wasn't exactly working the rear tire very hard, the East Loop of UMC includes many of its most challenging turns that allowed me to get a good sense of the R11's overall steering habits, which were fairly quick as you'd expect from a DOT race tire. Despite the relatively narrow sizes (a 110/70R-17 on the front and a 150/60R-17 on the rear), overall grip and handling were outstanding, and there was never a time when I had any concerns with the tires.

The following day was the real test, as I’d be using Yamaha’s R6, R1, and R1M to test the performance of the R11 on UMC’s 2.2-mile, 13-turn West Loop. Being a specialized DOT racing tire, Bridgestone recommends that tire warmers be used with the R11, and all the bikes (including the R3s on the previous day) were on warmers whenever they were in the pits. There were several sessions, though, where I came in for suspension or electronics adjustments that allowed the tires to cool off a bit; yet the R11s displayed a fairly quick warm-up (easily within half a lap) when heading back out.

Right off the bat, the R11s impressed me with their overall grip and consistency. UMC’s West Loop has a higher average speed than the East Loop, and coupled with the higher horsepower of the R6, R1, and R1M, I must admit I was expecting the tire traction to drop off significantly after a handful of hard laps. But even with the traction control turned off on the R6, and down to Level 1 on the R1 and R1M, the Bridgestones continued to provide excellent grip at all lean angles. Despite suspension and chassis settings that were less than optimum—resulting in some wear patterns that indicated as such—the Bridgestones continued to provide superb traction in all aspects of cornering after numerous laps. The very slight drop-off in grip that did occur after a good number of laps remained very consistent and easily manageable, and the bike continued to drive hard off the corners.

Overall steering habits were excellent, with quick turn-in while trail-braking and midcorner line changes accomplished with ease. Tire feedback was communicative, with a firm but compliant feel that always let you know what was going on at the contact patch. Stability during hard braking was outstanding as well, with very little tread squirm. About the only gripe we could find with the R11 is that its firm carcass tended to be affected by bumps more than other tires; but the Bridgestones never became nervous or flighty, and continued to track straight over pavement imperfections. Also, wear rates looked be on the moderate side (more so if your suspension settings aren’t optimum), especially on the rear of big-horsepower literbikes…but this is a race tire, after all.

If all this sounds as if I was very impressed with the new Bridgestone R11, that’s because I was. The R11 is so far above the old R10 in every aspect of performance that there is absolutely no comparison. And that performance has now vaulted Bridgestone right up there with the best, offering no excuses. Hell, even the MSRP for the new R11 is a good deal less expensive than the competition… What’s not to like?

Available in front sizes 110/70R-17M/C and 120/70R-17M/C, and rear sizes 140/70R-17M/C, 150/60R-17M/C, 160/60R-17M/C, 180/55R-17M/C, 190/55R-17M/C, and 200/55R-17M/C. With the exception of the 110/70R-17M/C front and the 150 and 160 rear tires, both front and rear R11s are available in either soft or medium compounds. Suggested retail prices range from $125.24 to $130.16 for the fronts, and from $169.74 to $231.84 for the rears, though most retailers will be selling at differing prices.