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Has anyone tried Bridgestone BT-023 GT tires on their RT?

dbaliko

New member
I have read a couple of reviews on the Bridgestone BT-023 GT and was wondering if anyone has put a set on heir RT? If you have what do you think of them?

Doug
 
I'm running them, and I am on my second set with no complaints I think I got 8k out of the last rear before changing it. They work well in the wet or dry, One word of caution if you mount your own tires the side wall on the rear is very stiff and will challenge you. I can't mount it with the no-mar, I have to use my big hand mounting bar.
JT
 
Ditto here with the thick, hard to mount (and dismount) by hand GT's.
I do not ride 2-up heavy much, so went back to standard load rating tires.
When we are 2-up heavy (only ~twice / year) I just air up to max PSI.
 
Thanks for the input. I ordered a set of the GT's and plan to mount them just before I leave on a 4500 mile trip up to Glacier National Park in early September.

Doug
 
I've got them on my RT and I'm looking for something to replace them. They wander all over the place. I was on a stretch of interstate yesterday where the surface had been ground down. I could hardly keep the bike in a straight line. It was downright scary. This did not start until around 5,000 miles. I still have plenty of tread left of the tires so I hate to get rid of them but I'm going to have to get something else.

To be fair, I had Bridgestones on a GS and they were great tires but they just aren't working on my RT.
 
I have read a couple of reviews on the Bridgestone BT-023 GT and was wondering if anyone has put a set on heir RT? If you have what do you think of them?

Doug

Tires tend to be very much a personal opinion. Bridgestones in general don't seem to have a strong fan base. But you'll never know if you don't try them out for yourself.
 
Bs bt23

I just installed my 3rd set on my R1100RT w/147k on it. Fronts get about 8-9k and rears 10-11k. I run front at 36-38psi and rear at 38-40psi.
Good wet & dry grip as good as Dunlop Roadsmarts with better wear. I buy from Jake Wilson $222 per set.
 
Thanks for the input. I ordered a set of the GT's and plan to mount them just before I leave on a 4500 mile trip up to Glacier National Park in early September.

Doug

You will get the mileage you want for this trip.

Ive run 15 sets of the BT 20's, consitent 8 k miles. I loved the Battleaxx as you can see so tried the 023.

I then went to the Mich pr 2 . same again 8k. The pr3, same again 8k consistent.

The hyphed up Battlexx 23 heavy carcass sucks. 5,500 miles at most. not for me...
 
I'm switching to Michelin Road Pilot 3's this week. :dance

Spencer and all:

Until I tried the new Pilot Road tires, I thought all tires were just different flavors of the same thing with the possible exception of a just-out, miracle Dunlop tire that surfaced several years ago. (It was heavy and stiff as a bus tire and I corded my rear tire in under 5K.)

I've had really excellent results with Pilot Road 2 and Pilot Road 3. My tire vendor tells me that these are the same tire except for the radial grooves cut in the PR3. I'm using PR3 in front and PR2 in back. In heavy rain, the front tire spreads the water and the back tire is behind the front, so it rides in the stripe cleared by the front, so the sipes are less important. Having more rubber in back is more important to me for long wear, so I choose PR2 in back. I think they're the same price.

Here's why I love these PR tires.

They LAST longer and they feel good even when they're almost worn out.

A lot of tires claim to be dual compound, but the PRs really seem to be different.

Both I (2005 R12RT) and a friend who has a '98 K12RS bought tires at the same time last year in preparation for a trip to Colorado in early summer. He bought the newest Metzler sport touring tires...Z8?? (It's supposedly a dual compound tire).

Normally, an RT is tougher on tires than a sport K-bike because: 1. I have a Cee Bailey's mondo flip-up windscreen and that big RT fairing. His bike has stock screen and is lower and sleeker. 2. I have two big cylinders. He has 4 little ones. His bike is electric motor smooth. Those little acceleration pulses are discussed endlessly in Moto GP circles in the 4 vs 2 cylinder bench races. More small pulses are easier on tires than big infrequent ones. That's the theory, at least. For years, my RT's have been the tire-eatingest bikes of all my friends' bikes.

The two of us went on a trip from Chicago to Colorado last year. Both bikes carried one rider and loaded with camping gear and stuff. The trip started with 1000 miles of high speed riding on a sizzling interstate. That was followed by another 1500 to 1800 miles of mixed riding with lots of canyon carving type action. Then the trip home. Later in the year, he took a ride to St. Louis for the Falling Leaf Rally. I missed it. I, however did a bunch of rides that year that he didn't. I did a club ride or two that he didn't particpate in and he did some errand running in downtown Chicago where he lives that I didn't. I took a couple trips into the city and he took a couple to the suburbs. The next Spring, we both went to LaCrosse for our club's annual ride. This is a back-road extravaganza 4 day weekend, about 1800 miles. This year, we both just got back from a similar Colorado trip as last year. Again, lots of high speed, high temp interstate, which really destroys the shape of rear tires.

We did not return at the same time. I soloed for about half the time in CO. Did a lot of dirt road riding and exploring. I went home on I-80 driving 78 mph with cruise on most of the way. He went slower with some GS guys who like to stop every 80 to 100 miles, stopping for an overnight in Iowa at one of their houses. On that last morning in Iowa, my K-bike pal had cord showing on his rear tire. He limped the bike home and has to get new tires. He traded bikes with one of the other guys for a while at some point in the trip. They commented that his bike "doesn't want to turn! Get me off this thing!"...That's a sign of tires that have "squared-off" on the back.

I was planning on replacing my tires, but they're working just fine. Handling is still good, tread is still good and they are not square in back. I'll keep them on my bike for at least another 1000 miles. This is consistent with other times I've used PR2s. My last set really went the distance. The rear corded at 13K miles in Nashville. I had another set ordered in Chicago but they didn't come in in time for this trip. I bought a chinese rear tire for cheap at a Japanese bike store in Nashville to get me home. Those Chinese tires are pretty good, BTW, they just don't last very long. If you're a fresh tire freak, they might be an answer. Some guys use them for track weekends and then throw them away.

While this wasn't an absolutely scientific comparison test, it's as close a comparison as I've ever seen. PR2s and PR3s are a little pricey, but Michelin has some good discounts and rebates going so the actual price you pay is about the same as competitive tires at the right vendor. My local non-dealer tech has a deal with Michelin so my PRs come out the same as other brands they sell.

I love Metzler for canyon work. They feel the best...when they're new, but when they square off in the back, my experience is that they are really a lot less fun to ride on than other tires at mid-life. If I lived in the mountains and leaned it over every day, I'd have them.

For us Great Plains people, life is different. We need to travel 2 or 3 hundred miles on the slab just to find decent roads to ride. The center of the tire, especially the rear, has to wear well. The carcass of the tire has to be soft enough so that when the tire squares a bit, the handling isn't ruined.

I used to like Bridgestones. I found that their carcass was soft and even with hard corners on the rear tire, the bike would handle OK with them. I found that the front Bridgestones used to make some strange tread noises and often would get lumpy on the sides. (my friends Z8s were doing this in front too, BTW) For flatlanders, you could do worse than Bridgestone. At 8,000 or so miles, they will look weird, but they will still work OK.

But the PRs seem to be just in another class. I can count on 10,000 out of a set without worry. More if I'm careful...and they'll feel fine and look fine at the end.

Bear in mind that how you ride affects tire wear a lot. Hard straight line acceleration as a habit will eat up rear tires and square them prematurely. Over-inflating the fronts will make them lumpy on the sides of the treads and will make them more sensitive to gravel and debris on the roads. I just use 36 in front and 42 in back per the rider's manual and have no problems.

I'm sticking with PR2 in back and PR3 in front until the PR2s go away. I've had such good luck with this combo that I see no reason to change. Michelin approves (or did approve) this tire combination because the construction is identical between the two, only the tread is different.

Everything changes and someone may come out with a new tire that will work better than PRs for straight line touring mixed with canyon carving, but to my knowledge, there isn't anything at this time. It certainly isn't the Z8, anyway.

I have no Bibendum affiliations. Your results may vary etc. etc. Hope this is helpful to someone out there. :thumb
 
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I Just swapped out my second set of BT023 GT's on my 2009 R1200RT, I got 7500 miles out of the rear before it hit the wear bars, I got 8K miles out of the previous one. I really didn't get any difference in milage between the Regular and the GT, I did like the BT023's in the rain. For something different I just mounted up some Dunlop RoadSmart II's.
JT
 
I'm switching to Michelin Road Pilot 3's this week. :dance
Just installed Pilot Road 3's on my RT.

These tires are amazing! Extrememly smooth and confidence inspiring. The roll in is highly predictable and they hold a line effortlessly!

I scraped my right peg twice yesterday! Never scraped the right side in the last 10,000 miles on original Pilot Roads!

I got 10,000 miles out of the original Pilot Road.
 
I Just swapped out my second set of BT023 GT's on my 2009 R1200RT, I got 7500 miles out of the rear before it hit the wear bars, I got 8K miles out of the previous one. I really didn't get any difference in milage between the Regular and the GT, I did like the BT023's in the rain. For something different I just mounted up some Dunlop RoadSmart II's.
JT

JT and All:

Seriously, just try the PR2 or PR3 or the combination (3 on the front, 2 on the back) next time. 3 sets I've used have each given me terrific wear. They feel good about until they show cord on the back....my tread wear indicator!!!). So far, no other tire I know of does that. 10K on an RT is not ridiculous on these tires. I got almost 13K on my first set of these things.

I know, another tire thread, but I really do feel, after using Metzlers, Bridgestones, Dunlops (The original Roadsmart was the worst tire I've ever used. Hope for your sake that the new ones are 500% better) and Pirelli.

Bridgestones seem to work well even after they square off in the back...decent at everything, not outstanding at anything...balanced. Metzlers feel the best of any tires when they're new but when they square, they're really no fun. Keep them on the twisties and they stay fun their whole life.

Metz and Bridgestone both give about 7 to 8K (stretching it) depending on how you ride on them...average for a Sport Touring tire. The Michelin PRs have nailed the dual-compound thing. The center of the back tire is really hard, long wearing rubber and the construction seems to stay supple and nice. Nice balanced ride for a long time. Worth a few extra bucks.

I too like to be the test pilot for new tire brands, but these PRs have worked noticeably better for me. After my K-bike pal's cording experience under virtually the same riding conditions, I'll stick with these until something better comes along.

I have no affiliation with any tire makers, just have run a lot of different tires on 3 different RTs.

:beer
 
Thanks rtwiz, I'll look at trying the PR2/PR3's next time. I went with the Dunlop's because I really liked Sportmax Q2's, I had them on a a Ducati I had and on my R1200S. I'll give a report on the roadsmart II's.
-JT
 
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