OEM Bridgestones: Uncool beans.

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I just put on PR3 after running the OEM BT023s for 8,600 miles. I actually found the 023s to be an ok tire. I do find the PR3's are quieter and feel better on the bike, as did the PR2s on my '08 FJR. I'm a dyed in the wool Michelin man and will continue to run PR2's or PR3s.

 
SouthernCruizer said:
I just put on PR3 after running the OEM BT023s for 8,600 miles. I actually found the 023s to be an ok tire. I do find the PR3's are quieter and feel better on the bike, as did the PR2s on my '08 FJR. I'm a dyed in the wool Michelin man and will continue to run PR2's or PR3s.
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My OEM BT023s were at the wear bars at 3436 miles. You got well over double that. It's just wild how much disparity there is between two different riders and tire life on the same bike.

 
Just got a set of regular 023's, not GT's. Still have a little life left in the PR2's, so it'll be a while before I make an opinion. Hope it's a good one!

 
I just bought a 04 gen 1 with 1000 miles on it. It has BT020s on it that have lots of tread but are 10 years old. I have had good luck with these tires on on an ST1100. My question is should I buy the GT model or the standard model? They are the same price. Has anyone run both? I want the best of both worlds snd am willing to replace tires more often if I can have it. Thanks

 
wheatonFJR said:
urvman said:
I just bought a 04 gen 1 with 1000 miles on it. ...
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wow. Just wow.

<head slap> Tires...I have purchased regular PR2s with no ill effects, but the BT-023s I just had spooned on are GTs.
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Ditto. 1000 miles on a 9-year-old bike is just amazing.

The GTs are specified for heavier bikes. I would/did definitely use those over the standard BT023s.

 
urvman said:
I just bought a 04 gen 1 with 1000 miles on it. It has BT020s on it that have lots of tread but are 10 years old. I have had good luck with these tires on on an ST1100. My question is should I buy the GT model or the standard model? They are the same price. Has anyone run both? I want the best of both worlds snd am willing to replace tires more often if I can have it. Thanks
Click to expand...
I've used the GT's and ride solo. I like they way they feel and just ordered a set to replace PR2's I have on now. BTW, I'm guessing you just got one whole hell of a lot of motorcycle for the money.....assuming 9 years of depreciation and a virtually new bike... sweet!

 
Spud said:
urvman said:
I just bought a 04 gen 1 with 1000 miles on it. It has BT020s on it that have lots of tread but are 10 years old. I have had good luck with these tires on on an ST1100. My question is should I buy the GT model or the standard model? They are the same price. Has anyone run both? I want the best of both worlds snd am willing to replace tires more often if I can have it. Thanks
Click to expand...
I've used the GT's and ride solo. I like they way they feel and just ordered a set to replace PR2's I have on now. BTW, I'm guessing you just got one whole hell of a lot of motorcycle for the money.....assuming 9 years of depreciation and a virtually new bike... sweet!
Click to expand...
Yeah, depending on how that bike was stored and maintained over the ten years, that would be an awesome bike.

 
wheatonFJR said:
Spud said:
urvman said:
I just bought a 04 gen 1 with 1000 miles on it. It has BT020s on it that have lots of tread but are 10 years old. I have had good luck with these tires on on an ST1100. My question is should I buy the GT model or the standard model? They are the same price. Has anyone run both? I want the best of both worlds snd am willing to replace tires more often if I can have it. Thanks
Click to expand...
I've used the GT's and ride solo. I like they way they feel and just ordered a set to replace PR2's I have on now. BTW, I'm guessing you just got one whole hell of a lot of motorcycle for the money.....assuming 9 years of depreciation and a virtually new bike... sweet!
Click to expand...
Yeah, depending on how that bike was stored and maintained over the ten years, that would be an awesome bike.
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wheaties, short of being stored outside (or underwater) I can't see a negative in an '04 with only 1k miles on it.

 
RadioHowie said:
wheatonFJR said:
Spud said:
urvman said:
I just bought a 04 gen 1 with 1000 miles on it. It has BT020s on it that have lots of tread but are 10 years old. I have had good luck with these tires on on an ST1100. My question is should I buy the GT model or the standard model? They are the same price. Has anyone run both? I want the best of both worlds snd am willing to replace tires more often if I can have it. Thanks
Click to expand...
I've used the GT's and ride solo. I like they way they feel and just ordered a set to replace PR2's I have on now. BTW, I'm guessing you just got one whole hell of a lot of motorcycle for the money.....assuming 9 years of depreciation and a virtually new bike... sweet!
Click to expand...
Yeah, depending on how that bike was stored and maintained over the ten years, that would be an awesome bike.
Click to expand...
wheaties, short of being stored outside (or underwater) I can't see a negative in an '04 with only 1k miles on it.
Click to expand...
Speaking for Ivrman he got the bike for a steal 3k, plus $500 shipping, I was posting for him because no new members was allowed to join due to Spam, he had a frozen fuel pump and had to take it apart to clean due to varnish in tank.

 
Finally got around to mounting the 023's (regular, not GT) and holy hell, those are the stiffest tires I've ever dealt with! I have a Harbor Freight set up with a NoMar bar and still struggled. I had to get the wife to hold one tire iron on the second bead of the front to finally get it on. I really don't see how the GT's could be any stiffer!

Hopefully they'll be a great tire....

 
The worst motorcycle tire I've ever attempted was the rear tire for my GL1800 Goldwing. I use a Harbor Freight changer and a Mojo lever. I could do it, but it was simply awful.

I've mounted the 023GTs on my FJR, and I've mounted a set of standard 023s on a friend's ZRX. Compared to the 'wing, they're not too bad. I don't know that either was harder to mount.

 
I've never done any Wing tires but heard they're a real beotch! I've been running Michelins for a loooong time, so the Stones were a bit of a shock.

 
I ran Michelins on my RD400 way back a long time ago, and I could occasionally mount a front without tools. I could sometimes just push the second side on with my thumbs. I did it one day when another guy was watching, and he had this shocked look on his face and said "I'll never be arm wrestling you."

On rereading my post it sounds like I'm saying the Bridgestones are not bad. One a scale of 1 to 10, with the Goldwing tires being a 14 ;) , I'd put the 'stones at about a 9. They're hard; just not as awful as the 'wing.

 
Folks are comparing how the bikes handling changes as the various tires wear. Specifically the amount of bar pressure required to maintain a turn is directly related to how the tires cross-sectional profile wears and changes through the tires life. And that is going to be influenced to a great degree by how and where you ride the bike in addition to how the tire was designed and manufactured.

If you ride a lot of straight line slab the rear will tend to square off, which means there will be more effort required on the bars to hold a turn. This would be most prevalent on a softer rear tire or if you ride with a passenger a lot.

If you ride more curves than straights the sides of the front will wear into the typical trapezoid shape, especially on tires with dual compound and a hard center section. That shape will make a bike want to fall into corners and also require bar pressure to correct for.

Matching the tire to what you do on the bike would make more sense than just listening to what others say their experiences have been unless you know that you ride exactly the way they do.

 

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