Bridgestone T30 GT's - How do you like them?

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Just back into CA from OR, WA, ID and MT on the T30s. 2400+ miles. Mostly mix of highway and some gentle turns. Lots of ground to cover in less time than I wanted. Pushed the T30s somewhat over many different surfaces. Tar snakes were almost invisible to me. Wife riding ST w/PR3s really felt them! Bridge grating and rain grooves were non-existent! Very impressed with both the handling and wearing of these tires. Using dynabeads and balance was perfect. I think they are a winner for our bikes...
 

mlheck

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I'm not sure if I need a new tire pressure gauge or what, but I am having problems with these tires cupping. I had the same problems with the 023. Both tires were the GT verison. I have been running 44psi. in these tires trying to prevent the cupping.
 

veefore

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Let us know if it works, my 023 gt's with just over 3k have been run at 42 and the rear is cupping as well. 90% solo riding, secondary roads and twisties. That said these are the best handling tires I've had on the bike.
 

thepaleobiker

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Dave - Very kind words about the pillow/couch incident at OH-STOC! The secret IMHO is that I had to sleep 2 nights on the ground at mammoth caves with no sleeping bag & only my riding gear to sleep on! :D :D It was a bumpy night! I was with STRaymond (Ray) camping at Mammoth Cave (RTE Ride to Nashville, pics in my signature)
The couch at OH-STOC was a charming experience in comparison! :couch1: :couch1:

The tires were mounted with the help of the wonderful gentleman & scholar - Gary (GreenZR) in Springville, IN. Had a nice ride to Gary's place, changed the tires & also met Harry there, and rode to Bloomington, IN & the famous Rt 135 from Bloomington to US-50 - Close to a 100 twists & turns! A lot like the OH-STOC routes.

Hope you are doing well Dave! The sweet memories of OH-STOC & the stories shared during that time will be cherished for a long time :) :)

Regards,
Vishnu

Vishnu,

You the man. Sleeping on that little couch with no pillow and no covers at OH-STOC will stick in my mind for a while. Oh, to be young and flexible.

Did you mount the T30s yourself with tire irons or spoons or use a tire mounting machine?
 
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Well I can not figure out how to load a picture yet. The final tally on the front BT020 is 26,510 miles. The rear BT023 was put on about 1500 miles after the front. I cannot find the rear tire receipt that showed the bikes exact mileage. I think I got my monies worth out of both tires :D! So I went with another BT020 in the front and the T30 GT in the rear.

The short test ride tonight has so far sold me on balancing with Ride On. Bike was absolutely smooth at all speeds up to 75 MPH so far. So much better then the beads that were in the front.
+1 on using RideOn!............it don't get any better or smoother than that;). Have it in both the ST(BT-23's) and my 32yr.old Yammy Venturer with Conti Go's.
 
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I'm not sure if I need a new tire pressure gauge or what, but I am having problems with these tires cupping.
Cupping ... cough ... scalloping, is not unusual and is expected - it's natural pattern wear for a bike tire.
A tire with a more "complicated" tread pattern will exhibit more scalloping.
 

Dex

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Michael Heck and others, if you don't want scalloping then stop taking the corners so flippin' fast! A high-torque engine like the Pan will twist the tyre carcass when leant over and powering out of a bend. It is this twisting of the carcass under load that creates the scallop wear. On the other hand, arguably for those that don't get this, maybe you aren't trying hard enough on the bends! Anyway thank you for the feedback on the T30. My choice to try for the next tyre change shortly.
 

dduelin

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The shop mounting my BT023s tore the bead of the rear tire and I was forced to mount a GT spec T30 in its place because I was leaving on a coast to coast ride. After 3000 miles I'm in CA and the T30 looks great. I was sure it would have squared off some but it doesn't show it yet. Yesterday I rode some canyon roads (Borrega Desert SP , Cuyamaca SP???) in the mountains west of San Diego and the tires feel great right out to the edges just like 023s do. Great feel, good feedback, looks like good wear starting out, very happy with them.
 

SteveST1300

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I got my T30's installed yesterday they went on OK a bit more work than the PR's. Weather looks crappy for the next few days here so probably won't get em scrubbed in until next week.
 

SteveST1300

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I got out yesterday did about 60 miles on the T30's They felt very good I like the way they turn in and I did a road with a fair amount of tar snakes and seemed to be able to ride over them and not feel the squirmy feel I got with the PR's. I was impressed a very good tire IMHO.
 

970mike

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I got out yesterday did about 60 miles on the T30's They felt very good I like the way they turn in and I did a road with a fair amount of tar snakes and seemed to be able to ride over them and not feel the squirmy feel I got with the PR's. I was impressed a very good tire IMHO.
:plus1:
 

Blrfl

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As the referees in the NFL like to say, "after further review, the play stands as called." (Or, more accurately, after more play, the review stands as called. :))

Put in another 150 miles of mixed riding on dry pavement: freeway, windy two-lanes and everything in between. I am very impressed with these these tires. If wear is good, these will be my new go-tos.

The big hit for me is the amount of confidence they inspire when leaned over, which is far more than the BT020Fs ever did. In a lot of situations where I'd have geared down to get the bike to squat harder on the 020s and ended up taking the turn slower, the T30s just did what they were asked. This me keep anywhere from 5-10 MPH more in a lot of turns. That's actually proving to be a big adjustment, but it's one I'm more than willing to make.

More tar snake time confirms that really don't notice them. I won't say that my efforts to make them slip were Herculean, but I did seek out spots where there were snakes and rode them as I would if they weren't there.

The bike still gets a little weird when going through the dirty air around semis, but it seemed a bit more planted.

They don't seem as noisy as the BTs; I found myself listening to the engine a lot more in the turns.

One other thing I noticed: the front tire has a yellow mark for what I presume is the light spot. The rear doesn't.

--Mark
 

gmast1100

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One other thing I noticed: the front tire has a yellow mark for what I presume is the light spot. The rear doesn't.

--Mark
Find it strange that the back didn't have the yellow dot on it somewhere. That is where the tire is to be mounted at the valve stem. Just had 4 new tires put on my wife's Mini and not one of the dots were at the valve stems and tons of weights. I'm going to point that out to Discount Tire next time I'm in there.
 

dduelin

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Find it strange that the back didn't have the yellow dot on it somewhere. That is where the tire is to be mounted at the valve stem. Just had 4 new tires put on my wife's Mini and not one of the dots were at the valve stems and tons of weights. I'm going to point that out to Discount Tire next time I'm in there.
Ask an experienced tire fitter about the dots and they may tell you that a lot of wheels are way out of balance and the tech has to shift the tire [dot] around the wheel to get it to balance it with the least amount of total weight. Of course the tire tech may have simply screwed your wife's tire mounting up but there is some variation present in wheels. The dot is a suggestion, a starting point, and not always the best orientation for the least amount of balance weights. At least that is what I was told when I mentioned the dot was way off from the stem location on a new tire mounting on my bike. I trust that tech and he has many years experience.
 

gmast1100

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Ask an experienced tire fitter about the dots and they may tell you that a lot of wheels are way out of balance and the tech has to shift the tire [dot] around the wheel to get it to balance it with the least amount of total weight. Of course the tire tech may have simply screwed your wife's tire mounting up but there is some variation present in wheels. The dot is a suggestion, a starting point, and not always the best orientation for the least amount of balance weights. At least that is what I was told when I mentioned the dot was way off from the stem location on a new tire mounting on my bike. I trust that tech and he has many years experience.
While I agree with your statement-we were watching the tire tech put the tires on. He just grabbed a tire and actually threw in down hard on the rim, getting the bottom side on without anything and then used the machine to get the top side down.
 

dduelin

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While I agree with your statement-we were watching the tire tech put the tires on. He just grabbed a tire and actually threw in down hard on the rim, getting the bottom side on without anything and then used the machine to get the top side down.
Did you say something when you saw this?
 
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