Bridgestone 020/021

[lorenzell]

When my stock rear ran out I put the 021 on the rear at 8000 miles. Ran great with the old front dunlop on. Put the 021 on front 3000 ago. Just came back from 3000 mile trip. Both tires look great. Rear has 5000 on it and still has a long way to go. From the little information I have, cupping comes from running under inflated, which happened on my first rear tire. Keep the tires a 42. Sometimes I even pump 45 in it. Still works fine. We don't have a lot of twisties in West Texas. The tires WILL wear out first right down the middle.

LZELL

Have a great ride today.

 

[BlaSTr]

I'm not sure the 45psi is a good idea. I keep my tires at 42psi cold and after a bit of twisting and scrubbing the tire pressure is in the 44-46psi range. I know a lot of racers who will run cold tire pressure lower than specified knowing that as the tire heats up the pressure will go up. Granted this is on a very twisty and high speed course but after running hard (for me) I could definitely feel the tires becoming more sticky and warmer than normal.

ymmv

When my stock rear ran out I put the 021 on the rear at 8000 miles. Ran great with the old front dunlop on. Put the 021 on front 3000 ago. Just came back from 3000 mile trip. Both tires look great. Rear has 5000 on it and still has a long way to go. From the little information I have, cupping comes from running under inflated, which happened on my first rear tire. Keep the tires a 42. Sometimes I even pump 45 in it. Still works fine. We don't have a lot of twisties in West Texas. The tires WILL wear out first right down the middle.

LZELL

Have a great ride today.

 

[Carl_T]

Running a low tire is not the only reason for cupping, 'nuff about that.

As to pressures with various tire brands (besides manufacturers suggested from either or bike and tire manufacturer), the rule of thumb I've learned of, is whatever pressure gives you about +10% pressure rise during a good long run through the higher end of your local everyday conditions.

If you've filled your tires when it was very humid out, from a non tank/moisture filtered compressor (such as the small pump up type compressor many of us carry on the bike for flats), or used a lot of lube mounting them so there is definitely left over moisture in the tire, well then it may be up there more than 10% instead, as the moisture spikes the air pressure rise. So, a tire with moisture in it will give you more than a 10% rise.

So if you didn't slather a lot of lube in there, and you filled from a filtered tank style compressor, on a day that wasn't super heavy with humidity, you can run your bike till the tires are decidedly warm, check the pressure and it should be close to 10% higher. That's if you are looking for maximum traction from the tire.

 

[Wheels of Fire]

-OEM 020's lasted 9,200 miles (front and rear)
-021 front has 4,000 miles on it and is about 1/16" from the wear indicator. No way is it going to last as long as the OEM tire.
-021 rear was holding up better than the front, but I had to replace it due to a nail. I replaced it with another 021.

Looks as if the Conti Road Attacks or Pilot Road II's are in my future. If they don't handle as well as the OEM's, or don't have 9,000 miles or better tread life, I will revert to the OEM 020's.

Well I seem to be the exception to the rule...I've got 12,000 on my OEM BT020's, they are into the wear marks and squared on the rear; but not bald. I've been reading lots of posts about tires, wondering whether the 021's get as good or better mileage. I'm torn between wanting to try the less expensive Bridgestones, or a ME880 on the rear, hoping for extended mileage.

 

[gregj]

I think I've had pretty good luck with my stock 020s. I've got almost 10K on it, and the front still looks pretty good. I had to replace the rear not too long ago, ran over a bolt, but there was still plenty of tread. If I can get 12K (or close) out of the front, then I'll be happy.

 

[Rob Hephner]

That's a first!

See, that's why we should stick to bikes.

I like the Storms on the Sprint a lot... I noticed the profile when new felt like it presented a very pronounced initial deflection, but that may have just been the result of familiarity with the very spent, flat centered stock POS 020's they replaced. What's your take on their behavior on the ST13 compared to...?

Yea, I get that feel of initial deflection as well.

I noticed a very easy turn-in, the bike does not fall over but it falls into the corner very easily. (If you understand what I mean.)

I don't have a lot of miles on the tires so I'm gonna hold back on some of the other things I have noticed until I am sure they stick around. But the overall confidence level is way higher than it ever was with the 021's when I got them.

I'll start another thread after about 1500 miles.

I don't know that I would go up from 42 regardless of your lack of twist...

Again, I agree.

 

[Zrider]

Good day all,

My '06 ST1300 goes into the shop early next week for a new pair of shoes (Bridgestone 021's). After reading the previous post, I'm happy that I rode over 10.5K on the OEM 020's, but concerned that the comments/opinions of the 021's are not entirely favorable. As you can see by my avatar, I live in Colorado and enjoy riding the interstates as well as the mountain twisties. I would categorize myself as a conservative rider, and monitor my pressure (tire & blood) regularly when riding. My expectation is to get same performance out of the 021's, as I enjoyed with the 020's. BTW, since I haven't checked, is there any warranty implied or otherwise, that comes with motorcycle tires, regardless of brand?

 

[BobInGA]

I just went 12,850 on the 020 rear and the front is still doing well. Got both front and rear from HDL with whom I've always been satisfied.

Ride safe... Bob

 

[toms]

HI,

You should be able to get 021 bridgestones for the front. I put front and rear on in June with no problems. The 021 is a new replacement for the 020's. The center compound on the 021 is slightly harder, for extra mileage. So travel with confidence on your bridgestones.

Toms,
from BC too

 

[kooler2]

The 021 are junk keep well away from the rubbish. Just did 11000 kays around 6500 miles on the front and its gone. In fact the front was had it a thousand or so ago.
To buy the things is just a waist of time and money. The purchase was purely my mistake, went to a different dealer and took his advice. Not very happy

Bridgestone 021 :rocket1:

 

[JohnD]

G'day Bones,

Noticed that you have run the Pilot Roads on your ST1300. I'm about to change from BT's as I have experienced the same problems on my ST1100. PR's have a differing size 160/60 17 for the rear than the stock 160/70 17. Do you think this will make a great difference?

Must say the the dual compound is very attractive as I do lots of touring down here and tend to run the centre out of the tyres pretty quickly.

 

[STingray]

JohnD, as Kooler2 amply stated: "The 021 are junk keep well away from the rubbish". He's not kidding either. The harder compound in the center is something Bridgestone hasn't yet perfected (or even done well)

I've run 3 sets of 020s on my ST1100. Have gotten 10,000+ miles out of each set, AND, I changed them out for a new set only because I was heading out on rallies. I probably had at least 1,000 more on each set. The 021s? Similar rally riding and they were spent of any useable rubber after 5500 miles. Totally squared off 'ridge' in the middle of the tire. At about 2500 miles the handling becomes rather odd, and after 4000 miles it becomes a downright task to ride the bike through twisties. Transitioning is uncomfortable.

The Bridgestone rep didn't even bother showing up at the Int'l MC show in San Mateo this last weekend (so I could scold him ) I had photos and everything.

I was impressed however with the new Avon Storms. How're they working out for you guys that have 'em?

Oh, there's a photo of the 021s after 5700 miles on this thread (may also be of interest to you): https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25787

Ray

 

[saaz]

I have storms front and back, working really well. Front looks great after 7000kms, so it looks like it will do over the 10,000kms or so from the Z6 and 2 AV45s I used previously. As the storms grip even better, thats a bonus. Rear is too early to tell life wise, but again a step up behaviour wise from BT020, Z6, Avons 46 and D205.