G'day Guys
I live in Perth ,Western Australia and I'm the proud owner of a blue and gold 1998 ST1100 abs and this will be my first post.
Having purchased the ST six months ago I've managed to put several thousand k's on the bike which have predominately consisted of day trips and hills runs. The ST is comfortable, smooth and surprisingly rapid. Which leads me to the Bridgestone's. When I purchased the bike she was sporting squared and worn Avon GT's. They still possessed plenty of tread but gave the bike a tendency to run wide in corners and needed lots of leverage at the bars to turn in. Certainly not confidence inspiring. I knew I had purchased a touring machine but didn't expect the handling to be so poor. Enter the T32's. A service including the addition of brand new Bridgestone T32 GT's has transformed the handling and my opinion of the bike. Predictable turn in combined with holding the desired line, smooth transitions plus enough grip to grind my boots. I wouldn't call the ST agile but she is more than capable of getting the heart pumping in the twisty bits. 1000k's in and no discernable wear.!!!! I'm running a 120/70 front and 170/60 rear. Standard rear should be a 160 but Bridgestone don't make that size in the GT compound. It gives a more rounded profile and at a guess it might help with turning the bike quicker?? One thing is for sure. I wont be running out of rubber. There's still half an inch of chicken strip left!?! Any way you look at it the grip and feel of the T32's is amazing. I chose the GT version as half the riding I expect to be doing is 2 up with luggage. Its early days yet but I did 9,000k's with T31's on my XJR and for the first 7/8000ks they wore well and grip was amazing for sport touring rubber. If the T32's can deliver the same on a bike that is 400kg + (including rider/s) I'll be stoked. I've read the GT compound can be harsh/bumpy but I haven't noticed it to be honest and I tend to run my tyre pressures at the upper end.
I cant recommend the T32's enough. My ST rolled of the production line over 20 yrs ago and the T32's on it now are superior in every way to the rubber that adorned her then. If only the prices were the same
Pete
Ps I run sportier and more expensive tyres on several of my other bikes and I suspect its only my ego and the odd track day the keeps me doing so.
I live in Perth ,Western Australia and I'm the proud owner of a blue and gold 1998 ST1100 abs and this will be my first post.
Having purchased the ST six months ago I've managed to put several thousand k's on the bike which have predominately consisted of day trips and hills runs. The ST is comfortable, smooth and surprisingly rapid. Which leads me to the Bridgestone's. When I purchased the bike she was sporting squared and worn Avon GT's. They still possessed plenty of tread but gave the bike a tendency to run wide in corners and needed lots of leverage at the bars to turn in. Certainly not confidence inspiring. I knew I had purchased a touring machine but didn't expect the handling to be so poor. Enter the T32's. A service including the addition of brand new Bridgestone T32 GT's has transformed the handling and my opinion of the bike. Predictable turn in combined with holding the desired line, smooth transitions plus enough grip to grind my boots. I wouldn't call the ST agile but she is more than capable of getting the heart pumping in the twisty bits. 1000k's in and no discernable wear.!!!! I'm running a 120/70 front and 170/60 rear. Standard rear should be a 160 but Bridgestone don't make that size in the GT compound. It gives a more rounded profile and at a guess it might help with turning the bike quicker?? One thing is for sure. I wont be running out of rubber. There's still half an inch of chicken strip left!?! Any way you look at it the grip and feel of the T32's is amazing. I chose the GT version as half the riding I expect to be doing is 2 up with luggage. Its early days yet but I did 9,000k's with T31's on my XJR and for the first 7/8000ks they wore well and grip was amazing for sport touring rubber. If the T32's can deliver the same on a bike that is 400kg + (including rider/s) I'll be stoked. I've read the GT compound can be harsh/bumpy but I haven't noticed it to be honest and I tend to run my tyre pressures at the upper end.
I cant recommend the T32's enough. My ST rolled of the production line over 20 yrs ago and the T32's on it now are superior in every way to the rubber that adorned her then. If only the prices were the same
Pete
Ps I run sportier and more expensive tyres on several of my other bikes and I suspect its only my ego and the odd track day the keeps me doing so.
