The original tires worked pretty well. They are more of a sport-touring tire
than a sport-only tire but match the bike pretty well. Other tires can hookup
better in all-out cornering but the mileage is good. It provides more than enough
feedback to spend time learning the bike.
Front- 4,000 miles Rear- 3,000
miles
Very popular tire. The profiles are well matched in that the front and rear
reach the edge at the same time. They provided good feedback and made the steering
a little better than stock. They felt predictable and didn't require any real
warmup time.
Front- 4,400 miles
Rear-3,000 miles
Bridgestone has a strong background with Honda and this rear's profile did match
well. Mileage was a bit less than the D207 but worked with the front OK.
Rear- 2,400 miles
These are the other most popular tire for sporty bikes. While the front and
rear did match well, I thought they felt a bit skatey as they squirmed a bit
when pushed. The front was fine but I didn't trust the rear as much.
Front- 2,700 miles
Rear- 2,200 miles
A local dealer had a special on some race tires so I figured I would give
them a shot. Turns out they should be shot. Horrible. The front was much more
rounded than the rear, so the rear would reach the edge quickly but the gumball-shaped
front was so rounded the edges could never be used. The front was also so tall
it didn't track as well as before. They took forever to warmup and were scary
until they got some heat in the carcass. Once they were half worn, they became
even more frightening. I tried lower and higher air pressure but nothing helped.
Thankfully (!) they wore out fast. Race tires belong on the track, not the street.
Use what works, not what your ego wants. These have been replaced by the new
Pilots radial tires, which are getting favorable reviews. But with this bad
experience and the bad Michelins that came on my CBR-F2 when they first came
out, I don't trust Michelins much.
Front- 1,800 miles Rear- 1,190 miles
I figured I would try some proven tires after those Michelins. Somehow, these
were not as good as the first time. The weather had since warmed, possibly changing
it's feedback. They felt vague and less predictable, though never as bad as
the race tire. My mileage dropped significantly but this could have been from
learning the bike better (harder) and the hot roads. Now I just use the bike
for fun, not commuting. The centers still look good while the shoulders are
past the wear-bars.
Front- 1,820 miles Rear- 1,800
miles
Even though I wasn't as happy the last time I tried them, I figured I should
give them another shot (yes, they were on sale). These worked much better now.
Good feedback and were real predictable. I think these are a good choice for
the hot weather roads and I will stick with the D207's in the winter. They all
seem to last about the same now (which is to say way too little) but that's
the price to pay for radial sport tires.
Front- 2,100 miles Rear- 2,000
miles
These are the new higher-mileage radials they advertise as still being "grippy".
I gave them a shot since I am tired (sorry) of swapping so often. The profiles
match well and at first they felt almost as good as the SS sporty tires. But
after a couple of hard passes up and down Palomar Mountain, they would start
to feel sketchy, though. By the time they hit the 2,000-mile mark (where the
others were toast) it still had good tread but would slide coming out of most
turns. Not big, cool Garry McCoy slides, just,"AAHH, I fouled myself!"-
slides when you didn't need them. They both finally wore-out at 4,000 miles
and have been replaced. With the cold weather lately, these worked fine for
cruising at VFR speeds, just not draggin' speeds. If you don't ride stupid enough
to drag parts on the ground, these will work and last fine.
Front- 4,000 miles Rear- 4,000 miles
These seem to be marketed as a bridge between the high mileage BT020 and the
sporty 56SS. Like most Bridgestones, these have good matched profiles that wear
to the edges. Good feel to the edges. The front is a bit more rounded than most
B/S fronts but wears and corners well. The steering feels a bit heavier at slow
speeds, almost like low tire pressure. The feeling goes away once you start
to push it. The first rear toasted pretty quick, but that included 80+ laps
at the Streets of Willow. While the front had some life left, I installed another
matching rear, which gave more of a normal lifespan. Both start to exhibit cupping,
but the shoulders wore out before it got terminal.
Front- 3801 miles Rear- 1750/2900 miles
Despite being a race compound (but not their "raciest" version),
it warms up right away. It gives real good feel and the two sizes seem to relate
well. Performance on the road was at least as good as its preferred Bridgestones,
with no particular bad points. It worked very well at the second Streets of
Willow track day, no real "scuff-in" time needed, other than the usual
couple of out-laps before pushing them. A bit more wear at the day's end than
the BT010's had after their track day, but that was to be expected with my amazing
rate of increased speed after acquiring more track experience.... Honestly.
Front- ? Rear- ?