[WildKat]

What kind of mileage do you get with those Matt?

I'm looking at buying into a group buy with a set costing me $370. taxes inc. dropped at my door.

I got about 12000, km. out of my BT-014s on my Kat, but these are going to be going on the new bike, once the originals need replacing.

Bob

I cant complain about the wear on the pilots at all. So far so good, and fortunately with that nice thick tread it saved me from having to buy a new tire when I got that nail in a month back or so. Anyways, I got a good deal from HS2020 when he worked at cycle gear but if you check out www.americanmototire.com , which was my backup plan just in case cycle gear didnt have any in stock, you can make out pretty well.

http://www.americanmototire.com/contents/en-us/d105.html

All you'd need is someone to mount them if you dont have the means to do it yourself but if you check out the site and prices you can make out really well.

[Gromit]

The GSXF 750 I bought nearly 2 months ago (time flies when you're having fun!) has Battlaxes on it.

The rear will need replacing in a few months, the front is brand new. The guy I bought the bike from needed to fit another front tyre so the bike would be roadworthy (you need a roadworthy certificate here before you can transfer the title). Rather than have him fit some used POS with just enough tread to make it roadworthy, I negotiated a brand new tyre as part of the deal.

I had the bike serviced by a Suzuki dealer a couple of weeks ago, and they commented on the Battleaxes. Said they don't recommend them for the GSXF, and suggest that people go for the standard Metzelers. I didn't have a chance to get any detail on why, or what sort of problems the Battleaxes supposedly have.

I've had no issues with the tyres at all so far. The bike is secure in the wet, and seems predictable in hard cornering in the dry.

After 2 months of ownership (and regular use) I'm delighted with the bike, by the way.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: Bridgestone Battlax Tires ?

'99 Gixxer.
a friend of mine took his bike in to get new tires over the weekend. He went in to get Metzlers, but the guy talked him into getting Bridgestone Battlax tires instead.

IMHO:
The BattleAxes are great in cold-weather environments but don't do as well in Florida's heat in my experience. The arc shape is a dual-complex arc, as verses to Metzeler's triple-arc design.

Q: Which Metzelers was he planning on getting and which size GSXR does he ride? I'd probably recommend the Metzeler M3's if he rides really hard, and the Z6's only if he tends to ride easy to middle.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[steves]

Never been a big fan of 'stones, and I really disliked the Dunlop 208's on my last bike. I think Avons or Metz will be my next set.

Nice to see someone from KOP around here, Steves. I lived in Norristown for a year and a half, and I worked at the Tweeter in KOP as a car audio installer.

Weird. I actually moved to East Norriton a few months ago.

[Yellow2002Kat]

Re: Bridgestone Battlax Tires ?

Q: Which Metzelers was he planning on getting and which size GSXR does he ride? I'd probably recommend the Metzeler M3's if he rides really hard, and the Z6's only if he tends to ride easy to middle.

He has a GSX-R 750 and he went in for the Z6s because that's what I have and I rave about them all the time. I've also read your comments about them on KR many times so I felt no hesitation in recommending them. Only reason he didn't get them is because the salesman said the Bridgestones were better tires. Based on the replies, I'm guessing that was his honest opinion.

Anyway, I wouldn't say he's a hard rider. He tends to ride fast, but as you know there's not a lot of railing going on down here anywhere other than offramps, cloverleafs, etc.

Since he just got the new tires this past weekend, I don't think he'll be in the market for tires again anytime soon. Think he'll be OK with the Bridgestones for a while? BTW - he has no idea what brand of tire he took off - he's as into bike mechanics as I am

[The CyberPoet]

Re: Bridgestone Battlax Tires ?

Anyway, I wouldn't say he's a hard rider. He tends to ride fast, but as you know there's not a lot of railing going on down here anywhere other than offramps, cloverleafs, etc.

Since he just got the new tires this past weekend, I don't think he'll be in the market for tires again anytime soon. Think he'll be OK with the Bridgestones for a while? BTW - he has no idea what brand of tire he took off - he's as into bike mechanics as I am

He'll be fine. Just tell him next time not to let the salesman pull a bait-n-switch on him

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[JZ67]

[quote="Yellow2002Kat"]

A friend of mine owns a Bridgestone/Firestone dealer and over a bunch of beers he told me that the Battlax tire is an excellent product. This guy is honest to a fault and I trust his opinion. I like mine!!

OK, but has he ever given you this information sober

Why didn't I see it that way?

[zak_katana_mirage]

avoid bridgestone

[skotty]

After installing Metzelers, I felt I had a whole new bike. I'd swear by Metzelers.

[katman05]

My friend had Bridgestone Battalax's on his ZRX and he said they were alright but nothing great, he and I just put on some Continental road attacks and we are both very pleased with their handling and grip. They are also supposed to wear better than the Metzler Z6's. I'll definately buy another set when these wear out. I have nothing but good things to say about these tires. Here's a review on them http://www.canyonchasers.net/reviews...oad-attack.php

[The CyberPoet]

My friend had Bridgestone Battalax's on his ZRX and he said they were alright but nothing great, he and I just put on some Continental road attacks and we are both very pleased with their handling and grip. They are also supposed to wear better than the Metzler Z6's. I'll definately buy another set when these wear out. I have nothing but good things to say about these tires. Here's a review on them http://www.canyonchasers.net/reviews...oad-attack.php

I would be inclined to agree with his statement that the Conti's are better handling on his ZRX...

But we have to remember that identical tires feel/act different with different bikes above them, because of the weight distribution, rake angles, total load and power-output of the bike all play a role in both how the tire handles and how it ages.

Given that he was almost assuredly was running his Z6's low on pressure as well (based on his thinking the Conti's were particularly high on pressure at 41 rear, 36 front -- the Z6's should 39/36 or so), I could also see the Conti's lasting longer for him under those circumstances.

I'll honestly admit that the Conti Attacks weren't available when I did my last back-to-back new-vs-new tire comparo for the Kat, cycling through a new set of tires each 500 miles for about 2 months. I'm sure I'll include them if I do another tire-comparo -- and encourage anyone else who is willing to do a comparo of their own to include both the Z6's and the Conti's in their comparison. If you shop mail-order for the tires and either mount them yourself or work a discount deal for repeated mounting/unmountings, it's not very expensive to do this kind of test for yourself and decide what tires work best for you (I always ended up selling the tires for more than I bought them for on eBay, leaving me out-of-pocket only for part of the mounting costs). But until I do try them and come to the conclusion that they are better, I'll stick to my ascertation that the Z6's still rule supreme on the Kats in specific (and no comments on any other bike or platform).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet