You can read Part 3 of his 790 Adventure project here, which has links back to earlier articles.
After the wheel swap, Dirck mounted Continental RoadAttack 3 tires, which worked well and certainly provided a dramatic increase in cornering grip over the stock 21/18 inch wheels shod with dual purpose tires. The 120/70/19 front was paired with a 170/60/17 rear. The only problem experienced was the relatively high effort necessary to make the bike turn-in.
Flash forward to the most recent tire change on the 790 Adventure and Dirck has now mounted Bridgestone’s new T32 sport touring rubber. You can follow this link to Bridgestone’s web site, but here is the Bridgestone summary of the changes/improvements to the T31 successor:
The T32 takes a leap forward in motorcycle tire technology, offering innovative new tread design and rubber compounds. The results provide sport touring riders with the confidence to travel endlessly, rain or shine.
- Evacuates water more effectively with a new tread pattern featuring Pulse Groove Technology™ and Silica Rich compounds.*
- Increased cornering grip and improved feel from larger adhesion area provided by a 13% larger rear contact patch.*
- 7% shorter wet stopping distance with no sacrifice in wear life*
Specific GT spec options for heavier bikes provides additional stability and 10% more wear life*
In changing tires, the front size remained the same, but the rear is now a 160/70/17. This narrower tire, with a taller sidewall, seems to have transformed the handling of the 790 Adventure. The bike now turns in with far less effort, and feels more neutral. The 70 series sidewall height on a 160 wide tire is somewhat unusual, but it seems to have done the trick when it comes to handling.
Regarding the T32 tires, the most notable change was a softer, more compliant feel. Additionally, cornering grip has been very good. The biggest improvement? Feel and feedback from both tires, particularly the front, is outstanding.
When Bridgestone was the tire supplier to MotoGP, the racers were in love with the grip and feel of the front tire (something Michelin has struggled to match). The excellent feedback provided by the rubber was transferred over to a sportbike tire developed by Bridgestone near the end of its MotoGP supplier contract, the S22. The S22, now several years old, is still winning shoot-outs against more recently introduced sportbike rubber.
The bottom line is that Dirck is very happy with these tires and highly recommends them. They are available in a “GT Spec” for heavier bikes, although Dirck has been running the standard version. With roughly 500 miles on the T32 tires, there isn’t much to say about wear or longevity at this point. We will try to post an update as the tires near the end of their service life.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
