Bridgestone BT-016 or Pirelli Diablo Rosso?

yoreese · February 11, 2009, 05:43:32 AM

I have a M750 currently running BT-014's and about ready for a fresh set of rubber. My rear tire is getting a little square, does anyone have any opinions and personal experience with either of the tires I'm shopping? I commute mostly as Florida doesn't have many curves, but don't want a tire as hard as a mother-in-law's heart!

the_Journeyman · February 11, 2009, 05:50:43 AM

I've had good luck with plain Diablos, but I live in a much more twisty area. I have considering Pilot roads or Bridgstone's sport-tour compound ~

JM

Big Troubled Bear · February 11, 2009, 06:00:08 AM

Can`t help you, I have always run Michelin`s, but maybe this could help, my new Monster came with Bridgestone BT 56`s

Porsche Monkey · February 11, 2009, 07:28:25 AM

If you don't have any twisties stay away from the BT-016s. I have a set and they are great in the twisties but will wear out very quickly doing straight line only. I would be lucky to get 2000 miles out of this set but will promptly buy another set when I wear them out. They are waaaay overkill for slab riding.

causeofkaos · February 11, 2009, 08:19:17 AM

I was under the impression that the BT016 with the harder compound in the middle was supposed to help with straight slab time ?

Porsche Monkey · February 11, 2009, 08:38:25 AM

Not the way its working out for me. Maybe a little bit but my non 2CT powers lasted another 1000 miles longer than my 16s will go. My riding buddy just went through a set of 16s he bought in November and that is on twisty back road riding. They still wore out the center. Don't get me wrong, they are an excellent tire and feel great on the edge, I have no chicken strips on the rear, but the centers are still not as hard as bridgestone would have you believe. I use my bike to commute sometimes too and its probably the worst thing I could do to these tires. I will be buying another set.

corey · February 11, 2009, 11:44:02 AM

Quote from: causeofkaos on February 11, 2009, 08:19:17 AM
I was under the impression that the BT016 with the harder compound in the middle was supposed to help with straight slab time ?

That is how it works.
The michelin 2ct's are like this as well, but center compound is still pretty soft/sticky, and the outer compound approaches a racing compound.
That's at least how it was explained to me for the MICH's.

The Bridgestone i think is more street oriented, and probably has somewhere between at street/sport and a touring compound in the center..

Porsche Monkey · February 11, 2009, 02:06:58 PM

The bridgies are softer than the powers, including the centers. Its no where near a sport touring tire. The bridgies feel more secure in the corners but wear out faster than the powers which feel almost as good.

yoreese · February 11, 2009, 03:02:13 PM

Quote from: Ducaholic on February 11, 2009, 02:06:58 PM
The bridgies are softer than the powers, including the centers. Its no where near a sport touring tire. The bridgies feel more secure in the corners but wear out faster than the powers which feel almost as good.

So your thinking Michelin Power Road, Road 2CT or Street version? They have too many tires with almost the same name for me to keep them straight!

yoreese · February 11, 2009, 03:11:36 PM

Also I noticed there is almost $100 per set difference in Bridgestone vs Michelin!!! Just did some quick calculations if you get 5K out of the Michelin and only 4K out of the Bridgestone your still almost the same price per mile.

Porsche Monkey · February 11, 2009, 03:57:43 PM

Get yourself some pilot road 2CTs and never look back.

yoreese · February 11, 2009, 04:32:15 PM

Sounds great!

corey · February 11, 2009, 05:54:31 PM

Quote from: Ducaholic on February 11, 2009, 03:57:43 PM
Get yourself some pilot road 2CTs and never look back.

my fault, i thought we were talking pilot POWER 2CT.

zLoki · February 12, 2009, 02:16:57 AM

I have about 500 miles into a Rosso. Ride just fine for commuting but cornering seems a bit unsettled. Might just be new but so far they seem better for commuting. I'm going with the 2CTs next

Desmo Demon · February 12, 2009, 04:37:13 AM

For your type of riding and the bike you have, don't waste your money on soft, sticky tires that you'll be wasting. Here are some of the tires that I would recommend for your application....

Pirelli Diablo Strada
Metzeler ME-Z6
Dunlop D-220 (on sale for $140/set at Cycle Gear).....replaced by the Roadsmart?
Michelin Road of Road 2 (2CT)
Bridgestone BT-020.....or whatever it was replaced with

There are several others, but you are better off with a sport-touring tire. The sport-touring compounds are more than sticky enough for the majority of riders on the streets, and I'm amazed by the number of people who are disillusioned into thinking that they need the stickiest tires available.

I once had a guy talking to me and my wife about how he needs the Michelin Pilot Powers to keep up with us, and I started laughing. He was taken aback and wondering why I was laughing. I simply pointed at my bike and told him that if I was running on used, seven year old, Bridgestone BT-020 sport-touring tires that came on a used set of rims I bought, there is no reason that he needs stickier tires to go the same pace I was.

Edit - BTW, this is a Dunlop D220 sport-touring tire that was on the back of my wife's GSX-R750. It only has 2200 miles on it.....

And this is the used Bridgestone BT-020 tire I had on my ST2....

and what I did to my knee puck while using that BT-020....

I threw the BT-020 away right after I got home because it was starting to slide on me too much.

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Bridgestone BT-016 or Pirelli Diablo Rosso?