Bridgestone T30 Tires

karl

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The GTs are for heavy bikes. I am a fat guy and ride two up at times with the "standard" tire.
 

junglejim

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I just ordered a set of T30s from Jake Wilson for $207 with free shipping and a $50 rebate from Bridgestone = $ 157.00 for the set of two.
I WAS going to order the Pirelli Angel GTs, but couldn't pass the price of the T30s/
 

junglejim

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Too little, too late. After ordering the Bridgestone T30s yesterday at a very reasonable price I NOW find out that there are T30 EVOs also which have improved wet performance. However they are almost twice the price. I didn't know they had 3 kinds of T30s - T30GT, T30, and T30EVO.
 

Warren

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The T30 EVO looks like a good substitute for the PR4 at a lesser price but they do not have a 150 section rear tire yet. As a comparison for the front on Revzilla the front PR4 is $152.81, the T30 is $112.78 and the T30 EVO is $131.94
 
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Jezabell has new slippers. Ryans Cycle in Ware, MA put on a pair of T 30's for $125. After treating the mother of my children to lunch for the ride to the shop I set out with the mission of scuffing the new tires in. New tires are wonderful. The first ride home when she was new took about a half a tank of fuel, as did this ride home and they both felt great.

Took the long way home. Around the Quabbin with a short blast of two lane highway on Rt 2 and then south on 32 to 112 into Oxford past the coffee shop where I once met T Paul and Rob. Ride got a bit urban in Webster south into CT on 12 and a stop at the Bean for some carrot cake and coffee. Discovered that my favorite blast through the woods had just been chip sealed. second gear through a few miles of loose stone. Back heading north again on 32 for home.

The chicken strips are still pretty wide, My pace was relaxed near the speed limit a lot of the way. Dry grip was what you would expect from new tires, they turn in nice. Weather was nice cool with sun shining. Wet performance will have to wait to get a try... Never had a problem with any of the tires on this bike in the wet. I don't use anywhere close to maximum grip in my normal riding. The true test for me is how long these stay sweet.
I have heard that the mold release goo needs to be removed on new tires? Is this true and should I expect that this might already be done, and/or that the dealer will do it during the install?
 

Phil Tarman

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Pete, it wears off in about 100 miles or so, from what I've been told. My dealer's service manager and his service writer always says, "Remember! Those things are slick for the first 100 miles -- take it easy and be safe."

They always say that. They service the Thornton, CO, Police Department bikes and Billy loves to tell the story of how he told one of their veteran moto-officers to be careful because the new tires were slick. The officer kind of sneered and said, "Billy, I've been riding since before you were born." Billy replied, "Just sayin' -- be careful."

The officer pulled out of their lot onto busy Washington Avenue, goosed it to merge into traffic and promptly had the rear skid out and the bike low-sided. Billy went out and helped the officer get his bike upright and pushed it back into the shop to have repairs made.
 

Woodaddict

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There's gotta be some way to clean that off. No? Bleach?
you can try...but just watch the lean angles with throttle or brake for 100 miles. I never had a problem, but I did feel slight not wanting track the way I planned a few times. that would be watch lean angles
 

Warren

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I would not use a chemical on them. I have heard of lightly rubbing them down with a Scotch-Brite pad but I have always just ridden carefully for the first dozen or so miles.
 
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I would not use bleach. Ever heard of a bleach burn out? The stuff is slick. Certainly could wash most of it off but I would not bother and just ride easy to scrub the tire in.

Brad
 
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Another comment about the T-30's:
There is a lot of road construction in the DFW area. I noticed than on the FJR, the T-30's are more stable than the BT-23's, especially when driving over longitudinal road seams. The BT-23's always felt a little twitchy.
 

karl

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Beautiful day yesterday sky filled with cumulonimbus clouds with patches of bright blue and sunshine. Riding solo and the roads got wet. Slowed initially but ended up just riding the speed limit again (or there about). After lunch http://www.flroberts.com/ourbrands/whatelydiner/ I caught some actual rain. Enough water on the ground where you can see the tracks of the vehicle ahead as they pump the road dry at the contact patch.

The T30's ran without pucker. Including a stretch of Rt 91 at around 6K rpm in overdrive aka fifth. Very happy with the way they are working now at less than 600 miles on them. Time and more miles may tell a different tale. I am looking forward to riding them.
 

junglejim

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That's good to hear Karl. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried to fit a T 30 EVO on an NT. They don't make our size in the EVO, but I believe the closest size 160/60 - 17) would be a tight fit. The EVO are the ones that are supposed to have improved wet traction.

Do they fit?
Do they work?
 

karl

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The roads here are the slickest after a prolonged dry spell and a light rain and I haven't ridden that yet. As it is I don't mind waiting to try the EVO version.
 

junglejim

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After 6,500 miles I measured tread depth to the wear bars and my tires and the rear is 57% worn out and the front is 50% worn. That should give an expected life of about 11,000 miles, which is pretty good for an inexpensive tire. So I think the tire life is OK.

But I'm not impressed with the ride and handling. I believe they ride more harshly than a premium tire and they don't hold as good a line in curves as my other tires did. When mounting them I noticed that they are considerably stiffer than other tires which I believe accounts for the ride and handling negatives. I don't believe I'll buy them again even at their low price. I'd rather pay more for a better ride.

My son had a set of T30s on his Concours 14. After 6,500 miles they went from OK to shot in just 500 miles. He thought he'd make it through the riding season, but the tires died suddenly. Granted the C14 weighs nearly 200# more and has twice the horsepower (and he is younger), but his experience does not inspire confidence in the T30s. He went back to PR4s.
 

junglejim

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The rear T30 suffered "sudden death syndrome" just like my son's did (see above post).

I measured my tread depth before leaving on my trip south and the tire had 40% of the tread left to the bars. That was gone in 2,500 miles. So I got 6,500 miles on the first 60% of the tread and 2,500 miles on the last 40% of the tread.

The front tire still looks pretty good, but my confidence is gone.

Overall the T30 tires were a good value (about $155 for a F&R set), but not a great tire.
 

Phil Tarman

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I'm at about 8,000 miles on my T30s and the front looks good. The rear is squared off but still seems to have another 4-5K left in it. We'll see.
 

DirtFlier

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Some of the Hondas in the 1980s, such as the Turbo 500/650, used an angle valve stem and they provided a support to keep from stressing the rubber base of the valve.
 
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My NT came with T30's, the Stayin Safe course held in southwest Pa. and southeast Ohio May 14 and 15, were full of twisties and even in the rain on day one the T30s' worked great.
 

DirtFlier

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[...and what I am hesitant to call cupping on the sides as it is so angular. The front is cupped, not real bad but enough that a new tire will feel way better...]

On my bike, both the OEM 020s and also the replacement 023s developed cupping fairly early and although the handling wasn't noticeably effected, I hated the tire noise. I talked to some Bridgestone tech guys at one of our events and they offered no suggestions, other than run the standard air pressures of 36F-42R.

I switched to Avons Storm Ultra 2 and have been happy with them but they've been superceded so yesterday bought a Pilot Road 3 to try on the front wheel.
 
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