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Bridgestone Expands Motorcycle Tire Portfolio

Nov 06 , 2014

Set to launch Battlax RS10, Battlax T30 EVO and Battlax A40

Tokyo (November 6, 2014) – Bridgestone is pleased to announce that Bridgestone has extended its Battlax range of race, sports, touring, and adventure motorcycle tires segments with the launch of the Battlax Racing Street RS10, Battlax Sport Touring T30 EVO and the Battlax Adventure A40. These will be available in February, 2015 worldwide.

The Battlax Racing Street RS10 – the replacement of the Battlax BT003RS – now offers enthusiasts sportier handling and more control with faster acceleration out of corners, enhanced steering response, greater line-holding precision in corners and confident braking stability, particularly on dry surfaces.

With the Battlax Sport Touring T30 EVO, Bridgestone has upgraded the wet performance of the Battlax T30 to provide a sport touring radial that delivers the ultimate combination of peace of mind, performance, versatility and excitement.

The new Battlax Adventure A40 expands the all-weather potential of trail radials for the bikers who ride their adventure machines primarily for on-road touring.

Battlax RS10 Sport Radial

Bridgestone has re-engineered the design and added new formula compounds to upgrade the performance of its Battlax range, now showcased in its newest tire: the Battlax Racing Street RS10.

To raise dry-surface grip and performance levels, while maintaining current wet performance levels, Bridgestone engineers concentrated on RS10’s contact area, grip level, stability and damping, in a total re-examination of current designs and construction.

The contact area was improved through the development of new front and rear patterns featuring an extra-long pitch design with grooves aligned in the direction of forces acting on the tire during cornering, using analysis techniques developed in Bridgestone’s MotoGP™ program. This design increases block stiffness and adds more stability and predictable behavior, leaving the rider with a confident feeling of stability on the brakes and in the acceleration phase.

This cornering stability is further enhanced by the new 3D design of the groove walls which adds stiffness to the tread blocks. On the rear pattern, separate short-lag grooves promote the right sort of tire deformation around the grooves during cornering, helping to increase grip and acceleration out of corners.

Higher levels of grip over a wider temperature range are added by the use of a newly-developed compound, providing riders with superior handling and line-tracing precision. The RS10 profile was also revised, giving the new tire a larger contact area in mid- to high-angle leans, producing better grip. This improvement gives the rider better line-tracing precision and a more confident feeling through corners.

In terms of construction, Battlax RS10 has been revised to upgrade cornering, add stability and provide a smoother ride. The front tire’s mono-spiral belt is made with stiffer steel which improves the rigidity of the tread area. The rear tire also has a softer sidewall construction for a smoother ride and is more than a pound lighter than the RS10 predecessor (BT003 Racing Street), which reduces the gyro effect, making leans easier in corners. From compound side the rear tire adopts a cap and base layer compound in order to reinforce the stiffness of the tread.

Tire Size

Front 120/70ZR17 M/C (58W)

Rear 190/55ZR17 M/C (75W)

Rear 200/55ZR17 M/C (78W)

Battlax Sport Touring T30 EVO

The T30 EVO was developed in response to the growing number of motorcyclists who want a touring tire that offers them the peace of mind of consistent and comfortable performance on wet and dry surfaces – yet still gives them plenty of sporty handling and fun. The technical aim for Bridgestone was therefore to maintain T30’s superb dry performance while upgrading its wet performance.

Wet performance has been transformed by the development of new formula compounds that increase friction on wet surfaces. A new compound applied to the front tire in combination with a newly-developed compound on the center strip of the rear tire improve wet performance without sacrificing dry performance, and over a wider temperature operating range, as well as provide more stability, particularly for heavy-loaded touring bikes.

The other part of the equation is the T30 EVO tread design. The rear pattern has been re-engineered with sub-grooves extending to the center strip which increases water channeling away from the contact patch, giving riders more traction in wet conditions. At the same time, the curved grooves have been moved outward to create a rib along the center strip, adding stiffness to the tread for stability when accelerating. This change also increases the size of the contact area with the lean angle, adding more grip and enabling the rider to corner in greater safety.

Tire Size

Front 120/70ZR17 M/C (58W)

Rear 160/60ZR17 M/C (69W)

Rear 180/55ZR17 M/C (73W)

Battlax Adventure A40

By fusing the MotoGP™ heritage of the Battlax brand with the proven performance of Battle Wing, Bridgestone has created an Adventure tire that delivers enhanced traction and stability, particularly on wet surfaces, and greater durability.

The goal of Bridgestone engineers was to significantly improve Battle Wing’s dry and wet handling – without sacrificing its high-level stability and durability – giving adventure bikers greater pleasure and safety on all roads and in all conditions.

This has been achieved with Battlax Adventure A40 by improving dry handling without loss of stability: a new front tire profile produces a larger contact area at high lean angles for better cornering grip; larger tread blocks add stiffness for more cornering stability; and Bridgestone’s mono-spiral belt construction on the front tire improves shock absorption, for greater rider comfort and less fatigue.

Wet performance has been improved by the revised compound incorporating Bridgestone’s proprietary NanoPro-Tech technology which helps reduce heat generation caused by tire deformation.

At the same time, Bridgestone has re-engineered the A40 tread patterns to upgrade wet performance and stability. By re-designing the groove angles and layout on the front tread pattern, cornering stability has been enhanced. Wider grooves on front and rear improve water clearance and upgrade wet performance. The layout of the grooves on the rear tire facilitates larger blocks, for added stiffness, which provides more stability during cornering.

Tire Size

Front 120/70ZR17 M/C (58W)

Rear 160/60ZR17 M/C (69W)

Rear 180/55ZR17 M/C (73W)

About Bridgestone Corporation:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tire and rubber company. In addition to tires for use in a wide variety of applications, it also manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber and chemical products and sporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations and territories around the world.

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