Switched from PR4s last month to Bridgestone A41s on the recommendation of a fellow local GS rider, after initially considering Roadtec01s. What swung it for me were the mix of positive reviews for this relatively new on the scene tyre, plus the fitted cost which was considerably cheaper than the competition.
Initial thoughts were positive with much improved handling over the old and squared off PR4s (although new, they were fine). One thing that hit confidence a bit was that these took a lot longer to scrub in than any previous tyre I've had, and much more than the 120-odd miles I'd reckoned on. It was not until I had 300 miles on them that confidence started to grow to the extent that feedback became more positive, even at the front. Pushing things a bit in the first few hundred miles resulted in the odd butt-clenching moment that the back kicks out under throttle or I felt the front had started washing out a bit, but road conditions for that whole period were wet and greasy (mainly).
Roll on another few hundred miles and things just keep improving. Grip is confidence inspiring now, road noise not too bad at all, and stability at any speed is great. Under braking, they provide loads of grip without moving about under you. A brief examination of my tyres the other day revealed that confidence must be growing as some of the writing at the very edge of the grip on the rear tyre (unusually, there is a small area of imprinted writing near the edge) had been worn into quite a bit with the tyre scrubbed to the very edge...no chicken strips left on the back and only a small area at the front. The lean angles possible are impressive.
One aspect that isn't so great is the off road performance. These are sold as a "10% off road, 90% road" tyre for big adventure bikes. On the few miles of off road I tried them on over a mix of gravel trails and deep rutted tracks, they didn't provide much confidence, especially in the damp. Gravel surfaces and reasonably smooth trails were ok but I felt that the grip I had from my Anakee II's (fitted to an Explorer) was better off road on the same surfaces. Rutted tracks proved a handful, with lots of rider input needed to keep the bike upright and slides were frequent, back and front. It was damp the few days I tried this though.
That said, if your riding takes in nothing more than the odd gravel track or mild green lane, you'll be fine, just as you would with stonier off road conditions but if you do a lot of off road trails, something more dedicated to those conditions would be the way to go.
All in all, I'm really happy with these tyres. Mileage will be determined in due course as will wear pattern. The stand outs for me are the very consistent edge to edge grip and smooth handling characteristics on road, with great behaviour at extreme lean angles and under braking. The transition from centre to edge is very smooth making for effortless lean-in and steerage with lots of feedback. Puncture resistance should be good on these by all accounts too. The only issue I've had was more bike related when at about 400 miles in, my TPMS warning triangle came up indicating a rear loss of pressure. It twas a sensor fault rather than a tyre issue, as re-starting the bike, the warning disappeared. I'll have to re-set that at some point.
Initial thoughts were positive with much improved handling over the old and squared off PR4s (although new, they were fine). One thing that hit confidence a bit was that these took a lot longer to scrub in than any previous tyre I've had, and much more than the 120-odd miles I'd reckoned on. It was not until I had 300 miles on them that confidence started to grow to the extent that feedback became more positive, even at the front. Pushing things a bit in the first few hundred miles resulted in the odd butt-clenching moment that the back kicks out under throttle or I felt the front had started washing out a bit, but road conditions for that whole period were wet and greasy (mainly).
Roll on another few hundred miles and things just keep improving. Grip is confidence inspiring now, road noise not too bad at all, and stability at any speed is great. Under braking, they provide loads of grip without moving about under you. A brief examination of my tyres the other day revealed that confidence must be growing as some of the writing at the very edge of the grip on the rear tyre (unusually, there is a small area of imprinted writing near the edge) had been worn into quite a bit with the tyre scrubbed to the very edge...no chicken strips left on the back and only a small area at the front. The lean angles possible are impressive.
One aspect that isn't so great is the off road performance. These are sold as a "10% off road, 90% road" tyre for big adventure bikes. On the few miles of off road I tried them on over a mix of gravel trails and deep rutted tracks, they didn't provide much confidence, especially in the damp. Gravel surfaces and reasonably smooth trails were ok but I felt that the grip I had from my Anakee II's (fitted to an Explorer) was better off road on the same surfaces. Rutted tracks proved a handful, with lots of rider input needed to keep the bike upright and slides were frequent, back and front. It was damp the few days I tried this though.
That said, if your riding takes in nothing more than the odd gravel track or mild green lane, you'll be fine, just as you would with stonier off road conditions but if you do a lot of off road trails, something more dedicated to those conditions would be the way to go.
All in all, I'm really happy with these tyres. Mileage will be determined in due course as will wear pattern. The stand outs for me are the very consistent edge to edge grip and smooth handling characteristics on road, with great behaviour at extreme lean angles and under braking. The transition from centre to edge is very smooth making for effortless lean-in and steerage with lots of feedback. Puncture resistance should be good on these by all accounts too. The only issue I've had was more bike related when at about 400 miles in, my TPMS warning triangle came up indicating a rear loss of pressure. It twas a sensor fault rather than a tyre issue, as re-starting the bike, the warning disappeared. I'll have to re-set that at some point.
