Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542400
P102 PRODUCT REVIEWI STANDOUT FEATURE Exceptional front tire performance, especially under braking RIDER ANALYSIS Bridgestone's Battlax RS11 was about as close as you could get to a race- bred tire for the street, but the new RS12 aims to take it up a few notches. The Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Southern Thailand, is one of the newest MotoGP venues. Its 1.9-mile venue first hosted Marc and the boys in 2018, so compared to some of the cir- cuits we normally ride around the world, it's practically brand new, which makes it ideal for testing race-bred tires. The asphalt around Chang Interna- tional Circuit is billiard table-smooth and thus allows you to really push the front-end under braking, but this wasn't the first thing that I noticed. That accolade belongs to the RS12's incredibly quick warm-up performance. With no tire warmers in use on the RS12, it took about three-quarters of my out lap to have my knee buried into the tarmac, a good sign as the tire's predict- able behavior allowed me to push for faster lap times earlier than I expected. Once the tire was fully up to tem- perature and I could brake at the points on the track I felt comfortable and repeatable at, the front tire's stability really shone through. While not having quite the squishy feel of a pure race tire, the RS12's late- braking stability made for predictable turn-in feel at the handlebars regard- less of whether I was on a race- prepped Yamaha YZF-R1, a CBR1000RR- R SP or a BMW S 1000 RR. Once in the middle of the corner, the transfer from full brakes to early throttle opening again inspired confidence. The rear RS12's edge grip was impressive, al- lowing me to dial in the power smoothly for the first 10 laps, at which point drive began to slowly diminish as heat build- up slowly robbed the tire of edge grip. This is to be expected with a standard street tire, albeit a racing version. The RS12 still proved to be a very impressive unit, with each set of tires lasting up- wards of 60 laps around the high-speed circuit, even if that incredible initial grip began to fade after about 10 laps. Bridgestone's tires are more in line with Dunlop in that they have a harder carcass and less squish than some- thing like a Pirelli or Michelin. The result is a stiffer tire that you need to trust a bit more than a Pirelli, which almost screams at you, letting you know exactly what it's doing. That's not a bad thing, however, as Bridgestones seem to be (at least in my opinion) the best of both worlds in that you get incredible grip but with a slightly less tangible feel than Michelin or Pirelli. They will almost be guaranteed to last longer than all those brands, too. The RS11 was a good tire, but the RS12 is a firm step ahead in all areas of relevant performance. There are only two areas I can't comment on—big mile longevity and wet weather performance. I guess I'll have to get a set on a long- term test bike this year to find out. RENNIE SCAYSBROOK List Price: N/A Website: https://tires.bridgestone.com The result at the handlebars is greater braking force can be applied as the tire tread spreads out over the road surface more evenly, giving you greater feel and thus more confidence. On the all-important spider graph (tire companies love a good spider graph), Bridges - tone claims the RS12 is superi- or everywhere in comparison to the RS11, with the main advan- tages coming in front and rear grip feel and performance drop feeling, with small improve - ments made in the important mid-corner brake release feel, cornering stability and in re - duced warm-up times. FOUR SIZES (1 Front, 3 Rear): Front: 120/70ZR17M/C 58W TL Rear: 180/55ZR17M/C 73W TL 190/55ZR17M/C 75W TL 200/55ZR17M/C 78W TL