Whose running Bridgestone bt-016 tires?

LoL... you sure?

scaled.php

That was just after I got the tires, I've put at least 6k on since that photo
 
Best to replace in pairs, a good front tire is more important than the rear. Getting nice grip from the rear with that nice new tire, and the 3/4/5 year old front will have problems.......I'm just sayin' -but if the front still has tread and it was new this spring then that's different, perfectly fine to replace just the rear.

Had BT-016's on my wife's CBRF4i, they worked well however she does not ride in the rain.
 
LoL... you sure?

scaled.php

Nice legs hehe.

Anyways I had them on my gixxer, then had them on my cbrr. it's a good street tire but It take a while to warm up.
Now I ride on corsa rosso fantastic tire. get the dual compound ones. 2ct's are good as well I heard.
oh and don't mix and match brands.
 
It must depend on the bike ...

I had a set of BT016 on my ZX10R and found that they gave heavy turn-in response and the steering had a lot of kickback in it on bumpy surfaces (which is all we have around here). Did not like them, and I ended up replacing them before they wore out due to tread wear.

Grip seemed fine - but the steering feel did not agree with me.
 
I have them on my zx9 and they dont do to bad,like others have said they take a bit to heat up but they wear really well.as for the wet i was out yesterday on the hwy and beside the normal hydro slip they worked very well.
 
It must depend on the bike ...

I had a set of BT016 and found that they gave heavy turn-in response and the steering had a lot of kickback in it on bumpy surfaces (which is all we have around here). Did not like them, and I ended up replacing them before they wore out due to tread wear.

Grip seemed fine - but the steering feel did not agree with me.

Bingo! It was like I wrote those comments myself! Felt like I had to really "wrestle" with the bike to throw it in corners which sucked because it such a fun, flickable bike (BMW F800). Hated it.



Anyways I had them on my gixxer, then had them on my cbrr. it's a good street tire but It take a while to warm up.
Now I ride on corsa rosso fantastic tire.

Had 016s. Couldnt stand them, and they burned out real quick. Went to Michelin, and now Pirelli.

As said above, "fantastic tire". I did two track days, one drag race night, and heavy street riding and couldn't be happier.


Petes got a special on a set right now. http://www.petes-superbike.com/english/michelin-pilot-road-3-combos/power-race.html



EDIT : Oh, by the way....... if you are bent on getting 016's for whatever reason...... look for the new 016 Pro's, apparently improved with longer lasting compound.
.
 
Last edited:
Not a fan of the BT-016s
 
Old tech, slippery on cold or wet surfaces, decent stick on the edges. But all the same, not as bad as it sounds...

Agreed to all of the above.
It must depend on the bike ...

I had a set of BT016 on my ZX10R and found that they gave heavy turn-in response and the steering had a lot of kickback in it on bumpy surfaces (which is all we have around here). Did not like them, and I ended up replacing them before they wore out due to tread wear.

Grip seemed fine - but the steering feel did not agree with me.

I guess it depends alot on what the riders are comparing the tires to. If you are comparing it to say Michelin, Dunlop, etc, I guess its a decent tire. If you are comparing it to say a Pirelli, well it's garbage.

Overall, the carcass stiffness is good, its just the compound is not great. Needs to be warmed up before u can ride, sometimes when its too warm, it feels greasy. Not predictable in my books
 
Honestly, the BT016 is an old tech tire. Everyone else's tire is much better, and the BT016 is overdue for replacement. If you choose it, you choose it for cost alone... but you will end up paying more because it won't last like a Q2 or Power Pure will, for example.

Forget the anecdotes, I push tires pretty hard and I can tell you that BT016s can be slippery (remember I don't have a bike with less than 140hp except the ZX7, which does matter) in less than perfect conditions. They outright sucked at Deal's Gap - the old early-2000s BT014s were much grippier... yes they were an older tire but single compound, and much more predictable. There is one advantage to the BT016... they leave beautiful, long black lines when you're hard on the gas. :D

There are two really unreal tires out there, a very good one and one tire which is a subjective "good" or "great" depending on your riding style. In order of best stick & feel: Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa, Dunlop Q2, Metzeler Interact, Michelin Power Pure. Look at the order of cost yourself because it depends on the tire you need for your bike.

Guys with 250s, please don't respond to this thread. The BT016 is a "hypersport" tire designed for in excess of 100hp.
 
Last edited:
Just ordered a Michelin Power Pilot as a rear tire for my 08 GSX-R. Hope it's good for street riding/commuting and decent in cold/wet ground.
 
Just ordered a Michelin Power Pilot as a rear tire for my 08 GSX-R. Hope it's good for street riding/commuting and decent in cold/wet ground.

It's basically an older sportbike tire (sport touring grip by today's standard). I personally don't like the feel of them, too lazy but YMMV. On a sport touring bike they're fine, the extra weight seems to work them better. They also seem to work pretty well in the rain once warmed up.

They're an older design too but I've been told that Michelin does update them some (quietly). This is a mid-200x design for a tire and some people swear by them. But a few of them tried a Q2 this year...
 
Last edited:
Honestly, the BT016 is an old tech tire. Everyone else's tire is much better, and the BT016 is overdue for replacement. If you choose it, you choose it for cost alone... but you will end up paying more because it won't last like a Q2 or Power Pure will, for example.

Forget the anecdotes, I push tires pretty hard and I can tell you that BT016s can be slippery (remember I don't have a bike with less than 140hp except the ZX7, which does matter) in less than perfect conditions. They outright sucked at Deal's Gap - the old early-2000s BT014s were much grippier... yes they were an older tire but single compound, and much more predictable. There is one advantage to the BT016... they leave beautiful, long black lines when you're hard on the gas. :D

There are two really unreal tires out there, a very good one and one tire which is a subjective "good" or "great" depending on your riding style. In order of best stick & feel: Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa, Dunlop Q2, Metzeler Interact, Michelin Power Pure. Look at the order of cost yourself because it depends on the tire you need for your bike.

Guys with 250s, please don't respond to this thread. The BT016 is a "hypersport" tire designed for in excess of 100hp.

+1, Shaman!

My bike came with the 014s and i really, really liked them. Yes, they were single compound, but they stuck like glue, and had great feedback. Because of this great experience, I had super high hopes for the newer, fresher, apparently better 016's. What a disappointment!
 
Last edited:
ZX10R is happy with Dunlop D209GP (haven't tried Ntec yet) or Michelin Pilot Power (previous favorite). Have not tried Pirelli on that bike. Definitely disagrees with the BT016. The Dunlops seem to maintain steering feel better with mileage. The Michelin PP's gave good steering feel when new but it seemed to degrade faster. I have not tried the Pilot Power 2CT's yet but I have a set in the shop waiting to go on. I use ex-CBR Cup Pirelli Supercorsa Pro on my 125 where they have fantastic grip but wear out quickly.

This isn't a Dunlop versus Bridgestone versus Pirelli thing, it comes down to specific tires and specific bikes working well with each other, or not. The Bridgestone slicks that I use on my race bike work awesome and have wonderfully neutral steering on that bike with the suspension setup that I have on that bike. I have not tried the BT003 or BT10 (not 010 ... the new one) yet.
 
The 016's were already on order, getting them installed tomorrow at mototecnica. Curious to see how they'll feel on the bike..guess time will tell
 
The 016's were already on order, getting them installed tomorrow at mototecnica. Curious to see how they'll feel on the bike..guess time will tell

They got great reviews in an article from last year. Some people are making it sound like they're bias ply tire from the seventies. :rolleyes:
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the negative reviews. The BT016's are still good tires. Are there better track tires out there? Sure. But they're not garbage. They do have multiple compounds but the intent there is to get better wear out of the centre part of the tire. I used them for 3 trackdays on my R6 and I thought they were fine. I lost the front a bit in one corner and it was fairly low-drama. I honestly don't think the tire will be your limiting factor for the most part.
 
Back
Top Bottom