Thoughts on BT014?

[Lawn Dart]

I'm looking for some real world comparative reviews on Bridgestone's BT014's.  Anyone have an opinion on them?  If so, can you compare them to other tires?
 
Rumor is that the tire carcass is extremely stiff to the point of compromising ride quality.  Any thoughts here?

[The_Squire]

I've run several sets of '014s on my Blackbird.  I've also run some Pilot Sports and some Pilot Powers.

I agree, the '014s were relatively stiff sidewalled.  I liked them OK, though.  I was able to get about 10 - 12 thousand kms out of a rear tire.  I typically used two rears per front.

All in all, I liked the '014s and would use them again in a pinch.  I like them better than Pilot Sports.

But... I love the Pilot Power.  I haven't finished a set of them yet, so I can't say how many kms they last for me.  But the Powers feel like they warm up a lot quicker, have more grip and ride a lot softer, even at the same air pressure.

I also use Pilot Powers on my track bike (CBR600RR) and I love them there.

Good luck!

[JoelCool]

I ran one 014 front on my old 929 with an 020 out back.  Cupping was minimal, wear was average for me - about the same as the 020 in the back.  No issues with grip - although I can't remember if it was ridden extensively in the rain or not.  I didn't notice anything related to a stiff sidewall.

[garry]

014s came stock on my ZX-6R. They were OK. Replaced them with Pilot Powers front and back (for a track day) when the rear wore out and like the PPs better. The rear was pretty tired at about 4.5K miles as I recall.

[matthew77]

There is nothing wrong with the BT014...Just on my last two bikes I had them on, 00 zr7 and 00 Sprint RS, they seemed to drift a little in the corners. NOW, to a racer I guess that is not a bad thing. BUT, to me the NON racer I like a stick in the corner sort of feel...

SO I went with the Conti Road Attack and felt they were a lot more solid in the corners. (Not to mention standard on all new BMW's since I noticed you own a an r1100.)

Anyway, BT's are good tires...but for me nothing compared to the Conti.

[pearsonm]

That was the first set of tires I put on my old R6 and I think I got less than 3k out the rear. They stuck like glue, though. To me, Bridgestone and Dunlop products are very similar. I thought you were a Metzler man?

[pushrod]

Some OEM variant of the 14 came on the Gix. Handling was good (I'm not qualified to say more than that they never surprised me). The wear is what puts me off. It was toast in 3k mi, and I'm not a hard user. With 7.8K now on the bike, the front 14 is ready for retirement (pun intended), and the Pilot Power rear is almost to 1/2 tread. I'll be a Michelin guy from now on.

[paularthur]

I've been riding Bridgestone’s for many years. First on my 91 VFR than on my 2000 VFR and now on my modified 2001 929RR. I've ridden on the 929 Dunlop 207s, Michelin Pilots and Metzler Sport Tecs and the Bridgestone 01s and 014s.ffice:office" />

Hands down I prefer the 014s. They are the most linear tire of the group. Perhaps it's the way I ride, fairly aggressively and long distances. I currently have M1 Sport Tecs on but will research the latest and greatest next summer when I need new skin. My inclination, however, will be to look at Bridgestone first. Another very nice perk is the price of the Bridgestone’s. I get mine from: http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=Sport . They have been a reputable group to deal with.

[Lawn Dart]

I thought you were a Metzler man?

I love the Metzler Z6 - no question about that!  

I have a bit of a problem with the RSL. The stock rim mounts a 160/60/18 tire. As a result there are very, very few true sport tires available in that size. The Bridgestone BT014 is the ONLY tire I've been able to find that is labeled as sport/track day rubber.

I do have a 17" rear BMW rim (good for a 170 spec tire) - but the truth of the matter is that it's a royal PITA to use. To mount a tire I have to remove the exhaust to mount the tire. At least with the stock 18" rim I don't have screw around with the exhaust issue. For that matter I'm not convinced that the rim change is really all that beneficial to the bike's handling (but I could be wrong...I haven't formally tested this).

So I'm basically looking to use stickier rubber for track days. I truly don't see using sport ruber on the street: Z6's and PR's both have more than enough stick for my needs on the street.

Matthew, I tried the Conti RA's - HATED them. The profile of the tire was really odd and I had a huge issue with the "Falling in" feeling leaning into curves. They stuck well enough in the dry but they scared the bejeazus out of me in the wet. They were so scary in the wet the WIFE has banned me from ever touching them again! (yes, she was riding pillion in a terrible rain storm). Simply put, I have no confidence in the Conti's.  BTW, I got 4,000 miles out of the set and the rear tire was just below the wear bars.  

So my options are to either mount BT014's for track days or to just deal with the exhaust issue caused by the 17" rim...

[Rogue]

I had the BT014's on my Hayabusa right before I sold it.
 
They are supersport tires so they were very, very sticky.  Wear was similar to the D208's--I got 3k miles at the rear to the wear bars.  They're less triangulated than the D208's so they gave my Hayabusa very linear steering (no falling into corners like the D208's).  
 
Any bike that came with Bridgestones will work very well with the 014's.  Bikes that originally came with Dunlops will get slightly slower steering with the 014's.
 
Overall, I really liked the 014's on my Busa because it gave it tremendous stick and a smooth linear steering.  It didn't have the compliance nor the life of the outgoing Avon Azaro AV45/46.  But then again, those were horrible tires for anything other than slabbing in dry conditions.
 
Nevertheless, I prefer Dunlops Qualifiers for spirited riding.  They are supremely confidence inspiring even at full lean angles.

[I paso U]

I have a set on my Busa right now.  I bought these because I really liked the set of 010s I had before.  These didn't wear as long as the 010 set and after about 1000 miles they developed a wobble when entering low speed turns.  The only cure for the wobble I found was to be on the gas all the way through the turn.  I have a set of Diablos in the garage and when they go on I'll see if the problem is bike or tire related.

Chuck