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11-04-2009, 01:53am
The Michelin Pilot Sports that I have on my 2000 'Busa (no limiter...) are getting a bit threadbare. I never liked them very much, they aren't really up to the weight of the bike but they're OK for grip in the wet (we get a lot of that here in Europe). They've lasted well enough, although I'm not generally hard on tyres.
So now that I'm thinking about new rubber and I can't help but notice that the later Hayabusa is shod with BT015. Some people seem to like them, some hate them. I'm confused.
The BT56J was what was on my Hayabusa when it was new, and for a while that was the only tyre that you could fit to the bike. Unfortunately you couldn't always get one when you wanted one, and sometimes I fitted something else. Every time I've fitted something else I've regretted it in some way or other. Either they won't hold a tight line, or they squirm under heavy braking, or they wear out, or they something else. One pair wouldn't even go in a straight line at anything more than a hundred but admittedly they should never have been on the bike in the first place.
Not that I'm saying the BT56J is the perfect tyre, it's just that I haven't yet found anything that's better on the 'Busa.
But the 56J is a ten year old tyre, and technology marches on.
So if someone who's used the BT56J on the Hayabusa for ten years tries the BT015, is he going to regret it again? I have a pair of 56J in the shed waiting to put on the bike but if someone tells me that the 015 is streets ahead, I might give them a whirl. And report. :)
So now that I'm thinking about new rubber and I can't help but notice that the later Hayabusa is shod with BT015. Some people seem to like them, some hate them. I'm confused.
The BT56J was what was on my Hayabusa when it was new, and for a while that was the only tyre that you could fit to the bike. Unfortunately you couldn't always get one when you wanted one, and sometimes I fitted something else. Every time I've fitted something else I've regretted it in some way or other. Either they won't hold a tight line, or they squirm under heavy braking, or they wear out, or they something else. One pair wouldn't even go in a straight line at anything more than a hundred but admittedly they should never have been on the bike in the first place.
Not that I'm saying the BT56J is the perfect tyre, it's just that I haven't yet found anything that's better on the 'Busa.
But the 56J is a ten year old tyre, and technology marches on.
So if someone who's used the BT56J on the Hayabusa for ten years tries the BT015, is he going to regret it again? I have a pair of 56J in the shed waiting to put on the bike but if someone tells me that the 015 is streets ahead, I might give them a whirl. And report. :)