Just over a month ago, the best sports bikes in the world were pitted against one another in a head to head battle to determine who would be crowned the Fast Bikes “Sports Bike Of The Year” 2014.
In association with Bridgestone UK who were already in Portugal preparing for the launch of the new Battlax S20 EVO with MotoGP star Bradley Smith, the Fast Bikes team got the chance to push these eight to machines to their limits around Portimao Circuit under the blue skies of the Algarve. The circuit is described as a must for any track day rider, with its many undulations, climbs and drops making it “one of the best circuits in the world”. Pretty much every corner seems to be blind too as our very own Owen Phillips can attest to as he got the chance to go out on track on a Kawasaki ZX-10R to test the new Bridgestone.
Each bike was kitted out with a brand new set of Bridgestone Battlax R10 race tyres, including the new EVO specification ‘Type 4’ compound rear which was brought out earlier this year featuring a new construction and compound which has one sole purpose, to deliver faster lap times out on track. The three fastest bikes out on track also got a run out on the new Battlax V02 slick, which utilises technologies derived from the latest crop of MotoGP tyres, to see just how much faster they could go!
Coming in 8th place was the Honda Fireblade SP, which the writers felt was 20kg too heavy and priced too high compared to the other bikes especially as it lacks traction control, although they did say “the SP is a cracking road bike though, so don’t let that deter you”. Coming in 7th was the 899 Panigale from Ducati, but purely because placing it any higher would have been unfair to the other bikes they tested. Considering their relatively small factory size, the MV Augusta F3 from Varese took a fantastic 6th place, with riders highlighting just how much progress the company has made in such a short space of time. Next was another Italian bike, the 1199 Panigale which fell just short on it’s lap times to break into the top four.
In fourth place was the “flawless” Triumph Daytona 675R which was only beaten because it was up against the bigger boys! In 3rd place was the big green machine from Akashi, the “impeccable” Kawasaki ZX-10R. It would however be a toss up between two European bikes that would decide the winner on this occasion. The riders found it difficult to split the BMW HP4 and Aprilia RSV4, which they felt were so much more advanced and so much quicker than the rest of the competition with both bikes scoring a perfect ten out of ten. However after much deliberation it was decided that for the 4th year in a row the Aprilia RSV4 from Noale had just edged it with it’s mind blowing level of technology that can be used by everyone, on an everyday basis.
Following the test the Fast Bikes team also gave their opinion on the Bridgestone track rubber:
“To maintain parity in the test, we kitted all the bikes with Bridgestone’s track-spec R10. For most, it was a big upgrade in final grip output, especially bikes like the ZX-10R. The R10 was the fastest set of hoops at our mammoth tyre test last year, combining supreme outright grip with stability. We sampled the new, softer compound ‘Tyre 4’ for the 180-section rear tyres, too. Even after over a hundred laps on each bike, grip was still remarkably consistent and predictable. They may look badgered, but these tyres just keep on giving.
Once all the times were set on R10s, we fitted the fastest three with Bridgestone’s all-new V02 slick, and a hefty 200 section rear tyre. After years of MotoGP racing, the V02 uses GP-Belt technology to optimise the contact patch. Bridgestone now has a slick to match any rival rubber – and racers and track day hooligans should take note.”
Check out the complete range of Bridgestone race rubber here, or contact your nearest dealer for more information! All available to the trade at the best possible prices, from the UK’s number one Bridgestone motorcycle tyre distributor.
