The Battlax T31 is Bridgestone’s flagship sport touring tyre as of 2018.
We’ve tested it, and we rate it very highly.
In the June issue of Fast Bikes, Bridgestone Product Manager Gary Hartshorne explained the rationale behind the new tyre:
“Our aim was to turn the T31 into the product that our customers wanted and, following market research, we have found that riders are looking for performance all year round, including wet weather riding. The T31 has been developed over the last two and a half years in a process which sees the R&D team in Europe work heavily with the factory in Japan.
The market has changed a lot over the years; there was once a time where people wanted a tyre to last 15,000 miles but now that bikes are so much better they are willing to sacrifice some mileage for the extra performance and grip levels that are available today.
The T31 has been developed as a tyre which can be ridden every day, in any condition with stability and comfort in mind, but with grip levels ensuring that it is still capable of performing on a track.”
During their time in MotoGP, Bridgestone developed a unique technology called U-EYE, which allows their engineers to analyse tyre behaviour and optimise design, and the T31 is their first sport touring tyre to benefit from this latest tech.
How does U-EYE work?
Bridgestone’s Product & Planning Engineer, Fabian Francois, explains:
“The U-EYE machine is a big drum where we can apply loads, angles, deformation forces and camber thrust forces onto a tyre. Everything is measured by sensors and graphed on a computer which gives us a detailed picture of the pressure distribution of the tyre’s contact patch. It is a way to take the guesswork and trial and error out of development and has been used in our Formula 1 and MotoGP development programs.
It is the only machine in the world which can test real conditions at 400kph (249mph).”
Very clever stuff, and if you’re already tried the Battlax T31 for yourself, we’re pretty sure that you’ll agree the result is impressive!
View the full range of sizes here.
