Bridgestone's Battlax BT-012 is a tyre aimed directly at sporty tourers and those looking for greater mileage from their tyre before replacement while keeping decent levels of wet and dry grip

Battlax

Initial Thoughts

The first thing I noticed after fitting this tyre was the slightly calmer profile to the previous Supercorsa Pro which equated to a slightly more stable feel on the corners, it is fair to say the supercorsa is aimed at trackday riders who are looking for razer sharp turn in speeds while the BT-012 is more for the general street market where it fits quite nicely. Overall dry grip seems to be right on par with this level of tyre and while I did not feel that I could push quite as hard as on a more focused tyre I felt confident enough to charge into bends and let the tyre do its job,

In the wet the feeling was also pretty good, the first few miles meant taking it steady but after warming up to temperature the Bridgestones gave decent grip across a multitude of surfaces, when they did start to let go there was a slight warning period and seemed to gather back up quickly enough. One thing worth mentioning though is the BT-012 is Bridgestone's last-gen tyre and tyre compounds and construction has come on a little since its release and so it is not expected to perform quite at the same level.

From the rear the mileage before replacement was great, exceeding 6800 miles with a mixture of touring, fast road riding and general road miles, the rear did tend to square off a little faster than I would have liked but this is a single compound tyre and it was to be expected.

Construction

Compound
Developed for this line, the new Silica compound of BT-012 provides improved and exceptional grip level on both dry and wet surface without sacrificing high-speed durability.

Profile
The optimised BT-012 profile offers maximum and constant contact pressure at all lean angles, thereby improving both grip and handling. This was only possible with the complex optimisation of the 3D-CTDM program, perhaps the most advanced and complex computer program used today. After a dynamic three-dimensional analysis, the 3D CTDM maximises lateral stiffness (grip) and maintains uniform contact pressure at all camber angles (neutral handling).

Construction
Mono Spiral Belt construction in rear tyres for shock absorption and high-speed stability

Pattern
The front tread pattern has been developed utilising another of Bridgestone's advanced digital technology programs: a hydro-planing simulation program.All grooves are designed to dispel water in the most efficient manner. The front tyre "blocks" form unbroken and continuous contact with the surface. Together with the 3D-CTDM designed profile, this unique front pattern solves handling or grip problems. The aggressive rear pattern offers traction in corners. The main diagonal groove gives optimum rigidity and efficient heat emission, for better high-speed durability.