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Bridgestone T31 GT review


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I thought I would share my experience so far with Bridgestone's Battlax T31 GT tires on my 2014 Wethead. I bought these early and cheap, $265 for the set and a $50 Rebate so $215 delivered.

 

Thus far the RT has had Metzeler Roadtec Z8 as OEM tires. I didn't care for these and they wore out quickly. The next set was Metzeler Roadtec 01. I liked these a lot, but they did wear quickly and suffered a premature death by road hazard. The next two sets were Dunlop Roadsmart 3's.

 

I replaced the Roadsmart 3's four weeks ago before leaving on a 6000 mile vacation ride. They were in good condition, but didn't want to change tires while on the road.

 

So here goes with my findings and impressions. I ride two up much of the time and always have GT tires if available.

1. The T31 is slightly smaller than the others as seen by matching RPM and GPS displayed speed. About 1 MPH difference

2. The T31 is very light handling. Turn in is quick and easy. I liked this a lot. More later

3. Dry grip is excellent. No issues at all. All tires except the Z8 displayed great grip.

4. Noise - very quiet, no unusual howling, growling. Quieter that the Metzeler 01, Quieter than the Roadsmart.

5. Comfort - here is the issue! This tires communicate too much! Feel every irregularity, follow every tar snake, feel every bump. I don't like this characteristic. I will probably not repurchase because of it.

6, Wet traction - two days in the rain at 43 degrees on a winding road. No issues, no slips, but I am cautious in the wet!

7. Life expectancy.- 6400 miles used 68% of the tread above the wear bars on the rear. This projects to 8500 - 9000 miles of tire life. Best life to date for me! Front used 50% in 6400 miles to 12,500 expected

8. See #2. at 4500 miles the nimbleness and light handling changed. The tires since then take more effort to roll into a turn. Not unacceptable but definitely noticeable. The center flat strip was beginning to show at that mileage.

 

Verdict - I like these tires except for comfort. I don't think I will buy them again. I prefer the Roadsmart 3 or the Metzeler Roadtec 01. I am hoping the Michelin Road 5 GT becomes available soon.

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I have a set of T-31 GT's in the shop waiting to be put on. I have run many sets of the T-30 and T-30 EVO all in the "GT". Right now the RT has a set of Dunlop RS3's. I will say more about those later.

 

If you go to a place that has tires on a rack ( Cycle Gear for instance ) look at the different brands. Feel how stiff the sidewall and tread area is. Compared to the Dunlop, the Bridgestones are a LOT stiffer ( Dunlop does not offer a GT spec tire). The Dunlops may be the best riding tire I have had on the bike. But they should be as they are not a heavy sidewall tire. You can get the T-31 in a standard sidewall, which would likely ride similar to the RS3 you took off.

 

One thing I found on the last set of T-30 EVO GT was that lowering the pressure helped the ride.....and the mileage on the rear tire. I will run 36 in the front and 39 in the rear of this set to be put on. Two up I might consider going to 42 rear. I know everyone will chime in and give me high pressure equals longer tread life. But I lowered the rear pressure on the RS3's to 39 and it got much better wear ( measuring 32'nds of an inch over time) than it did running 42 psi early in its life. I will start this set of T-31 at 36/39 and see how that goes.

 

It will be nice to have quiet set of tires after running the RoadSmart 3's!

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My experience is the same with the T31's. Firm ride ,no noise good handling etc.

Looking at the Road 5 tread I wonder if they will be noisy due to the big cut outs.

Reminds me of jumbo mudders that are on some Jeeps and pickups. You can hear

those tyres long before you see the truck.

I'm mounting a set of RS3's for the UN and expect to burn them up in 5,000 miles

just like every other set of tyres I have tried.

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  • 1 month later...
RecentConvert

The wear bars were reached at 7900 miles on the rear T31. This is the most I have realized with a rear tire. The front is still serviceable.

 

I remounted the rear RS3 I had removed with 2000 miles on it. I am finding no ill effects of running a Bridgestone T31 front with a Dunlop RS3 rear.

 

I like the mileage of the T31 but not the ride. I prefer the RS3 even though it doesn't last as long.

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I bought the GT version, but might try the standard version next. I suspect the ride quality issues are simply the heavier sidewall of the GT. The RS3's are much thinner in that area. And seem to be quite up to handling anything an RT can throw at them. I now wish I had bought the standard sidewall T-31's!

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  • 8 months later...

The last post I see here was August 2018.  It's April 2019 and I'm close to needing new tires on my 2014 BMW R1200 RT.  I'm looking at the Spring tire rebates on Bridgestone T31 tires and wondering which version to get "standard" or "GT".   Personal reviews on line from other riders indicate that the GT version has sidewalls that are too stiff, yielding a rougher ride.  On my RT, the first replacement tires were Michelin Pilot 3 which seemed kind of mushy.  Now I have Dunlop Roadsmart 2 which are not mushy at all but a bit hard hitting on bumps.  Based on those personal reviews of the T-31 GT I'm wondering if the GT version might be even more hard hitting on bumps on my BMW RT.  
So, if anyone responds to this note, my question is this.  Which T-31 version should I choose, standard or GT?  I ride two-up about half the time and travel solo fully loaded with camping gear.   The bike is about 623 lbs wet, closer to 700 lbs with fully loaded luggage.   That weight fully loaded weight might suggest going with the GT version tires. However, would the standard version work just as well and provide a more comfortable ride?

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I just bought a pair of GTs but haven't installed them yet. Though I can't contribute to answering your question I wanted to let you know that Rocky Mountain ATV has them on a deep discount BEFORE the $60 rebate so check them them out if you haven't ordered yet (they do collect sales tax though so maybe your favorite retailer that doesn't might price match). This is very good time to be shopping for these tires.

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RecentConvert

I don't have a lot of input regarding the GT vs standard.  When two up and loaded for travel, we are close to the weight limit so GT is always my choice.

 

The ride is a bit abrupt when riding one up, but that was an unusual event for me.  Two up, the ride is controlled and comfortable.

 

As some have noted, the weight limit is the same for both versions.  That is because weight ratings are based on a formula of height, volume and other parameters.  This is per Dunlop tech dept.  

 

In my first post I suggested that I wouldn't buy T31's again.  But low prices and rebates changed my mind.  I have my set of T31s in the basement at a net of $167 delivered.  I will need them in Sept-Oct time frame.

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Not trying to derail this, but I'd be very interested to know where you got a set of T31s for $167. 

That's in the range of the Shinko Ravens I usually buy.

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12 hours ago, Groanup said:

Not trying to derail this, but I'd be very interested to know where you got a set of T31s for $167. 

That's in the range of the Shinko Ravens I usually buy.

 

Rocky Mountain ATV and the $60 rebate. I don't need tires for a while yet (my ContiMotions are pushing 7k miles and still looking good amazingly) but I bought a set to capture that price for a top-tier tire.

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Just ordered a set from RMATVMC to get the rebate. Free freight but paid sales tax-total of $186, after rebate, for a set of tires I’ll need later this year!

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Another shop matched that price for me no shipping and no tax. I didn't state that because I heard from someone else that that retailer refused the price match. Still, $186 net is still just a little over half what other comparable sets cost.

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