MD has always loved Bridgestone S22 tires. Designed for sporty riding on the street and the occasional track day, the S22 stood atop many motorcycle hypersport tire shootouts, even four years after its introduction.
Bridgestone had its work cut out designing a successor to the S22. The result is the BATTLAX Hypersport S23, which is the subject of this test.
If you have seen our review of the Suzuki GSX-8R, you know I love that bike, but described the stock Dunlop tires as adequate, but falling short of the sporting potential of the bike. The first thing I did after buying the GSX-8R was change the tires … to Bridgestone S23s.
The older S22s provided excellent grip and feedback, particularly from the front tire. The GSX-8R chassis was already communicating lots of information from the stock Dunlops to the rider, so the brand new S23s was a logical choice to capitalize on that.
Let’s start with some information from Bridgestone about the S23 tires. Bridgestone starts by emphasizing that a new compound on the front shoulder and the rear edge significantly enhance dry grip in comparison to the S22s. It also states “Optimized pattern stiffness supports improved traction and stability.” Wet weather performance is improved by the use of “Pulse Groove” tire sipes, and the rear tire is claimed to have 8% improved wear characteristics.
What are the S23s like to ride on, and how did they impact the performance of the GSX-8R? In short, I found a dramatic increase in cornering grip and feedback, which resulted in an equally dramatic increase in rider confidence.
The GSX-8R is a very stable motorcycle to begin with. The S23s enhance this characteristic with a very linear transition from upright to corner lean angles. In other words, the S23 does not have a profile that lends itself to sudden, quick reactions while cornering. It may take slightly more effort than a sporty Pirelli, which is known for a steep sidewall that aids quick turn-in, but the more linear response of the S23 tires may, perhaps, give riders more confidence on the street without a significant trade-off when used on a racetrack.
We didn’t have an S22 to ride on back-to-back, but based on our experience with that tire, the new S23 tires do provide increased confidence and grip at steep lean angles.
For various reasons, I am more confident turning left rather than right, but during a trackday at Buttonwillow Raceway, which was running in a clockwise direction (more rights than lefts), I had great confidence and quickly took the rear tire to the edge on both sides, even passing some other riders on the outside of some lengthy, high-speed sweeping right turns. After a lengthy (roughly 15 years) hiatus in track riding, I am beginning to attend track days with my son Evan and I chose to ride in the intermediate group at Buttonwillow. By the end of the day, I felt the S23s could easily run in the advanced group, however.
In mounting the tires, I used zero weights to balance the front, but several ounces were needed to balance the rear tire. I also noted that Bridgestone S23s are pretty tough to mount on a rim. Like any other tire, bathing them in warm sunlight before mounting is beneficial, and maybe even necessary with these tires.
I still have less than 1,000 miles on these tires. They have been used mainly for twisty roads on the streets in addition to the one track day. The wear characteristics look pretty good so far, i.e., wearing evenly and still appearing to have about as much tread depth as new.
I will provide a follow-up report after putting more miles on the tires, including another track day, or two. Take a look at Bridgestone’s S23 web page for additional details.
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