Tires – Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin –

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Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

Motorcycle and scooter manufacturers were not the only ones to exhibit their novelties at EICMA in Milan (Italy): tire manufacturers also took advantage of the most important two and three-wheeler fair to present their new compounds for 2018.. Overview of 2018 new products from Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin.

Bridgestone R11, T31, A41, SC2 and SC2 Rain

Bridgestone is clearly betting on the Milan show to promote its new products: the Japanese manufacturer presented no less than five new tires at EICMA! No rival has been so productive and offensive. Bridgestone puts the rubber on a very broad spectrum of uses, from the sportbike to the scooter while passing by the trail.

  • MNC Special EICMA Guide: 
  • MNC survey: 

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

Battlax Racing R11

The "hypersport-road" motorcycle tire segment is one of the main drivers of the market, even the most important in certain European countries such as France (tied in 2016 with sport-touring). No wonder Bridgestone is continuing its efforts in this very competitive category !

The Japanese manufacturer – replaced by Michelin in 2016 – is unveiling its new Battlax Racing R11 for this purpose, a tire with very strong sporting potential but approved for road use. Replacing the R10, this tire is intended for sports motorcycles and high performance roadsters.

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

Supposed to open "a new era in the world of grooved competition tires", the R11 has a new belt at the front and rear as well as a tread "ensuring maximum grip when cornering". 

Battlax Sport Touring T31

Second essential sector: tires for road or road-GT motorcycles. At Bridgestone, the Touring offer has been structured around the following since 2014: it was replaced in 2018 by the T31 (below mounted on a Nine T preparation) which would benefit from "significant" advances in terms of stability and handling.

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

The front tire receives a new compound described as "more flexible", for the benefit of confidence but also wet grip. The design of the grooves also changes according to the inclination: the more the bike is leaned, the more the footprint widens for the benefit of grip and stability..

Battlax Adventure A41

Boosted by the success of the trails, road tires with a vaguely all-terrain profile are also on the rise. The Bridgestone becomes A41 in 2018, with the promise of better performance in the wet without compromising on wear resistance. Butter and butter money, in short ?!

To achieve this, this new Bridgestone A41 exhibits front and rear a bigomme composition – harder in the center than on the shoulders – which would improve its grip and stability. The Japanese tire manufacturer estimates the gain in stopwatch on a wet track at "8%". 

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

Note that this new Battlax A41 will be fitted as standard to the new Yamaha Niken three-wheeler above: a good operation for Bridgestone, which consequently provides an additional tire than with a "simple" motorcycle fitting. !

Battlax Scooter SC2 and SC2 Rain

Finally, the latest Bridgestone innovations exhibited at EICMA 2017: the SC2 and SC2 Rain tires for scooters. The first is more or less a "scooter" version of the very good S21, a "sport-road" motorcycle tire often used as original equipment. Among its special features is a bigomme rear tire.

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

The opportunity to see that this technology originally developed by and for competition has since been extended to all categories of tires: from sporty – logical – to trail running, now including scooters. In another register, note that it is even found on certain high-end tires for … ATVs! End of the "MNC cultural moment" !

As for the SC2 Rain ("Rain"), it is, as its name suggests, a rise planned for unfavorable weather conditions, even winter. Bridgestone equates it to its new T31 in terms of on-board technologies. Concretely, its tread patterns are more pronounced and its compounds favor a reduced heating time and good grip in the wet.

The availability and prices of these new Bridgestone 2018 products are not yet known.. 

Dunlop Trailsmart Max

At Dunlop, the trail is in the spotlight: the manufacturer presented at the EICMA in Milan a very significant evolution of its Trailsmart tire, indicated by the suffix "Max". This new Trailsmart Max will be available at the beginning of 2018 in the dimensions indicated below.

  • MNC of March 13, 2015 – Dunlop TrailSmart motorcycle tire test: cut for adventure

Main axis of improvement, longevity progresses in a staggering way: the front tire would be able to cover a mileage "64%" (!!!) higher than the old Trailsmart, according to the tests carried out internally by the English manufacturer. American (of British origin, Dunlop now belongs to the American group GoodYear).

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

Dunlop explains this increase by adopting a new profile and a multi-ply carcass. The rear tire inherits in passing the bigomme technology, again to the benefit of endurance ("+ 15%" compared to the old model). 

Finally, the redesigned sculptures and a mixture enriched in silica would boost its performance in the wet. In its sales pitch, the exclusive supplier of Moto3 and Moto2 strongly – and quite logically – emphasizes two star motorcycles in the maxi-trail category: the and the .

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

“The emergence of exciting new models in the adventure industry has given us the opportunity to tailor our latest TrailSmart Max to the specific requirements of these motorcycles,” said Andy Marfleet, Marketing Director at Dunlop. Note that the "Max" is perfectly compatible with the old Trailsmart, which allows differentiated mounts (old at the back and new at the front, for example).

Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP

At home, Pirelli revealed the fruit of his last collaboration with his compatriot Ducati around the promising: the new Diablo Supercorsa SP, one of the peculiarities of which is its size in 200/60/17 for the first time used by Pirelli.

  • MNC Presentation :

Not surprisingly, the technical characteristics of this Diablo Supercorsa SP are closely related to the slick tires of the World Superbike, world championship exclusively supplied by Pirelli..

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

"The innovative profile of the new rear dimensions maximizes the footprint at the maximum angle and makes the most of the advantages of the bigomme technology used at the rear", assures – among other things – the Italian tire manufacturer. 

The front tire – monogum – for its part has a wider profile of "2 mm", while the rear uses for "the very first time" on a road approved tire "a Racing mixture developed for the Superbike world championship", indicates Pirelli.

The new Diablo Supercorsa SP will be available from January 2018 in the original dimensions of the Ducati Panigale V4: 120/70 ZR17 and 200/60 ZR 17. Then it will be extended to other sizes in the course of " fall 2018 ". 

Note that Metzeler – another brand of the Pirelli group – has for its part unveiled nothing new in Milan. Will the German manufacturer be more prolific next fall at the Intermot fair in Cologne (Germany)? To be continued on MNC…

Michelin Road 5

At Michelin, the big news concerns the sport-GT motorcycle range: the new Road 5 replaces the Pilot Road 4 launched – and – in 2014. The "PR4" is bowing out after four years of good, loyal and "juicy" service, Michelin is delighted to have sold "more than 1.5 million" over this period !

  • MNC of March 6, 2014 : Michelin Pilot Road 4 review 

The Road 5 introduces several major changes, starting with the disappearance of "Pilot" in its name in a process of simplification. According to the Bibendum, its new generation of so-called "scalable" slats would allow it to brake "as short" at 5000 km as its predecessor "Pilot Road 4 nine".

Tires - Motorcycle tires: the new 2018 Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli and Michelin -

This result would be obtained by means of a controlled deformation of the famous sculptures in the form of lamellae, which improve drainage by breaking the film of water on the road. Michelin explains that this new generation "XST Evo" would evolve according to wear, revealing wider grooves to compensate for the loss of rubber height.. 

The grip on dry asphalt would obviously not be neglected, on the contrary: the French tire manufacturer is launching new rubber mixes for this purpose, while the rear inherits the "2 CT +" bigomme technology – made up of layers of more or less rubber. rigid inserted at different angles – tested by MNC on the .

  • MNC of March 31, 2017 : Testing the Michelin Power RS ​​at the Qatar circuit

At the front, the Road 5 retains a "classic" bigomme composition with a tread more resistant than the shoulders (approximately "28%" of softer rubber on each side). Like the Pilot Road 4, the Road 5 will be available in a version specific to trail type motorcycles, logically named "Road 5 Trail".

Michelin announces a launch for January 1, 2018 in the usual dimensions, with the exception of the "Trail" references in 120/70/19 front and 170/60/17 rear which will land in June 2018. MNC is investigating to find out its price, but without much hope: like most of its competitors, "Bib" rarely communicates this data on the pretext that prices fluctuate from one retailer to another…

Dimensions Road 5

  • 120/60 ZR17 (January 2018)
  • 120/70 ZR17 (January 2018)
  • 150/70 ZR17 (January 2018)
  • 160/60 ZR17 (January 2018)
  • 180/55 ZR17 (January 2018)
  • 190/50 ZR17 (January 2018)
  • 190/55 ZR17 (January 2018)

Dimensions Road 5 Trail

  • 110/80 R19 (January 2018)
  • 120/70 ZR19 (Jun 2018)
  • 150/70 R17 (January 2018)
  • 170/60 ZR17 (Jun 2018)

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