BMW F800R – new tyres Bridgestone T32s
Until yesterday the tyres on my BMW F800R were the original stock Metzeler’s and had done about 7,500 miles or so. I haven’t had any other tyres on this bike so don’t have anything to make a sensible comparison with, but I can say the OEM Metzelers have been absolutely fine and given me no issues at all in the wet or in the dry.
In addition to the usual local riding the Metzelers were good on a couple of trips last year to Scotland in June and July as well as last months Ireland trip. Although there was some life left in them, it was nowhere near enough for my next road trip to Ireland which in turn meant it was time to call MW Motorcycles.
Sterling service
Readers of this blog will know that I don’t go anywhere else to have my bikes serviced and sorted, so as ever it was a no brainer to make MW my first port of call.
It’s never less than a sterling service from them and as ever the guys at MW were really helpful with their tyre advice and we arranged a time for me to have a couple of new tyres fitted.
Whilst my bike was on the ramp and being sorted I had a look around the workshop to see what was in. There were a few tidy bikes including a nice looking Triumph Trident (included in the pictures below), although my personal preference would be not to have the graphics on the wheels as it looked a little bit too much for me. But of course as with many things in life its a case of horses for courses and as long as the owner likes it then that’s fair enough.
I don’t want to go to Chelsea
I must say at the risk of showing my age I found myself quite enjoying the music playing in the background.
Whilst I was wandering around taking a few pictures (see the picture gallery below) I could hear music playing and it was that classic 1977 Elvis Costello track I don’t want to go to Chelsea, although whilst I can’t be 100% certain I’m pretty sure I saw Chris and Alan singing along as they worked away.
Singing and foot tapping aside, the new tyres I have had fitted are Bridgestone Battlax T32’s. The T32s are a sport touring tyre and come well recommended. According to the official Bridgestone line, the tyre shape has a 13% increased contact patch to the road (compared to the tyre it replaces the T31) and apparently have a 3% increase in the number of grooves at the front and 6% increase at the rear so as to help shift water – there’s a host of other technical improvements that you can read about at the Bridgestone link above.
My upcoming road trip to Ireland should provide a good opportunity in terms of both road surfaces and weather conditions to develop an informed opinion. I’ll aim to write something up about the tyres in due course.
Picture gallery
Pictures from my visit to MW Motorcycles are in the picture gallery below. Clicking any of the images below will allow you to click or scroll through them. Follow on Instagram here.
Thanks Tony. Some great pictures there. Why is my favorite the messy workbench?! A friend also mentioned that Bridgestone Battlax were a good tyre, attached a picture of why I was looking at new tyres, but thankfully the metal pin went in horizontally, so was removed ok. When I test rode the trident, it was very nice, and the styling is great (agreed, not the wheels) with the round TFT instrument panel. That CB has a radiator guard, which I also have. I just can’t bring myself to consider changing the exhaust, it can ruin the looks for me. Any ideas what the numbers on the back of the helmet are for?
Hi Matt the numbers all add up to 33 which ever way you do the maths, up, down, diagonal – the helmet belongs to Chris one of the owners and its the number he races with.
Lucky with your tyre there Matt – and no need to change your exhaust, they look pretty neat in my opinion.