BT020's in the wet? :o

[Sosu2211]

I was out for a leisurely ride last night with some friends, nothing too serious, just a few hours of twisties. One friend on a Honda CBR125, the other an Aprilia 250... me on the FZ6. No problems I thought, and I'd certainly not have to worry about keeping up. Until it rained... when I felt distinctly uncomfortable.

So, I have about 800 miles on a new set of BT020 tyres. I have done my best to scrub them in... lot of low speed twisties, lots of 'figure of 8's' in a parking lot etc. On examination, a good few of the 'new tyre flecks' (the little rubber hairs' remain on the outside 2.5 inches of the tyre edge, but there seems to be at least some wear over 75+% of the tyre.

In the dry they have been fine, always grippy, and have done nothing to doubt my confidence in them. Well, last night, the road was damp. We took the ride 2 hours or so after a rain storm.

To describe the conditions: No standing water, no rain falling. Damp road, with dry lines appearing in some places, under covered sections there was enough water to kick up a small amount of spray.

So, 20mph, in a village of all places, on a corner, the back end slips out! No problem, I gather it all up, and I am fine. 5 mins later, 15 mph, the same thing but going the other way! Bah! 10 mins later, mid corner, the back end of the bike feels very loose and uncomfortable, and well, by this time I have lost all confidence in keeping the thing on the island at any speed over 30mph!

We got back to the dry, and all was fine again, I was able to push harder, no issues, but by this time, I had no interest in keeping up with the pack, all I wanted to do was go home and get a coffee and work out wth was going on!

Looking at the tyres today, yes, I think they need a lot more wearing in to give them full grip when leaning even a small amount, but when I have changed tyres previously on other bikes, I have never had this problem... By this time, riding the same way, things have been great (Main experience is with Pirelli Evo Dragon Corsa tyres on Suzukis).

So to my point... I am wondering, how do you all find BT020's in the wet? Is it just me that has seen this issue (restricting it to issues/conditions specific to me or the ride)? or have any of you experienced the same kind of thing in the damp?

To give you tech specs of my setup etc. Stock 2008 FZ6N, I am 5' 10", 168llbs so not stressing things at all. Bike has about 1200kms on the clock. Only different thing I was running last night were some new Bagster Saddlebags I was testing before a big trip I am doing today.

Any help/observations/advice on the tyres appreciated!

[vokal389]

I think you might want to invest in some better tired. after 800 miles of a break in they should grip great. I only had, maybe 75 miles on my Pilot powers before it rained and it worked out fine. I read a little brochure on the bridgestone BT016 tires. I like the compound layout on those alot. Very smiliar to the Corsa III

[reiobard]

what pressures are you running? how cold out was it? I have been fairly confident in my stock BT020's in the rain...

[Sawblade]

I didn't like my stockers in the rain very much, but it may have been because it was the first decent rain in several months and all the oil was still coming up.

[Humperdinkel]

I ride in the rain on my BT's regularly and they seem fine , most of the time , althought i have had slippage on some different types of bitumen , possibly this is something for you to think about.....

[necrotimus]

No offense intended but could it be how you are riding versus the tires? What were you doing when they lost traction? Where you on the throttle? off the throttle? Dragging the brake by mistake?

I would think it was you or something in/on the road that proabbaly caused the issue.

[wrightme43]

Let me ask you this. I am not knocking you in anyway, just want to be helpful.

Were you nervous riding in the rain?
Tight on the bars?
Do you find yourself rolling off the throttle in the corner instead of on?
Are you making more than one steering input in the turn?

Those things will cause almost any tire to break loose in the rain.

Have you read and practiced Twist of the Wrist II by Kieth Code?
I rode with my BT020s in the rain quite a bit, never lost traction.

Normally when we lose traction it is something the rider has done, and not the fault of the tire.
We do things that do not agree with machine/tire design, and it slides. When we do things that agree with machine/tire design they stick really well.

Just my two cents.
Hope it helps.

[Nelly]

Hello Mate,

I have had several brown trouser moments with stock BT020's.

One was due to diesel in the wet and the others have been me getting used to the throttles quirkiness whilst riding in the wet.
I do find that I am more tense in the wet and this certainly has an impact on my riding.
I think that they are a good tyre and have used them previously without problems.

Nelly

[GConn]

The BT020s need their time to get to temp, and cold+low speeds never helped them...I hated those tires. The good thing about them was the milage, only that.

[Nelly]

Originally Posted by GConn

The BT020s need their time to get to temp, and cold+low speeds never helped them...I hated those tires. The good thing about them was the mileage, only that.

Great point about tyre temp. My incidents have all happened in about the first twenty minutes of riding in the wet.

Nelly