Commemorating its 40-year anniversary, Bridgestone rolled out their sport bike tire for the next generation: the BATTLAX HYPERSPORT S23. We put Bridgestone’s Andrew Little in the Dealernews LIVE hot seat at AIMExpo to explain the nuances of the newest rubber for 2024. Despite the pre-season hype, Little wants dealers to know this is the right tire to stock for street use as well as track day warriors.
“We want to reiterate it's not a track tire, but introducing it on a race track is a great way to experience the tire on different bikes and in a controlled environment and find out how far you can really push it… but it's a street tire that's meant for everyday real world use.”
Delivering performance improvements over its predecessor, the S23 has been engineered to meet the requirements of sporty riding on asphalt, featuring increased levels of dry grip performance when riding on track circuits or cornering on mountain roads. However it turns faster lap times in both wet and dry track conditions compared to the previous BATTLAX HYPERSPORT S22.
The secret to S23s success is said to be a newly designed compound in the edge portion of the tread to make better contact with the road when banking at sharp angles and maximize edge grip when cornering, allowing the rider to take their sports riding performance to the next level.
“The advanced technology ultimately offers more performance without sacrificing wear,” concludes Little. “An updated tread pattern, incorporating Bridgestone’s proprietary Pulse Groove Technology, provides improved feel whether wet or dry, granting riders enhanced grip, precision handling and, ultimately, confidence.”
