News - 2015

Tokyo (December 3, 2015) - Bridgestone Corporation announced today that New Motorcycle Sport Tires "Battlax Hypersport S21" will be launched beginning in 2016. S21 is designed to get the best out of the newest machines in any conditions, with no compromise to safety and ride comfort. Battlax Hypersport S21 will be available in four front and six rear sizes in early 2016.

Battlax Hypersport S21 front (left) and rear (right)

To develop the Battlax S21, Bridgestone engineers took the renowned wet performance of S20 EVO and combined it with new, innovative features to improve dry performance and extend mileage. Additionally, stability, handling and cornering have all been improved through a modified pattern that enhances tread rigidity and contact patch performance.

Upgraded on dry
The front tire is designed with a smaller crown profile for better handling and precision through corners without losing the superb neutral feeling, together with a triple-layer compound and high-stiffness bead fillers for optimum damping and stability.

The rear tire has a larger crown profile which together with the optimized belt construction and groove positioning, upgrades the rear feeling and increases cornering stability. Less slip in the contact area reduces wear, adding to mileage.

Both front and rear have a new shoulder compound, developed with Bridgestone's advanced expertise at the molecular level, which provides a larger micro contact patch for higher grip, more confidence and faster cornering in wet and dry.

Many of the improvements brought to S21 were achieved using Bridgestone's new ULTIMAT EYE indoor testing facility - the first tire to benefit from this technology. ULTIMAT EYE visualizes the contact behavior of a tire under different speeds and conditions, analyses contact patch pressure distribution, and helps find the optimal combination of compound, tread design, construction and profile.

Faster through corner
The performance of the new Battlax radial has been verified on the track in wet and dry conditions. Testing by Bridgestone versus S20 EVO shows the advantage of greater stability with S21 clocking significantly higher cornering speeds at entry, keeping a sharper line and leaving with faster acceleration, trimming average lap times by almost two percent. Overall S21 represents a real step forward in dry performance - particularly cornering stability and handling. What's more, all these improvements delivered up to an additional 30 percent increase in mileage.