Bridgestone Battlax A41 Adventure Tires.
Our July issue included my review of Bridgestone?s new Battlax T31 sport-touring tires based on a one-day test ride in Morocco. Bridgestone?s Battlax press launch was a double feature, with a second day of testing devoted its new A41 adventure tires. Replacing the A40, the new A41 is a 90-percent on-road/10-percent off-road tire aimed at adventure riders who spend most or all of their time on pavement.
Suitable for adventure bikes ranging from middleweights like the Triumph Tiger 800 to open-class powerhouses like the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, Battlax A41s are designed to give confident grip in all weather conditions on all surfaces. Its redesigned tread pattern has a higher land/sea ratio (larger tread blocks with smaller grooves) on the shoulder for better cornering grip, new groove angles for improved water dispersion and a large tread block in the center of the rear tire for high-speed stability. A new carcass includes Bridgestone?s Monospiral Belt Construction, which strikes a balance between block rigidity and deformation to provide both stability and feedback while cornering. Dual compounds (softer on the shoulders, harder in the center) are used front and rear, with the rear using a cap-and-base configuration. Bridgestone claims that, compared to the A40, the new A41?s contact patch is 5 percent larger and wet friction is 9 percent higher.
Our 200-mile test ride kicked off with 30 miles of hard-packed gravel and dirt. Riding...