Bridgestone Battleax Adventure Trail AT41 Review

[MotoNews]

Published in: Gear

In a nod to adventure motorcyclists who are comfortable admitting they ride blacktop 80 percent of the time, Bridgestone announced the launch of its latest 80% on-road, 20% off-road adventure motorcycle tire, the Bridgestone Battlax Adventure Trail AT41. They claim this rugged, off-road "looking" tire provides great dry and wet performace to ensure a safe and comfortable journey in most conditions. We were lucky enough to get one of the firsts sets available in North America and took it for a quick spin. 

 

 

With just enough of a tread pattern to handle light off-road duty but a material and design combination that can tackle a wide range of backroad conditions, the AT41s are optimized for the adventure rider who wants a “one-and-done” set of shoes to keep their wheels planted no matter what Mother Nature throws at them on a veriety of surfaces.

With a few rides already on the new AT41s mounted to a BMW R1200GS, our initial impressions are that Bridgestone may have cracked the nut on a tire that meets the needs of the average adventure motorcycle rider and fills the gap between the more aggressive Adventurecross AX41 and the decidedly street oriented Adventure A41.

“The Bridgestone Battlax Adventure Trail AT41’s new pattern has an optimized groove design to improve water drainage and contribute to the tire’s impressive wet weather performance, thanks to increased average groove volumes and a more consistent groove ratio in the contact areas,” Bridgestone says. “The new block shape of the tire reduces partial wear on its shoulder, while an optimal belt construction with the new pattern gives great stability. The Bridgestone Battlax Adventure Trail AT41’s touring compound – with 3LC (Dual Compound) used on the rear – also enables its excellent performance in the wet, dry and in terms of the tire’s mileage.”

 

On wet pavement country twisties and a few miles of gravel farm roads, the Adventure Trail AT41 tires did a good job keeping locked to the ground. Even through some minimal ruts, mud and puddles the AT41s maintained traction and cleared any buildup without a hitch. The side wall construction is quite stiff and we found the compound to be quite sticky which definitely helps on wet pavement and in colder temperatures.

Aside from being much quiter and rolling more smoothly than a 50/50 tire, there was plenty of grip at the edges and cornering was fairly neutral on our big BMW.

The rear tire's lugs get deeper towards the center tread and are more substantial than you may think by simply looking at an image. Slightly more hefty than a purely street tread, it will give a bit of extra bite on packed surfaces. We don't have enough miles on them for a wear estimate, but will update this after more saddle time. 

Bridgestone is scheduled to release the Battlax Adventure Trail AT41 to the US market in February 2022, offering nine sizes (four front tire sizes and five rear tire sizes) for a variety of adventure bikes. Pricing information is not yet available in the US but we expect it to be competitive with some solid alternatives in this category like Continental's TKC 70, Dunlop's Trailmax Mission and Shinko's 705 tires. It's perhaps closest to Metzeler's Karoo Street both in function, sizing and design and we think it will be priced around there. 

The adventure and dual-sport tire segment growth over the past 15 years has been one of the most imporant and exciting aftermarket segments to watch. We went from a small selection of fairly dated options to an amazingly healthy field of choices for nearly any rider or bike to have fun where the asphalt ends. Bridgestone's new Adventure Trail AT41, not only rounds out their offerings, but puts yet another great option for a wide spectrum of riders on the market. We can't wait to make more memories and meet the wearbars on this set! For more info visit: BridgestoneMotorcycleTires.com

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Pros:

• Confidence inspiring in the turns
• Quiet on the street
• Everything you'd need for touring and light-duty offroading

Cons:

• Tread pattern could be a bit deeper for those surprise sticky spots
• Stiff sidewall makes them tough to mount 

 

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