The Ultimate Hypersport Tyre

The all-new Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 builds on the highly acclaimed S22, an all-round sports bike tyre. The S23 is designed to excel on both road and track and in all conditions. Although we tested it on the sun-kissed Kyalami racetrack in South Africa, Bridgestone claim it will be equally at home on normal wet roads we encounter each day in some parts of the world

-  Adam Child 'Chad'

THE BRIDGESTONE S22 IS STILL ON SALE and is an excellent tyre, but Bridgestone have made some big claims for its successor: five per cent increased corner speed, lap-times reduced by 2.4 per cent (on average during testing), seven per cent drainage resistance in the wet, three per cent shorter braking distance in the wet, and lap-time reduced by four per cent in wet conditions. All these and a claimed eight per cent increase in mileage.

ON TRACK

This was a track-only test held in warm conditions of around 19-20° Celsius with a rain shower thrown in, which I will come to later. We did not use tyre warmers but the bikes were parked in the pit-lane in the sun. Pressures were set to 2.3 bar front and rear.

Leaving pit-lane, it was immediately apparent that the new S23 works from the get-go. Within a few corners I felt comfortable enough to touch my knee down and in less than a full lap was up to pace. In fact, by the end of lap one, I had settled into a comfortable fast track-day rhythm. Both feel and feedback were excellent, especially from the front. On the first lap, I was not trying to guess where the grip was, but feeling it. And this was on the MT09, a highly accomplished all-round road bike, but certainly no race machine, complete with high-end performance forks.

Astride the MT-09 and, later, the XSR900 and KTM's fun 890 R, I was pushing hard, trying to reach the limits of the S23 rubber. The rear tyre coped without any issues and the front continued to give confidence-inspiring feedback. Ground clearance on both Yamahas and a lack of control from the MT-09's rear shock, were the limiting factors, not the performance of the rubber. When the MT's rear shock started to give up the fight, I could feel the rear tyre working, doing the work of the suspension, its tenacious new edge-grip coming to the fore.