After 7,600 km with my BONNIE I had my tires changed today. Long enough I have endured the standard equipment with the Pirelli Phantom. Now I have the new Bridgestone BT-46 mounted. What a difference!!! Smoother rolling, better grip, great comfort. I was previously very satisfied with my BONNIE, but now a real increase is noticeable! After 170 km so far on small back roads, country roads and partly on the highway, I have noticed that these tires already fit the BONNIE much better than the first tires that Triumph delivers. I am already curious what mileage is achievable. It's time to say goodbye! My partly BONNIE
Good choice and I continue to be puzzled if Triumph are still fitting the substandard Phantoms at the factory. Enjoy more confident twists and turns
I put a set of Avon Road Riders on mine at around 3000 miles. It was like a different bike straight away.
Agreed, I put Avon Road Riders on my 2017 Street Cup after 2000 miles because the handling got twitchy
Seems to be a common theme for other models as well? My tiger 900 was transformed when I replaced the original tires with Michelin anakee adventures
Why would a premium Bike manufacturer skimp on the one thing thats crucial to handling and safety? If ihey were £3K Chinese knock off's fair enough, but Triumph isn't
which is why I don't trust road testers who get all expense paid trips to exotic locations to evaluate any motorcycles. Every first ride road test I've read never called out the phantoms for what they are. junk.
I think Pirelli must offer the manufacturers an unbeatable price, as the Phantoms seem to be standard equipment for retros like Bonnies, Interceptors and I think the new Gold Star. Cost is everything these days. I junked the Phantoms for Avon Road Riders on both my T120 and Interceptor and the difference is very marked.
I binned mine within 200 miles. Bloody dangerous on the twisty stuff round here, especially when damp. They certainly don't inspire confidence. Does anybody actually like the Phantoms?
Hmmm, could it be related to $$$??? Stock tires, in general, seem to be what I call "place holders". What the bike comes with but that you change at the first opportunity. For me the other things like that (but far less critical!!) are the grips, seat, and exhaust. None of those are nearly as important as a bikes tires. And who really wants to replace one's tires straightaway when you just paid good money for the bike?
@Sandi T: You are right Sandi! But in the case of the Phantoms which you get when you buy a Bonnie T100 or T120 you should change as soon as possible!
Couldn't agree with you more Sandi T I would make the bean counters have first ride on the new models on a wet autumn day and ask if they still thought those tyres were a godd idea!!
The original tyres are specially made by Pirelli for Triumph and other manufacturers, they have approx half the tread depth of an “off the shelf” tyre and are sold at a bargain basement price to the bike manufacturers which is why they use them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are also a different compound for cheapness. The Michelins fitted to my Thruxton 1200 were ok but the profile of the front tyre was too shallow for a bike with semi sporting pretentions, I swapped to Pirelli Diablos within a couple of weeks of getting the bike and immediately got much better “drop in” and feel.
@ILeftNJ: I read some tests about them. Additionally I had some other Bridgestone tyres before on a Yamaha SCR 950 and had best performance with them. Also the availabilty in the right dimension was an argument to take them.
I don't want to contradict @Markus' recommendation of Bridgestone BT46, they're a great tyre, my friend used them on his Motoguzzi California and was delighted with them. Avon have (I think) been bought out, whether or not that's true, production of Avon tyres has moved from England to France this year, so that is probably why supplies of Avon tyres to the US is problematic at the moment. We can still get Avon tyres in the UK, but the price has gone up a little. Triumph recommend the Avon Spirit ST as a replacement tyre for the Bonnevilles, but they are only available V rated as well. Our Bonnies only need H rated. The Avon website also points Bonneville owners to the Spirit ST rather than the RoadRider Mk2, but Avon do make them in the correct sizes for Bonnies (100/90 18 front; 150/70 17 rear) H rated. My tyre fitter recommended either Avon RoadRider Mk2 or Bridgestone BT46 for my bike. And on their advice I have just changed my Street Cup's Pirellis to Avon RR Mk2s (trying to be loyal to British companies) and I'm delighted with them. With all that's going on with Avon at the moment, you're probably best to go with Bridgestone BT46 and from what Markus says I doubt you'll be disappointed (I'm sure Michelin and Metzeller would be fine as well). Enjoy the new ride when you do change.
Just to be as clear as mud, Avon tyres has been a subsidiary of Cooper tyres since the 90's and it announced UK tyre production would be halted at the end of last year and Cooper tyres has been a subsidiary of Goodyear tyres since 2021 so global domination remains a constant
