Let’s start with this: I’m a full-on Bridgestone guy. Always have been. My first MT-07 lived most of its life on multiple sets of Battlax T31s. My second MT-07 ran S21s and S22s for the occasional trackday. The third one stuck with S22s, as well. Meanwhile, my Ninja 650 was on S22s too. Then I moved up to a Street Triple RS and an MT-10, both on RS11s. My current XSR900? It’s rolling on Battlax S23s right now.
That’s seven bikes, all on Bridgestones. It’s not brand loyalty anymore, it’s just trust. And I'm not sponsored, either (though I wish I was). Nonetheless, every time I twist the throttle or throw the bike into a corner, I’m basically betting my life on a set of Japanese rubber. And so far, Bridgestone’s been keeping me alive.
So when Bridgestone announced the new Battlax Racing Street RS12, I paid attention. It’s their most extreme street tire yet, designed under the idea of “From Circuit to Street.” Basically, it’s the closest thing you can get to a race tire for the street.
The lineup includes four sizes so far: 120/70ZR17 (58W) up front, and 180/55ZR17 (73W), 190/55ZR17 (75W), and 200/55ZR17 (78W) for the rear. That covers pretty much every modern sportbike. But I do hope they eventually release a 150 or 160 rear for smaller, more flickable sportbikes, too.
The RS12 uses a brand-new compound that borrows heavily from Bridgestone’s race tire tech. It’s engineered for maximum dry grip while still lasting more than a couple of track sessions. The tread pattern’s been reworked too, giving it a bigger contact patch at around 50 degrees of lean. In plain English, that means it holds on tighter when you’re scraping pegs or dragging knee.
Up front, Bridgestone added something called the HE-MS BELT, straight from their endurance racing program. It keeps contact pressure even across the tire, which helps the bike stay stable and predictable mid-corner. You know that terrifying moment when the front end feels light and starts to come away from beneath you? Yeah, this helps stop that from happening.
In Bridgestone’s tests, the RS12 clocked faster laps than the RS11 and even outperformed Dunlop’s Sportmax Q5 in dry conditions. And if it’s anything like the RS11s I ran before, that’s a believable claim. Those things already felt like glue on dry asphalt.
What I love most is that Bridgestone doesn’t make noise just for marketing. They build tires that work. Simple as that. They don’t care about buzzwords or trying to sound futuristic. They just keep making some of the best tires on the planet for people who actually ride hard.
So yeah, when the RS12s drop, I’m grabbing a set, even if I don’t have a bike worthy of them (at least not yet). Because honestly, I’ve trusted Bridgestone with my life for years, and that’s not about to change anytime soon.
Source: Bridgestone
