rolling in Bridgestone bucks

Buell Guy · July 16, 2012, 12:47:19 PM

I made the switch to Bridgestone's this year after struggling with Pirellis. My highly modified Buells would shred the rear Pirelli tire every 2 or 3 races. On top of that, they stopped paying contingency. It was time for a change in 2012 and I decided to go with Bridgestones. I've known Quentin at Mize Mobile for 20 years, since we used to rub elbows around Summit Point back in the early 90's. He took the time to help me with the right tire & compound selection and with adjusting my suspension to suit the new tires. Bridgestone's generous contingency program didn't hurt either.
After my first practice on a new set of Bridgestone slicks, we made one set of changes to my suspension and haven't looked back. I immediately starting going about 1 second faster and have finished 1st or 2nd in every race this year, except for a couple races were I had some electrical problems. With Bridgestone's great contingency, I have been making a "profit" on tires and have been able to use the extra money to buy rain tires and stock the trailer with extra slicks. Even though I'm turning faster lap times (I broke into the 19's at Summit Pt), the tires are proving to be super durable. Despite the 95 degree temps, I used a single front tire for all 9 races at the last CCS twin-sprint event at Summit Pt and it probably could have gone 9 more. The rear also held up great, but with too much contingency money burning a whole in my pocket, I went ahead and replaced the rear after the first 5 races. I probably could have gone all 9 with it, but why take any chances?
At the risk of sounding like a Bridgestone commercial, I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. As racers, we need to support the companies that support us and I wanted to be sure to thank Bridgestone and MizeMobile for supporting me.
Arthur Diaz
CCS, ASRA and WERA #83

alexm · July 16, 2012, 04:43:35 PM

What kind of blasphemous two rotor front end are you running there?

Buell Guy · July 16, 2012, 10:50:21 PM

I see you have an eye for details. The bike has stock Buell forks mated to GSXR fork bottoms to allow the use of the dual radial mount brake calipers. The 300 mm rotors are from EBC and the wheel is a lightweight Marvic. The setup is heavier than stock, but I definitely gained some braking power. The front end also uses Attack Performance billet aluminum triple clamps.
The list of blasphemous parts is long and distinguished, but they all add up to one fast Buell.

apriliaman · July 16, 2012, 11:32:16 PM

I also switched to Bridgestone and saw how fast and smooth Diaz was going,that made me switch there.They make my bike turn faster and feels more stable.I had alot of 21's at summit last time there.I put back on my pirellis for the last 2 weekends, I had some tires at the house i wanted to use up and now I can feel the difference between the two.I haven't got my contengency money yet,but i should be getting some for a 3rd place i got out of 15 bikes in my first race with them.

alocker · July 17, 2012, 09:07:29 AM

I have had good luck with the R-10's so far. Odd or poor tire wear may not actually make you slower but it does mess with your head. The Bridgestone compounds seems to have a wider range and always wear fantastic. Just one less thing to worry about.

supercarl · July 17, 2012, 10:41:06 AM

I too just got my Bridgestone contingency and I'm loving it. Cant beat the tire performance either!

Buell Guy · July 17, 2012, 10:33:01 PM

What compound have you guys used this year while it has been 95+ degrees? I have been using the medium compound because of the high heat at the events I have been to. I will try the soft compound at the next event if we get lower temperatures.

supercarl · July 18, 2012, 10:59:12 AM

I just run what the tire guys tell me to run lol

roadracer162 · July 18, 2012, 04:52:05 PM

The YCX works in all circumstances, when I would run them.

leeroy996 · July 19, 2012, 01:48:21 PM

What tires are you guys coming off?

Buell Guy · July 19, 2012, 07:01:58 PM

Hey leeroy996,
As I mentioned in my initial post, I was running Pirellis for a 3 years. I think Pirelli makes a good tire, I just wasn't able to get them to work on my bikes.
For some reason, they must think their tires are so good that guys like me will still ride them without any contingency money. I have always been loyal to my sponsors (I stayed with Pirelli in 2011 even though they cancelled their contingency program after the 2010 season), but I wasn't going to keep paying for tires that I couldn't get to work properly on my bikes. I am very happy with the performance of the Bridgestones and their contingency program is the best one out there.

Knedragon · July 19, 2012, 07:43:15 PM

Quote from: Buell Guy on July 19, 2012, 07:01:58 PM
Hey leeroy996,
As I mentioned in my initial post, I was running Pirellis for a 3 years. I think Pirelli makes a good tire, I just wasn't able to get them to work on my bikes.
For some reason, they must think their tires are so good that guys like me will still ride them without any contingency money. I have always been loyal to my sponsors (I stayed with Pirelli in 2011 even though they cancelled their contingency program after the 2010 season), but I wasn't going to keep paying for tires that I couldn't get to work properly on my bikes. I am very happy with the performance of the Bridgestones and their contingency program is the best one out there.

I second that .... free is me and the money comes usually in a month or less after each race weekend

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rolling in Bridgestone bucks