Bridgestone AT41 Review: More Than Just an 80/20 Adventure Tyre?

• Bridgestone’s AT41 is an 80% road/20% off-road adventure tyre aimed at riders who mix sealed-road touring with gravel.
• Excellent confidence on wet and dry seal, with surprisingly strong drive and front-end security on hard-packed gravel.
• Slippery clay eventually reveals its road-biased limits, but for typical Kiwi adventure riding the AT41 looks like a very convincing compromise. 

What better way to scrub in a new set of adventure tyres than a trip from Hamilton to Taranaki? Pete Westbury fits Bridgestone’s road-biased AT41s to his recently acquired BMW GS and discovers just how much difference a decent set of tyres can make.

The Bridgestone AT41 is marketed as an 80% on-road and 20% off-road adventure tyre, so a ride from Hamilton to Taranaki seemed like a pretty good way to put a new set through their paces.

The ride south was entirely on sealed roads – the main highway combined with some small ‘diversions’ – while the journey back included a good chunk of gravel riding and one of my favourite roads in the North Island: Kiwi Road.

REBUILDING CONFIDENCE

My 2006 BMW R1200GS was purchased second-hand wearing a set of cheap, knobbly adventure tyres that were as hard as nails. I’d experienced the front sliding several times at low speed around wet roundabouts, which wasn’t exactly confidence inspiring.

So, I needed a few kilometres to develop some trust in the new Bridgestones. That wasn’t simply because they were new tyres; I needed to regain some faith that the front of the GS was actually going to stick when I asked something of it.

And stick they did!

Sealed back roads, mostly flowing corners with a few tighter bends thrown in, brought my grin back and I could finally ride the big BMW as it should be ridden. Even through some light drizzle and over damp corners, the AT41s never felt like they were going to give way and could be pushed to the limits of what most road riders are likely to ask of them.

For the boring stuff – highway and main-road riding – the Bridgestones were fine. It’s hard to review something when you’re not really asking much of it, but road noise seemed minimal and the front tyre tracked well.

Tucking in behind a ute travelling at some ‘higher than normal’ road speeds, the AT41s only felt a touch flighty at one point, though I doubt many riders are going to be travelling at sufficient velocity to notice such a thing.

Heading north from Taranaki brought tighter back-country roads, most of which were wet during the early part of the day, with the occasional mossy patch thrown in for good measure.

By now I was feeling far more comfortable on the new rubber. It was a pleasure not to have to think about what the tyres were doing and instead simply enjoy the riding. Once again, the AT41s gave the impression they would stay planted and, even when I got a little playful and pushed harder, the connection to the road never felt compromised.

BACK ON THE GRAVEL

My biggest and most pleasant surprise from the Bridgestones came when the seal stopped.

On hard-packed gravel the tyres were remarkably tractable, especially considering their 20% off-road focus. I’m quite used to riding big adventure bikes and part of the fun is the effortless power slides – twist the throttle and snaking sideways is par for the course on open gravel.

I actually found that a little harder to do with the AT41. The rear tyre preferred to provide drive rather than slide, which killed my fun a little bit – but in a good way.

The front was likewise happy to go where I pointed it on open gravel, giving me plenty of confidence in what the big BMW was doing underneath me.

Then came Kiwi Road.

THE KIWI ROAD TEST

Kiwi Road, for those who have never had the pleasure, is a section of one-lane road in northern Taranaki, sitting inland from Mount Messenger. In fact, if you’re on an adventure bike, I reckon it should be the preferred route to State Highway 3.

It’s signposted to warn foolish travellers in campervans that perhaps they shouldn’t be so eager to take this route, but on an adventure bike it’s simply paradise. I’d argue that all roads should be like this!

The northernmost section especially is what it’s all about: tight, in amongst the bush and exactly the sort of riding that fires me up. Add a couple of tunnels for novelty value and it’s a must-do for anyone interested in adventure riding.

I could feel the big BMW urging me on through this section and really had to rein myself in. I’m still recovering from a torn hamstring and, perhaps more importantly, getting old enough to realise I shouldn’t be throwing big adventure bikes around quite as enthusiastically as I once did.

Unfortunately, nobody appears to have told the GS.

Being a bit playful myself, there was some tension between wanting to push the bike and trying to be sensible.

I think we found a good compromise.

Again, the AT41s allowed for a reasonable pace through most sections of gravel, only saying ‘nope’ when a few surprise patches of clay shifted the front tyre unexpectedly sideways.

There were a couple of ‘Eek!’ moments, but they were also a useful reminder that I was still riding on predominantly road-oriented rubber rather than a proper off-road tyre.

THE SWEET SPOT?

The AT41 sits between Bridgestone’s road-oriented A41 and the more aggressive AX41 and, for a large percentage of Kiwi riders on adventure bikes, I think it has found a perfect home.

Even for riders spending the vast majority of their time on sealed roads, the AT41 provides all the traction and handling you’re likely to need while still having genuine ability when the seal ends.

And it looks cool, which is a factor I personally think is quite important.

Tyres can make an adventure bike look like the absolute business – or a bit weird. The AT41s have a chunky enough tread pattern to provide that sense of adventure-bike authenticity without going all the way to a proper knobbly.

If your adventure riding is predominantly sealed roads with 20–30% public gravel thrown into the mix, the AT41 makes a lot of sense. It gives away very little to a conventional road tyre where most adventure bikes spend their time, yet has considerably more ability once the seal ends.

Only when the surface turns genuinely slippery does its road-biased nature become apparent.

For the way most Kiwi adventure bikes are actually ridden, that’s a pretty convincing compromise.

INITIAL VERDICT

It’s early days for the Bridgestone AT41s, but the first impressions are extremely positive. They’ve transformed my confidence in the GS on sealed roads, impressed in wet conditions and proved considerably more capable on gravel than their 80/20 positioning might suggest.

The big question now is how they perform over the longer term.

I’m keeping track of the kilometres, so once they’ve got some decent mileage under them we’ll report back on how they’re wearing – and whether that impressive first-ride performance lasts.

Contributor

Pete Westbury

Pete is new to the BRM team, but we’ve known him for years. A hugely passionate motorcyclist, his regular ride is a BMW R1200GS that’s racked up serious mileage, so adventure riding is right in his wheelhouse. That said, his day job puts him on all sorts of machinery, and he’s a fan of anything with two wheels and an engine. A true Kiwi biker, Pete tells it like it is.