Bridgestone Introduces Battlax AX41 Adventure-Touring Motorcycle Tire

Bridgestone is giving adventure-touring riders a rugged new option in 2019 with the Battlax AX41 tire. This is a much more off-road-competent tire than the current A41 and it will be available in four front tire sizes and five rear sizes starting January 2019 in the US and Canada.

One look at the AX41 and you can see it's ready to sling some dirt. Taller tread blocks and deeper grooves give the tire much improved traction in loose conditions compared to the more road-friendly A41, and designers made sure to optimize the shape of the tread blocks. This results in less shear deformation to the blocks under braking force on the trailing edge, thereby improving the stability, wear, and longevity of the AX41.

The tire also has large tread blocks on the outer edge for more precise control off-road. A more robust compound further enhances the life and performance of the AX41, providing close to 30 percent better durability and rigidity compared to the A41.

Below are the exact tire sizes available to customers at launch.

Front:
100/90-19 M/C 57Q 110/80-19 M/C 59Q 120/70-19 M/C 60Q 90/90-21 M/C 54Q

Rear:
140/80B-17 M/C 69Q 150/70B-17 M/C 69Q 170/60B-17 M/C 72Q 150/70B-18 M/C 70Q 130/80B-17 M/C 65Q

This size runs work for numerous popular adventure-touring bikes including the BMW R1200GS, KTM 1190 Adventure, Kawasaki KLR650, Honda Africa Twin, and many more.

There are some heavy hitters in this segment that have been around a long time, but we’re excited to see a new entry from one of the largest motorcycle tire manufacturers in the world. We’ll report back on how they stack up once we can get our hands on a set.