Well yes, the tyre companies are continually developing new rubber for an ever-changing bike market and this is the latest. Bridgestone's BT-021 Sport Touring.

When you consider the success of the tyre the BT-021 replaces, the BT-020, you get an idea why it's so crucial to Bridgestone to get it right. The BT-020 has been the company's bestselling tyre in Europe for the last six years. In the UK alone 50 percent of the bikes in the sport touring market are riding around on 020s, and around 30 bikes come fitted with them as standard equipment. That's a huge market who know, and more importantly trust, the BT-020.

So how do you improve a tyre? According to Bridgestone the new BT-021 is a luxury sports tyre with the improved high-speed stability, better wet weather grip, reduced wear rate and increased shock absorption properties - all changes demanded by the evolving bike market.

When the 020 was launched in 2000 sports tourers were slower and less powerful than today (the ZZR1400 with 171bhp is classed as a sports tourer now) so the 020 needed to develop. Has it matched the rigours of modern bikes?

Luckily (or unluckily) the weather decided to play a large part in the launch of the BT-021. Basically it bucketed it down for most of the previous day and showered on the day we actually rode the bikes, so although we didn't really push the dry weather ability, wet weather grip was tested. A lot.

Throughout the whole day's riding on wet and twisty Sardinian roads the BT-021 performed without fault on a variety of bikes ranging from a Triumph Tiger to a Honda Daueville. It's very hard to actually compare the tyre's performance with its competition because we only rode on the BT-021 but I was completely confident in its wet weather and damp road ability. The front, which has a different carcass construction to the old BT-020, was very stable both on the brakes and at high-speed. None of the bikes tested showed any tendency towards high-speed instability which was impressive.

When the road did occasionally dry out the BT-021 didn't appear to slow the handling down on any one of the bikes, even the sporty Speed Triple. Again the weather was a factor but I did ride a Tiger on the BT-021s, a bike I have ridden a lot on various other tyres, and the handling didn't feel any slower. Although the weather did hamper thoroughly testing these tyres it rains in the real world too so it is important to test wet weather ability. If Bridgestone's claims that the BT-021 is 15% more durable than the old 020 are true then this is a worthy successor. I'm getting a set for my long-term Triumph Tiger soon so keep an eye on the mag for a more thorough evaluation.

The BT-021 is available now, prices should be around the £200 mark for a pair. Check out www.bridgestone.co.uk for more info.

"On wet and twisty Sardinian roads the 021s performed without fault"

According to Bridgestone they've developed the new generation of tyre with improved stability, sports tyre performance and increased wet weather performance. They also say the tyre has improved durability, lasting a claimed 15% longer than the old model. The rear uses a dual compound design. Bridgestone were the first tyre manufacturer to produce dual compound tyres for bikes, and this is the very latest development of the design.

The new tyre has a difficult task as it needs to perform on a wide variety of bikes from big tourers like the BMW R1200RT to super nakeds like Triumph's Speed Triple.

MCN road tester Adam Child tested the tyres on various bikes in changing conditions on Sardinian roads this week. Italian roads aren't known for wet weather grip, and make it hard for most tyres to find traction. The BT-021 seemed to be the exception to the rule, having no trouble finding grip in very wet, cold conditions.

On the Speed Triple the amount of front grip was really impressive, giving enough feedback to let you trail the brakes as you start to lean into the turn, remarkable considering the cold slippery surface.

Adam spent most of 2005 and 2006 running a BMW 1200RT fitted with the old BT-020, so on the test he spent some time pushing the new tyres hard on the same bike. High speed stability was very good - long 120mph sweepers were taken with confidence as the bike remained rock solid. The old tyres were excellent anyway, but the replacements are even more impressive.

The tyre is available in a choice of five front tyre sizes and seven rears to cover most road bikes over 400cc. Prices have not been announced, but they should cost around £180 a pair.

Riding a variety of differing capacities in cold, wet, almost typical British weather, Child was impressed with the BT-021's speedy warm-up, feedback and noticeable wet weather grip.

More on these tyres in MCN's tyre guide, available soon.

Our man with the mission JP has been clocking up the miles on the 021Rs fitted to his R6: "I'll be honest, they're better than I expected. The best thing about them for me is the very quick feeling I get for grip fresh out the gate and felt like there was good contact patch gripping the road. They seemed fine on the R6- 'stable' I guess the cliché book would say. They slowed the steering down a bit but not much, it's an agile bike and it's still agile with the 021RS fitted.

"After using so many sports tyres designed for the track on my R6 it came as a bit of a shock that I could lean the bike over so far and get away with using the throttle and brakes so hard, with ST tyres in shit weather. They're good because they grip well and made me feel confident, which is exactly what sports touring tyres don't usually do"

Bridgestone claims that changes have been made to make the front more stable under braking while the rear is now a dual compound construction with "minimised tread in centre part to aid durability adding up to 15 per cent improved mileage over the old BT-020" say Bridgestone. They're in shops from March 2007.

And they're going to replace it with what you see below: the new BT-021. The new rubber isn't available until March or April next year, but this is no press pack photo - we've gone and got hold of one of the first pairs of BT-021s to find their way to the UK. We've not had our hands on'em for long, but we've had time to fit them to our GSR600 longtermer and get an idea of how they perform - and that's pretty damn well. The 021s give a plush ride, they're incredibly stable, giving a noticeable calming effect to the otherwise skittish Suzuki in crosswinds at motorway speeds, and their wet grip is astounding. They also warm up fast and, on less than perfect cold, winter Tarmac, deliver confidence inspiring levels of grip.

The 021 will be approved for a huge range of bikes including, unlike the 020, for fitment to big capacity sports bikes for owners looking to get maximum mileage over outright grip. That's a bold move, as there's a risk of putting off BT-020 customers who ride less sporty machinery and may perceive the BT-021 as a less 'sensible' tyre than the 020 it replaces. Bridgestone are confident the BT-021 will speak for itself.