Don’t forget the oldies

Not the latest fashion, but none the worse for that

» As you may have noticed from some of the photos in this magazine, we’re big fans of ignoring fashion. This is especially true when it comes to tyres, and a case in point is Bridgestone’s sporty S22 which comes as standard on Yamaha’s new R7. The S22 arrived in 2019, making it moderately old hat in tyre tech terms, but riding the R7 for almost 1000 miles has reminded me what a superb tyre it is. The outright wet grip probably can’t compete with new stuff such as Michelin’s Road 6, but it’s still pretty bloody good. And the performance in the dry is hilarious – there’s so much grip at the rear I doubt the R7’s 75bhp could ever unstick it. Prices haven’t dropped much, but they aren’t silly – shop around and get a front and rear for under £240.