Bridgestone

Bridgestone goes back to 1931, when Shojiro Ishibashi founded Bridgestone Tire Co. in Kurume, Japan. The name is an English play on his surname, which means "stone bridge". Now headquartered in Tokyo, the group is one of the largest tyre makers in the world and has owned Firestone since 1988. Motorcycles are part of its heritage: from 1952 to 1970 Bridgestone built its own mopeds and two-stroke bikes before concentrating on supplying tyres to Japanese manufacturers, and from 2009 to 2015 it was the sole tyre supplier in MotoGP.

Its motorcycle tyres are sold mainly under the Battlax name. The range covers race and track tyres such as the Battlax Racing and Racing Street series, sporty road tyres like the Hypersport S23, sport-touring models such as the T32 and adventure tyres in the Adventure A41 and AdventureCross families. Classic-style BT46 tyres, Exedra cruiser fitments, scooter tyres and the Motocross line for off-road competition complete the programme.