BRIDGESTONE M404 REAR TIRE

The latest of the three-digit sneakers

WHAT IS IT? A new rear tire from Bridgestone that’s designed to work from hard to soft terrain, but favors intermediate terrain.

WHAT’S IT COST? $106.18 (110/90-19)?Your local dealer.

WHAT’S IT DO? MXA and Bridgestone have had a love/hate relationship over the years. We absolutely loved the Bridgestone M22 hard track tire in 1981. Our love put Bridgestone on the American motocross map. A decade later, we were strong advocates of the Bridgestone M78 rear tire. But we never warmed to the atrocious M601/602 or the first-generation M401/402 tires. In fact, we hated those tires with a passion. We felt that Bridgestone could do better. In fact, we knew they could do better, because when we tested Chad Reed’s 2004 Yamaha YZ250, we loved his Bridgestone works tires. In that test of Chad’s bike we said, “The first thing we noticed were the tires. They may have been Bridgestones, and they may have had 601 and 602 embossed on the sidewalls, but these weren’t the junk-heap 601s that we are used to throwing away. They had nothing in common with their production tires.” As you might expect, Bridgestone was angered by this statement. The relationship between Bridgestone and MXA cooled to arctic temperatures, but that didn’t matter to us, because we had no interest in racing with Bridgestone 401 or 601 tires anyway.
Three years later, Bridgestone has a new tire in the works?the M404. Bridgestone tentatively approached the MXA wrecking crew to see if we would be willing to test this new tire. We said that we would and, in truth, we had already spent many hours on it (because it comes as the OEM tire on the 2008 YZ250F, RM-Z450, and KX250F).
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WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with the Bridgestone M404 rear tire.
(1) Traction. Designed primarily for intermediate terrain, the M404 worked exceptionally well on the specified terrain. When pushed into the extremes of hard pack or into softer dirt, it did yeoman’s duty. In rock hard dirt, the M404 felt loose on the entrance to corners. It tended to slip at turn-in, but it was still predictable and controlled. It never let go, just stepped out. The more the MXA test riders rode with the tire, the more comfortable they felt. The loose feeling didn’t occur on intermediate or soft terrain.
(2) Tire pressure. Tire pressure is a very important detail in the world of tires. Bridgestone recommended between 12 and 13 pounds (depending on track conditions), with a usable range between ten and 15 pounds. We experimented with 12, 12.5, 13, 13.5, and 14 pounds of tire pressure, and our best setting came at 12.5 pounds of pressure.
(3) Mounting. Installing the M404 was easy. It has soft rubber and flexible sidewalls. A word to the wise; set your new tire out in the sun before installing, as it will warm up the tire and make the process much easier.
(4) Wear. The life span of the M404 was very good. It was one of the longest-lasting intermediate tires that we have ever tested (the Maxxis Maxxcross IT is the king of longevity). MXA test riders rode in a plethora of conditions, and the M404 held up beautifully. Even when the tire started to round, it still worked well.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? The Bridgestone M404 rear tire is a little loose on hardpack, but that’s not a deal-breaker for an intermediate tire.
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ÿMXA RATING

We think that Bridgestone has a winner in the M404. It is their best rear tire since the M78 and is a valid choice for a racer looking for an intermediate tire with a wide window of dirt compatibility.