Pirelli Angel GT Tires

tnman

tnman

Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
373
Location
DFW Area - TX
Bike
2012 ST1300
I know, another tire thread, Sorry!

I have been using the Michelin PR4 GT on the front and have gotten 12-15k miles on the last 3 of them, I struggle with the back tire, I loved the PR4 GT on the rear, by far the best feeling tire but can only get 6-7k out of them. I did some longer trips that required more miles than that so I put a Commander II on the rear and got 13-14k miles out of 2 of them now.

My question is what are your real world results with the Pirelli Angel GT's? I need to get 7k on my next trip and 11k on the following one. I am tempted to just buy 2 commander II's and hold on to them. They will be older aged but I fell confident I can get the required mileage out of them. I am also open to the Michelin road 6 as I hear they are GT without stating they are. Just not sure I can get the needed 11k out of them. I also don't have the time to wear out a set before my next trip.
 
I have the Michelin Road 6 and about 7000km on front and rear. Rear will probely last another 1000km. But it is badly cupped.
I`am switching to another brand.
Maybe the new Bridgestone T33. Or the Continental Road Attack 4.
 
I have tried the T32 and get around 18000 miles from them . I think the T33 tire might even be a longer lasting tire .
 
Tire mileage will vary greatly from rider to rider depending on his riding style as well as the surfaces he rides on. If you need a long lasting tire, have you considered darkside? I know a lot of guys cringe at the thought, but we have quite a few experienced riders who love car tires. Check out this thread:

Vredestein Hypertrac All Season Tire | Darksiders

I did a lot of investigating the lastest brands of Dark side tires looking for the thinnest and roundest tire that would work on an ST1300 that would not rub the swingarm. I think that this tire maybe a winner, it is very round on the sides not flat like most dark side tires. I have about 1/2"...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
It’s going to depend on WHERE you ride, and HOW you ride.
In Texas I’m guessing you have the same kind of rough roads and heat that I do in Arizona.
So I doubt you’ll get any tire will get more than 9-10k miles out of it.
But it is more depending on HOW you ride.
Do you rush into turns and depend on the brakes, or do you time your entry and exit speed by reading the road and slowing down before stabbing the brakes?
Also, are your brakes working correctly?
Does the rear brake drag?
Are you using non OEM pads?
Is your SMC functioning correctly?
Are you using the correct tire pressure, and have you verified you gauge is correct?
If your depending on tpms that use batteries, your readings will wander wildly as the battery weakens (same as on guitar tuners)
As far as the tires go, really good handling tires like Pirelli and continental, will wear down faster due to the road conditions and heat.
Tires in Arizona or Texas won’t last as long as tires in the cold/wet UK etc.
I ran the Shinko verge when I landed in Arizona and was getting around 10k out of a rear.
This was BEFORE in got close to the wear indicators.
I’m not a person who guesses that I can run it another 1k miles when you can’t see the center tread anymore.
 
Igofar said:
It’s going to depend on WHERE you ride, and HOW you ride.
In Texas I’m guessing you have the same kind of rough roads and heat that I do in Arizona.
So I doubt you’ll get any tire will get more than 9-10k miles out of it.
But it is more depending on HOW you ride.
Do you rush into turns and depend on the brakes, or do you time your entry and exit speed by reading the road and slowing down before stabbing the brakes?
Also, are your brakes working correctly?
Does the rear brake drag?
Are you using non OEM pads?
Is your SMC functioning correctly?
Are you using the correct tire pressure, and have you verified you gauge is correct?
If your depending on tpms that use batteries, your readings will wander wildly as the battery weakens (same as on guitar tuners)
As far as the tires go, really good handling tires like Pirelli and continental, will wear down faster due to the road conditions and heat.
Tires in Arizona or Texas won’t last as long as tires in the cold/wet UK etc.
I ran the Shinko verge when I landed in Arizona and was getting around 10k out of a rear.
This was BEFORE in got close to the wear indicators.
I’m not a person who guesses that I can run it another 1k miles when you can’t see the center tread anymore.
Click to expand...
All true statements. My hope is to have someone share experiences of the mileage they have gotten out of several tire brands. while mileage will vary, if several people get 20-30% more of our brand X than I should be able to compare to those numbers with my previous experiences.
I totally get what you are saying, I have seen seval report they got 15,000 miles out of a time that I can't get 8,000 out of. Most all of my mileage is gained while doing touring trips, I'm not racing around corners or trying to set any land speed records but I am also not driving like grandpa.

I know heat and speed will wear out the tires faster and when you ride in 100 degree heat at 75-80mph it is not the best scenario for long tire wear.
 
I've installed and run about ten sets of tires on St1300s. I ran Pirelli Angel GTs and liked them. I got about 11,000 miles from them. I won't run them again though as there are no sipes in the center of the tire. I had them installed quite a while when I started on another trip. They measured 3/32" before the trip in the sipes nearest the center. Less than 500 mile later, there were cords showing in the center where there were no sipes to measure. I live in the Panhandle, so most roads are flat. I've liked the Road 3,4,5, and 6. They all handled comparably with the biggest nod to the Pilot Road 4. I like them all though, and I get similar mileage from any of them.
 
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I ran about 6 sets of pirelli’s and got similar miles.
I got better mileage and less cupping when I stopped using wheel weights and switched to ride on tire sealant/balancer.
Continental handled great for a few sets, with 9-10k out of a set, hated Michelin tires due to noise, and cupping.
Was getting 10k out of the Shinko verge 11 once I moved to Tucson, a set of them were often less than just a front tire from most companies.
So 10k for about $300 dollars was a no brained for me.
I found them smoother and quieter than Dunlop, Michelin, and Bridgestone, ymmv.
 
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I have a few sets of Angel GTs and Metzeler Z8’s on the ST’s in the past and in general, 8-9K miles and I’m done with them (I change them in sets), not because the tread is completely gone, but because of flat spotting in the rear and flattening of the front tire profile as well so I never wait til I can’t see tread any longer (once the front turn in/drop in is compromised, I get a new set of tires). I have the Shinko rear on the 94 ST now as well as a Shinko Verge 011 on the front- they are wearing well at 5K miles. The only issue I have with the front is more weight is need to balance them (2 oz on the front despite getting the heavy spot of the rim figured first and matching that with the dot on the tire) and a bit of a decel headshake at 45 mph that I really never got with the Pirellis or Metzelers (and with tapered steering head bearings)- Shinkos are cheaper than the competition and good riding and handling tires, as long as you know their limitations. I’ve been happy with the GTs, the Z8s and the Shinkos.
The Michelins are too much $$$ for what you get.
 
Refer to this post:

RoadSmart IV | Dunlop

I recently put on a set of Dunlop Roadsmart IV tires on my 2004 ST1300 ABS. I really liked the RoadSmart III's (which are running around $250/set right now), but despite the substantially increased price (roughly +50 percent) over the III's I wanted to try the IV's. So far, I'm very happy with...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com

I have tried most of the tires, but not the new Continental Road Attack 4 tires. In retrospect, I generally liked the Dunlops the best. The Road Smart IV's gave me the best road feel and confidence. Wear was mixed, and for some times I got only ~5K miles. However, we have chip seal and I tend to ride hard and brake hard. When I've done road trips, I got 9K out of the Pirelli Angel GT's and I liked them, but they cupped something fierce. All tires will cup, but this was bad. I definitely did not like the way the Continentals looked at the end of their life; I have pictures that show big cracks and other issues. It was also paper thin while still showing some tread. What I mean is that there wasn't much wiggle room once the tire is done. The Bridgestone T32GTs I ran and they are a stiffer carcass tire and I wasn't a fan. They weren't terrible, but I didn't love them. I've gone double darkside now and actually I'm quite happy. I liked the Dunlops enough that I put them on three other bikes, and I've had a total of 4 sets.

Oh, and the Metzeler Z8's that I ran most recently for a road trip (before going darkside) were... really good given that they are an older tire design. The only thing is a harmonic vibration from the rear tire that seems to be common. If I hadn't gone dark side, I was going to go Metzeler Z8 front and M1 or whatever rear. @Catmandu2 knows the right combo there.


Hope this helps.
 
I'm thinking of buying a set of Angel GTs for the FJR. I found a front and back tire for $234 on Amazon. At that price, I figure why not. I just put a set of Michelins on so hopefully it will be a while before I need them.
Mike
 
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