Pr4-5 or angel gt

PR4GT's wear square in the middle and sawtooth on the shoulders. Cushy slippers. Known commodity.
Angel GT's are okay. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Wore decent. Very hard and direct feel compared to the Michy's. You feel every pebble and change of road surface.
PR5GT also very cushy. Shoulder tread is very soft so they tend to wear trapezoidal. My first set have a strange wear pattern but that could be me. Front tire tread quite loud. Still undecided.
 
So what your saying......is the PR4's are vague feeling, little rider input or feedback, wear funny because of the dual compound, and are very loud etc.
And the Pirelli's were transparent, wore decently, very hard (support the weight of a 730 lb bike) and had a direct, predictable feel to them, and gave you enough rider feedback to FEEL the road surface, rather than just stepping out without warning :rofl1:
I've run several sets of Michelin's (don't like any of them anymore), Bridgestone's, Dunlop's, Continental's and Pirelli's.
If I still lived in an area that had twisty roads and not these damn flat desert highways, I'd put my 7th set of Pirelli's on and not think twice.
My second choice would be the Continental road attack's. Tied for feel/rain/handling for me.
But now a day's I'm running Shinko Verge 011's and can get a set delivered to my door much cheaper than just a front tire from all the other brands.
Lots of tread, smooth, round, quiet, and no funny wear so far.
Of course I just ordered a new front tire last night due to a huge sheet metal screw that I picked up on a ride the prior day :mad:
 
Igofar said:
So what your saying......is the PR4's are vague feeling, little rider input or feedback, wear funny because of the dual compound, and are very loud etc.
And the Pirelli's were transparent, wore decently, very hard (support the weight of a 730 lb bike) and had a direct, predictable feel to them, and gave you enough rider feedback to FEEL the road surface, rather than just stepping out without warning :rofl1:
I've run several sets of Michelin's (don't like any of them anymore), Bridgestone's, Dunlop's, Continental's and Pirelli's.
If I still lived in an area that had twisty roads and not these damn flat desert highways, I'd put my 7th set of Pirelli's on and not think twice.
My second choice would be the Continental road attack's. Tied for feel/rain/handling for me.
But now a day's I'm running Shinko Verge 011's and can get a set delivered to my door much cheaper than just a front tire from all the other brands.
Lots of tread, smooth, round, quiet, and no funny wear so far.
Of course I just ordered a new front tire last night due to a huge sheet metal screw that I picked up on a ride the prior day :mad:
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I haven't had enough time to put any amount of miles on my ST1300. I'm still getting used to it. It came with Bridgestones on it that I was told were about half worn. i'm not an aggressive rider by any means. What would you anticipate for a mileage expectation?

On my V65 Magna I ran Dunlop's for probably 15 years till I heard some guys talking about Michelin Commander tires. I had to change the rear last summer because I picked up a piece of wire. The tire had 8K miles and half of the tread left. The Commanders are not available in the sizes needed for the ST.

From some of the threads I've read here it doesn't seem like you're able to get a great deal of miles out of the tires that are available for the ST.
 
Road 5s were a game changer for me, reversing my dislike of Michelins dating from the Pilot Road 3. They handle superbly wet or dry and wear symmetrically under me. Rears go 12 or 13,000 miles and fronts 10 or 11,000. Michelin makes significant changes in compounds and how the dual compounds are integrated across the carcass in succeeding tire models. The R5 is much different than previous Pilot Road series.
 
northwestparider said:
From some of the threads I've read here it doesn't seem like you're able to get a great deal of miles out of the tires that are available for the ST.
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Everyone has different wear. Some people claim a gazzillion miles on theirs.
I am getting around 12,000 good kilometres out of a rear Shinko Verge 011 (7,500 miles) and have stretched that to 15,000 (9,300 miles) in a pinch. Yes there are tires that willl go further. I can expect around 20,000 + on a front (12,500 miles) and have gone 24,000 km. on a front. So typically I do 2 rears to 1 front. The economics work for me.
Others will not like my choice of tire... I loved the Avon Storms but Avon don't like them put on ST's due to politics.
We are a little limited on tire choices I will admit.
I was thinking that my ST was going thru tires far too quickly until I pulled out my log books... I was putting twice or three times the kilometres on per year as I was doing with my old CB750. The CB750 was going through a rear in 6,000 to 8,000 miles no matter what brand.
Anyway, tires do get personal... everyone has their favourites.
 
Igofar said:
So what your saying......is the PR4's are vague feeling, little rider input or feedback, wear funny because of the dual compound, and are very loud etc.
And the Pirelli's were transparent, wore decently, very hard (support the weight of a 730 lb bike) and had a direct, predictable feel to them, and gave you enough rider feedback to FEEL the road surface, rather than just stepping out without warning :rofl1:
Click to expand...

I suppose seat of the pants feel and the feedback level you expect is very subjective and also very dependent on the terrain you travel. For much of my local miles I should probably be on ADV tires or an ADV bike for that matter. Constantly changing surface conditions are the norm. I found switching from the softer to the harder tires more stressful. Maybe too much information and alarm fatigue. Perhaps too many years of focused attention while the tires were whispering and then they were shouting all the time. Every pebble was flashing alarms as the tire skipped sideways. The softer Michys just deal with imperfections on their own and don't send up a flag until things get serious. No drama, just stick and go and a progressive slide when you're pushing too hard. If you're coming the other direction with a history of harder more chatty tires, the perception would be that you're not getting any feedback.

I know you've related some anecdotal local experiences that have left you, (the repository of accumulated wisdom), with a less than optimal opinion of the PR5's. My experience last summer may have been another to add to the statistical list of "they're good right up until they aren't". So I'm not committed to the koolaid either.

And here we are at the beginning of a new season and it's nearly time to order fresh rubber. The 4's are dwindling stock and hard to come by. The 5's are still a question mark. Interesting that there is already a PR6. Hmm?... The Angels are okay. I'm almost ready to try a set of Conti's to see where they might take me.
 
I've only used the Bridgestone T31's so far on my 08 1300. They seem to be as good as I need them to be. Mileage yet to be determined, but those that have used them already say they get descent mileage.
I'm far from an extremely aggressive rider, but I do sometimes lean the bike over and accelerate hard through corners. No "uh oh" moments yet. For the price, they are hard to beat.
 
I've had several sets of Pirelli Angel GT, a set of Continental road attack 3, a set of Dunlop roadsmart 3, and now I'm on a set of Bridgestone t32 GT. The Angels wore funny for me, but to be fair that was before I updated the suspension. Maybe I should give them a try again. The Continentals I really liked right up until the end and they had very very little tread left and I felt as though there were problems with the rubber compound kind of cracking and coming apart. If you search that it may be an issue.

I really liked the dunlops. There wasn't a lot of tire left when the tread was gone but I pushed the bike really really hard for that set - hard charging in back roads and stuff like that - and I got acceptable life for what I got out of the tire. What I'm saying is when the tire is done it is DONE. The handling was fantastic. Now on the Bridgestone t32's and so far I'm quite happy. Never been on a Michelin that I liked. The Shinko Verge that I had was out of round and that kind of soured me on them. Maybe I'll try them again.

When I stay local, my riding style is somewhat more aggressive and so I prioritize grip and handling and feedback over pretty much everything else. When I plan longer trips the story changes.
 
dduelin said:
Road 5s were a game changer
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Just double checking the size that fit the ST1300, I can only find the Road 5s - 180/55ZR-17, is that right?
I always used 170/60R17 in the past.
I am also wondering about the consequences, if any, of running a wider tire with a smaller sidewall.
Can you share your feedback?
Thanks!
 
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Sidekick said:
Just double checking the size that fit the ST1300, I can only find the Road 5s - 180/55ZR-17, is that right?
I always used 170/60R17 in the past.
I am also wondering about the consequences, if any, of running a wider tire with a smaller sidewall.
Can you share your feedback?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
I only ran the stock size 170/60ZR17 on my ST1300. Others have run 180 section tires on the ST and they will have to chime in.

The Michelin Road 6 comes in ST1300 sizes 120/70ZR18 and 170/60ZR17
 
pmatulew said:
I suppose seat of the pants feel and the feedback level you expect is very subjective and also very dependent on the terrain you travel. For much of my local miles I should probably be on ADV tires or an ADV bike for that matter. Constantly changing surface conditions are the norm. I found switching from the softer to the harder tires more stressful. Maybe too much information and alarm fatigue. Perhaps too many years of focused attention while the tires were whispering and then they were shouting all the time. Every pebble was flashing alarms as the tire skipped sideways. The softer Michys just deal with imperfections on their own and don't send up a flag until things get serious. No drama, just stick and go and a progressive slide when you're pushing too hard. If you're coming the other direction with a history of harder more chatty tires, the perception would be that you're not getting any feedback.

I know you've related some anecdotal local experiences that have left you, (the repository of accumulated wisdom), with a less than optimal opinion of the PR5's. My experience last summer may have been another to add to the statistical list of "they're good right up until they aren't". So I'm not committed to the koolaid either.

And here we are at the beginning of a new season and it's nearly time to order fresh rubber. The 4's are dwindling stock and hard to come by. The 5's are still a question mark. Interesting that there is already a PR6. Hmm?... The Angels are okay. I'm almost ready to try a set of Conti's to see where they might take me.
Click to expand...
I had the same concerns with the angel gt’s. Feeling every little pebble etc. I did not get the A spec rear which was a big mistake. Many times accelerating out of tight turns I had what must have been sidewall flex which was very uncomfortable. First time running down 219 in PA, I thought I got a flat, as that is how it felt. If you get them, make sure to get the A spec. Also the front started cupping around 8000klm. Switched to PR4 and took awhile to like them. But now on my second set and really like them. They wear better with cupping not starting till about 15k klm. Handling feels better as does the ride. Swapped first pair out at 17k,but could have/should have gone more. Don’t need tires this yr, so I guess they won’t be around next summer. PR6 or T32 next time?
 
RaYzerman said:
The Michelins have softer sidewalls than most, so you could feel the flex.... I blow those up a coupla pounds extra and they're much better.
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I agree. IIRC when I spooned on the first set of Pilot Roads in 2006 the Michelin PSI in the fitment guide for the ST1300 was 32-34 F and 36-38 R. They eventually removed all reference to recommended PSI in fitment guides.
 
I've always used the Michelin PR series of tires on my ST 1300 and I have been very happy with them. Superb mileage compared to the Metzeler's I use on my ST 1100. They stay nice and round and black and contain all the air you put in them until the end of their life, which I think is about all you can ask of a tire to do.

I don't think you could go wrong with the Michelin PR series, but I don't have any experience with other brands on the ST 1300 to compare them to.

Michael
 
dduelin said:
I only ran the stock size 170/60ZR17 on my ST1300. Others have run 180 section tires on the ST and they will have to chime in.

The Michelin Road 6 comes in ST1300 sizes 120/70ZR18 and 170/60ZR17
Click to expand...

I have run the 170 and 180. I find that the profile the manufacturer chooses makes a bigger difference in the 'feel' than the aspect ratio. Once, I felt as though the 180 negatively impacted the consistency of how the bike rolled into turns, but now I'm not so sure. As for myself, I have preferred to stick with the stock profile. Your mileage may vary. Pun intended.
 
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