Shawn K
Professional Cat Confuser
Since there are always questions about tires for the ST1300, I thought I'd keep a running thread of my experiences with different brands and models.
(DISCLAIMER: What you'll read here is the meanderings of a guy with a large vocabulary, a strong belief in his own opinion, and not much else. All tires are religiously maintained at 42 psi front/rear unless otherwise noted. The author is more of a high-miler than a haul-asser.)
FIRST SET:
Michelin Pilot Road 4 front (120/70-18)
Michelin Pilot Road 2 rear (170/60-17)
This was on the bike when I bought it in March of 2019. I'm not entirely sure how many miles were on them when I bought the bike, but I only rode them for 2188 miles before replacing them.
The PR2 rear didn't leave a good impression on me, mostly because of the way it wore. The tread pattern caused it to really wear unevenly, to the point that it got a bad sort of bumpy/unbalanced feel. I was glad to get rid of it.
The PR4 front was a different story. I know that the PR4 is widely used and regarded by many as one of the best tires for the ST1300, but I thought it was eminently average. For one thing, I found it to be quite loud. Maybe it's the construction of the roads around here, but that tire was super road-noisy to my ears. The wet weather performance was good (I could feel the road feedback just as well in the wet as I could in the dry), but it ended up wearing into a square profile like what you'd expect on a rear tire.
Overall, it's hard for me to judge that pair because I didn't know their age, how many miles were on them, or how well they were maintained over their life. So take my opinions on those tires with a grain of salt.
SECOND SET:
Bridgestone T31GT front/rear (120/70-18 front, 170/60-17 rear)
For my first set of new skins on this bike, I decided to go with the T31GT's because I'd never used Bridgestones before, they were on sale, and I'm a fan of the Bridgestone era of MotoGP.
On the whole, I was happy enough with them. They wore decently (I got 9336 miles before I decided to replace them), but the thing I noticed the most was the kind of feedback I got. The Michelins gave me discernible feedback at normal road speeds, but in comparison the Bridgestones tended to be much more "quiet" in their feedback until I pushed much harder than I probably should have. Right about the time you're nearing threshold braking or running into a corner at twice the posted speed limit, then they'll start giving you some road feel. At normal speeds, they didn't "talk" a whole lot.
The wet weather performance was more of the same - you know they're there, but they just don't say much. You have to go on trust. I never had any bad moments with them, so I can't complain.
Overall, I found the Bridgestones to be like my old Indian roommate - does his job, doesn't make a mess, behaves the way you expect him to... just doesn't speak much.
Here's a couple pictures of the wear after 9,336 miles. Front tire on left, rear tire on right.
Up next, Pirelli Angel GT/GT2 combo. Just mounted them today, I'll update with some thoughts along the way as I put some miles on them.
(DISCLAIMER: What you'll read here is the meanderings of a guy with a large vocabulary, a strong belief in his own opinion, and not much else. All tires are religiously maintained at 42 psi front/rear unless otherwise noted. The author is more of a high-miler than a haul-asser.)
FIRST SET:
Michelin Pilot Road 4 front (120/70-18)
Michelin Pilot Road 2 rear (170/60-17)
This was on the bike when I bought it in March of 2019. I'm not entirely sure how many miles were on them when I bought the bike, but I only rode them for 2188 miles before replacing them.
The PR2 rear didn't leave a good impression on me, mostly because of the way it wore. The tread pattern caused it to really wear unevenly, to the point that it got a bad sort of bumpy/unbalanced feel. I was glad to get rid of it.
The PR4 front was a different story. I know that the PR4 is widely used and regarded by many as one of the best tires for the ST1300, but I thought it was eminently average. For one thing, I found it to be quite loud. Maybe it's the construction of the roads around here, but that tire was super road-noisy to my ears. The wet weather performance was good (I could feel the road feedback just as well in the wet as I could in the dry), but it ended up wearing into a square profile like what you'd expect on a rear tire.
Overall, it's hard for me to judge that pair because I didn't know their age, how many miles were on them, or how well they were maintained over their life. So take my opinions on those tires with a grain of salt.
SECOND SET:
Bridgestone T31GT front/rear (120/70-18 front, 170/60-17 rear)
For my first set of new skins on this bike, I decided to go with the T31GT's because I'd never used Bridgestones before, they were on sale, and I'm a fan of the Bridgestone era of MotoGP.
On the whole, I was happy enough with them. They wore decently (I got 9336 miles before I decided to replace them), but the thing I noticed the most was the kind of feedback I got. The Michelins gave me discernible feedback at normal road speeds, but in comparison the Bridgestones tended to be much more "quiet" in their feedback until I pushed much harder than I probably should have. Right about the time you're nearing threshold braking or running into a corner at twice the posted speed limit, then they'll start giving you some road feel. At normal speeds, they didn't "talk" a whole lot.
The wet weather performance was more of the same - you know they're there, but they just don't say much. You have to go on trust. I never had any bad moments with them, so I can't complain.
Overall, I found the Bridgestones to be like my old Indian roommate - does his job, doesn't make a mess, behaves the way you expect him to... just doesn't speak much.
Here's a couple pictures of the wear after 9,336 miles. Front tire on left, rear tire on right.
Up next, Pirelli Angel GT/GT2 combo. Just mounted them today, I'll update with some thoughts along the way as I put some miles on them.