Pirelli Angel ST Tires???

I have replaced the original Dunlops on my 7th gen due to nail punctures. I installed the Pirelli Angel ST's back on the old girl. Has anyone had any experience with these tires? They have about 2-300 miles on them now and I just cant seem to gain any confidence in these tires. The original Roadsmarts seemed to stick better in the curves to me. They also seemed much more predictable. I could easily run the roadsmarts all the way to the edge with approx. 1/4 strip but, I cant seem to get anywhere near the edge with the angels. Does anyone have any pointers for me? Any air pressure changes required with the angels? I am getting really annoyed with these tires. I would about be willing to swap these to someone for their Roadsmarts!!!

How close you get to the edge may be irrelevant. Different tyres have different profiles. Why do you lack confidence in them? Why exactly? Do they actually begin to lose grip at the usual lean angles?

I have the OEM Roadsmarts on at the moment and have a similar wear pattern but know that tyres are better than me. I'm about to change to Michelin PR3's mainly due to a puncture but I'm curious as to why (as you can probably tell).

I've done track time on these tyres and have no issues.

I purchased my 1998 VFR in 2010 with 58975 miles on the odometer. The previous owner had installed brand new Pirelli Angel tires on the bike. I replaced the Angels at 71180 miles with Michelin Pilot Road 2's, because I was looking for a dual compound tire. I do not consider myself an agressive rider, but the Pirelli Angels handled very well for me at 41psi rear & 38psi front. Mine stuck to the road better than the Bridgestone Battleaxe tires I had on my Ninja and better than the Michelins that I currently have on my VFR. Like you, I had about a 1/4 inch unworn strip to the edge of the tire. Good luck. Jeff J.

I fitted a set of Pirelli Angel ST's about 7000km ago, they still have possibly ~3-4000km left. They make the roadsmarts look fairly poor by comparison, The Angels just stick in all conditions. I found the Roadsmarts ok but the rear tended to "drift" a little under power coming out of corners, not bad but it was there, the front was good for the type of riding I do.
In the wet the Angels are superior, front end feel is good and turn-in also feels good, so far they have not let go at all, doesn't matter how hard I push them, although I'm no corner jockey.

My next set of tyres will be the PR3's...have heard good things about them also.

Cheers,
Smithy.

i had angels on my 6th gen for about 12000 miles and they handled better than the prevous tire, which was a diablo stata! I have the PR3's on now and they feel different than the angels. I would say that you could drop 1-2 PSI in the rear and the feel will change. I noticed that they need to warm up a bit before you can really tell their performacnce level. One thing to remember, is that the Angel's aren't a dual compund type of tire.

The turn in part of them I like. It kinda just falls over when riding agressive in the turns. Twic on the last trip home from work (35miles) the rear of the bike wanted to step out considerably. I feel like I could push the Roadsmarts alot harder than I can the Angels. I knor Pirelli says the tires are not completely run-in until the angel pattern is worn off. Mine have just a hint of the angel pattern on the edges, other than that they have worn off. I am hoping these may stick better after a few hundred more miles. I have had a 4th gen, 5th gen and now this bike. I have always gauged how hard I was pushing the bike by how much of a "chicken strip" I had on the edge of the tire. Maybe these are just that much different of a profile where its gonna be hard to get them to the edge. Thanks for all your feedback guys. Guess I will stick with them a little longer and see what happens. By the way I thought I would attach a pic of my bike from todays ride!!!
[image: Posted Image]

What pipe do you have fitted?...looks pretty good, are you able to fit the panniers with the pipe on, or does it touch the heat shield??

Cheers,
Smithy.

Thanks, I have the Jardine RT pipe fitted. I had a titanium Akrapovic before this one. I purchased the Akra used and someone made an offer on it for quite a bit more than I paid for it so, I sold it. To be perfectly honest with you, I prefer the sound and performance of the Jardine pipe over the Akra. I cant really comment on the pannier bags as I have never tried to use them with this pipe. I have a White Bros. low mount if I ever need it. LOL


Thanks
Daniel

[image: View Post]ausmithy, on 26 March 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

What pipe do you have fitted?...looks pretty good, are you able to fit the panniers with the pipe on, or does it touch the heat shield??

Cheers,
Smithy.

I've been running the Angels and I like them very much they are getting a little worn but they are going back on they just seem to me to be the best tire but then I'm not carving all the time when I ride but when the roads are wet they grip like I'm ridding on fly paper. [image: Posted Image]