Tire time

[Tom M]

Tom, good to see you at Heath last weekend. I'm ready for some new tires too, on my 1200 Sport. I'm also thinking of trying the Pirelli Angels, I had the Diablo Strada's on my V11 Sport & BMW R1150RS and liked them. Last year at the Italian Meet in Sturbridge I think you recommended Bikeworx in Maynard, are they still a good source for tires? May try to take advantage of the sales tax holiday this weekend.

 

Hi Ken,

Good to see you again too. Yes I'm going through Bikeworx. Galen (owner) quoted me about $260 for the pair plus installation. His tire prices are usually very competive with the mail order outfits and I like to give the local guys some business so they'll be around when you need them. He's going to have the front for me this week but the rear won't arrive until next week. That's OK with me since my front tire is bald but the rear still has some tread left.

 

I always pull the wheels and drop them off for tire installation, then bleed the clutch and grease the Ujoints and roller bearing while the rear wheel is off. I like reinstalling the rear wheel so I know the washers and spacers all went in correctly too. I would guess that you need to make an appointment if you want to drop the bike off.

 

Good luck with it.

[SRL]

+1 on Pirelli tires!

I have tried many brands but the only ones that continually have the best value are Pirelli. Best value being mileage, grip, price. They seem to wear evenly without cupping or doing anything screwy as they go away. I run Strada (Angels next time) on my Sport-Tourers, and Super Corsa III on my Sportbikes.

 

Road surface is definitely the big wear factor, someone mentioned the BRP earlier and I have never been on a road that ate more rubber than the BRP. The road surface changes from state to state but it must be that shell based pavement that causes the quick wear.

[docc]

I've run out about six sets of Diablos from Corsa to Strada along with Metzler, Bridgestone and Michelin (which my Sport was allergic to), and Dunlop. I do like the Pirellis best (the Sport was delivered with Dragon Corsas which were gone in 2800 miles!).

 

I'm currently using up the new Angels which feel great. We'll see on the miles since I keep good records and can compare to the various Diablos.

 

I do think they make our local roads from ground up sharks' teeth and the ambient temps are intense lately, leading to what I call the 90-90 wear pattern (90 mph at 90 degrees F). Reaching 4000 miles on a rear tire is for celebration!

 

While the wheels are off, have a go at some good sorting: Maintenance Checklist, while the wheels are off in "FAQ.":luigi:

[Route140]

Tom, good to see you at Heath last weekend. I'm ready for some new tires too, on my 1200 Sport. I'm also thinking of trying the Pirelli Angels, I had the Diablo Strada's on my V11 Sport & BMW R1150RS and liked them. Last year at the Italian Meet in Sturbridge I think you recommended Bikeworx in Maynard, are they still a good source for tires? May try to take advantage of the sales tax holiday this weekend.

 

Hi Ken,

Good to see you again too. Yes I'm going through Bikeworx. Galen (owner) quoted me about $260 for the pair plus installation. His tire prices are usually very competive with the mail order outfits and I like to give the local guys some business so they'll be around when you need them. He's going to have the front for me this week but the rear won't arrive until next week. That's OK with me since my front tire is bald but the rear still has some tread left.

 

I always pull the wheels and drop them off for tire installation, then bleed the clutch and grease the Ujoints and roller bearing while the rear wheel is off. I like reinstalling the rear wheel so I know the washers and spacers all went in correctly too. I would guess that you need to make an appointment if you want to drop the bike off.

 

Good luck with it.

 

Thanks for the lead Tom, I called Bikeworx yesterday afternoon and talked with Jeff (I told him that you recommended them). I ordered a set of Pirelli Angels, good price and they'll be in Monday. I'll drop off the wheels someday next week. Good to hear the positive reviews of the Angel ST by some here.

[richard100t]

I've had a good ride wirh the Continental ContiForce tires. They work as well as anything else I've tried and the price is better than most.

[Guzzirider]

I've got a set of the new BT023s on my Sprint- much better than the old 020 or 021s- good grip and they are wearing very slowly.

 

I think the truth is its pretty hard to find a BAD tyre these days.

[DeBenGuzzi]

when I settle on what kind of sport cruiser to get be it a Guzzi or BMW I'm getting Pirelli Angles on them, for my RSVR I'm loving the BT016's much better than the metz but thats because they are 55 and not the dreaded 50. My guzzi had Pirelli scorpion syncs which were pretty damn good I must say in all conditions and before that dragon corsas which were ok but not great, turn in was better but all terrain grip was down those were more suited for a hyper bike. Pirelli's seem to go with Guzzi like stink on a pig

[yamalama]

My Michelin 2CT's have been fantastic, I gotta say.

[neophyte]

I just put on Angel STs. I have about 400 miles on them and I like them. I had to go to a non-guzzi shop and hope everything got put back together o.k. I think so anyway. Nothing has fallen off. I dropped the size on the rear to 170/60.

[ponti_33609]

I did a tire change about 1-yr ago. I put on Pirelli Diablo Strada. My local Cycle Gear had a Jan 1st special. The installed price for the front/rear was

 

Bob

[raz]

I ride wet'n'dry and occasionally some really inspired riding but mostly very long touring trips. I've used Metzeler Z6 since I bought the bike, not wanting to even try anything else cause they were so good. But this spring I switched to Pirelli Diablo Strada because they are a little less expensive, the name sounds better on an Italian bike and they should be pretty much the same tyre anyway since they come from the same factory. I can't tell any difference at all. For my use, Z6 and Diablo Strada are excellent and they last forever.

 

I didn't even know about the Angel ST until know, will try them next time.

[ponti_33609]

the name sounds better on an Italian bike

 

[Scottie]

While I haven't had a chance to sample them on a Guzzi yet, I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Continental Road or SportAttack... Long time Pilot Road fan, but the Continental Road Attacks are simply a great all around tire... I will be trying the SportAttacks next!

 

the name sounds better on an Italian bike

 

[Baldini]

...I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Continental Road or SportAttack... Long time Pilot Road fan, but the Continental Road Attacks are simply a great all around tire... I will be trying the SportAttacks next!...

I'm surprised more people don't try Contis too. They're cheaper than others (well from my supplier anyhow). Perhaps brand image isn't so attractive I used Sport Attack - a good neutral handling tyre. But I went back to Pilot Sport 2CT's cos I just love the way they work.

But like has been said, for general use you'd struggle I think, to find an unacceptable tyre these days, as Ratchethack said - it's "a golden age".

[Tom M]

While I haven't had a chance to sample them on a Guzzi yet, I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Continental Road or SportAttack

 

I mentioned the Road Attacks in my first post. I really liked them but they wore out a little too quickly for me. I want more than 4000 miles out of a pair of tires so I don't have to buy two sets of tires in one riding season. They have a Road Attack 2 on their website now that I might try next time.

 

I don't have too many miles on the new Pirelli Angels yet but they seem OK so far.