Pirelli Angel evaluation

[SkooterG]

I just put an Angel on my rear as well and it required no weights.

You know, I'm sorry, but I can't help but find these statements a bit entertaining. If it required no weight, it tells me the equipment he uses for balancing is not that accurate, that he is not that accurate, or that he is exaggerating.

I have now balanced my own tires on 8 separate FJR wheels as well as a few other makes. Not ONE of the wheels is itself 'in balance'. Some are better than others, but none are balanced. So what are the odds that A) you have a wheel AND a tire that are perfectly balanced, or B) that you got really lucky and matched the heavy spot on the wheel with the light spot on the tire and they just happened to be the same amount of weight off?

Either situation is not at all likely imho.

 

[FJReady]

I just put an Angel on my rear as well and it required no weights.

You know, I'm sorry, but I can't help but find these statements a bit entertaining. If it required no weight, it tells me the equipment he uses for balancing is not that accurate, that he is not that accurate, or that he is exaggerating.

I have now balanced my own tires on 8 separate FJR wheels as well as a few other makes. Not ONE of the wheels is itself 'in balance'. Some are better than others, but none are balanced. So what are the odds that A) you have a wheel AND a tire that are perfectly balanced, or B) that you got really lucky and matched the heavy spot on the wheel with the light spot on the tire and they just happened to be the same amount of weight off?

Either situation is not at all likely imho.

Once I mounted a front tire (Avon Storm, believe it or not) that didn't require weights to balance. I figured that was my once in a lifetime event. Usually my front requires about 10g to balance.

The rear: never that good. Always around 20-30grams.

So I agree with Skooter. Unlikely but not impossible. Check how good it feels up in triple digits. then you'll know how good your guy is with balancing.

 

[pcarnut]

I resurrected this thread because of a ride coming up and decided to play it safe and mount a new one. I measured the new tread at 8/32" and the old one at just under 5/32" with about 3.5k miles. Upcoming trip will be just over 3k so I think I would have been down to minimal tread by the end of the trip so think I made the wise choice. Curiously I got the E version and it is significantly stiffer walled. Took a lot more effort to mount. I'll be interested to see how it wears.

After taking off the current tire I balanced the rim, then mounted the tire with the red dots aligned with the heavy spot. It needed only 5 grams.

 

[XMXR]

I have Pirelli Angels on my 2006 FJR and think they are a great tire. I have about 3200 miles on the set and they still look like they have several thousand miles left. I have been really pleased with the way they handle on different types of surfaces. They feel smooth, secure and predictable at all speeds (even some peg dragging bouts chasing my friend on his Ducati 998).

I plan to put another set of the same on the bike when these wear out.

I haven't noticed any balance problems from 0 to 150+ indicated MPH.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Arise sleeping thread!

I am going to be taking a loooong trip next spring from Va to Ca to Tx to Va (*EDIT* looks like the trip is going to be about 6600 miles long). It looks like this might be the tire to make that trip on. Can I get opinions/comments from previous posters that have ran the tire. I currently have PR2s mounted and noticed slippage on wet pavement in the turns which is NOT a fun thing for me and my riding style (i.e. conservative).

 

[Geezer]

Arise sleeping thread!

I am going to be taking a loooong trip next spring from Va to Ca to Tx to Va. It looks like this might be the tire to make that trip on. Can I get opinions/comments from previous posters that have ran the tire. I currently have PR2s mounted and noticed slippage on wet pavement in the turns which is NOT a fun thing for me and my riding style (i.e. conservative).

I have ridden on both PR2s and Angels. If you are a conservative rider then I don't think you'll get any slippage with either of these tires due to wet. I never noticed any. I did notice the Angel slips more on tar snakes than the PR2.

FWIW, I would not start off a cross country ride with a set of Angels. I don't get enough mileage out of them to be comfortable that I'd be able to complete the ride, there and back on one set. The PR2s will do it with tread to spare.

 

[DarkSpirit]

I have run Angels for the last 2 years on my '08. The first set were good for a little over 12,000 miles. The rear required NO weights at all. The front needed 1/2 oz. They improved handling and stopping greatly in both wet and dry conditions. Air pressure was always 40 front and 43 rear. I have put about a thousand miles on my second set. These have 1 oz on the front and 1.5 oz on the rear. So far they are smooth riding with no balance problems.I would contact Pirelli as suggested.

 

[Mr Bill]

Arise sleeping thread!

I am going to be taking a loooong trip next spring from Va to Ca to Tx to Va (*EDIT* looks like the trip is going to be about 6600 miles long). It looks like this might be the tire to make that trip on. Can I get opinions/comments from previous posters that have ran the tire. I currently have PR2s mounted and noticed slippage on wet pavement in the turns which is NOT a fun thing for me and my riding style (i.e. conservative).

Tire lasted only 3000 of the 4000 miles to eom and back this year. S76 and I each started with a fresh pair. The Appalachian highways tore up these tires. Cords start to show at 1/32 depth on the rear so be careful.

 

The front angel started to square off from half a day of riding slab, but they rounded up again after a day of fun hillbillie roads.

 

I'd recommend Roadsmart (rear only) or Avons.

 

[JSLong]

I had both tires replaced with Pirelli Angels and the tire guy said they were so well balanced they didn't need weights.

After about 1000 miles on them, they are better than the Bridgestones that were on it. Much smoother ride and better grip in the corners.

 

[Denver_FJR]

You know, I'm sorry, but I can't help but find these statements a bit entertaining. If it required no weight, it tells me the equipment he uses for balancing is not that accurate, that he is not that accurate, or that he is exaggerating.

I have now balanced my own tires on 8 separate FJR wheels as well as a few other makes. Not ONE of the wheels is itself 'in balance'. Some are better than others, but none are balanced. So what are the odds that A) you have a wheel AND a tire that are perfectly balanced, or B) that you got really lucky and matched the heavy spot on the wheel with the light spot on the tire and they just happened to be the same amount of weight off?

Either situation is not at all likely imho.

That's good to hear! All this time I thought I got blem PR2's because everyone else comments on how theirs didn't need any weight.

 

[squeezer]

Arise sleeping thread!

I am going to be taking a loooong trip next spring from Va to Ca to Tx to Va (*EDIT* looks like the trip is going to be about 6600 miles long). It looks like this might be the tire to make that trip on. Can I get opinions/comments from previous posters that have ran the tire. I currently have PR2s mounted and noticed slippage on wet pavement in the turns which is NOT a fun thing for me and my riding style (i.e. conservative).

One of the reasons I'm running Angels now is that I knew I would not be taking any long trips or running LD rallies this year. If I was planning a trip over 6K, my choice would be the PR2s (or PR3s, though I haven't tried them yet). I like the Angels, but I've had such consistent big mileage on the Michelins that I feel I could slap those on and never worry about them again.

 

[pcarnut]

Did 3200 miles on the Yellowstone Trip and used up half the tire. This is an E spec tire and it neither wears nor handles any better than the standard version, IMHO. Went from 8/32 to 4/32. Most of this was just straight line cruising so I was hoping to do a little better than this. I would be reluctant to start a 6k+ trip with these tires. While I found the ride on PR2s to be harsh on my Moto Guzzi Norge, they definitely wore better than the Angels.

 

[drjfjr]

I rode from Louisville, Ky up through missouri across montana, idaho and washington. Then down to coast over to reno nevada on a set of e-spec angels and had to change them in Reno Nevada. A little over 4k miles and the rear was toast. I would not use them on a cross country again.

 

[mikepa]

Angel on my 08 at 5073 miles.

I checked them at 4900 miles before the start of a day ride and thought I had about 1,000 miles left in them.

OOPS! I cut the ride short.

Going to have Metzler Z8's installed tomorrow and give them a try.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I will have a fresh set of PR2s or PR3s put on a couple of weeks before the trip.

 

[Fred W]

Dunlop Roadsmarts are still available. The fronts are known to be garbage, but the back tires are dual compound and wear well in the center and have nice sticky sides. (note that the front roadsmarts are not dual compound) The RS rears were always a great pairing with the Strada fronts. Many folks were using that setup exclusively while it was still available. Maybe the new magic combo is a Roadsmart rear and an Angel front? I'm sure that somebody has tried this already. Comments?

As to requiring no balance weights, I have been that lucky twice now. Last one was with a PR2. They do not have any official balance marks, so I took a guess and aligned the bar code sticker opposite the light spot on my rim, as if the bar code was the balance marker and it happened to work out. My balancer is sensitive enough that you could balance a wheel down to 1 gram, if that size weight was available. The square stick-on weights are 7 grams (1/4 oz). IN the past I've experimented with cutting those weights in half and trying to get them stuck on a wheel, but have come to the conclusion that you don't need to be that precise. Just get it to the closest 1/4 oz is accurate enough. If sticking 1 1/4 oz weight on the light spot makes it become the heavy spot, you don't need any weights.

Rating tires by how they behave on tar snakes is kind of specious. To begin with, no two tar snakes are identical. In general I consider tar snakes as road obstacles and try to avoid turning on them. Sometimes it means adjusting your lines or speed (if there are a lot of unavoidable ones) but I would not discredit any tire because it steps out on a tar snake. They all will, IME. Your tire ratings may vary.

 

[Tanker]

I have been running a front Angel with a rear Strata for the last 5,200 miles and it was a great combination. Love the turn in on the Angels.

Now with my final Strada down to the cords after completing a trip to the Ozarks last week I'm going to spoon on some PR3's tonight and give them a whirl.

If I don't like them, I'll give the Angel front and RS rear a shot next time then. Thanks for the tip Fred.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I have been running a front Angel with a rear Strata for the last 5,200 miles and it was a great combination. Love the turn in on the Angels.

Now with my final Strada down to the cords after completing a trip to the Ozarks last week I'm going to spoon on some PR3's tonight and give them a whirl.

If I don't like them, I'll give the Angel front and RS rear a shot next time then. Thanks for the tip Fred.

What sort of mileage are/did you get on the Angel with the combo?

 

[Tanker]

I have been running a front Angel with a rear Strata for the last 5,200 miles and it was a great combination. Love the turn in on the Angels.

Now with my final Strada down to the cords after completing a trip to the Ozarks last week I'm going to spoon on some PR3's tonight and give them a whirl.

If I don't like them, I'll give the Angel front and RS rear a shot next time then. Thanks for the tip Fred.

What sort of mileage are/did you get on the Angel with the combo?

The front Angel is a little over 1/2 gone at the 5,200 mile mark. I've decided to take it off and pair up on the PR3's since my rear Strada is toast. I'll keep it in the garage attic as a back-up until the next tire change.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

The front Angel is a little over 1/2 gone at the 5,200 mile mark.

Hmmmmmmmm... my trip is supposed to be ~6600 miles.

Maybe the new magic combo is a Roadsmart rear and an Angel front? I'm sure that somebody has tried this already. Comments?

Fred, come next spring I just might be your huckleberry.