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Initial review of Pirelli Angel GTs - first 500 miles

10K views 45 replies 19 participants last post by  Avintage69 
#1 ·
I just put a set of the AGTs on my N1K. I had it with the stock tires and couldn’t take it anymore. They exhibited terrible tramlining. It was scary at times to be honest. In LA there are a lot of bridge abutments very close to the edge of the lane and sometimes very little clearance. By very little I mean sometimes 6 inches to a foot away from the edge of the lane. For you metric folks that is 50-30 cm.

I had looked at a lot of tires. I tend to be a big Michelin fan but always research what seems to be good for a particular bike before I buy. Honestly I absolutely loved the Michelin PR4s on another bike and they totally transformed it. The one knock I heard against them is tire life. I have a set of PR3 on my K16GT and they’ve worn decently but not as well as I hoped. I heard the PR4s were similar in that regard.

Tire life is important to me as I do a lot of riding/driving. On average I am either riding or driving about 1500 miles a week. No point putting on a super sticky sport tire that would only last 1500-2000 miles as I’d be burning them up every week yet I still wanted good trip in the twisites. I also usually am carrying a pretty heavy load on my commute from SoCal to Norcal so ability to hold up under a heavy load at high speeds was crucial.

So I ultimately went with the AGT a-spec for the rear and normal on the front. The a-spec is generally for heavier bikes. Considering I often have a pretty heavy load on the back I figured it wouldn’t hurt. Typically the only downside is potentially a slightly rougher ride when unladen. One plus though I’ve found from the heavier carcass is improved flat resistance. So for me it was a simple decision.

As for tire size, I went with the 190/55 size in the rear. I had read that the slightly taller profile helped the turn-in on the bike and that is something I felt lacking about the stock bike. The taller profile raised the gearing a bit and now the speedometer is definitely closer to reading the true speed.

Since the tires were initially fresh and it takes some time to scrub them, I took it pretty easy for the first part of my trip. I had to slog my way through the parking lot that LA roads have become. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had to do a lot of lane splitting and that takes very precise control. Sometimes the clearance is just an inch or so. Not to mention having to deal with the reflective dots, painted lines, potholes and more. In very short order I realized I could place the bike much easier where I WANTED it, not whatever path the tires decided to follow.

I found that I could maintain a higher pace splitting lanes as well as feeling more relaxed while doing it. My son was riding with me on his bike that has the PR4s and normally he is right behind me but I was going at a much better pace than he was comfortable with. No real difference in traffic I just felt more confident with the new tires. Of course prudence is the better part of valor so I kept the pace reasonable but it was very reassuring that I felt like I could place the bike within an inch of where I wanted it to be. It really was remarkable since I had the bike more loaded than I ever had before. I had the cases loaded and a big duffel bag on top. Then to top it off I had my totally full backpack as well and my heaving riding jacket and boots. Definitely not ideal conditions for good handling.

So we picked our way over to LAX airport where my son had a flight out. I saw him off and then back into even worse traffic. Truly the term parking lot was the most appropriate way to describe the traffic. At time 8 lanes each side of nothing but pretty much parked cars. I continued on until I finally got out of town and into my first mountain pass. I was sort of interested to see how the effect of the taller tire on the gearing would play out blasting up the mountains as well as the tire profile’s effect on turn in.

First a word about the gearing. I think I’ll stay with the 16T along with the taller tire. I had previously considered going with maybe a smaller rear sprocket but the taller tire gets me just about where I want to be. I don’t know if it was the really heavy load or the taller effective gearing or some combination thereof, but I think I any taller would definitely start to diminish the strong top end pull. Keep in mind I am not a small guy as well so YMMV. I don’t think I’d ever have more of a load on the bike then I did this time and it still pulled well up the mountains in 6th. Only once did I consider a downshift to 5th. Today I’ll try and ride it without all the gear on it and see but likely I am well sort on the gearing. I was in a very happy rpm zone most of the time with minimal vibration. This was in large part due to the heavy bar ends I added. See post here for my review of them.

http://www.kawasakininja1000.com/fo...ies/7433-hvmp-extra-heavy-bar-end-review.html

Also the taller profile meant my road speed at a given rpm was higher. All it in all it was a great combination and the bike should have been like this from the factory so on my impressions about the tires.

There is a lot I can say about the tires but nothing really related to serious back road peg scratching. In a word I am very impressed so far. I ran them up to about a buck 20 in mph and no balancing issues, smooth as could be. The initial turn in is vastly improved for me. I found myself overturning at first in the mountains. For me the improvement was better than I expected from reading other’s comments. I didn’t have much chance to test the low speed turn issues I had before. From what I could tell even at the sub 30 mph turns, and with my huge load, I didn’t have to use as much pressure on the inner bar to initiate and hold the turn. I am not sure if the load was helping/hurting in this respect as it was far above what I would normally have so I can’t be certain so I’ll post later on this issue when I can ride the bike without it.

In the mountains, picking my line was as easy as splitting lanes. I would pick a line and it would go exactly where I wanted it to. I took it pretty easy at first but as the tires got scrubbed in I upped the pace. I never had really severe lean angles though but there were decent at times. Something I noticed as well is the tires were very compliant over bumps. I had 36 psi (2.5 bar) in the front and 40 (2.75 bar) in the rear. Seemed like a great combination for my load. I may play a bit with the bike unladen but so far it seemed good. I was a bit concerned about the a-spec on the rear as the N1K isn’t a super heavy bike so I could have ended up with worse ride quality but it was better than stock. Honestly the tires made the suspension feel even better in most situations. One thing though with the heavy load the rear shock’s dampening clearly didn’t have enough rebound dampening and I was experiencing a some pogoing in fast sweepers.

Of course with the el Nino weather patterns it brings some rain. Unfortunately I got to experience it several times on my trip. Last time was going through some mountain roads, at night, near Gilroy, California. I really needed a windshield wiper on my helmet. Dang it was bad. A dark 2 lane road, no shoulders to speak of and very dark asphalt. Add in rivers of oncoming traffic and I was not a happy camper to say the least. The bike performed flawlessly though. I had upgraded my lights and I’ll be posting about that in another thread. I added 2 driving lights (20 watt LEDs each) and 2 wide beam 10 watt LEDs). I also went to different LEDs in my headlights. Sadly I couldn’t use the aux lights with all the oncoming traffic but I had a chance to fire them up in a few places and first thing I could tell is I didn’t have them aimed right but even then the light output is amazing. OMG, you can melt an iceberg with the aux lights but enough about the lights for now.

I can’t think of single situation where the AGTs weren’t markedly better than the stock tires. Honestly they felt a lot like my PR4s on another bike but a little bit more accurate. They are also very quiet tires. If I get close the mileage I expect I’ll be very happy with my purchase. I plan to carve up a few backroads this weekend if the weather permits. I’ll have more feedback about them then. Well hopefully this weekend. I did something to my ankle on the ride back. Last gas stop there was a slick oil patch and my foot slipped and the entire bike came down on my body and leg. My knee and ankle too the brunt of it. Thankfully I had sliders on the bike and between those and my leg, protected the bike quite nicely.

Today I can hardly walk though so hopefully I’ll be better in a few days. The sun actually came out and I am already wanting to ride. I really want the chance to go out and play with the new tires. I also want to get the lights adjusted a bit better as well to really take advantage of them. So if you are in the market for a new set of tires, I would seriously give the AGTs serious consideration. I’ll have a better idea in a few weeks of how they wear but from a purely ride & handling perspective I am pretty happy with them. I would classify myself as an aggressive rider so I don’t want to sacrifice performance totally for mileage but at the same time I don’t want to be replacing tires every month either. I didn’t buy the N1K to be a track bike but more of sport tourer with emphasis on the sport as I have a better touring bike. So far the changes I have made have resulted in a much better bike for my purposes. I think the vast majority of riders would be well served by the mods I’ve made so far. It has given the bike much better capabilities, reduced its negatives and given it a bit more character and more liveable in every area.

I'll update this thread as I put more miles on the Pirellis. I hope the dual compound design plays out as well as it supposed to. If I get 6k miles out of them I'll be pretty happy. The stock ones were gone at 4k.
 
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#2 ·
Looking forward to your update when you get more leaned over. I just ordered these AGT's because I kept seeing a trend in the PR4 owner reviews, a bunch of mentions of squirmy feel in corners, with all those sipes everywhere I'm not surprised to be reading that kind of feedback.
The Angel GT's just look like they're designed better for more sporty sport-touring. Some German magazine rated them the best sport touring tires, so guess I'll find out come Spring.
 
#3 ·
I've put more miles on them and so far quite happy with them. I didn't notice any tread squirm in the turns. I went into one turn a little hot yesterday while the tires were still presumably not very warmed up (not much above freezing and only about 4 city miles on them).

To my relief, they stuck pretty well, I just had a bit of an issue while accelerating a bit harder than I should of while exiting the turn. I had some slippage but it was either the road surface, tire not warm yet, or too much throttle. I rode more aggressively later with absolutely no issues. One thing I noticed over the stock is the ride quality is much better. I've been riding in NorCal and a lot of the roads are pretty crappy compared to SoCal (not that they are all great) with a lot of potholes, torn up pavement, uneven surfaces.

Before I was pretty much worrying about everything I rode over on the stock ones since they seemed to tramline any small grove in the road. The AGTs are much better in that respect. I have also found the balance and tire roundness to be spot on as well. Even way up into the triple digit speed range they are smooth and vibration free.

One thing to note is the already excellent braking performance of the N1K is improved even more. I find it easier to modulate the brakes right up to the point of impending lockup easier. I get a little bit more audible feedback of what the front tire is doing under braking as well. The front tire before was very quiet and then I could feel it starting to lockup just before the ABS would kick in. With the AGTs it seems like the sound changes and I have audible clues that I can hear in addition to "feel". I am still experimenting with this and just an observation that may or may not be accurate but it seems like it is.
 
#4 ·
Nice report, and thank you. I think I'll try these next. I love my pp3's, but its pretty obvious I'll get great at changing my tires if I continue to run them. The front is fine, but I can almost watch the rear wear out. If I get 2500 miles from it, I'll be lucky.

I also found the pr3 a little wiggly, up front. Sounds like the Pirellis just might be the best of both worlds.
 
#5 ·
PR3 is also heavy on the sipes everywhere, obviously they and the PR4 are excellent tires, especially in the wet, but I have read literally dozens and dozen of comments all over the net about this handling 'squirm' and 'wiggle', also cupping.
That is why I'm going Angel GT. I also just ride easy in the rain, don't need ultimate grip feel, more concerned about positive squirm free handling in the dry.
 
#7 ·
Is the squirm to the point of where it feels like you are going to lose control or is it just something to get used to? I just got the PR4's less than 300 miles ago and have yet to really test them. I loved the OEm tires for their grip but they wore out way too fast. I do like to get it in the corners when I can. And I live in TX where the roads get pretty warm in the summer.
 
#11 ·
No issues with grip on these tires. I ran them on my Daytona before and scrubbed them to the very edge with no problems whatsoever. I also really like the Michelin Power Pilot 2CT tires; they turn in even better but I doubt they will outlast the Pirelli's. I'll probably give the 2CT's a try on the Ninja first and go with the Pirelli's as my next set if the Michelins don't last long enough.
 
#14 ·
He said the Angels used a more traditional pattern... I really don't know how that applies to me telling him that the chicken strips will be terminated with extreme prejudic... But I went back at him a couple of times to make sure that he knew what I wanted... compared the 2ct, angel gt, and the pr's.

Still going to be a about 6 weeks before we have a chance for warm, unsalted pavement here but I will let you know :)
 
#16 ·
The /55 rear helps with the turn in as well. I am SUPER happy with my AGTs so far. Wearing nicely and the grip is quite good. I feel a lot more comfortable than I did on the stock POS tires.

I now have about 2,500 miles on them and wearing nicely. I think I might get about 8k out of the rear compared to 4,600 mile out of the stock ones. I am running the A spec on the rear and normally am pretty loaded (bags) and at high speeds.
 
#18 ·
Def should make sure to get the a-spec rear, these bikes are heavy enough and make enough power to make them worth it.
 
#19 ·
This anecdotal, not empirical, but I have the a-Spec on another bike and it seems very flat resistant. Rode with my son on a road last night. I was in front of him. Ran through what looked like spilled roofing screws on the road. He got a flat, I didn't. He has PR3 on that bike and I have AGT a-Spec on mine.

Maybe just the luck of the draw but if I was going to get a flat, that should have been the time. I did have screws stuck in the tire but now punctured it. I had a total of 3 that were solidly in it. He had just one and it went through. Maybe he only got one since I cleared the road for him and we were single file riding.
 
#20 ·
Also based on anecdotal, but I'd wager a guess that some tread designs are more apt to pick up crap on the road - I've seen it with car tires.
 
#22 ·
What spring? I have not been able to put significant anger on my tires because I cant get to the twisties from my house before it rains! however in the 200 miles of short hops with very little lean over action they seam wonderful. I think I might just change tires all the time to enjoy the new tire feeling :)
 
#24 · (Edited)
I have Angel GT's on both front and back (they came with my bike) and need to replace the rear as its down to the cords in a couple spots. A friend of mine who owns a ZX-10 recommended getting the Michelin's Pilots to replace it but am hesitant as Im used to the performance of the Angel GT's now and really dont need a new front tire although Im inclined to do both at the same time. Live in Washington state where it rains often but I usually avoid riding in the rain anyway as I have kids to raise and already dumped my bike earlier this summer. Any recommendations on this is appreciated as this is my first time replacing tire(s) on this bike.
 
#25 ·
Im gonna look into the 55 aspect rear tire as well..already switched the front sprocket to a 16T last year...rear has a 42T sprocket.
 
#27 ·
Agreed, I put on my second set a couple month ago and plan on sticking with them. They grip great and wear well. I also prefer the look of the tread pattern on the Angel GT's. I've also heard a few reports of cupping on the Pilot's. I hate cupping!

Whatever you decide I would vote yes on the 55 profile rear.
 
#28 ·
I just got back from a 2900 mile road trip. Just before I left, I had a new set of Bridgestone T30s mounted up. Those are some really nice tires. After this trip, I think I still have about 40% tread left on the rear and no noticeable cupping on the front at all.

I didn't run into much rain during the trip so I can't say how well they handle there but I did notice some slipping when I was running through the twisties in MT.

I've had the Angels before and the front tire cupped on me pretty bad and the tire wear was terrible. I don't think I got more than 3500 out of that rear tire. But... they may have changed things a lot since then (+- 10 years since that set).
 
#29 ·
I've had the Angels before and the front tire cupped on me pretty bad and the tire wear was terrible. I don't think I got more than 3500 out of that rear tire. But... they may have changed things a lot since then (+- 10 years since that set).
The Angels have changed quite a bit. The rear became dual compound only a couple of years ago and I think they are on the third overhaul since you set 10ish years ago.

I've heard good things about the Bridgestone T30s, but it will be a while before I can get the bad taste of the OEM Bridgestones out of my mouth!
 
#31 ·
Just put Angel GTs on mine (190/55). What a huge difference from stock. Unbelievable. The stock tires never made me feel very confident in corners, which was weird because the z1000, which I also have, stock (190/50) is fine.
 
#32 ·
Just remember the stockers are worn out when you put the angles on :) I had put angels on mine and felt the same way but then ended up on OEM's again after a crash and a replacement bike. OEM's didn't seem so bad after that. Worn tires no matter hat brand wil always feel like poo
 
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#33 ·
Pilots Log: its star date 41153.7 in the (insert favorite episode here) quadrant and yes I'm resurrecting an old thread who's starter I believe no longer owns a N1K but swings by occasionally and I personally am grateful for what he left with us on the forum passing through.


So about the AGT's- just a few shy of a grand now after a little windy but other wise very good weekend for some unintentional meandering up and down the Gulf from Galveston to Beaumont. Let me back up though, day one leaving dealer after AGT install I knew as I went to switch to the fast lane and had to play catch up to keep the bike in the correct direction of traffic from to much force on the bars that things were no longer the same and I needed to treat it like I was on a borrowed or new machine for a few. So now with two 400 plus days all I can say is transformational, how a simple aspect ration deference and new front can make the same bike feel like it lost 100 pounds beats me. Turn in is so much easier, focused and confidence inspiring-then once your there- well lets say I not only scuffed up the words ANGLE GT on the outer edge I showed off a tad and drug my fingers to prove the point of how little effort was needed as my younger know it all ZX riding pale is a Pirelli hater and had been ragging me for the purchase. (Not the smartest I know and I do understand the potential consequence's) :eek: Some might say old tires and sure my old back tire was semi flattened and my front was to the ware bars so any thing other than wagon wheels would have seemed a little better but never have I felt that big of a deference on a tire change. TRANSFORMATIONAL!


So once again I find myself saying Thank You to so many for the Information and time that you have given here. For anyone who might be on the fence about the 55% aspect ratio? My 2 cents-get down put your purse in the closet and just do it. I'm really glad I did.


Cheers
Kenneth
 
#34 ·
AGTs, keep the A spec rear or not?

My stock Battlax were absolute crap. After putting 2,200 miles on the bike, the rear was so flat that part of the metal belt was showing on some parts of the center and the front not as bad, but bad. Granted, my riding is mostly weekend rides to the lake, averaging 120 the entire way (2 hour trip each way) with some blasts up to 140.
A week ago I put on the AGT's (190/55 rear) and it feels like I have a new sport bike. AMAZING DIFFERENCE. My shop however, installed the "A" spec in spite of me specifying that I wanted the none A spec, but they offered to replace it when one came in. Now I'm not so sure I want to after reading some of these posts regarding the additional puncture resistance that these offer, not to mention the confidence if I'm fully loaded with panniers and a passenger (FYI, I never go over 85 with a passenger). I know that unsprung weight is the enemy, but how much are we talking about here, and is it enough to make a difference? I don't know enough to answer that, hence my post asking for more enlightened folk to offer their .02. Should I stick with the A spec rear, or not if I usually ride solo, with moderately loaded panniers?
 
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