Cold Angels!!!

Hi all!!!
I just finished scrubbing in my new Pirelli Angel ST's. I'm in Charlotte...its now 25*F, and these tires ROCK!!! I was really torn between the Michelin Pilot Powers and the Conti Road Attacks. I read on several posts and reviews that the Michelin's were a bit unstable at times. Didn't want that, so I started leaning heavily towards the Road Attacks and was virtually sold (based on reviews and the experiences posted here). Then I stumbled onto the Pirelli Angel review and decided that I would give them a try (again, rave reviews).

So I had them mounted today at 5 or so, and was initially only able to put about 7 miles on them (had to work a couple of late appointments). I left my office around 8:30pm and progressed from easy riding, to gentle curves, to finding a school parking lot where I did figure 8's, panic stops and really tight circles...in mid twenty degree weather. Long story short...after a total of 42miles, I'm down to about half an inch chicken strips on the rear. I only stopped the parking lot deal cause I got dizzy.

They stick extremely well. Remember...they are new and cold. Very communicative and let you know exactly what's going on with the contact patches. I knew when I was pushing them too far over too fast when trying to get that slick coating off, and there were no "oh shitooki" moments, cause they break away very progressively and smoothly. Paint still pristine on my girl!!! I left the parking lot and was able to ride her more aggressively home than I normally rode with the stock Metzler's in these temps.

It's still early and I'm looking forward to pushing them on some of my favorite twisties. But I wanted to post my initial experience with the Angel ST's in case anyone else was considering them. So far, they are AWESOME buns!!!

 

thanks for the run down....

 

So I have over a hundred miles on the new buns.
Highway and backroads...great feedback. I still haven't been edge to edge yet...too cold for hero tactics! Anyway, I really like the way they respond to steering inputs. With the MEZ4's, my girl felt really sluggish upon turn in and just didn't feel as planted as a spirited bike should (you know, the VFR lineage and all). I always felt I was fighting the bars when leaned over. Even on warm days, I never really felt super confident when really working the bike, so I never pushed it too hard. I don't know about other's experiences with the stock Metzler's, but I never really felt that they were more than a 6/10 tire. The Angels, so far...feel 100x better. Initial turn in is a snap. The bike doesn't fall into a lean when you nudge the bars and isn't laser quick, but it does "flick" sharply and linearly. There is no struggling to keep the angle you want, and minute corrections with a bum line or to avoid rocks/debris come with no drama, and no squirming. Again, I haven't been edge to edge yet on the rear, but I'll tell you that I am sooooooo waiting for warmer weather so that I really work some of my favorite twisty roads cause I feel sooooo much more confident on these tires (even in 25+ degree weather). Rides like a totally different bike...it feels really different to trust your skins!!! I'll keep you all posted as the warmer weather comes in. As for now...a great cold weather tire (at least down to 25*).

 

Thanks for the review Euro, I'll be in the market for new meats this coming season too and I'm still undecided, please keep us updated on how well they stick or don't stick as you wear into them a bit more and temps rise. I would also like to know how they do in the rain as I pretty much ride all the damn time and I need an excellent wet weather tire as well.

 

Just order a set from Comp ACC $222 delivered.

 

Wow, no shit, that's allmost like gettin a free front for ordering the rear, good find sir!

Oh damn, same price for a set of Michelin 2CT's from them too, soooooooo torn

 

Hey Eurojuce, i enjoyed meeting you, man. I have been tossing the idea of getting some Conti Road Attacks this summer but now I don't know... Your review has me thinking about your cold angels. Has anyone ridden on both the Conti Road Attacks and the Angels?

Here are some reviews I found on the Angels:
Pirelli Angel ST Tire Review - Street Tires Review - Motorcycle USA
Pirelli Angel ST Tire Review

And the Road Attacks:
.: Continental Road Attack | Review | Canyon Chasers Motorcycle Sport Touring :.

I just saw the offer at compacc . . .I wish i had the funds, I would buy the Angels now!

 

I like the 2CT's but I like too get another 1000 miles or so out of a set of tires.

 

What's up foxxbatt!
I'm planning on riding as much as I can this week as the weather should be in the upper 40's/low50's. I'll try to let you know how the Angels work in warmer weather with some backroad scratchin!!!

 

202.3 miles later....
So I was able to ride yesterday as the weather warmed up a bit. Forecast was to be in the 50's, but we only saw around 48*. Anyway, it's like I'm all ham fisted, a newbie all over again. I said earlier that turn in is snappy, very linear and sharp. Since it was dry and little warmer, I pushed it alittle harder. I guess I wasn't really aware of how many minute corrections I was making on the old ME4s, as they obviously aren't as responsive and small inputs get lost (hence my always feeling like I was muscling my girl when holding lines and especially in transitions). Not on these. There were several times when I put too much pressure on the bars to snap into turn and totally blew my line (not enough speed, too much angle) due to my body remembering the ME4's and had to make corrections. Don't get me wrong, its easy to be smooth on these tires, just that everything is so much quicker, lighter and responsive. Holding a line doesn't require nearly as much "muscle" so being smooth is gonna take me getting use to shifting the bike instead of throwing it into a corner, as previously with the Metzler's. Bump compliance is OUTSTANDING!!! I rode down to eat lunch with my lady and we took a short ride to the restaurant on the bike. She mentioned two things when we set down. 1) She said it was "way smoother" than before (asked me if I changed the suspension settings) and 2) She said she was a little nervous because we were leaning farther over than she remembered the last ride. I told her I had new skins and she couldn't believe that the riding sensation she had could be connected to "just getting new tires?". I haven't changed any settings on the bike and I think that the faster snap over and the more stick (meaning that I have more confidence) made her alittle shaky. I wasn't heroing it with her, just a different sensation since everything is so much quicker. I will have to ride more to basically re-learn my bike's handling on these tires. I put over 60 miles on them yesterday (familiar twisties and new ones) and by the time I parked her, I had picked up the pace the roads that I knew well. I am no Rossi or Mladdin, would say an above average rider, so I can't say I would ever intentionally go dragging pegs (although I am looking for track courses in my area now). I can definitely say that I like the way she feels now. I imagine that these tires are closer to what a full on sporttire would feel like, so if you get these, be mindful that their profile will take some getting used to. But once you do, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I was windy yesterday as well and I was keeping up with traffic (slightly ahead actually) on the freeway after lunch with no "oh crap" moments caused by the wind gusts. So they are also stable and predictable like traditional ST tires, but with much added sport attitude I'm looking forward to next week cause my area's highs start creeping up to the 60's. I'll keep reporting on these the warmer it gets, and the more confident I become with adjusting to the tires behavior. So far, so good!!!

 

Dude, I am liking your assessment of these tires. i think I will start saving up my pennies and get these tires. if i order them from compacc, my local shop wants to charge me $125 to mount and balance. I think that's rediculous.

 

Dude, I'm a MoCo boy too. Get the tires and bring the wheels and tires to me. Then get you some Dyna-Beads or have them balanced by the shop, much cheaper. Us MoCo VFRW guys gotta stick together............

 

Excellent and thanks! I heard up here on the forum that Dyna-Beads don't work so well. What’s your experience with them? As far as balancing them, I looked yesterday at youtube (gotta love youtube) for how to static balance a tire. It looks very simple and straight forward but I have never done it before. I will send you a private message and we can arrange things. Because as everyone knows . . .MoCo guys stick together :smile:

PS – it’s supposed to be 57 degrees Saturday. :biggrin:

 

906 miles later and counting!!!
So far, I've only ridden in the rain once and even though I'm a rather tentative rider in the wet stuff anyway, I can definitely say that I felt much more confident than other times I've ridden on the ME4s. I found that I was taking deeper lean angles and traction was really good.
Now as far as dry riding, they just keep feeling better and better the more I ride!!! Sticky and minimal warm up time. In fact, I leave my garage, and by the time I'm out of my neighborhood, they feel heated enough to start aggressively cornering right away. Overall, I really like this tire. I have gotten squirmy on them a couple of times, and that's because I've felt some much more confident on them, that I forget that I haven't gone fully edge to edge, so at times I hit that last bit of chicken strip while riding really hard (I have less than 1/2" left). So I think I'm gonna go back out to that school parking lot at night again to see if I can get the edges scrubbed. When I have gotten squirmy, its been on more freshly paved roads and even then, they break away so progressively and tell you exactly what type surface is under you and bars gently wiggle in your hands, so you know to back off abit. I'm giving these a two thumps waaaayyyyyyy up. Again, I'm a slightly above average rider, but on these skins, I'm feeling more and more confident the more I ride, and because of this, am able to run deeper into curves for later braking and later apexing. I've heard awesome things about the Conti Road and Sport Attacks, and I may try them after time for replacements. But for now if you're considering the Angels...I think you'll enjoy them very much.

 

That's a great deal...I ordered mine. I just bought new road attacks about 1500 miles ago but I couldn't pass up that offer! Thanks for the heads up!

 

Ok, I just ordered the Angles. Should be here in 3 days. I will be hooking up with Metallican525 hopefully to get them on soon and ;et everyone know how they feel

 

Damn, I never responded to your query, sorry bout that. I like the beads around town, no problems whatsoever. However, @ about 90mph (on private property of COURSE, I would NEVER do this on public streets :whistle there comes this funny shake, I am pretty sure from the beads not being able to keep up with the speeds of the tires. That being said, I bought sevral kits so that I could do mine at will without having to wait for them to be shipped to me. If you would like, I will put them in your tires so you can try them out, otherwise, you can take them from me to your local shop to have them balanced. I am currently saving up to get my own balance rig and the required SSSA wheel adapter so I can static balance my own.

 

HAHAH.. i have a balancer and tire changer at my disposal HAHAH...MOCO baby..!!!!! and i TO shall be ordering some ANGELS for my girl

 

More MoCo guys? Excellent! The club I belong to is having a bikers annual party on Saturday April 10 at Arrundel Mills Dave and Busters from 9pm -1 am. If you guys are interested let me know so I can get some tickets for you. Real family night - billiards, bowling and food included in the price of admission

 

Metallican525, I think Ii'm going to get them balanced at Myers for $30 each per your sugestion. I sometimes go over 90 mph . . . private roads only . Unless I can get with Punisher12b first

We are riding this weekend guys. My wife's birthday is Saturday so no riding but come Sunday . . .you guys want to get together? It's gonna be a high of 74°F.