Tires - Angel GT II

[sjuels]

I have put 2k miles on my Angel GT II's and I am very impressed, with one side note.

Note that I ride heavier bikes, Beemers and in this case a Multistrada GT.
The Angle GT IIs have better turn in than the Metzeler P01, which were my favorite tires until now, and they are very good in rain and roads full of snot and grime.

The one weird thing about the tires, comes from the longitudinal grooves at the center of the tire, which will get railroaded by the grooves in the concrete on roads such as Hwy 24 west of the tunnel and the Bay Bridge; it feels like a tiny headshake, and I have friends who find it very unnerving - do not find it uncomfortable, but it is definitely noticeable.

/Soren

 

[RightCoastBias]

I have put 2k miles on my Angel GT II's and I am very impressed, with one side note.

Note that I ride heavier bikes, Beemers and in this case a Multistrada GT.
The Angle GT IIs have better turn in than the Metzeler P01, which were my favorite tires until now, and they are very good in rain and roads full of snot and grime.

The one weird thing about the tires, comes from the longitudinal grooves at the center of the tire, which will get railroaded by the grooves in the concrete on roads such as Hwy 24 west of the tunnel and the Bay Bridge; it feels like a tiny headshake, and I have friends who find it very unnerving - do not find it uncomfortable, but it is definitely noticeable.

/Soren

Had the same issue on my original Angel GTs on my 08 Street Triple, regarding squiggly von-squigglers.

 

[davidji]

Looked at the tread pics. The grooves around the circumference you mention seem kinda weird.

Since the Angel ST I've had good luck buying the latest and greatest sport touring rubber from Pirelli/Metzeler, but if this one is gonna track pavement grooves more (think lanesplitting), I might give it a pass.

 

[motomania2007]

Some tires track rain grooves more than others. Tire pressure also affects how much a tire tracks rain grooves and similar lines in the road surface that are mostly parallel to the bike's path of travel.

The thing about tires tracking rain grooves is that is a non-issue, other than being a distraction. The tires still grip the surface well.

My suggestion, as a riding instructor, is to learn that the wiggle/wander thing is fine. Relax. Ignore it. If it bothers you, ride more rain grooves until it ceases to bother you, you will get used to it, if you allow yourself to do so.

If you don't learn to get used to it, the weave/wander thing will be a distraction, and you cannot afford distractions when riding.

 

[ejv]

My old SV did this quite a lot in NM where I lived when I started riding. All the major freeways and highways we're grooved at least a little bit. Combined with the constant wind in the spring and sometimes winter and summer and I got used to getting tossed around quite a lot. It stopped bothering me after maybe 5000-10000 miles of riding. I remember that SV had some Dunlop D220 tires as oem. It may have been them more than anything but I always just figured it was the road surface. I moved to Pilot Roads after wearing out the 220s and later a set of D208s. Don't recall the 208s being a problem and by the time I had the Michelins on, it wasn't an issue at all or I was just immune to it.

 

[sjuels]

My suggestion, as a riding instructor, is to learn that the wiggle/wander thing is fine. Relax. Ignore it. If it bothers you, ride more rain grooves until it ceases to bother you, you will get used to it, if you allow yourself to do so.

If you don't learn to get used to it, the weave/wander thing will be a distraction, and you cannot afford distractions when riding.

This is exactly my take on the issue - and I do not feel that it interferes with my riding (which is cross the BB daily), but I really appreciate the grip in wet weather.

/Soren

 

[dravnx]

The Angel GT does that same on my FJR. I was on a trip in SoCal and there are a lot of grooved roads. I had a flat the day before so it kinda freaked my out. I kept imagining the tire was going flat again.

 

[danate]

When you say Metzeler P01, is that the Roadtec 01? I switched to those when I found the PR4 fronts to be wearing poorly after about 6k and feeling like crap. On my third set of Roadtecs and love them still. I've only tried Angel GTs once and found them pleasant, but also not getting much over 7k for me.

Keep us updated on what kind of longevity you get out of them. I'm also on heavy sport-tourers and run pressure around 40/42.

 

[davidji]

The thing about tires tracking rain grooves is that is a non-issue, other than being a distraction.

Wander over rain grooves may be minor issue, but there are edges, gaps and grooves between lanes where we lane split, and some tire sizes tend to follow them much more than others. I expect that's true of tread patterns as well and if I suspect one is more prone to follow the pavement gap while lane splitting, I'll choose a different one.

 

[sjuels]

When you say Metzeler P01, is that the Roadtec 01? I switched to those when I found the PR4 fronts to be wearing poorly after about 6k and feeling like crap. On my third set of Roadtecs and love them still. I've only tried Angel GTs once and found them pleasant, but also not getting much over 7k for me.

Keep us updated on what kind of longevity you get out of them. I'm also on heavy sport-tourers and run pressure around 40/42.

Yes, sorry - Metzeler Roadtec 01's

/Soren

 

[motomania2007]

Wander over rain grooves may be minor issue, but there are edges, gaps and grooves between lanes where we lane split, and some tire sizes tend to follow them much more than others. I expect that's true of tread patterns as well and if I suspect one is more prone to follow the pavement gap while lane splitting, I'll choose a different one.

Absolutely use a tire that follows grooves less than others...

 

[WWWobble]

I've had no rain groove issues on my FJR with Bridgestone T30EVO GT spec, or with Dunlop RoadSmart IIIs which are on the bike now.

Almost every tire I've run on both of the FJRs I've owned, I change out between 6 and 7,000 miles, not necessarily because of tread depth, but because the profiles just get screwed up. These big bikes just weigh a lot...

And the new tires make the whole bike feel new!

 

[davidji]

The Angel GT does that same on my FJR. I was on a trip in SoCal and there are a lot of grooved roads.

Do you think tire pressure could have been a factor? I've had Angel GTs on 3 bikes, all lighter than the FJR (every bike I've owned was lighter than the FJR), and not noticed that.

 

[Gary856]

This new tire thread is useless without a pic.

I didn't know Angel GT II came out. To me the GT is still new - time flies! I've actually gone back to the ST since it's cheaper and they all feel good enough.

About the longitudinal grooves in the front of the GT II, isn't it interesting that amateur riders like us can take one look and declare that it would track rain grooves on pavement, yet those pros at Pierlli didn't know this? Could there be more than what meets the eye?

BTW the Angel GT wears out on my Multistrada at about 4.2k mi front (34 psi) and 4.8k mi rear (37 psi), mostly on twisty roads. When I chose the replacement I wondered if I should go for the "A" spec or "GT" spec for heavier bikes for longer tire life, but exactly how heavy is heavy? I concluded that heavy probably means a 550+ lbs bike fully loaded or two-up, so at 500 lbs riding single without luggage the Multi isn't really "heavy" and I should go with the regular, non "A" spec tires, and just bump up the front to 35-36 psi and see what happens.

 

[davidji]

isn't it interesting that amateur riders like us can take one look and declare that it would track rain grooves on pavement, yet those pros at Pierlli didn't know this?

Did you read the 1st post? He wasn't guessing about their behavior over pavement grooves, he was stating his observations.

 

[Gary856]

Did you read the 1st post? He wasn't guessing about their behavior over pavement grooves, he was stating his observations.

Yes, but wouldn't Pirelli have noticed this too when they designed and tested the new tire? He noticed tracking on pavement grooves, and attributed that to the longitudinal grooves in the front tire - is this necessarily the right cause and effect? If it were that simple, wouldn't Pirelli have known what not to do too?

 

[sjuels]

This new tire thread is useless without a pic.

I didn't know Angel GT II came out. To me the GT is still new - time flies! I've actually gone back to the ST since it's cheaper and they all feel good enough.

About the longitudinal grooves in the front of the GT II, isn't it interesting that amateur riders like us can take one look and declare that it would track rain grooves on pavement, yet those pros at Pierlli didn't know this? Could there be more than what meets the eye?

BTW the Angel GT wears out on my Multistrada at about 4.2k mi front (34 psi) and 4.8k mi rear (37 psi), mostly on twisty roads. When I chose the replacement I wondered if I should go for the "A" spec or "GT" spec for heavier bikes for longer tire life, but exactly how heavy is heavy? I concluded that heavy probably means a 550+ lbs bike fully loaded or two-up, so at 500 lbs riding single without luggage the Multi isn't really "heavy" and I should go with the regular, non "A" spec tires, and just bump up the front to 35 psi and see what happens.

My previous Angel GT on the Multi had 8k+ om them, when I changed them.

Well, I forgot to mention that I run A spec tires on my (heavier ) bikes with 40/38 psi, and here is the picture that my girlfriend sent me of her gift to me:

/Soren

 

[Frisco]

When I chose the replacement I wondered if I should go for the "A" spec or "GT" spec for heavier bikes for longer tire life, but exactly how heavy is heavy? I concluded that heavy probably means a 550+ lbs bike fully loaded or two-up, so at 500 lbs riding single without luggage the Multi isn't really "heavy" and I should go with the regular, non "A" spec tires, and just bump

I get much better mileage with the A-Spec Angel GTs on my FJR. Nice tire.

CJ

 

[dravnx]

The A spec has a 2 ply carcass so it is stiffer. It's the tire choice for heavy bikes. The A spec is definitely harder to mount because of this.

 

[beje]

Yes, but wouldn't Pirelli have noticed this too when they designed and tested the new tire? He noticed tracking on pavement grooves, and attributed that to the longitudinal grooves in the front tire - is this necessarily the right cause and effect? If it were that simple, wouldn't Pirelli have known what not to do too?

To be honest i saw concrete highways only in US and in Europe it's very rare you find concrete/grooves as they are considered harmful to motorcyclists so i would not be surprised that Pirelli doent considering surface grooves.