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Time for New Tires on Vulcan S....

16K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  john j 
#1 ·
Sadly my friends it is time to put some serious cash into me Vulcan S....getting ready to turn over 7000 miles and my rear tire is getting down to looking like a "Slick"...so much so I take extra care on wet pavement...my front tire is okay...probably would make the summer but I will most likely do both tires when I do.....now the issue is which tires to go with.....my first choice is the Pirelli Angel GT Motorcycle Front and Rear. But I am open to suggestions...anyone else tried the Angel GT? Thanks for the help...

:nerd:
 
#2 ·
I've been running the Angel GTs for around 3,000 miles now. I had similar life span out of the Dunlop as you with that last 1,000 miles being a bit sketchy. The Angel GTs are a HUGE improvement over the Dunlops imo. Grips well past the point the grinding pegs, maybe if you mean til the pegs fold up all the way it'll use it all but I'm not that skilled, nor do I have a race course to practice, lol. While my wet weather riding is limited by comparison the Angel GTs handle it great. I used to be super nervous about riding in the wet, not at all anymore. Tire wear is minimal at this point. I'm guessing I'll get to 10,000 miles on the rear, maybe more, and well past that with the front. From what I've read you can expect 2 rears to 1 front, which would line up with what I'm seeing on mine.

Suffice to say I'm extremely happy with the Angel GTs and will be hard convinced to go with anything else.
 
#3 ·
Also recently replaced the tyres on mine as rear was getting extremely low after 7500 miles. To the point that when we took it off, you could see the white strips showing through in the middle of the tyre >< may have lefts that a little late.

I went with Michelin Pilot road 3's for it. So far i've put maybe 5-600 miles on them and they are really nice, lots of grip and I seem to be getting lower in bends than I was before, scraping pegs left and right hah. Not done any wet weather riding yet so can't comment on that but so far, very impressed.
 
#4 ·
They sell Michelin Pilot Road 4's here in Aus and I can't fault them.
The stock rear Dunlop was changed at 11,140 kms and I didn't need to replace it until 29,896 kms (18,756 km life).
Not only do they last longer but they grip better too. Dual compound long lasting centre patch with softer sides for turning.
Save you money and replace the front when it's worn down to the markers. I didn't need to change the front stock tyre until 23,400 kms and didn't notice any significant change. Based on the difference in quality I probably won't need to change the front again for the next few years and I ride every day, rain, hail or shine.
 
#6 ·
A friend of mine was talking to his tyre supplier about the tyres for mine, the chap recommended I go for pilot 3's not 4's as he said the 4's would be too heavy for the bike. Dunno how true this is at all though, saved me £40 though so not complaining and very happy with the 3's.
 
#7 ·
Quite often tyre retailers want to move old stock and will tell you anything.
Having said that I probably would have opted for the Pilot 3's with a discount like you got if I'd had the choice. Unfortunately where I live I don't have alot of options and shipping simply negates any saving made.

They do however have a GT variant of the pilot 4's made with heavier side walls for adventure bikes like the Versys. This was the only size available for my front so I bought it anyway. No problem after more than 6,000km.
 
#9 ·
Update....got a quote from my dealer to purchase and install, mount & balance, front and rear Pirelli Angel GT's....$690 out the door.....seems high....anyone else buy these and remember what they paid?

Almost tempted to buy them and put them on myself...used to do it on my old bikes back in the day....balancing was a bit of pain....
 
#12 ·
Update: I just finished a ten day 2800 mile tour and the rear shinko is down to the wear bars. I got 6,000 miles out of the stock Bridgestone, which sucked. I just turned 9,000 miles on the Shinko. Great grip in the twisties. I am going to put another Shinko on this weekend. $90.
 
#14 ·
The rear Shinko is a 009. As I said, I just returned from a 2800 mile trip through the twisties of Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon. About 50 miles total of freeway. As you can see from the pictures, the rear tire is worn fairly uniformly. I ride the twisties to a point before the foot pegs scrape. As I said, I got three thousand miles more out of the Shinko than the stock Bridgestone. Tire Automotive tire Auto part Automotive wheel system Synthetic rubber
 
#16 ·
Interesting conversation guys-Funny,I was looking@all the tires on e bay that will fit our Vulcans/Alot of choices@different price$-so far I'm running the Dunlop roadsmart3's,but this Fla. heat has me questioning their low Tread!?!\ as far as Shinko tires go,I used to run them all the time on my Honda250Rebels;&Yes,they did last quite a long time-as far as Pirelli tires go,I found the route 66 model Did'nt give much longevity-If I could ever afford it(lol) I'd Love to try a pair of Metzler's or maybe some Avon tires..... I understand that Metzler makes a model(The 883,i think) that you can order in a size for the Vulcan-still debating on Which/What tire to pick out,&of course Price will factor in too,RIDE SAFE&BE WELL ALL:)
 
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