Changing the tires on the Moto Guzzi V11 Sport! What about the Pirelli ANGEL GT2? [Moto Guzzi V11 Sport Owner’s Report Vol. 3]

Decided to change tires before the price increase… which tires did I choose?

It’s already been eight months since I bought a used 1999 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport in November 2024. I’ve driven 2,500 km since delivery, and the odometer has now reached over 19,500 km. Although there have been a few minor issues, the car is generally in good condition, and I’m glad I bought it. I’ll talk about those issues in a future post, but for now, I’ll report on the tire change I did right after I bought it.

What do you think of a 25-year-old Italian car? | I sold my bike on Kachi-X and bought a 1999 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport.

This may come as a surprise, but in November 2024, I traded in my beloved ZX-9R for a Moto Guzzi V11 Sport. It was a bike I had always wanted since it was new, and by chance, a used one in good condition arrived at a familiar motorcycle shop. I loved it at first sight, so I decided to sell my ZX-9R and buy it. As always, when it comes to vehicles, it’s all about the fun to drive Italian ones! REPORT & PHOTO: YAMAZAKI Ryu

https://motor-fan.jp/bikes/article/135873

When I bought my V11 Sport, it was fitted with Bridgestone BATTLAX HYPERSPORT S21 tires, with about 40% of the tread remaining. The previous owner had driven aggressively, using the tires all the way to the edge.

If I had wanted to continue using them as they were, I could have used them for a little longer, but due to rising raw material costs, tire manufacturers have announced price revisions in the new year, so if I would eventually need to replace them, I decided to do so immediately after delivery, before the price increase.

Now, the problem is choosing tires. One option is to replace them with the same S21. The S21 has a good reputation as a sports tire for public roads, boasting excellent grip performance while also combining wet performance and long life.

BATTLAX HYPERSPORT S21 | Motorcycle Tires | Bridgestone Corporation

Just by wearing the BATTLAX HYPERSPORT S21, the scenery around your usual corners will change completely.

https://www.bridgestone.co.jp/products/tire/mc/new_products/s21.html

In fact, after taking delivery of my V11, I rode these tires for a few hundred kilometers and had no complaints. The only drawback is the price. Bridgestone tires tend to be more expensive than other brands, even if they’re good products. Also, since my riding style is mainly touring, I wanted to keep costs down and prioritize long life over absolute grip performance.

While I was pondering this, I received a direct mail from Nankai Parts Wangan Chiba store, where I had previously purchased a SHOEI helmet, informing me of a sale. It seemed like the timing was right for the start of their winter sale, so this was convenient. I decided to visit the store right away.

We chose the Pirelli ANGEL GT2 at a great price during Nankai Parts’ winter sale.

When I visited the tire section of Nankai Parts, sale tires were displayed in the most prominent place in the store. Michelin and Metzeler tires were also discounted, but the cheapest tire in the appropriate size was the Pirelli ANGEL GT2. When I spoke to the staff, they told me, “They have a long life and good performance. One of their features is that even when the tire wears down, there is little change in handling. I recommend them for touring riders . “

When I got a quote, the front tire size was 120/70ZR17 and it was 15,736 yen, the rear tire size was 170/60ZR17 and it was 21,352 yen, the labor cost for changing the front and rear tires was 4,500 yen each, and the disposal fee for the used tires was 400 yen, for a total of 46,186 yen. The labor costs etc. are the prices at the time of interview in December 2024.

The same size BATTLAX tires cost around 21,000 yen for the front and 35,000 yen for the rear, so this is a significant savings. This is my first time using Pirelli tires on a motorcycle, but I have used P700Z and P6000 on cars. I heard that they recently became Chinese-owned, but they are a long-standing top-class brand, so I thought there was nothing to worry about. Fortunately, the store had the right size in stock, so I decided to have them replaced right away.

First time seeing a tire change on a shaft drive bike

Nankai Parts’ service pit is normally off-limits to anyone other than authorized personnel, but for this interview we were given special permission to film the work in progress. In fact, it was my first time seeing a tire change on a shaft-drive bike, so I was very curious to see what steps were taken.

The work began with replacing the rear tire. The V11 was placed on a bike lift and raised to a height where work could be easily performed. First, the front wheel was secured with a front wheel clamp, and then the rear of the vehicle was lifted up with an overhead crane to remove the rear wheel.

We were told beforehand that “Since this is a model with little experience of being repaired, it is difficult to say for sure about the procedure until we actually try the work, and in some cases we may have to remove the muffler or rear cowl,” but judging from the way the work was done, it didn’t seem necessary. What’s best is that there will be no additional labor costs.

The staff member in charge quickly removed the rear wheel with deft hands. From the side, it looked like the shaft drive had fewer steps, since there was no need to remove the chain.

The removed wheel is placed on the tire changer, the bead is removed, and the rear tire is removed. After that, a new tire is mounted, inflated, and placed on a balancer. After balancing, the wheel is returned to the vehicle in the reverse order of removal, and the rear tire change is complete.

There’s no need to go into detail about replacing the front tire. It’s the same as with a regular bike, so you can remove the front wheel by jacking it up and pulling out the shaft. After that, you’ll do the same procedure as for the rear tire. Put the wheel with the new tire back on and the replacement process is complete.

The work in the pit took less than an hour, including waiting time. I also change the tires on my minibike myself, but the efficiency of the staff here is ridiculous (although that may be obvious). You can really tell this from the pit staff at Nankai Parts.

First impressions of the Pirelli ANGEL GT2

After thanking the staff at Nankai Parts Wangan Chiba store and paying the bill, I left the store and set off in the V11 fitted with brand new Pirelli ANGEL GT2 tires. Since the tires hadn’t been broken in yet, I knew not to push myself too hard, but my first impression was quite good.

I’m not sure if it’s right to compare old tires that are worn and hardening to new ones, but the ride is much smoother now, with noticeable improvements in shock absorption over road joints.

In addition, the handling is neutral, and you can drive naturally without feeling the strange lightness or difficulty of leaning into turns that you would experience immediately after changing to new tires. At this point, it’s hard to say anything about the grip performance or wear resistance, but it’s likely you won’t be disappointed.

After that, I finished breaking it in and have ridden it for about 2000km so far, but it’s easy to operate and there’s been no change in the handling. Of course, the absolute grip performance is probably inferior to the BATTLAX, but for a rider of my skill level using it for touring, there’s no problem at all. For a radial tire, it’s a good tire with a low market price and no quirks. So far, I haven’t had any major complaints about using it.

However, I have some complaints about the manufacturing quality. As you can see from the photo, there are a lot of burrs on the tread surface. It’s possible that the tire I bought was just a bad one, and the burrs will probably disappear with more use, but even considering the low price, I honestly can’t accept this. Good looks are also a great feature, so I would love to see this improved.

Nankai Parts Wangan Chiba Store