I did a few short trips in the last couple of weeks, about 2500k in total, and in that time, it seems the rear PR3 wore a lot more than the previous 5000ks. Not complaining as I got between 15 and 20 thou out of them on both my ST's, but it was a bit embarrassing as I just had a rego check and didn't check the rear tyre before I took it in....
My previous set of Michelins on my MT01 wore incredibly quick in the last 500k's, but that was a much light tyre, but it's got me wondering about the last part of a tyres life. It seems to go from being OK to very marginal in a relatively short period of time, so it just makes me more careful about recording distances and keeping a close eye on tyre wear, particularly rears, as the tyres come to the end of their lives.
Another observation that I've made over time is that cold to hot pressure increases for rear tyres are double that of the front tyres - depending on the ambient temps, rears go from 42 psi up to sometimes over 52psi, and fronts are lucky to hit 47psi hot. Also, temp increases are way more in the rear tyre from the front tyre as well. In 30deg heat, rear tyre has seen over 55deg, and fronts about 10 deg lower. The lesson for me is to spend the time monitoring the rear tyre over the front, as it is far easier to look at the front than to get down and have a good look at the rear, particularly if you have a towbar and mudflap blocking your view.
I was going to order a set of Pirelli GT's but having a closer look at them, they don't appear to make an "A" version in ST sizes, which is most likely not going to be a problem, as many have used them on heavy bikes like the ST with great results for both grip and wear, but as PR4's are available with a heavier carcass for heavier bikes like the ST, I ordered a set of them. I also just checked the Pirelli website and they actually say they don't make a Angel GT to suit!
Even though they make the correct sizes for the ST, they don't recommend running them? That's interesting....
They don't seem to make any tyre to suit an ST, and the only size that will fit the ST isn't recommended??
Whilst I've had no problems with standard PR2's and 3's, I wanted to try a tyre designed for a heavier bike and compare the difference, so hopefully, these new PR4's will feel as good as the PR3's, and I'll be taking notice of the pressure and temp increases in the rear to see if they are significantly lower than the PR3's.