Given
83%
while driving a
Suzuki Bandit 1250 SA
(180/55 R17)
on
mostly country roads
for 5,800
spirited miles
I ride the Adelaide Hills on a Suzuki Bandit 1250, a rather heavy sports tourer. My riding style is brisk, but nearly always legal. My priorities are overall stability, light and neutral steering (meaning that no effort is needed to maintain a line through a corner), long life, and of course, price. With the Angel STs, I think I made an excellent choice. The dry grip is very good (no slides or surprises) but then again, I do not ride like a Casey Stoner wannabe. I cannot comment on wet grip because I try hard to avoid rain and on the rare occasion I do get caught on wet roads, I ride like Casey's grandmother. Both front and rear need replacing after approximately 9000km which is a bit less than I had hoped for, but it is a heavy bike. When I first got them new, I was very impressed by how light and precise the steering became, like the bike lost 50 Kg instantly. When new(ish), the Angel STs track corners effortlessly and do not stand up if front brakes are applied while leaned over. The degree of wear is about the same front and rear, but the treads has retained their shape even after 9000+ kms, so the steering is still quite good, although they're a bit reluctant on initial turn-in when compared to new. Nevertheless, they perform much better than the Dunlop Roadsmarts they replaced, which were nearly unrideable at their wear limit. Stability has never suffered regardless of wear and they deal with bumpy roads pretty well, comfort- and grip-wise, which is good because we have a lot of crap roads. The Angel STs really suit the Bandit 1250. If the price is right, I would buy them again.
