Finishing up service on the ST1300

New rubber for the ST -

Tonight a fresh set of Pirelli Angel GT's were installed. The set removed were also Angel GT's with around 9,000 miles on them. Had a couple of 32nds of tread left - but they were choppy and handling had deteriorated. Front tire especially.



My long time riding friend, Ken, had just splurged on some tire equipment. Said we are too old to be wrestling tires on with levers on the ground. So I loaded up the tires and wheels in the van. Ran over to his house after work.

He bought the No-Mar Cycle Hill model tire changer with a built-in bead breaker. It is their entry level unit. Works like a charm for a guy doing a handful of tires a year. So much nicer than sweating and cussing while doing them by hand.

Ken installing the front tire -



Forgot to take pictures of them, but I also took this opportunity to install the 90 degree machined aluminum valve stems. Some high quality Italian pieces from MotoMillion. A vendor found on the ST Owners Forum. Nice parts that installed without a hitch.

Then our freaky Southeast Michigan weather got weirder. We have been walking around in tee-shirts for the last few days setting high temperature records. While mounting the tires we experienced a February thunderstorm - then hail storm !



Ken also purchased a Marc Parnes static wheel balancer. Balanced up the ST tire-wheel assemblies by hand also. They balanced out without much weight at all. The Pirelli Angel GT tires have two red dots that you align with the valve stems when mounting. The ST should be ready to rock for the year now.