Avon Storm 2 Ultra wear issue

[Mikiver]

I just completed a trip of 3119 miles on a new set of Storm 2 Ultras. The ST was loaded heavy with a Hondaline top box for 12 days of 2 up riding.
For the first 500 miles or so, the tires were silent and I loved them compared to the stock Dunlops which had scalloped (cupped) badly and were noisy in corners.
Then I started to hear a bit of howling which got worse as the trip progressed.
I checked the tire pressure each day, cold, and kept it 42 psi. A couple of times out of curiosity, I checked the pressure hot and it was about 51 psi.
The gauge is accurate.

I do not baby my way through corners for the most part as I enjoy laying it over a bit. Chicken strips about 1/2 inch on the rear.

As you can see in the attached pics, the tires are heavily scalloped and the harder compound strip in the center is very prominent. One of the pics looks a bit worse than it actually is due to shadowing but there is a significant ridge. I think these may be triple compound but I am not sure.

To me, they look under-inflated but I was hesitant to increase the pressure beyond that recommended.

The handling was excellent at all times but I am disappointed with the rapid wear. Perhaps these tires are not durable enough for heavy loading?

Any comments or suggestions? Tim, are you reading this?

Thanks, Mike.

 

[juddspaintballs]

That is interesting. I beat on my tires pretty hard most of the time, also running 41 in them. I don't two-up ride, but the first 2,000 miles on my Storm 2 Ultra rear were fully loaded on a trip in the twisties. Mine aren't any noisier than the old Storms, and mine are certainly not scalloped like yours. I've got about 4,000 on this set of tires so far.

 

[STay froSTy]

I have been running the Ultra 2's for the last 4500 on front and 3500 on rear. The front shows good even wear. The rear has flatten out and is consistent with the center line (hard compound) pic you have but no other cupping. The Ultra 2's are a bit louder in a turn.

I have only seen the wear you are seeing on the front Storm 1 with 14k when changed.

 

[Mikiver]

The front is in good shape with no wear of note. The rear looks like the shoulders near the hard center are wearing really fast and the outer edges are less worn. What if I were to increase the pressure by a few pounds? Might it have something to do with the suspension setup? The bike handles great loaded heavy in turns unless there is a good size dip in the middle of the turn in which case I get a slight momentary weave. Nothing scary or anything though. I do ride pretty aggressively.

Mike

 

[STay froSTy]

I believe the greater load on the rear will make it wear faster. I have not done any 2-up riding on this set but on the older storm 1's I have done alot of 2-up. I would bet I exceeded the GVW. Those tires were done at 7-8k. It is possible that suspension setup could be part of the issue, but I have limit knowledge of suspension setup.

 

[saaz]

Usually if you have more than about a 10% difference in the cold vs hot PSI reading the cold pressure needs to go up unti you get to the 10% change. Suspension being a bit soft could also add the the heating up problem. I have not had enough distance on the Ultra 2s to see wheter they do wear differently.

 

[Gene]

That rear looks like my dual compound BT-023 after the first 2k two up and loaded heavy use.

 

[Two Brothers]

Whats strange is that I'm seeing some of this on both tires. Storm 2 and PR2.

The wear is always on the left side of the tire. Now here is the problem.

Avon may not even talk about it because it's not an approved tire for the ST1300. We can try and bounce it off of them and wee whats up but it's a long shot.

Michelin will talk about it. The next chance I get I will bend their ear about it.

The 50 psi in the front seems excessive to me. What is the cold pressure?

 

[Mikiver]

Tim, you mis-read my post. I ran 42 psi front and rear. Checked religiously every morning before departing. When I checked it hot (rear only) the pressure was 51 psi. What do you think about running a bit higher pressure cold? Say 46 psi? Rear only.

That would be great if you could chat with the Avon Rep.

I have a feeling that these may not be suitable for the heavy loading though, ergo the lack of recommendation by Avon.

I like the tires aside from the rapid wear.

This bike continues to amaze me. Transitions on twisties are so quick and easy even loaded heavy...


Mike

 

[Rich R]

OK, I am not sure if this is applicable or not......but here goes.

The tire in the pic looks like it has been run underinflated, and has gotten hot (to me).
The cold vs hot pressure data seems to back this up.

When I raced, we always ran some laps, and looked for a 10% rise in tire pressure. This was our indicator of correct tire pressure for the conditions.
If we got more than 10% the tire needed more air because the carcass was moving too much causing too much heat to build up.

Less than a 10% rise, showed that some air needed to be let out.......

If you choose to add a few more pounds of air, the tire could handle a bit different as the compound will be cooler, and a bit less of it in contact withthe road.

I hope this helps,

Rich

 

[Mikiver]

That's what I was thinking Rich...under-inflated. Looks that way to me as well. I'm just not that familiar with running pressures over recommendations. The weather was very hot on my trip, about 80-95 degrees each day. Some days over that.

Wish I knew more about tire pressures etc...

 

[Two Brothers]

OK Avon will tell you that it's allowed to bump the pressure by about 2 psi when loaded or two up. Not sure why the pressure would have went to 51 psi when hot. Thats like a 25% increase. I'll try and call Monday and chat with them.

How hot was the tire to touch?

 

[Two Brothers]

OK, I am not sure if this is applicable or not......but here goes.

The tire in the pic looks like it has been run underinflated, and has gotten hot (to me).
The cold vs hot pressure data seems to back this up.

When I raced, we always ran some laps, and looked for a 10% rise in tire pressure. This was our indicator of correct tire pressure for the conditions.
If we got more than 10% the tire needed more air because the carcass was moving too much causing too much heat to build up.

Less than a 10% rise, showed that some air needed to be let out.......

If you choose to add a few more pounds of air, the tire could handle a bit different as the compound will be cooler, and a bit less of it in contact withthe road.

I hope this helps,

Rich

Most of the time with low pressure you see even wear on both sides.

 

[Rich R]

Most of the time with low pressure you see even wear on both sides.

Tim, Agreed. With only 1 pic showing the right side, it looked pretty close to me.

Thanks for all your support to all of us riders!!! TBT Rocks!

Rich

 

[GlenT]

Here are pics of my Storm 2 Ultras after 7130 miles of slab riding over 18 days, single up with top box. I ran them at 42 psi cold. Temperatures on the trip were very hot 95F++ at times. Total load on the bike was probably around 190 lbs with me and gear.

 

[Mikiver]

The wear is pretty even. Perhaps a tiny bit more on the right but I think the bike was a bit heavier on that side as well. The bike did not pull or drift or anything but the SO loads more stuff (as might be expected LOL!!) in her side box. It seemed a bit heavier than mine and there was a little uneven top box loading on the right as well. Total difference perhaps 5 pounds or so.

Again, the handling was great.

Hopefully Tim will have something from Avon that will help solve this. I like the tires, just not the wear...

Mike

 

[Mikiver]

GlenT, looks like yours are wearing similarly but to a much lesser extent. I had no handling issues of note, even at near triple digits a few times. Sweepers and twisties (LOLO Pass and Beartooth) were fun and smooth, bumps and lumps no problem. The buffeting when passing semis was manageable and slow speed handling, as your post and report noted, was very good as well.

Mike

 

[GlenT]

In the last 1200 miles or so, I also started to notice a bit of noise when off center. Not a lot, but it was there. No where near as bad as the noise and vibration that I put up with on my last ME880 back tire.

 

[RIDEMYST]

From my post on the MSTA forum.............

I just completed a 10k+ mile trip riding on the new Avon Storm Ultras. I have always been a big fan of the original Avon Storms for my ST1300. However, as things go Avon is phasing out their original Storm line in favor of the new Ultra tire (or "tyre" depending where you are from).
The Ultra claims to have a harder compound in the center of the tire giving it a "12 percent" increase in the life of it's tire. Having put several thousands of miles on the original Storms I can vouche for the harder compound in the new Ultras. The ride is rougher, period! Once you are into a curve and on the softer compound I'd say it's business as usual as the tire feels the same as the original design.
As to the increased life of the tire, I pulled into STAR with around 8k on the Ultras. The tires still looked pretty good but had developed a noticeable flat spot in the center of the rear tire and slight cupping on the front. Note that I follow the manufacturers recommended tire pressure of 42 PSI for both front and rear and check the pressure regularly.
The tire life expectancy for the original Storms that I used for my weight and style of riding was between 8-10k miles. Keeping this in mind I had a new set waiting for me with the folks at No-Mar to put on if necessary upon my arrival at STAR.
Both Steve from No-Mar and myself examed the tires and thought it questionable that I could make the required 2k miles for the trip home. It was a no brainer, I put on the new tires.
Bottom line I give the Avon Storm 2 Ultra's a one thumbs up (not two thumbs up). The cornering is as good as ever but the harder center compound is noticeable and takes away from straight line riding. The flat spot that developed in the center was noticeable when transitioning from a tangent to a curve.
When I'm here in flat/straight Florida I ride on the cheapest tire available but for my trips to the twisties I want a good performance tire. I guess my search continues. -JEP-

 

[BigTom]

Now there's a good review! Thanks for the information!

I'm about 6000 on the front and 4000 on the back, and all look good to me so far. I have ridden some of my favorite roads on them and REALLY like them there! I'm going to go to some more favorites this morning!