Avon Storm

[SteveST1300]

I have just under 200 miles on my new Storms and all I can say is WOW! I think this is the best tire I have had on the ST yet. I have not felt more confident on any tire I have tried. I have used Pilot Roads Avon AV45/46 and the stock Bridgestone no comparison IMHO

 

[Gene]

Steve keep a cloce eye on the rear as with most of my miles being 2-up at 6.3k on them the front looks almost like new and only used up 1/32 of tread !! Now the rear is a different story it has less than 2/32 almost to the wear markers left on it and kinda squared off You might want to get a extra rear to keep on hand. I think the wear on the rear is what Avon meant by not being recommened for the St. But other than wear they really stick well even in the rain. I used to run 37-38 on the front and 42 on the rear. I have a almost new front in the garage if you ever need a front

 

[Mean]

As the Storms for the ST1100 are load-rated much higher, I am hoping that they last longer on my bike if they ever get here.

G

 

[electrajoe]

I put on the Storms on my 1991 ST1100, the rear wear indicators started at 7,000, replaced with Bridgestone BT021 at 9,040. The center was not yet to the cords but started changing color (cap rubber is different than carcass.) The Storms feel good, mileage was acceptable. The front is barely worn, however it is NOISY, will replace with BT021, when worn some more.

Just something to think about: On the Storm, front and rear both show 42 as max pressure, rear shows "reinforced", why is the rear only 42 to get the 79v/w rating. Seems as if the Metzler ME880 bias with the same rating was 46 or 50 psi. This is for the 160/70/17 size.

 

[Gene]

The rear 1100 is rated at a higher weight than the tire that fits the 1300, what ever they did differnt on the 1100 tire to make it work, I only hope they beef up the 1300 tire as well . Other than milage they are a sweet tire .

 

[Raven]

+1 on the Storms, I really like them and don't find them in the least bit loud. Haven't had any wear problems either but I've only got about 4K on them so far. Even if they only make it 5K, I'd buy another set in a heartbeat 'cause they sure do ride nice!

 

[jnsgardner]

My Continental Road Attack rear looks like Warchild's... only it has 11,000 on it. The front in the ST size was hard to come by for awhile, but they are now at all the usual internet tire suppliers.
As far as handling is concerned, the tires feel really round and want to turn. Even though the rear is worn and flatter in the middle, there is no feeling of going up on the shoulder in a turn.
In my book, Continental was known for mileage. The Road Attacks will probably go 12 to 13,000 on the rear. I ride mostly single on the slab, but I did a two up San Diego-Phoenix-San Diego in extreme heat with no unusual wear.
I was thinking of the Storms as replacements, but, from the comments about mileage, I think I'll stick with the Road Attacks or go back to the Metzler Z6 - 880 combo that so many speak highly of.

John

 

[racer1735]

So how do the Conti and Avons do in the wet? I've never felt as reliable a tire in the wet, across a variety of bikes, as I have with Michelon Pilot Roads. Just curious about input regariding these tires in bad weather...

 

[dduelin]

I was in the mountains when we had two days of rain and my bike was riding on Pilot Roads. We were backed down a little of course and the PR's were faultless at that pace. In March this year I was riding some of those same roads on a set of Avon Storms in a steady cold rain. I did the Dragon in a light rain confident of grip on that very smooth pavement. Both tire sets gave me immense confidence on wet roads but the nod has to go to Avons because of the quicker steering they give off center. The profile of the PR's give the ST a numb feeling off center at turn-in that I did not fully appreciate until I moved on to the quicker handling Metzler Z6s and then to the Avons.

I get an average of about 6K miles on every type of tire I have tried on my ST. I read that many owners get much longer wear and a few that get less. My take is that more mileage in a tire has to equate to less grip due to harder compounds that wear longer.

 

[ktmracer]

I had 3000 miles on my storms they were hardly showing any wear at the start of my trip I was riding 2 up 360 lbs. 20 lbs.in the bags and tires properly inflated ,I was riding at 90 mph. according to the speedometer (84 mph actual speed) I stopped every 100 miles after 300 miles my front tire was shot and the back tire was worn in the center very bad,the rubber coming off so bad it looked like an erasure, I know it was a hot day about 95 deg. but I didn't think I was that hard on the tires? I think maybe it was the road? I was on I-35 north in Iowa, the stretch of highway looked like grooved concrete with no asphalt maybe I was going to fast? I thought the storms were the best tires I had ever tried until this happened now I am not sure, any ideas on what I did wrong?

 

[fastflyer20]

WOW those pictures are not good. It is called tread separation. Most likely, an air pocket existed between the tread and the carcass. As the tire heated up, the air between the tread heated up and caused the bubble. It is not fun to think about, but many tires contain small air pockets, but this is a bad one. Avon should stand behind this 100%. Structural integrity is most likely fine (ie the plys and belts). I am guessing this tire did not loose any air pressure which would show the inner liner was also OK. This may be a limited case, lets hope it is!

 

[dduelin]

KTM,

That's NFG man... I have heard of the same happening somewhere else... and I think a euro mag may have experienced the same while testing a bunch of new tires, and subsequently didn't bother to give a review on the Storm beyond the fact that they failed.

A UK mag, Bike, tested a bunch of tires recently on a BMW GS. June '07 issue. A mix of street and dual purpose tires. Among other brands they tested an Avon Azaro front and a Storm rear combo. They could not get a Storm front for the test, hence the older Azaro 45. Far and away they liked the Avon combo best for ride quality, handling, steering and composure on the road and on the track it gave the fastest time of all tire sets. At the end of the test they noticed a 1.5" tear across the tread of the rear Avon and so disqualified the tire after the test participants previously deemed it #1. An Avon spokesperson said the tear was not dangerous and would close up with a little wear.

That tear is much different from the tread separation in Ktmracer's pics.

 

[dduelin]

That sounds like what I was thinking of... I got it second hand and was under the impression that the tear could have been the result of a blister. Either way, neither instance is really confidence inspiring. Did that test include the PR2 which is available in Europe?

No, it did not. Time will have to give us PR2 feedback.

It is unfortunate that a few or some isolated incidents may determine the reputation of a consumer good - for better or worse. I agree these incidents do not look good for Avon but I have got to think they are isolated. I am about as hard as anyone on ST tires and two sets of Avon Storms wore evenly so far. I'd buy another set and recommend them to others. Part of the fun of owning my ST is trying out all these tires so I'll probably try the new Michelins in the future if feedback is good.

 

[Gene]

So thats the trick to rear milage use the 1100 rear tire, very interesting. Blue are the reccomended rim sizes the same for both tires? I also loved the Storm grip but with so much 2-up riding that means a new rear every other month.
I don't have a issue with the cost of replacing tires, the nuisance is having to change them so offen and at times when you need a tire to last 3k and you replace a tire with 50% tread left to be sure you can get home safely

 

[saaz]

I have not been able to get more than 12,000kms out of front or rear tyres on an ST11, mostly closer to 10,000kms (BT020, Z6, Av45/46 and now a D205). I have a storm front tyre on at the moment, about as noisy as an AV45, more than a Z6. I will try a storm rear next. If the mileage is in the same ballprk, may as well go for the grippier tyre (which for me has been the Avons)

 

[SteveST1300]

If you can find the Diablo Stardas let me know where I could not find anyone that had a front in the ST's size in stock. That is the tire I wanted. I settled for the Avon. Those pictures are a bit scary have you contacted Avon? They do have a good warranty. I got good mileage out of the AV45/46 and also thr PR's about 10-11K. I will see how the 55/56's last.

 

[bunson]

Concerning air pressure: there was an interview a number of months ago with a Pirelli rep who took great pains to state that when using non-factory original tires that a person should use the tire manufacturers recommended pressures. The reason being that tire compounds change so quickly that the original specs will not apply to a different tire.

 

[Raven]

I may try the 020 OEM tires.

The Bridgestone 020's came stock on my '06 and they felt hard as rocks and were never confidence inspiring in the twisties. I always felt like I really had to wrestle the bike over. YMMV but the Avons made the ST feel 50 pounds lighter and are nice and sticky with a quick turn in.

Haven't tried the new Bridgestone 021's but if they're as ponderous as the 020's, I'll stick with the Avons (4K so far on this set and they're still looking good - with the exception of not having chicken strips ).

 

[SteveST1300]

They probaly were not available for that test. But I just drove home from ONTSTOC on my new Storms and it rained the last 150 or so miles and they performed very well in the wet. They are still the best tire I have used on the ST IMHO. They just inspire confidence!

 

[dduelin]

I used to be a distributor for Dunlop and Michilin motorcycle tires. Their philosophy was to never compramise the OEM load rating for comfort and would never recomend a lower pressure, and always recomended a tire capable of both the load rating and the pressures for a given bike.

We jumped on the Pirrelli band wagon in 1978 when they first tried to sell motorcycle tires here. They were very bad and we dropped them after 6 mo. Sounds to me like they havent learned all their lessons yet. They're not doing consitantly well on the race track yet either.....Who is? Michilin. I'll stick with what I learned from them. It's always worked for me.

I didn't like the PR's on my Bandit so I haven't tried them on the ST. I'm going to give the PR2's a shot if they make a 160/70/17. So far that's not a size they have mad with regularity.

What time frame are you talking about? I gather from the post above - more than 30 years ago? Back then TP's in the mid to high 20's were common and Honda did not recommend a max tire pressure on any Honda I owned in the 70's - only a range dependent on load or speed. So it is not the same to say that tire manufacturers today would recommend a TP less than the mfg publishes. They do.