No more Avon tires for our bikes

[Mark]

Thought I'd post a couple reasons why I'm not putting Avon tires on our 1100s any longer.
We've been using Avons since we bought our 1st 1100 in '01; but, their latest tires:
1) Don't have any indicated light or heavy spot like other manufacturer's tires.
2) Don't wear any longer than anyone elses tire (based on *our* types of riding).
3) See the pictures.
a) Blow out (I think this happened 1st).
b) Failure (this might have happened due to my having to ride the bike while slowing from ~75 mph down to stopped on the side of the I10).
c) Both spots.

 

[Landon]

Oh yeah, what kind of oil you using these days:

 

[Mark]

Oh yeah, what kind of oil you using these days:

Slippery stuff in the right weight!
:

 

[Mark]

I get easily 16K+ on them. What kind of mileage are you guys getting?

Look at the tread on that tire... I think I put them on last June.
So... many less than that when they lose a chunk at speed.

 

[DeanR]

I got 8k front and 11k rear, but also don't use em any longer.

 

[Rossi]

I have Avons on the ST1100. Traction is good in wet or dry and I expect good mileage out of them.

BUT, I will NOT be buying them again. While handling was good when I first installed them, it takes more and more effort to turn the bike as the tires wear. And the shake in the front end never went away. The Dunlop D205s that everybody criticizes never shook, and the handling stayed more consistent throughout the life of the tire.

 

[sherob]

I really loved the Avon's on my Wing... but like was mentioned above, the shake of the Storm Ultra II's really bothered me on my C14. They wore out ~ 8 or 9k, which seems to be the norm for this bike, were pretty sticky tires, but head shake not a plus... so they won't be going back on.

Glad you didn't have anything bad happen with it tossing chunks/losing pressure. Nice save.

 

[Mark]

Rossi,

I had a head shake with the Avons which dissapeared after I changed to tapered steering head bearings, new front tire and kept 42psi in it all the time.

I didn't notice increased effort in any of the sets that I have used (the bike has over 120,000 and I'd guess an average of better than 10k on the front tires).

Mark

 

[John Anthony]

Ugh! Those are pretty ugly photos. Thanks for the heads up, Mark.

John

 

[bigdoug]

I put an Avon cobra on my triumph rocket and it blew out at 90mph when I was carrying a pillion. This resulted in a tyre recall. Although Avon refunded the cost of the tyre and for the bike repairs I was dissapointed by their attitude and so will never use them again.

I managed to keep the bike upright and come to a halt safely, the repairs were to the rear wiring harness.

 

[Mark]

Very ugly BigDoug.

Glad you're able to type about that one...

 

[Stoic]

Are all the Avon tires in question the rear ones? I ask because the new-to-me ST1300 came with the PR2 in the back and what looks to be a brand new Avon Storm II in the front. I can get a PR2 front tire for $120 + installation so it's not a lot of money considering what's at risk but are the front Avons prone to the same failure as the rears?

 

[George]

I have a new Avon front setting on the shelf.

 

[STay froSTy]

Mark,
Glad you came out of it in one piece.
I hate these type of situtations, I will have this bad feeling in the back of my mind when I am out this weekend. I have ~15k on my current set and am trying to get into next month were I will have a window to change them out. Was planning on going to B023 or B020's.

 

[Mark]

Stoic,

I haven't heard of a front Avon Storm failing.

Thanks Michael.
I went with the 023.

 

[Stoic]

Thanks Mark.

I did notice that above 80mph or so with the windshield up the bike feels a bit wobbly. I was attributing that to the Avon after reading all this but it could be the windshield or perhaps an ST characteristic. It's new to me, I came from the Ninja 650R which weighs 420lbs but seems very stable at even tripple digits (or so I've heard ) so I was hoping the ST would feel even better planted but it's not

 

[Mark]

Stoic,

Look around here for more threads on the subject; but, the short course is: Crank up your rear shock to eliminate the light front end.

 

[BuddingGeezer]

I have a new Avon front setting on the shelf.

I bet you ain't gonna like it. The shelf is the best place if for a ST1100. George you literally could not give it to me.

 

[Rossi]

I agree with you Bud.

I have Avon II Storms and I can't wait to get rid of them, but they still have too much tread to replace. Steering effort has increased a lot and the front end shake was there the whole time. The Dunlop D205 that I had before NEVER shook and steering didn't change that dramatically.

 

[nhdiesel]

I liked the long life of the front Storm 2 I used on my 1300, but it always had the wobble around 45mph that many others have had. It also got very cupped around the half way mark, and only got worse as it wore. For the rear, I'll never use another Avon. Mine would not handle 2-up riding without literally burning up (easy to visually see the wear from a 200 mile 2-up ride), and finally bubbled at the end of its life, resulting in air loss. I strongly feel this tire isn't capable of handling the heavy bikes, and adding the weight of a passenger and/or cargo causes further problems.

Jim