Avon AV55/56 Storm ST – First impressions

**Hitcher** · 25th February 2007, 14:13

Their arrival was keenly anticipated. They were installed by TSS on Friday and have now travelled 500km on clean, dry roads. And I am impressed. Very impressed.

So far Avon’s new Storm STs rate right up there in the Hitcher category of “Elite Sports Touring Tyre”. I’d rate them comparably to my past experiences on Metzeler Roadtec Z6s. Dry handling-wise I find them way better than the competent but uninspiring Battlax 020 and the Conti Road Attack.

So why do I like them?

They are a quiet-yet-plush tyre. By that I mean there is little road hum or vibration. They clunk, rather than clank over cats-eyes.

The front wheel doesn’t want to chase grooves in the road – like those found both sides of the trench down the middle of the lane at the top of the Paekakariki Hill road. I have found this a particularly annoying attribute of the Battlax 020, and less so for the Road Attack.

They lighten up the front of the bike appreciably. The steering is positive and neutral. The bike is much more “flickable” through twisties and doesn’t want to stand up if a touch of brake is applied while canted over in a corner. The bike now wants to drop into the turn when cornering– an attribute I quite like.

Under hard braking they didn’t put a foot wrong.

“Confidence inspiring” would be a good two-word summary.

And they smell different to other tyres I’ve ridden.

I’m now looking forward to a wet day and some sodden roads to see how well they acquit themselves in the wet. But as a dry road tyre, very well done indeed, Mr Avon!

**James Deuce** · 25th February 2007, 20:15

The wet is where Avons come into their own. Quite remarkable.

I hope you have inspired more "Fat Sprotstbike" riders to check Avon's products out.

**Blackbird** · 26th February 2007, 06:02

Originally Posted by Jim2

The wet is where Avons come into their own. Quite remarkable.

I hope you have inspired more "Fat Sprotstbike" riders to check Avon's products out.

Hello Jim

3 of us Blackbird owners already have them on for our south island trip this coming weekend. We have some interesting observations already but will do an extended report when we get back.

Cheers

Geoff

**ceebie13** · 26th February 2007, 07:54

How much for a pair, Hitch?

**Hitcher** · 26th February 2007, 08:04

Originally Posted by ceebie13

How much for a pair, Hitch?

They're priced comparably with other sports touring tyres. I can't remember now what I zip zapped, other than the front was $199, the fitment was $70 and the total was something like $530ish.

TSS do amazingly sharp prices on tyres, it should be said.

I shall check on my return to the Hitcher lair this evening.

**crazybigal** · 26th February 2007, 08:15

How do they taste?

Originally Posted by Hitcher

And they smell different to other tyres I’ve ridden.

**James Deuce** · 26th February 2007, 08:51

They're not as salty as Michelins.

**Blackbird** · 26th February 2007, 09:07

Because of the fore-aft weight distribution differences of various bikes, the "feel" of the same make of tyre on different bikes may differ considerably. Two of us with Blackbirds found the steering felt very light and wobbly at walking pace in traffic. We both also experienced a slight shake of the bars on a neutral throttle at around 50 km/hr. Mine disappeared after 100 km or so but my mate actually had to have his front tyre changed as it was badly out of balance. That fixed the problem.

Both of us have found that the Storms allow us to change line faster than with our old tyres (Azaro in my case, BT020 in his) and the dry weather grip is simply superb. No doubt that there will be a bit of wet weather testing down south and I guess we have to face it sooner or later! The northern hemisphere boys have only had the Storms during their winter and they say the wet grip is phenomenal. Rear tyre tread depth is 6.7 mm new so longevity should be good. Incidentally, the 180 section Storm is 7 mm wider than the 180 section Azaro and the curved dimension is considerably different too.

Should cover ~5000 km in the next 2-3 weeks so will do a proper evaluation when we get back. I

**Hitcher** · 26th February 2007, 10:08

Originally Posted by crazybigal

How do they taste?

Rubbery. And they're not made in Japan...

**crazybigal** · 26th February 2007, 10:17

Have you run roadtech z6 on your bird? i have them on now, was going to change to road attack b4 our trip but my front was still good so i put another z6 on the back, I did 4000k on it down south and has prob done 5000 k now, still good for another 3 id say. front is stuffed now! (twisty harsh south island roads

) i wonder how the new multi compound conti force would go?
I have an avon on my rf900, and in the wet its the biz!
Ill wait to hear how you go with your avons for long distance wear!

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Because of the fore-aft weight distribution differences of various bikes, the "feel" of the same make of tyre on different bikes may differ considerably. Two of us with Blackbirds found the steering felt very light and wobbly at walking pace in traffic. We both also experienced a slight shake of the bars on a neutral throttle at around 50 km/hr. Mine disappeared after 100 km or so but my mate actually had to have his front tyre changed as it was badly out of balance. That fixed the problem.

Both of us have found that the Storms allow us to change line faster than with our old tyres (Azaro in my case, BT020 in his) and the dry weather grip is simply superb. No doubt that there will be a bit of wet weather testing down south and I guess we have to face it sooner or later! The northern hemisphere boys have only had the Storms during their winter and they say the wet grip is phenomenal. Rear tyre tread depth is 6.7 mm new so longevity should be good. Incidentally, the 180 section Storm is 7 mm wider than the 180 section Azaro and the curved dimension is considerably different too.

Should cover ~5000 km in the next 2-3 weeks so will do a proper evaluation when we get back. I

**crazybigal** · 26th February 2007, 10:19

so no hint of whale on the palate then?

Originally Posted by Hitcher

Rubbery. And they're not made in Japan...

**Blackbird** · 26th February 2007, 10:46

Originally Posted by crazybigal

Have you run roadtech z6 on your bird? i have them on now, was going to change to road attack b4 our trip but my front was still good so i put another z6 on the back, I did 4000k on it down south and has prob done 5000 k now, still good for another 3 id say. front is stuffed now! (twisty harsh south island roads

) i wonder how the new multi compound conti force would go?
I have an avon on my rf900, and in the wet its the biz!
Ill wait to hear how you go with your avons for long distance wear!

No experience of the Z6. I was going to try a set to compare it with the Azaro "B" spec as I've had 3 of those and was pretty pleased with them. A lot of people rate the Z6. However, as the Storm has only just been released onto the market and initial testing reports from the northern hemisphere are good, I thought I'd stick with Avon. I like the idea of using reinforcing belt spacing to change the footprint rather than dual compound, and they have a high silicon content for wet weather performance. Avons also carry their profile well into their life and don't square off.

Anyway, we should be able to provide more objective data by the end of the trip, compared against Azaros, BT 020's and Pirellis (not sure what specific type of Pirelli Bykey Cop used prior to his switch to the Storms).

**Hitcher** · 26th February 2007, 11:54

I have some experience with the Z6, but not on on an FJR.

I ran three sets off on my ZRX1200R and two sets on my ST1300. On both of those bikes I loved them. Great wet/dry performance and an all-round great handling tyre. I had planned to run Z6s this change but the new Avons were out, so I thought I'd give them a go.