Avon - The love affair is over!

[Jantar]

just to put an end to this thread.... this person that had the problems never contacted the NZ importer for Avon tyres to voice his concerns, he just got on here and started mouthing off about the product. ......

That is not correct. The OP did prepare a comprehensive report on his tyre usage for the importers. as shown by

..... I wrote the attached pdf report and gave it to my repairers to pass on, but got no response....

Either the repairers did not pass that on, or the NZ importer did not wish to respond. Do you really expect every motorcyclist to know who the importers of every brand is? The retailer of the tyres should know, but not the customer. IMO the OP did the correct thing, his post on here was only after trying to give the importers the chance to respond.

ducatisl, are you employed by the importer per chance?

[caspernz]

That is not correct. The OP did prepare a comprehensive report on his tyre usage for the importers. as shown by Either the repairers did not pass that on, or the NZ importer did not wish to respond. Do you really expect every motorcyclist to know who the importers of every brand is? The retailer of the tyres should know, but not the customer. IMO the OP did the correct thing, his post on here was only after trying to give the importers the chance to respond.

ducatisl, are you employed by the importer per chance?

Haha, I was just thinking ducatisl was connected to the importer, at least judging by the defensive stance.

When we buy tyres, as long as it's the right size and load rating, what else are we supposed to go by?

Maybe there is a reason why when I think of Avon I think cosmetics as opposed to tyres?

[Gremlin]

....would love to hear of someone who rides long and hard on either and their (successful?) tyre choices?? Oh and the outcome of the OP and the debate with the tyre outfit of course!

Honestly, the best tyre is something you have to decide. Tyres are extremely subjective, so much so that someone else, using the same bike as I had, loves a tyre we've both run. I hated it. It can differ by that much. Pick the tyres that fit and suit your bike, and start with the best of the bunch, running a set of each (doesn't take too long to run out a set ). Any tyre should perform well in the dry day, but pouring rain at night on a slippery road sets apart good tyres from crap ones.

ducatisl, are you employed by the importer per chance?

...he just got on here and started mouthing off about the product.

mmm I think the odds are better than average he is... Almost reminds me of that customer service thread, the way he's trying to bash KoroJ. Bad luck mr ducatisl... When you have 120,000km on a bike, you should be assuming he's run a few sets of tyres, and been around the block once or twice.

[Jantar]

Confirmed. He hasn't posted on here very much and I was able to find this:

hi there. i work for Dold Industries in hamilton ...(snip)..... Dold industries 130 maui st hamilton ph ham 07 8494392 cheers Brendon

The Dold website says that they import Avon tyres.




ducatisl, say Hi to Roger for me. Cheers, Malcolm

[caspernz]

Haha, this thread hasn't come to an end yet, at least not until the OP gets some joy from either the retailer or importer of the failed tyre in question. Just 'cause someone from DOLD has got his panties in a bunch, instead of being professional....

[Kickaha]

When we buy tyres, as long as it's the right size and load rating, what else are we supposed to go by?

Manufacturers recommendations,which for whatever reason there isn't one for that brand for that bike

I'd be interested why there isn't

[Hitcher]

Manufacturers recommendations,which for whatever reason there isn't one for that brand for that bike

I'd be interested why there isn't

Which is kind of strange, as there's only one bike on the planet that uses tyres that size. Why do Avon make them if they're not going to fit anything else?

[caspernz]

Manufacturers recommendations,which for whatever reason there isn't one for that brand for that bike

I'd be interested why there isn't

Yes me too. But the tyre manufacturers are often outdated with their recommendations. Checked the Michelin site and found them still recommending Pilot Road 2 for the ST1300, when the Pilot Road 3 has been out for a year or so??

Tyre size and load rating are all I've ever gone by, tyres and bikes are updated so often I'd guess it's hard to keep updating for all makes and models of bikes?

[KoroJ]

I guess I can assume from this, that if Mr Avon & Mr Dold didn't know about my crappy run with their Storm 2 Ultras.....they do now!


As for the nitrogen thing. I didn't hear it from a salesman, but from an extremely experienced rider trainer who uses it. I don't profess to know any of the whys or wherefores, just that it would seem, with the nitrogen in it appears the tyres don't heat up as much, therefore the pressures don't change as much in use and probably that is why they don't seem to deflate, (or deflate as quickly)...and apparently the bike seems to handle better??

As for my riding and experience. Did a lot of offroading and touring on trailbikes and Trumpy 650's in the 70's, then didn't ride much for near on 20 years. Since becoming a born again in 2005, I've ridden around 150,000Km. I have managed to wear through a few tyres in that time...some of which I liked and some I didn't. As the thread title suggests, I dearly loved the Storms, but have nothing but scorn for the Storm Ultras.

I just want to ride, I serviced my bike 'back in the day', but now I just want to ride. I'm happy to try things and when it was suggested the Storms were good, I tried them. I didn't investigate etc. etc. whether or not they were approved. I didn't particularly like the OEM's so why would I take much notice of Honda's recommendation after that. I found the Storms great and went through several sets....even pre-ordering to ensure I had the next set available when I needed them (thanks to the tardy stockholding by the distributors).

I am convinced that the first two Storm Ultra tyres failed (as per the attached pdf on the first post) There was no debris lodged in the tyres and both tyres punctured in the same place and multiple times. One might expect this from near worn tyres but not early in their life and was it coincidental...maybe, but I doubt it. The third tyre went in dramatic fashion and but for the grace of God am I hear to write this. Had I been anywhere other than a long straight, I would be toast. Finding the thread on the ST-Owners site just confirmed my suspicions.

Quite frankly I don't really care about any outcome from this. What can Avon offer me...a free set of tyres?? Why on earth would I want that. I don't plan to use the product again. Is it my fault I used an unapproved, unfit for purpose tyre???....as far as I'm concerned, if that were the case, then Avon should have been advising their distributors, 'OK for these bikes, not OK for those'. Why were the Storms so good and the Ultras so bad? (There was no perceptable difference to me in handling, just failure to last and I only got 20,000Km out of 3 tyres).

I just want to ride and I'm off to Turangi tomorrow to do 900Km on Friday and 1600Km Saturday/Sunday. I must have been keen for a few K's because I am registered as No1 in Gp1 for my 6th GC. I will do it on my 'Old Faithful' Big-Red ST, shod with Bridgestone 023's. I have no idea if they are rated as suitable for the bike but, to me, they feel better than the OEM 020's. All I know is, they are dual compound so I don't expect to get a great life, but this is the first set I've tried and 'we shall see'. If they don't pan out, I'll try something else until I find a tyre that feels good and wears reasonably well....like the old Storms used to!!

[Gremlin]

I guess I can assume from this, that if Mr Avon & Mr Dold didn't know about my crappy run with their Storm 2 Ultras.....they do now!

(There was no perceptable difference to me in handling, just failure to last and I only got 20,000Km out of 3 tyres).

Haha, tis a wee bit late init? KoroJ has long left the Avon family.

btw... I'd be happy with 20k from 3 sets First set I tried of Pirellis were pulled off in 5k quite seriously disappearing out the middle and no good for a long trip coming up. The PR/PR2 combo faired well, again, had to be pulled off early at 7-8k because they wouldn't last the next 7k, and the Conti Trail Attack has been pulled off after about 7k, might sell them, as I don't really want them near my bike again.

In summary, 20k in 3 is pretty sweet so far and I have less power and less weight than you

[p.dath]

The main reason and advantage for people using it in their personal vehicles is simply because it doesn't leak down at the same rate so the tyres stay at correct inflation pressure for much longer

Let me try explaining it using logic then. Ordinary air mostly contains nitrogen. So lets pretend that the slightly larger molecules leak at a slower rate than the air molecules. If this was the case, the concentration of nitrogen in the tyre would increase as the non-nitrogen leaked out. And each time the tyre would need a smaller top up to get pressure, as the nitrogen mix got stronger and stronger in the tyre. Eventually you would have a nitrogen mix in the tyre as strong as putting in straight nitrogen.

But this is not the case.

[Kickaha]

Let me try explaining it using logic then. Ordinary air mostly contains nitrogen. So lets pretend that the slightly larger molecules leak at a slower rate than the air molecules. If this was the case, the concentration of nitrogen in the tyre would increase as the non-nitrogen leaked out. And each time the tyre would need a smaller top up to get pressure, as the nitrogen mix got stronger and stronger in the tyre. Eventually you would have a nitrogen mix in the tyre as strong as putting in straight nitrogen.

But this is not the case.

You can try explaining it using any logic you like, from practical experience I know it works

Which is kind of strange, as there's only one bike on the planet that uses tyres that size. Why do Avon make them if they're not going to fit anything else?

The rear size was common fitment on a lot of mid nineties to early 2000s bikes

[Hitcher]

The rear size was common fitment on a lot of mid nineties to early 2000s bikes

Are any of those listed on Mr Avon's fitment guide?

I haven't ever placed much store in fitment guides, exacerbated by having owned an Aprilia SL750 Shiver, which is listed on very few; and now a Suzuki GSX1250FA, a model rarely mentioned by tyre manufacturers. Yes, it's probably the same as a post-2007 Bandit of the same engine size, but again many tyre manufacturers have not yet caught up with the arrival of the 1250 engine. Such omissions make tyre manufacturers' published fitment guides all the more laughable.

[scracha]

One and Two were punctures which can happen to any tyre anywhere

Three was a tyre failure and the only one I'd be really concerned with

Fuggin unlikely though. I mean, I've had 2 punctures in about 18 years or roughly 500,000 Kms. Does he live near a nail factory or something?

just to put an end to this thread.... this person that had the problems never contacted the NZ importer for Avon tyres to voice his concerns, he just got on here and started mouthing off about the product.
Also please note, Avon do not recommend fitting this tyre to this bike. Who ever recommended this fitment was wrong, and he should be taking up this complaints with them.
there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Storm ultra 2, infact they are even better than the previous storm as far as milage and performance goes.

I'll translate:

Dear OP, thank you for your fair feedback of the product we distribute and I would like to personally apologise for my earlier rash and slightly patronising response.. Upon further research, it appears that indeed this tyre is unsuitable for this particular model of motorcycle. We have contacted our retail channel and updated our distributor website to advise dealers of this. We are sorry to hear that one of our dealers haven't passed on your feedback to us as we do encourage them to contact us for technical and quality issues with our products. The reasons for this are obvious as we would rather resolve these types of issues efficiently without end users having to resort to public forums to voice their concerns. Rest assured, we will review the account status of any of our dealers who fail to provide appropriate backup for any of our products.

Please accept our apologies and we sincerely hope you'll try Avon tyres again with a different motorcycle / tyre combination.

[Gremlin]

I'll translate:

Dear OP, thank you for your fair feedback of the product we distribute and I would like to personally apologise for my earlier rash and slightly patronising response.. Upon further research, it appears that indeed this tyre is unsuitable for this particular model of motorcycle. We have contacted our retail channel and updated our distributor website to advise dealers of this. We are sorry to hear that one of our dealers haven't passed on your feedback to us as we do encourage them to contact us for technical and quality issues with our products. The reasons for this are obvious as we would rather resolve these types of issues efficiently without end users having to resort to public forums to voice their concerns. Rest assured, we will review the account status of any of our dealers who fail to provide appropriate backup for any of our products.

Please accept our apologies and we sincerely hope you'll try Avon tyres again with a different motorcycle / tyre combination.

You got all that out of his few lines?