Avon Storm 3D X-M

[Canadian FJR]

Any updates???

Canadian FJR

 

[redneckj]

The NEW Avon front appears to have a much more "pointed" profile that the previous tire that you have on the bike. I like that better to be honest. It should have lighter steering input and fall into the corners more like the Pilot 2CT's that I ran on my ol' FZ1. The tread design on the rear looks nice as well. FYI, Sometimes I travel to Toyota of Tri cities for business. Next time I will have to look you up.

 

[dcarver]

<ducking>

No updates. Warchild is stuck in Montana with 2 out of round flat Avons!

</ducking>

 

[GPRIDER]

I remember having some head shake at slower speeds with the old Azzaros, but haven't had any of that with the Storm Ultras. Haven't noticed any scalloping after 9K on the first front either. Don't seem to be getting great mileage out of the rears though. Hope this new tire works out. Come on Warchild, fill us in.

GP

 

[Canadian FJR]

What about the updates ?

Canadian FJR

 

[FJRMGM]

What about the updates ?

Canadian FJR

yeah, waddaya think we are, patient!??

 

[creg-ny-baa]

I figure he's on his second set...

 

[Mike Aldea]

Well it has been over a year and still no report from Warchild on these tyres. What happened? Did they turn out to be so bad that they didn't deserve any further comment?

I would have thought after being available for purchase this season that we would have some forum members giving them a try and reporting their thoughts.

 

[thewrenchbender]

From earlier this week posted on another forum (by me):

Update-Got the PR4 GTs on this morning.

Storm 3D X-Ms were a bust
First FJR, have had it a year+ 8k miles.

Put the Avons on in May. Felt great out of the box. Turn in was definitely improved from the Bridgestones that came off.

The Bridgestones were getting hard, and had moderate-to-severe cupping front, mild cupping rear. Handling OK, stability good.

I am 185lbs, 80% me and about 30lbs in the bags. 20% with momma on the back.

40-41psi front 42 rear. Check the tires on the jet weekly (just maintain it, dont own it), do the same on the bike.

Started seeing front tire cupping around 800-1000 miles. Started feeling it around 1800-2000. First clue was a stretching-my-back-while-dshifting-at-the-edge-of-town-holey-snikeys-what-is-the-front-end-doing ?!? shudder @ 45mph.

Ordered a spline wrench & checked/serviced the steering head bearings. Shook the snot out of the front & rear & looked it over. No faults found.

Progressed to moderate cupping on the front (not as bad as the BS that came off) and slight on the rear with straight line stability issues also. Just a little wiggle that was always there. Bang on the bars @ 70ish mph, the neck does 1 1/2 cycles to stable-ish. Definitely wasn't there with the Bridgestones.

Monday morning found a nail in the rear Tuesday morning. Just shy of 4k miles on the pair.

PR4 GTs showing up tomorrow if the UPS man does his part.

 

[user 8909]

I remember having some head shake at slower speeds with the old Azzaros, but haven't had any of that with the Storm Ultras. Haven't noticed any scalloping after 9K on the first front either. Don't seem to be getting great mileage out of the rears though. Hope this new tire works out. Come on Warchild, fill us in.
GP

Hadn't been here in a while and wanted to get the latest scoop on the Maggie Valley Rally.

I also mounted the Ultras and have experienced exactly what you mention above with mine.

I've got 8K on mine and have felt the head shake or rather feeling the tread pattern on the front, a lot worse now with 8K. I'm also seeing some unusual wear on the front not seen on PR's of Dunlops that I had in the past. The odd wear appears more to one side.

I'm riding to Maggie tomorrow and if an Avon rep is there I'll be sure to show him. Otherwise I'm very happy with them.

 

[OldButNotDead (sockpuppet)]

I never experienced head shake with Azzaro's but that was on a much lighter Triumph Sprint ST. I sure did on my first set of Storms on my 06 FJR. Decelerate from 50mph by just chopping the throttle and a wobble would start at about 45. Every time if going downhill and only sometime on the level. Can't remember the guys name, but at ESTN07 a Canadian FJR rider stated he had severe head shake twice on the way, almost losing it. Avon offered to replace the front, but I just trashed it.

 

[str8]

I also have a head shake with these tires at about 45mph on deceleration. It's really only exceptional with no hands on the bars.

 

[user 8909]

This is what my tire looked like after my trip to Maggie.

 

[OldButNotDead (sockpuppet)]

Wow!!! Not good.

This is a Road Smart that is kinda sorta similar. You can't see it from the pic but the center just raised up like a ridge. FJR's are definitely hard on fronts if you push them in the turns.

 

[user 8909]

Referring to my badly one-sided worn Avon front tire above, I did contact Avon by email twice through their website.

I have not heard or got any reply from Avon.

I've since replaced the tire with a Michelin and there is no uneven wearing visible. All is well with the handling and I am blaming Avon for a defective tire.

The rear wore normally.

Needless to say that I will not be buying any more Avon's.

 

[Spud]

Too bad Avon doesn't at least respond. To them, you are one guy complaining. Maybe if they figured out that there is an active thread online with 1,600+ views, they'd realize they're incurring a shit-load of bad PR from a significant number of riders. I've had OK luck with Storm 2 Ultra's (2 sets) but knowing a company doesn't take the time to respond to a complaint makes me think I'll pass on another set.

 

[Warchild]

Yeah, I had forgot all about this thread. I'll offer up my experience... then punt this thread to NERPTY-land.

When first mounted up, I had some high hopes about the Storm 3D's... they were some phenomenal tires in almost every way. Dry grip that rivaled the best of the best. The blazing fast transitions. The incredible road feedback. These were most definitely The Shit... I thought we had found *THE* tire to have!

Shyeah, right... that shit lasted about 3000 miles...

At the 3K point, I started feeling the typical scalloping on the front tire, but more alarming was the rear treadlife..... if Avon wanted to "fix" the tire longevity issue on the Storm's, they sure missed the mark with the 3D. I couldn't believe how fast the rear rubber began to wear away after 3000 miles. I had an indicator band pop in the center of the tire at 4500 miles!

At 5300 miles, I starting showing cord in the center.

Tore them off, and slap on a set of PR3s. I am done with Dunlop and Avon for now.

Though truthfully, if I *had* to mount up a Avon Storm, I would, as long as it was the older Storm 2's

 

[Northwoods Snowman]

I had a set of the storm 2s on my ZR-7 that was my predecessor to the FJR and I remember the front starting to cup after about 2-3K. I want to say I also had some head shake with them if I let go of the bars on deceleration, but I honestly can't remember. I do remember though that I had a hum noise at about 35-40 mph that I was attributing to the sipping on the front. Kind of like a mud terrain tire hums on a jeep or something. Needless to say I wasn't too impressed.

 

[creg-ny-baa]

Before I unsub, thanks to the group testers for their efforts and reports!