Avon Ultra Storm 2

[GreyGoose]

Just had my new Ultra Storm II replaced due to a bad unit. Had it for about a week. Went out to do a tire pressure check and found a nice size bulge in the sidewall right over the area that states what max tire pressure should be. Since this is the first defect i've heard with the new storms, i dont think its a "batch" issue, but you may want to do a rudimentary check with the bike up on the centerstand to make sure all its well. This would not have been pretty on the blue ridge / skyline drive next week. Just got lucky this time.

Great tire while it lasted (200 miles)

Greygoose

 

[aroostook]

Oh Great! I just got my new storms today....having them mounted tomorrow. I will definately pay attention. I'm hoping yours was just a fluke. Just got back last Thursday from the Skyline.....amazing trip. Have fun.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Too bad, let's hope it's just an isolated manufacturing defect. Until proven otherwise, I've had my fill of Avons and the spotty QC that seemed to shadow them.

--G

 

[Aasland]

Too bad, let's hope it's just an isolated manufacturing defect. Until proven otherwise, I've had my fill of Avons and the spotty QC that seemed to shadow them.
--G

oster_stupid:

There are better tires that last longer. After this set of Storm's I'm done with'em, especially if I have to throw it away after using 25% of the tread.

 

[brazos parker]

I loved my Avon Azaros...good balance of grip and longevity. However, I'll stay away from Avon tires in the future until they can prove to me they have an effective QC program....they do have a QC program, I presume???

 

[dcarver]

Too bad, let's hope it's just an isolated manufacturing defect. Until proven otherwise, I've had my fill of Avons and the spotty QC that seemed to shadow them.
--G

My experience too..

 

[mcatrophy]

Don't care. Just had a rear Ultra fitted.

I'd just returned from a nice trip to Scotland, parked in my garage. Next morning I found this ...

(Click on image for larger view)



The flat bit was at the bottom . . . The culprit.

It was a Storm ST and had about 500 miles left.

So, having been very happy with the Storm ST, I got a new Ultra. If it's defective I'll get it changed.

 

[aroostook]

Don't care. Just had a rear Ultra fitted.
I'd just returned from a nice trip to Scotland, parked in my garage. Next morning I found this ...

[SIZE=8pt](Click on image for larger view)[/SIZE]



The flat bit was at the bottom . . . The culprit.

It was a Storm ST and had about 500 miles left.

So, having been very happy with the Storm ST, I got a new Ultra. If it's defective I'll get it changed.

Im not sure what I'm actually looking at other than the obvious that it's flat....so are you happy with your tires?? What did you mean 500 miles left...sorry to be so dense.

 

[UHOH]

just talked to a ST1100 rider today with 4000 on his Storm Ultras and he's a happy camper.

 

[mcatrophy]

QUOTE (aroostook @ Jun 11 2010, 11:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (mcatrophy @ Jun 11 2010, 08:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't care. Just had a rear Ultra fitted.

I'd just returned from a nice trip to Scotland, parked in my garage. Next morning I found this ...

(Click on image for larger view)



The flat bit was at the bottom . . . The culprit.

It was a Storm ST and had about 500 miles left.

So, having been very happy with the Storm ST, I got a new Ultra. If it's defective I'll get it changed.

Im not sure what I'm actually looking at other than the obvious that it's flat....so are you happy with your tires?? What did you mean 500 miles left...sorry to be so dense.

The left photo shows the "set" taken by the tyre after standing flat for (probably) some hours. In the very centre of the right picture you can see a piece of steel wire protruding. If I blow it up

(Click on image for larger view)



you can see the wire.

You can also see the wear bars showing very little tread life left. In the UK it is illegal (as well as danderous) to let the tread get at or below the wear bars, hence my guess of 500 miles left.

 

[Ignacio]

(as well as danderous)

Very danderous. Material shed from animals can seriously screw your day.

Concur with others that Avon's QC program let's loose some fliers in the whole precision/accuracy thing. When you get a good tire...it's usually good. But, when you get a crappy one....it's turgid piece of crap. Too bad too...because they hella stick when they're good...at least for Azarros. Never liked the Storms due to the shortened life.

PR2s are my favorite now. Never had a bad Michelin in fact in the half dozen I've run...and they always seem to balance with less weight than Avons.

 

[mcatrophy]

(as well as danderous)

Very danderous. Material shed from animals can seriously screw your day.

Concur with others that Avon's QC program let's loose some fliers in the whole precision/accuracy thing. When you get a good tire...it's usually good. But, when you get a crappy one....it's turgid piece of crap. Too bad too...because they hella stick when they're good...at least for Azarros. Never liked the Storms due to the shortened life.

PR2s are my favorite now. Never had a bad Michelin in fact in the half dozen I've run...and they always seem to balance with less weight than Avons.

Quite agree that Avons need a lot of weight, but once balanced they seem to retain balance through their life.

The PR2s cost about half as much again as the Avons. They may well last half as long again, but with the risk of a puncture sometimes necessitating early replacement, the expenditure arithmetic isn't that simple. I've also read/heard they aren't quite as good in the wet, which is very important to me (I go on some pretty treacherous roads).

As for "danderous", sorry, typing in a hurry. I'm normally very fussy about English, how She is spoke and wrote , but SWMBO has just had a minor but temporarily immobilising operation, so many more "honey dew"s to deal with. Well, that's my excuse.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I've also read/heard they aren't quite as good in the wet, which is very important to me (I go on some pretty treacherous roads).

**hijack...then back on topic**

We do get a fair amount of rain in the Pacific North West, and I ride year around. A fresh PR2 is by far my favorite tire for wet performance. However, and it is a big however, at the end of their life there is a feeling of "looseness" and both the front and back have slipped sideways. The set was very near the wear bars at the time. I'm sure that all tires will exhibit this tendency, but it seems to me that PR2's *might* be a little slicker than other brands.

--G

 

[redgreen]

Just had my new Ultra Storm II replaced due to a bad unit. Had it for about a week. Went out to do a tire pressure check and found a nice size bulge in the sidewall right over the area that states what max tire pressure should be. Since this is the first defect i've heard with the new storms, i dont think its a "batch" issue, but you may want to do a rudimentary check with the bike up on the centerstand to make sure all its well. This would not have been pretty on the blue ridge / skyline drive next week. Just got lucky this time.
Great tire while it lasted (200 miles)

Greygoose

Need some opinions/advice on recent problems with newly installed Avon Storm IIs as well. Competition Accessories Tire Express had what I thought was a pretty good deal for the pair so I ordered them and had them put on by a dealer. 1st time I went to pick up the bike I immediately noticed some front end wobble/wandering - almost felt like a bent front rim. Service Mgr took it for a ride and agreed something was wrong and after taking a closer look while on a balancer said the tire was obviously not true. Called CA for a replacement and after talking to a couple people convinced them to ding me for another tire and then credit me when the defective one was returned. Picked up the bike this weekend with the 2nd front tire and thought I still noticed some wierdness @~45mph but figured maybe I was bing paranoid and it seemed fine at cruising speeds. But took the bike to work this AM and I'm not being paranoid, there's an obvious wobble from ~35-50mph. At these speeds it almost feels like your driving on tar strips or groved highway - front end feels like it wants to wander. If I lock the throttle and let go of the bars at these speeds it almost feels like it's the beginning of a tank slapper.

So obvoulsly somethings not right. With the previous stock tires I never noticed a hint of anything like this at any speeds.

This is my 1st experience with Avons - is this typical? Or did I go wrong by ordering tires on-line? When I called CA for the replacement the 1st time I asked if the Avons were "2nds" - and was told no - but not sure I'd order from them again.

I took a quick look at the tire when I got home tonight and it appears to be seated on the rim properly. Could this be a balance problem at these low speeds?

I will hoist the front end in the air and take a closer look with an indicator as I spin the tire next time I get a chance.

 

[GPRIDER]

Sounds like a bad batch of front tires to me. I loved the Avons I've run, but you can get a wobble at certain speeds with them. I think most of mine did around 30mph. No problems at higher speeds though.

GP

 

[Further]

I loved my Azaros and Storms on my old K100RS, and after the disgusting showing of the stock front Bridgestone on my '08, I went right to a Storm for the front.

First 6K was great. Amazingly little wear and what there was was very even. So I loved the tire, despite some negative talk on the Forum and the fact that I did get the annoying little "wiggle" at ultra low speed, (like 5mph).

HOWEVER, I started out on a 3K trip a couple weeks ago, and with the wife and luggage, I immediately noticed a bad head shake. I locked the throttle at about 60mph to adjust my helmet strap. Took my hands off the bars and instantly a violent head shake, which would have been a tank slapper in another couple seconds.

By the time I got to about 8K on the way home, I found a bizarre "bulge" about 3 inches long, running parallel with the tread just off center. All the rest of the tire looked normal.

I'm going to give the Pilot Roads a shot next and see if I like them. I think I may be "off" Avon for the foreseeable future, combining my experience with other Forum negatives about quality control.

Chris

 

[GillaFunk]

I've got a nail in my PR2 rear halfway between the center and the edge of the tire. I plugged but its still leaking. I'm trying to decide if I should have it plugged professionally or just replace the tire.

I'd like to find out the tread depth of a new PR2 to figure out how much more life I can expect on these. I've looked at Avon Storms, but seems like its a hit or miss on them as far as quality goes, as indicated by many riders on different forums.

 

[Bigbeavk]

Great Chris ya went right on by our house! Next time you are stopping over for a visit.

Sorry for the thread jack.

:yahoo:

Oh Great! I just got my new storms today....having them mounted tomorrow. I will definately pay attention. I'm hoping yours was just a fluke. Just got back last Thursday from the Skyline.....amazing trip. Have fun.

 

[aroostook]

Great Chris ya went right on by our house! Next time you are stopping over for a visit.Sorry for the thread jack.

:yahoo:

Oh Great! I just got my new storms today....having them mounted tomorrow. I will definately pay attention. I'm hoping yours was just a fluke. Just got back last Thursday from the Skyline.....amazing trip. Have fun.

Next time to be sure Keith! Hope all is well with ya!