My Avon Storms were terrible!

[sprint_st]

Still and all.... I have found that if the bike's suspension is in good shape, and the tires are aired up at least to 42psi front and rear, the Storms are a pure joy to ride. They have the most incredible ability to hold their line during triple-digit sweepers in a way that is matched by few others .

I have had no problems with performance, in fact they stick like glue; however, holding a line sure hasn't been my experience. Granted where I ride, triple-digit sweepers are much fewer and further between than out west, but in tighter stuff, I'm constantly correcting the line. That was not the case with the BT020's that came with the bike and the Raven that replaced the Storm. They both go where you point them and stay there. I just chalked that up to the more pointed shape of the front Storm.

 

[rayban]

Perhaps the feej is just a little wide in the hips for this tire.

Yeah, maybe they need an "FJR" spec rear like the Pirelli Strada (which I'll be going back to soon).

super big GUNNY to the Diablo Stradas....I don't have the # of miles on the clock that many here do, but I'm a giggly schoolboy over the stradas for the first 1k on them and no sign of wear. Very glad nobody had Storms in stock in SD when my stock Metzjunks died.

 

[FJRocket]

Jeeze....first you guys hated the Storms. Then the past couple of months you loved 'em. So...2 days ago I order up a set. Now everybody hates 'em again. Wazzup wit dat?? :blink: Oh well, I also ordered a rear ME880, per Ashe's recommendation, to get me to WFO and back.

That's why this thread is in "Never-Ending Pointless Recurring Threads".

I really like the Storms, but certainly not for long distance sport touring. Seems from what most guys are saying that the Storms are more like sport bike tires, short lived and stick like glue. I have to go along with that for the rear. I still REALLY like the Storm for the front, and ordered two of them to keep on the front. My riding skills aren't such that I can tell you if they hold a line for me like other tires (in comparison) or not, but they always go where I point them and I have a lot of confidence in the tires 'round the curves.

Currently, like Sprint_ST, I'm running a Shinko Raven front and back. The compound does seem a lot harder than anything else I've ridden on. How trustworthy they are in the elements or hard over in the twisties remains to be seen. Since I'm not a peg dragger, they may be fine for my purposes. And at nearly $100 a set cheaper than others, the Raven 009 could become a touring standard for me. Perhaps not a sport or performance standard. Worth a look, though. I'll be reporting on my Shinko tire experience out, during and back from WFO.

ITMT, I think the Storms are great tires, but the rear especially is short life limited.

 

[bmwhd]

Does anyone have any information on these tires and different bikes? Just wondering if they do better on lighter bikes. Perhaps the feej is just a little wide in the hips for this tire.

Yep. Swing on by any of the BMW forums. The R1200RT and K1200GT (new style) crowd love 'em.

I've got two good friends that were HUGE Azaro fans on their BMWs that swear by the Storms now.

 

[brazos parker]

I've been reading all the threads on Avon tires as I'll need to replace my Azaros w/in the next few weeks. I've pretty much decided the Avon Storms are NOT for me, so I'm very interested in everyone's comments.

And, I may be coming late to this party, but doesn't Pirelli own Metzler? Aren't the Stradas and Z6's made in the same factory? If I'm remembering this correctly, why do the Stradas get such high marks vs the Z6's?

My current choices for replacement tires is Pirelli, Bridgestone and Michelin, in that order. But, I'm confused...which, BTW, is not an unusual state of affairs.

Can someone add to/subtract from my confusion?

 

[sprint_st]

I've been reading all the threads on Avon tires as I'll need to replace my Azaros w/in the next few weeks. I've pretty much decided the Avon Storms are NOT for me, so I'm very interested in everyone's comments.
And, I may be coming late to this party, but doesn't Pirelli own Metzler? Aren't the Stradas and Z6's made in the same factory? If I'm remembering this correctly, why do the Stradas get such high marks vs the Z6's?

My current choices for replacement tires is Pirelli, Bridgestone and Michelin, in that order. But, I'm confused...which, BTW, is not an unusual state of affairs.

Can someone add to/subtract from my confusion?

If you put a Strada next to a Z6 you will immediately see they are not the same tire. Close looking but no cigar. By looks and advertising one would think the Strada would get better mileage too. That was not the case on my Sprint, but that was also just one Strada. As far as the Z6 comments I see on this forum, keep in mind that is an OEM Z6. My experience with Z6's, again on a Sprint, was that they were an excellent tire and the Strada was just OK. Then again my BT020 was as good as if not better than the Storm in all categories, while the OEM BT057 that came on my Sprint flat sucked. IMO you can get a bad tire in any model. Starting to look like one would be better off not listening to anyone and go find something that works for you.

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

So what some of you are saying is that you are willing to give up awe inspiring gripping tires for a few more miles. What if your mileage tires break loose? I have ridden with some hard riding FJR owners and I don't think many of them will trust some hard mileage tires. If you get 25% more mileage thats like saving $30 or so per tire life. Does that warrant taking a chance on some of the others tires that go to the wear bars unnoticed or have the side wall crack for no apparent reason or break loose in hard riding conditions or wet. Can you always be sure that you are always gonna ride on the slab at legal speeds? Things that make you go hmmmmm????????

 

[SkooterG]

So what some of you are saying is that you are willing to give up awe inspiring gripping tires for a few more miles.

Yes.

What if your mileage tires break loose?

I never had a problem with my Azarros breaking loose, and I got great mileage out of them. Ditto for the Stradas and Pilot Roads though I did not like them as much as the Azarros.

If you get 25% more mileage thats like saving $30 or so per tire life. Does that warrant taking a chance on some of the others tires that go to the wear bars unnoticed or have the side wall crack for no apparent reason or break loose in hard riding conditions or wet. Things that make you go hmmmmm????????

Eh? Stop. Step away from the funny cigarettes! :lol:

While saving a few $$$ with longer lasting tires is definitely on my list of 'good' things, my primary reason of wanting a higher mileage tire is the PITA factor of frequently changing tires due to the miles I ride. The Azarros were proof that I could have my cake and eat it too. So far, that is not the case with the Storms. With the Azarros, I got great tire life and none of the problemos you mention. Additionally, due to the type or riding I primarily do, the rear Storm flat spots too quickly, adversely affecting handling when I do get to hit the twisties.

 

[twowheelnut]

Skooter? It's: A. Z. A. R. O. With as many as you have changed, I should think you could at least spell it right by now. :grin: Besides, all references to the Azaro's are mute at this point. R.I.P.

Maybe I should give those Strada's a shot...

 

[GunMD]

Desert Cycle Works in 29 Palms has one set of Azaros left on the shelf.

 

[sprint_st]

So what some of you are saying is that you are willing to give up awe inspiring gripping tires for a few more miles.

Yes.

What if your mileage tires break loose?

I never had a problem with my Azarros breaking loose, and I got great mileage out of them. Ditto for the Stradas and Pilot Roads though I did not like them as much as the Azarros.

If you get 25% more mileage thats like saving $30 or so per tire life. Does that warrant taking a chance on some of the others tires that go to the wear bars unnoticed or have the side wall crack for no apparent reason or break loose in hard riding conditions or wet. Things that make you go hmmmmm????????

Eh? Stop. Step away from the funny cigarettes! :lol:

While saving a few $$$ with longer lasting tires is definitely on my list of 'good' things, my primary reason of wanting a higher mileage tire is the PITA factor of frequently changing tires due to the miles I ride. The Azarros were proof that I could have my cake and eat it too. So far, that is not the case with the Storms. With the Azarros, I got great tire life and none of the problemos you mention. Additionally, due to the type or riding I primarily do, the rear Storm flat spots too quickly, adversely affecting handling when I do get to hit the twisties.

Well said Skooter!!! If that argument held water, we would be all using sport tires and have a pickup truck following us with a No-Mar changer mounted in the bed Oh, by the way, 90% of my riding is in twisties and I ain't exactly watching the scenery.

 

[SkooterG]

Desert Cycle Works in 29 Palms has one set of Azaros left on the shelf.

Thanks, but I have been stocking up on the A Z A R O S. Currently have 4 un-used sets in the garage. :yahoo:

 

[snikr]

Me thinks Avon made the Storms a softer compound than the Azarros. More sticky at the price of wear life.

Actually, there is no doubt whatsoever: the Storms are considerably softer than the Azaros.

After going through three sets of Storms in the last 40 days, I am re-assessing how much I like them. While the dry grip is indeed superior to the Azaros, the tradeoff in tread-life is something I am a bit unhappy about. Typically, for these last few sets of Storms, I am hitting the center wear bar around 5000 to 5500 miles (mind you, the assertive pace set during these last 40 days, coupled with these 100-degree ambient temps days we've had as of late, both likely contributed to the slightly abbreviated tread-life I saw....)

I'm about to put the Storms through another difficult riding test here pretty soon.... comments to follow.

I just put Storm's on my FJR and this is NOT what I wanted to hear. Got 9k miles out of the Azarros (more if I could have ridden just corners) and I'm hoping to get that out of the Storm's.

Tom

 

[twowheelnut]

Desert Cycle Works in 29 Palms has one set of Azaros left on the shelf.

Thanks, but I have been stocking up on the A Z A R O S. Currently have 4 un-used sets in the garage. :yahoo:

Why, that's what? 400,000 miles worth of tires for you?

-Miriam

:****:

 

[MCML]

Desert Cycle Works in 29 Palms has one set of Azaros left on the shelf.

Thanks, but I have been stocking up on the A Z A R O S. Currently have 4 un-used sets in the garage. :yahoo:

Why, that's what? 400,000 miles worth of tires for you?

-Miriam

:****:

I am installing a set of Storms on Monday. I am interesterd to see how they perform for me. I have run Metzlers, Pilot Roads, Bridgestones, and Stradas. If I get 5-6,000 out of the new tires then that's okay especially if the traction is up a bit. Frankly, I liked all the tires I have run so far. I might just keep riding and never use the same tires twice.

 

[Last Chance]

Looks like the "Storm" center is forecasting stormy weather ahead for Avon Storms.

Well, I might as well give my "Storm Report".

Got about 6500 miles on my Storms. Ran 41 PSI rear and 39-40 PSI front. One screw, patched and plugged held well throughout the life of the rear tire.

Handling seemed good with the exception of the 50 mph wobble (Headshake). The OEM tires developed a slight wobble after 2-3k miles. The Storms had a wobble from 30-50 mph from day one. The wobble was most severe at a steady 50 mph. It got worse until 500 miles ago then started to improve, go figure.

I agree with those saying they were disappointed with low milage, but liked handling.

The front tire was weird. Lots of tread left but changed it due to "wobble". Looking at the bike from the front it looks like the center section is sticking up above that portion on either side. The tire is not wearing evenly across it's cross section. A "valley" is forming on either side of about the center 1.5-2". Also some cupping, but not uniform, only at "selected" locations. This causes a thump, thump at walking speed.

I put the new Storms on...Yes, using RideOn TPS and filling with nitrogen to reduce oxidation/corrosion if possible. The mechanic that changed my rear tire (The test tire with RideOn in it.) said the rear rim/wheel looked like new and there was no corrosion. Therefore I decided to try it in both tires this time. I may remove the tire weights just to see how the bike rides. (I've used RideOn TPS to "balance" the tires on my VTX1800C with great success. I've also tested it on the X up to 130 mph and on the FJR up to about the same with no noticeable vibration. YMMV).

As a final note the front Avon Storm this time around is stable as a rock. No wobble what-so-ever. Nothing else has changed. The dealer put 34psi in the front. (Note: I re-torqued the steering stem nut with the 1st set of storms on and still had the same wobble.) I raised that to 38psi and still no wobble. The rear was 36psi and I raised it to 41psi.

As far as holding a line and handling goes. I'm far from an expert, but my high speed fwy ramp test confirmed to me that this is a very quick/flick-able tire. It does hold a line, but due to my ineptitude I find that I tend to over steer and have to correct, usually over steering again. This gave me the impression that the storms wouldn't hold a line. However, when I take my med's and don't over steer, the storms seem to be just great in the turns. Guess I'll have to go back to my student pilot days...2 fingers on the stick.

Lots of good ideas on which tires to try next on this forum. As fast as the FJR goes through tires I'll get a chance to try them all.

LC

 

[fretbender]

You can almost - almost - mount the tires with your hands alone.

Sweet! I've got a couple of tire irons, rim protectors, 2x4's and can of BEHOLD in the garage waiting for the front tire swap. . .going from the PR to the Storm up front. . .will be keeping the PR on the rear until it wears out. I'm probably going to die by running mismatched tires. :glare:

 

[timk]

As much as I liked Avon Venum X's(bias)on my touring bike, I thought the radials would be the **** also. Not so, for me, rears wore out too fast, front was shaking bad at about 35% of tread left. These were the old Avons, not the Storms. I might be wrong, but weren't the Storms supposed to be good grip on the sides and LONG lasting for the touring side???

 

[Dwavey]

You guys scare me with only getting 5k miles on a set of tires. I'm still on the OEM Z6's at 7500 miles and seems there's a fair bit of wear left. I always run at 42psi and most riding has been solo on dry highway, in temps ranging between 45-85F, with maybe 50lbs of extra weight.

How come I'm getting such good mileage on these tires? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

You guys scare me with only getting 5k miles on a set of tires. I'm still on the OEM Z6's at 7500 miles and seems there's a fair bit of wear left. I always run at 42psi and most riding has been solo on dry highway, in temps ranging between 45-85F, with maybe 50lbs of extra weight.
How come I'm getting such good mileage on these tires? Am I doing something wrong?

No, nothing wrong. Mileage varies with individual, roads, throttle control, climate etc. I get 9-10,000 miles out of my 45/46's. Only got 4500-6500 from the stones and pilot powers. I am mounting up some Storms this morning. Guess I will see what kind of mileage I get.