tire(d) query

[boltonbeemah]

Well, with the help of a riding buddy (ok, he did 90% of the work, but he owes me a favor...), we got the Avon Azaros mounted on the RS tonight. After 12,400 miles, both tires had squared off a bit, and I was just down to the wear bars on both ends.

I took it easy on the way home (foggy, dark, unfamiliar roads, new tires), but here are some early comments:

-- The rear tire is huge! My friend thought it was a 180 until he checked it.
-- The front has a pretty radical (after the ME-Z4) profile, very V-like.
-- The rubber seems soft. I'll be interested to see how the mileage turns out.
-- The front profile makes for very easy (and not at all dramatic) turn-in.
-- They were very easy to mount. The last pair I removed/mounted (on a different bike) were BT-020s, and they were a bear...

More after a few miles down the road.

Ride safe!
David

David

[MikeT]

My 01 R1100RS (03 registered) came with ME Z2's , They have been fantatstic but now I am at 7600Km ( about 4722 miles) and they are almost cooked maybe another 1k in them, I was not expecting to have to go for tires so soon, I hope the next ones will last longer, I will probaly just get wahtever the local dealer stocks.

[boltonbeemah]

Got another 80 or so miles on the Avons, and a few more early impressions:

-- Following an Avon rep's recommended tire pressure of 36/42 f/r.
-- I don't find these tires to be as supple or compliant as the Metzelers. Not neccessarily a criticism, but a definate change. The Metzelers insulated me a bit from "road noise". Not sure whether this is down to the Avon's compound/construction or the tread/profile.
-- The front has a tendency to "hunt" (wanders a little bit left, little bit right...) when starting up at slow (stop and go type riding) speeds. I don't notice it motoring along (at 40 or 80), but it's definately there when I pull away from a stop.
-- Overall, I like the way they handle and I feel confident on them (I'm already as close to the edge on these as I was on the Metzelers, not that that's saying a *whole* lot..., and I'm sure I'll explore more of the edge as time goes on). The front has required some recalibration of steering input -- the Avons are much more, you think, you turn than the Metzelers were, especially at the end of their life, no more shove-and-wait. (Yeah, the ME-Z4s were pretty squared off!)

So, my personal jury is still out: new rubber is a wonderful thing, and I like these tires so far, but I'm not wowed by their slow-speed manners. I'd be curious to know if any other Avon riders have experienced this.

David

[73trident]

Azaro...azaro...azaro. Over 5000 miles and not even half worn and as much grip as anyone could want from a road tyre.