Response from Avon Tire

[Tartan Terror]

Well it seems I got a decision to make. Ive had mine on for 2 years and have always been real happy. Just today I looked at mine as they are dismounted while I finish my firetruck wheels and saw not even a hint of a crack. Half worn but they are both built in the latter half of 06. If I change them I want to try the E3s as I am a Dunlop car tire dealer and I like dunlop just not the original 404s. What should I do? I should probably just put new skins on new wheels but the Avons are fine. Decisions....... Decisions........

[Sleeperhawk]

All this cracking talk had me down on bended knee to take a peek at mine. Front is clear, back has some small thin cracks about 3" long, but I have about 12,000 miles (18,000 km) on them and the cracking is very thin. Would I have any chance on getting them replaced with that mileage? If not I'll ride, I'll put on enough mileage to probably require new tires next spring anyway, but if I could wrangle a new set..... hhhhhm. What do you think?

 

Next spring??, you only have about 3000 miles left max on the Avon, usually around 14000 miles, I am putting a new one on.

Edited March 24, 2010 by Sleeperhawk

[dunvilsteev]

Next spring??, you only have about 3000 miles left max on the Avon, usually around 14000 miles, I am putting a new one on.

 

Holy cow!! So, guys in the south (who put on way more mileage than us frozen people) are getting what..... 6 - 8 months out of a tire? To be honest I had expected 20000, two seasons. And I do have a lot of tread left. Could it be from mostly riding one up, versus two up?

What would be the expected life of the front?

[LilBeaver]

Holy cow!! So, guys in the south (who put on way more mileage than us frozen people) are getting what..... 6 - 8 months out of a tire? To be honest I had expected 20000, two seasons. And I do have a lot of tread left. Could it be from mostly riding one up, versus two up?

What would be the expected life of the front?

 

 

Meh, what can I say - I bought my scoot to ride, not just look at...

My riding is probably split 75%/25% 1-up/2-up.

 

With respect to the front, I'll tell you in a month or so when I replace it for wear (if the cracking doesn't get much worse), as I've got 10k on it already :stickpoke:

 

[jrsc4excel]

The main reason that Duct tape was listed is that it works very well on spoke wheels to replace the sometimes annoying rubber band that tends to move out of position while mounting a tube. We use on our dirt wheels all the time.

[Solodadof2]

I worked for a company named Bridgestone/firestone in Decatur, Il a few years back, it was at that time that the ford was having rollovers on the explorer. Long story short under inflated tires( as recommended by ford for a smoother ride) and the exhaust adding heat to the tires as it was routed out in front of the tire caused tread seperation. The primary component used for tire rubber is called carbon Black, the best quality tires are made with a powder form of it, most of today's manufacturers use the liquid from( easier to get an EPA permit).

 

Things to think about when you buy tires:

 

1). There is a code on every tire (in that fine little print) that actually will tell you when the tire was built, the location the tire was built, the person who built it, and some other misc. information. So ask your vendor when the tire was built! There should be a month and year in the code.

 

2). Under inflation is very hard for the consumer to prove, so typically that is what a manufactuer such as Metzler will tell it's consumers.

 

3). Car and truck tires are made for cars and truck and motorcycle tires are made for motorcycles. ( that should stir some crap) the rubber is mixed to different specifications for each based on the purpose and perfomance.

 

4). Avon saying the problem occured 2 years ago means nothing there are still probably 1,000 of tires in warehouses from those years. not all warehouses use the first in first out rule successfully.

 

5). a properly made tire does not require balancing

 

6). The best way to have this issue looked into is to contact the national highway and transportation safety council( Correct me if I have this wrong), this is the group that oversees these kinds of issues and recalls.

 

7). The reason that Avon is cooperating with many of you is that, once you get satisfaction you drop the issue and that my friends keeps them from spending out hundreds of thousands of Dollars on a nation wide recall. Even if you get good service you need to report your issues, eventually one of the tires will fail on some unsuspecting sole that bought into the crap that is being spewed, will end up scarred from head to toe or worse. Since you already gave up your tire because you got your new set now the proof is destroyed as to how wide spread the problem actually was.

 

Last but not least Sears has the most stringent specifications for tire manufacturers of all retailers. I realize they do not sell motorcycle tires.

 

Hope this helps!

[Sleeperhawk]

Holy cow!! So, guys in the south (who put on way more mileage than us frozen people) are getting what..... 6 - 8 months out of a tire? To be honest I had expected 20000, two seasons. And I do have a lot of tread left. Could it be from mostly riding one up, versus two up?

What would be the expected life of the front?

 

Avon 13000 to 14000 rear 2 up 99%, also I always buy a front for every 2 rear tires.

 

E3, 15000 to 16000 rear, again always buy a front for every 2 rear tires.

 

I have no issues with either of them

[Venturous Randy]

5). a properly made tire does not require balancing

 

 

I have found that in the 106,000 miles I have put on my bike and several sets of tires, the weights on the wheels always stay in the same spot and usually don't need much change. Maybe it is my wheel that needs the balance?

RandyA

[wes0778]

Just curious how long, time wise, an Avon should last? I'm not sure at what mileage the PO put the Avon on the front of my '99 RSV, but the date code is 0906. The bike had 16,700 miles on it when I got it in September and has just shy of 22,000 miles on it now. When I got it I had to replace the rear tire, which also was an Avon, but it was slick. I inspected the front tire carefully when I saw cracking mentioned, some time ago, and found no cracks. Yesterday I made a quick check of the front tire and found at least one crack, which seems a little deeper than a cosmetic imperfection. Tread wise, the tire looks to have a good many miles left in it, but I don't have a tread gauge, nor do I know the depth of a new tire. I do have, thanks to one of our members, a 404 tire off of an '08 RSMV with very few miles on it, so I guess I'll be putting it on shortly. I had a blow out on a front tire many years ago and don't wanna do that again!!!

Did I see it mentioned here that Avon warrants their tires for 5 years? I wonder if I have a shot at some help?