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Bummer

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Everything posted by Bummer

  1. Bummer
    At this point I'm not sure if I actually have confidence in any tire. I just think that a couple of years is a bit of a long time for a "bad batch".
  2. Bummer
    Those are the miles the tires went. And they had quite a bit of good tread left. The first one had 2/3 of Abe's head left. I think I could have gotten at least 18k out of 'em if not for the cracks. The rears were beginning to flatten out in the middle from living in Indiana, but still had some miles left. The front still had a good cross section profile. I'm certainly not complaining about the mileage, just the cracks. With the miles I ride, I think I should be able to wear a tire to the cords long before the sidewalls crack. Not that I want to ride to the cords, mind you, I just think the sidewalls shouldn't be cracking before the tires are quite old.
  3. Bummer
    Sorry I missed this post. Can't help you with the .doc file - no Microsoft products, so no license to use 'em. Total of three tires. Not a lot of detail, I wasn't expecting issues so I didn't take much in the way of notes. Rear - DOT date of 3207 - 12,000 miles - installed 06/08 replaced 03/09 - replacement offered by Avon after tire had been replaced - large and deep cracks. Rear - DOT date unknown late 08 - 16k miles - installed 03/09 replaced 03/10 - didn't complain to Avon, replaced with Dunlop E3 - smaller cracks, not as deep as previous tire. Front - DOT date unknown 07 - 28k miles - installed 06/08 replaced 03/10 - didn't complain to Avon, replaced with Dunlop E3 - small cracks in same area of sidewall.
  4. Bummer
    Check out this link.
  5. Bummer
    Horee crap!
  6. Bummer
    Great to hear she's doing better!
  7. Bummer
    Terrible news. Our thoughts are with them all!
  8. Bummer
    I'm interested. I've also got a taste for fried dill pickles and catfish at The Overlook, and a giant tenderloin at the 58 Cafe. The Maple Street Restaurant was pretty good too. Wouldn't mind going back to Squealers... Could this be the beginning of the season? Sure feels like it. (Looks outside and sees rain.) Close enough!
  9. Bummer
    Those ARE the Star tinted lower wind vents part number STR-1D608-80-00. I have them. They look a lot more tinted in the catalog than they are in the plastic. They clamp to the front engine guards with a two piece clamp that is open on the forward side. It takes a little moving around to get them fitted just right. I run them closed when it's cool and open when it's hot out. They block air flow when closed or work as scoops to bring in more air when they're spread wide. The vertical rod with the acorn nuts can become a bit loose, requiring some tightening to get them to stay put. I'm glad I have 'em.
  10. Bummer
    Navy 70-74. Got leg poked too many times once the things got old. Wound up with holes in the pockets of my jeans. Now there's one in each (2) rolling tool box.
  11. Bummer
    Avon offered to replace my first cracked Venom, but I'd already bought a new set of Avons from SW Moto and had them installed locally. The dealer who installed my new E3s also said Avon would no doubt cover the latest cracks, but only with another set of Avons. I have absolutely no problem with Avon's willingness to replace the bad tires. My problem has been primarily with rear tires, though the front was beginning to show signs of similar cracking this time. The cracks were not anywhere near as deep as the rears. The front had as much mileage as the three rears, though the last two rears were very low mileage. The front still had plenty of miles left on the tread surface. Both of the Avons in the photos I posted were purchased from SW Moto, but I believe they were drop shipped from a more local warehouse. It only took then two days to get here, which would seem to make it pretty unlikely that they were shipped from AZ to IN. I didn't do any of the stuff they said not to do and I did do all the stuff they said to do. The temps have not been particularly extreme. From the beginning I treated them better than any other tires I've ever had. I still like the handling of the Avons, though I haven't really tested the E3s yet. I hope to make more progress with that over the next two weekends. When the front Elite is done I'll probably give Avon a fair look again, particularly if the comments about cracking have abated. All I'm really telling folks is to check those tires well before EVERY ride. Don't just think about it. Don't just talk about it. Do it, and do it thoroughly. Irene and I rode almost 100 miles before I noticed the cracks on the newest rear, and I'd been looking. The rear on a Venture can be a bear to check well. I checked it, moved it, checked it, moved it, checked it, moved it, and I missed some.
  12. Bummer
    Thank you for your service. Welcome home!
  13. Bummer
    It's been done. It's good to do it again. The season is approaching. Might as well do some planning. Here's mine: Indiana 135 through Story to Freetown, west on 58 to Kurtz. Lunch at the 58 Cafe. On to 446, then north. Ice cream at 446 and 46, then east to where we started. About 75 miles. This also goes through Nashville, which is a nice little tourist trap. There's a more than passing chance that this ride, or a variation on it, will be a M&E some time this summer, as it has in the past. It has the prerequisites. Good roads. Nice place to eat - very biker friendly. Ice cream. We usually meet on the west side of Columbus and head west on 46 from there.
  14. Bummer
    It's great to see you back, Annie! Glad to hear at least some stuff went well for you. Good luck getting rid of that cough!
  15. Bummer
    Oh, they're gone. I scrubbed in a new pair of E3s yesterday. 135 mile break in. I don't want to come off as anti-Avon, but I am going to give them some time to work some issues out.
  16. Bummer
    I sure didn't remember those. I just hope that was a lucky quarter. Those two tires were made about a year or so apart. Seems like that's a pretty big batch. I really, really like the handling of the Avons. I'll probably give 'em a couple of years and if the problems seem to have gone away (as in nobody coming on and grumbling about cracks) I'll try them again. They're a fun tyre. Lil Sis's V-Star 650 has Venoms. I not only recommended them, I ordered them from Southwest Moto for her. They only show cosmetic cracking. You almost can't see 'em they're so fine. Kind of a random spiderweb of micro-fine lines. Absolutely nothing like the cracks I've had.
  17. Bummer
    Ok guys, what would you do? You going to load mama on there and go riding or are you going to change tires? The first two are from the most recent tire. The second two are from the one before. Tread depth is from the one before. Most recent was about the same.
  18. Bummer
    Heads. Really. It was even a randomly chosen quarter.
  19. Bummer
    I liked the Avon handling a lot. I had one crack along the sidewalls and accepted the "bad batch" argument. Since then every rear has developed sidewall cracks. How many bad batches can there be? I've never had any other tire do this. I have no idea why it has happened. I just can not afford to change out extremely low mileage tires all the time because of sidewall cracks the likes of which I've never seen anywhere else. I looked at Dunlop Elite 3s and Michelin Commanders. It was a coin toss. The E3s won.
  20. Bummer
    I just got rid of my last set of Avon Venoms. I didn't even bother to check the build dates. They can't lower the price enough to get me to put on another pair. Even the front had sidewall cracks. My bike is now wearing Dunlop Elite 3s. When my bike's parked for more than a couple of days it goes onto my CarbonOne stand with legs. No chemicals, no concrete, still too many cracks. I liked the handling, but I'm done. My sister has a V-Star 650 with Venoms. They're still ok. Of course, it's a much lighter bike. Hers are inflated to around 40psi and sat the winter on concrete.
  21. Bummer
    Ok, gotta ask. 135 from where to where? I haven't been on it since last year, and I'm pretty much ready. It's getting close to time for a tenderloin at the 56 Cafe. And I have new tires that need broken in. Shame it's supposed to rain tomorrow...
  22. Bummer
    To elaborate on what Freezy just wrote: If you grope around under the mounts and follow the wires you'll find that the AM/FM wire goes forward and under the passenger seat while the CB wire goes directly into a plastic box under the trunk. That plastic box is where the CB lives. I showed that to the boss at Dreyer (rather than just trying to tell a salesman, all of whom seem to know everything about nothing) and now they all get put on correctly. Amazing how much difference it makes when the boss knows.
  23. Bummer
    Very nice! I'm looking forward to checking it out in person.
  24. Bummer
    Congratulations on finally getting it working right. (Mental note: double check junction box.)
  25. Bummer
    So just how far are you guys planning on sliding? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUKzAORD35I&feature=player_embedded]YouTube- Draggin' Jeans Test Video[/ame]
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