Author Topic: Free Avon tires.... (Read 5302 times)

BrianM · « **on:** August 18, 2006, 04:45:34 PM »

http://www.avonmoto.com/contests/contest.asp

Okay, so it's only a free front if you buy a rear, but still....

Just thought I'd pass the info along incase anyone wants some good tires for cheap. I'm thinking about picking up an extra set for the future.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 19, 2006, 12:59:45 AM »

Pirelli is running the same deal - at least on Supercorsas.

tomacGTi · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2006, 02:28:36 PM »

Anyone have any feedback on those tires? Very tempting since I'll be needing some new sneakers sometime soon.

They're a mite bit more expensive but certainly not so with a free front.

-Randy

Herr Tod · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2006, 04:29:04 PM »

Supercorsa or Avon ?

PaulVS · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2006, 05:04:53 PM »

Here's a review...

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/122_0512_avon_viper_tires/

And another from Avon...

http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/news.asp?ID=73

Coopz · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2006, 10:44:14 PM »

I would be interested in that, but as it's not available to anyone outside the US, I guess there's no point in me even bothering. (I'm from the UK)

Thanks anyway though!

tomacGTi · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2006, 10:57:34 PM »

Quote from: Herr Tod

Supercorsa or Avon ?

Either versus the Pilot Power. To me, those tires are like velcro. I'm also curious about wear versus the PP since I've logged damn near 6500miles and they still haven't hit the wear bars and are still remarkably supple.

I've seen the rear Avon as cheap as $115 or so from Rideon.com, it just wouldn't be worth it to pay less to have to replace it in half the time.

-Randy

interfuse · « **Reply #7 on:** August 20, 2006, 02:26:10 AM »

Quote

Either versus the Pilot Power. To me, those tires are like velcro. I'm also curious about wear versus the PP since I've logged damn near 6500miles and they still haven't hit the wear bars and are still remarkably supple.

I'm sticking with the PP for a while (not only because I've got another set to run through, but because they're great tires). I've put about 8,000 kms on Garys old track tires and they're still in great shape. I'm starting to notice a little slip when it rains, but I'm not complaining after all the abuse they've seen.

Herr Tod · « **Reply #8 on:** August 20, 2006, 11:29:58 AM »

My MPP's never outlive 3000 miles. I don't know about Avon but I've had a set of Supercorsa SC1 front and rear on the bike. True race tire and it offers more grip than you'll ever need. Even managed to get the front and the rear sliding at the same time in a few curves, no problem for the SC's. Although after 1500 miles they were gone

Try them out and have lots of fun

tomacGTi · « **Reply #9 on:** August 25, 2006, 11:31:08 PM »

I thought I'd give it a shot. Cheaper than a pair of the holy grail of tires, mounted to boot.

Even at the local moto shop (Martin's) it was $143 for the back tire with tax (they have a 25% off always deal). The cheapest I've seen the tire for was in the $120's; so par for the course with shipping.

I'll be the guinea pig as my PP's have about another 1k in them before they cord. Reports to follow...

-Randy

PaulVS · « **Reply #10 on:** August 26, 2006, 12:23:03 PM »

Quote from: tomacGTi

I thought I'd give it a shot. Cheaper than a pair of the holy grail of tires, mounted to boot.

Even at the local moto shop (Martin's) it was $143 for the back tire with tax (they have a 25% off always deal). The cheapest I've seen the tire for was in the $120's; so par for the course with shipping.

I'll be the guinea pig as my PP's have about another 1k in them before they cord. Reports to follow...

-Randy

Good move!

Obviously most people would go with the MPP's IF the price was the same... but I think the whole point is that it's worth the risk of trying them out given the free tire deal... making them about 40% less than the MPP's, and even less than the Shinko 005's.

I'd buy a set myself except I just got new Shinkos (I felt like I was the guinea pig on that one) with a lot of mileage left on them.

Let us know how they pan out.

tomacGTi · « **Reply #11 on:** September 14, 2006, 08:33:07 PM »

Alright, got the tires mounted today. Sadly though, the weather is quite ass-like till the weekend so it will be Sunday till I get out on them and start breaking them in.

Good news: definately saved some money taking advantage of the deal to the tune of $125 or so. Bad news: still expensive to get tires mounted ($60 w/valves). I may consider saving that money and mounting my own after this. For those of you interested, the deal has been extended through the end of September.

Just looking at the tread, it is amazing how much there is! Guess I got used to looking at my PP's with 1/2mm to the wear bars in back and on the bars in front. Very similar shape to them, though they certainly started to look flatter as they wore out, even if they were worn very evenly.

First impression: they're heavy! Much heavier than I remember but probably because there's more rubber than what they're replacing. Rubber is not quite as eraser-like as the PP's but time will tell. The siping doesn't go all the way to the edge like the PP's but a nice broad flat.

Ride report forthcoming, stay tuned...

-Randy

BrianM · « **Reply #12 on:** September 14, 2006, 09:47:36 PM »

Make sure you run the proper PSI (Avons have traditionally liked Much higher pressures... I run 40/42, but I'm a heavy SOB too). Anything less will leave you with short life and really greasy feel.

tomacGTi · « **Reply #13 on:** September 14, 2006, 11:04:21 PM »

Pressure was my next question..

Crap, that high?! That'll certainly be a good bit different than the 29/35 I was running previous.

Thanks for the heads up!

tomacGTi · « **Reply #14 on:** September 17, 2006, 09:37:01 PM »

Took them out today and got some miles on them to scrub them in. I weigh in at about 160 with gear and pressures set at 29/35 (per Suzuki, haven't dialed it in that far yet) I know Brian suggested higher but the sidewall max was 42 so I thought I'd try the usual first and go from there. Initial thoughts:

-They don't "fall into" corners like the PP's do however, once you have the bike leaned, the front is more than willing to take more directional input. They come over much more gradually for lack of a better description. The shoulders of the front tire are much taller than the PP's and scrubbing this edge-to-edge will take some doing. The rear has a very similar profile to the PP.

Even after getting brave at mile 90 bringing them down further, the rear scrubbed in to where I had the chicken strips on the PP's (1/8 to the edge)but the fronts had about an inch to the edge (I hang off more than "riding proud" so that probably has alot to do with it). Just looking at them it seems that the front is certainly more apt for directional changes while kiltered over than the PP simply because of the additional rubber there. Where the shoulder was on the PP front, the top of the Viper's head basically begins. Seems they gave up sidewall height for additional tread height.

-The tires feel more easy to change direction than the PP's. Could be because the front is more rounded and "u" shaped versus the more flatter profiled PP front.

-Driving out of corners feels the same as the PPs. I did notice more push when exiting at certain points but it could have just been that they still had some mold release on them. I wasn't brave enough so see how well they would brake leaned over but I would guess as good as the PP's.

That's it for now. More to come as they get more worn in so mileage reports to follow as well.

I guess the question is: are they worth the investment over the Pilot Powers? I would say yes because you can get a smoking deal on them right now. Will they overthrow the best tire ever? That's for you to decide, if they can get more than 6500 miles on the set (mine wore very evenly) I'd say they're certainly another choice of rubber for sure. I'm pretty happy so far (I certainly had my reservations) so time will tell, especially mileage.

-Randy