AVON AV45/46 Long Term Report

[lovetomotor]

I see only three possible tire manufactures for the LT; Bridgestone, Metzler and Avon. There are a few other but I believe they have met with less than adequate reviews. I have ran one set of Metzlers, two sets of Bridgestones and now one set of Avons. I will focus on the Avons because that's what I have on right now.

I love the AV45/46 combination. I believe this is the best handling combination for the LT (at least pre '05 LTs). I'll start with the good and then the bad;

THE GOOD;

The tires quality control I believe is excellent. When balancing these tires, I was able to achieve a perfect static balance with two 5 gram weights on the front rim and a 10 gram and a 15 gram weight on the rear rim. This makes me happy because I believe less weight to balance a tire is better. I love the tread pattern on the Avons. It's an agressive look and these tires really stick. The front AV45 is excellent! I have put 1,000 miles on these tires around town first and now I have just returned from a 4,400 mile trip with lots of twisties and chipped county roads and interstate grooved pavement. The Avons were flawless! For me, handling, quality control, no feathering of the front tire yet and no noise from either front or rear tires place these at the top of my tire list.

THE BAD;

Several people have experienced a wandering ride with the rear Avon. I did experience that with mine but for only the first few hundred miles and mostly when the tire was cold. That feel has completely vanished and I don't consider it even an issue. I now have 5,400 miles on the Avon set and the front tire looks great no feathering and I believe it will go 10,000 miles no problem. The rear is nearly shot. I am probably 1,000 miles from the wear bars on the rear Avon. That sucks! I'll reserve judgement until I see exactly the miles I get from the rear Avon before I make my decision, but If I get less than 7,000 miles on that rear tire, I will go back with the combination many on this forum have claimed the best; Front Avon AV45 and rear BT020 Radial. I actually like the rear AV46 better than the Bridgestone, but I can't live with only 7 or 8 thousand miles on a rear tire. I also can't live with a tire delamination, but I haven't experienced that yet.

That's my experience so far.

[strsout]

Thank you for the post Joe.
I'm considering an Avon front right now, since my BT020 front is due, but I still have 4K on the rear.
Where did you buy your Avon?

[gulfxray]

THE GOOD;
The tires quality control I believe is excellent. When balancing these tires, I was able to achieve a perfect static balance with two 5 gram weights on the front rim and a 10 gram and a 15 gram weight on the rear rim. This makes me happy because I believe less weight to balance a tire is better. I love the tread pattern on the Avons. It's an agressive look and these tires really stick. The front AV45 is excellent! I have put 1,000 miles on these tires around town first and now I have just returned from a 4,400 mile trip with lots of twisties and chipped county roads and interstate grooved pavement. The Avons were flawless! For me, handling, quality control, no feathering of the front tire yet and no noise from either front or rear tires place these at the top of my tire list.

I had more difficulty than you in balancing, but non-the-less, I got them balanced and love them.

I have ridden them in the rain with no slip. I have ridden kinds of road surfaces and year round as well with no performance problems – they stick good. However, I am more cautious in the cold – that would be the case regardless of the tire I ride though.

I have almost 9.5k on the front and it will last a couple thousand more. The rear has about 8.5k on it and should be done by 10k. In all honesty, I probably don’t ride as aggressively as some folks do.

My next set will be Avons F/R again.

THE BAD;
Several people have experienced a wandering ride with the rear Avon. I did experience that with mine but for only the first few hundred miles and mostly when the tire was cold. That feel has completely vanished and I don't consider it even an issue. I now have 5,400 miles on the Avon set and the front tire looks great no feathering and I believe it will go 10,000 miles no problem. The rear is nearly shot. I am probably 1,000 miles from the wear bars on the rear Avon. That sucks! I'll reserve judgement until I see exactly the miles I get from the rear Avon before I make my decision, but If I get less than 7,000 miles on that rear tire, I will go back with the combination many on this forum have claimed the best; Front Avon AV45 and rear BT020 Radial. I actually like the rear AV46 better than the Bridgestone, but I can't live with only 7 or 8 thousand miles on a rear tire. I also can't live with a tire delamination, but I haven't experienced that yet.
That's my experience so far.


I too experienced the ‘wandering’ – this seemed to last for the first few hundred miles – maybe 500 total.

[usmctpdog]

Thanks for the Update.. I am looking at installing the Avons on my 05.

My rear 020 bias is still in great condition with only 5,000 miles on it, but my front 020 is near gone with only 2 mm tread left, and needs replacement..
I wish my 020's were radial so that I could replace the front with the Avon Radial.

[zaphod]

I am sold on the AV45 front and BT020. I’ve got just over 8,000 on the front now and NO CUPPING at all. It looks like it will go another 1,000, so mileage is about the same or a bit better than the BT020’s. I haven’t tried the Avon rear, but with all the negative comments about wandering and low mileage I’ll give them a miss.

[lovetomotor]

Thank you for the post Joe.
I'm considering an Avon front right now, since my BT020 front is due, but I still have 4K on the rear.
Where did you buy your Avon?


Southwest Moto is the place.

[BMWROLLIN]

Joe, thanks for the feedback on tires. My first set was Metzlers which were good milage tires(17,000) but produced a lot of road noise due to the odd tire wear. I now have some Bridgestones but the front tire has prematurely worn out at a little over 8,000 miles. This is completely unacceptable for any front tire in my opinion. The back is doing well and I have planned to try the Avon AV45 front. First hand experience from other riders is always great to get.

[motorhead]

FWIW.

Have @ 1500 miles on the Avon / BS combo .... seems the more tires scuff in and wear, better the handling gets, JUST LOVE EM !!

[Stoker100]

Sent you a PM a while ago. Sure would like to meet up with you and change some tires, since you graciously offered!
larry

[rattso]

What tire pressure were you running front and rear. I just put a set of Avons on and plan a trip in two months. The original Bridgestone rear was on at almost 17K but I went through two front tires in that time. The mechanic that mounted the tires said he mounted the front by hand and I watched him mount the rear and it went on very easy. I was hoping to get some tire irons and do the job myself from now on.

[tomandmelanie]

I don't know what you guys are thinking but a Bridgestone 020 160/70 with a 963 lbs weight rating is a bias ply tire. The Avon Storm is a radial tire. Mixing a front radial with a rear bias ply tire is not adviseable, using tires that don't meet BMW's weight rating is not adviseable. Mixing and matching tire brands is not adviseable ... you only have two wheels between you and the road.

[meese]

Tom,

According to BMW, there are many things that are "not advisable", but many of us here have the miles and experience to make our own judgement calls. Besides that, you've made some assumptions here that should probably be sorted out.

First of all, this original thread is almost a year old. There were no Avon Storms at that point, only the Avon Azaro tires for the LT. Also, the BT020 was originally a Radial tire that was weight rated for the LT. In fact, it was a factory fitment for many LTs. Later they made the Bias BT020 and claimed that it was necessary for the '05 LTs due to the "improved" steering geometry. Only recently have said that they are no longer making the Radials for the LT, and that the Bias are recommended for all LTs.

Other than that, I think only Metzeler and Dunlop make tires properly weight rated for the rear of the LT (the front's aren't a problem). I think those are both Bias tires though.

A few here have mixed Radial and Bias tires without any issues, though it's something I don't like to do, mostly because I don't like how the Bias tires feel on the LT. Many of us have successfully run the Avon Azaro Radial front with the BT020 Radial rear tires. In fact, I have about 60K miles on this combo and it's pretty much the only thing I'll run on the LT anymore.

But then again, there's nothing wrong with sticking with the more conservative factory recommendations either. In the end, each of us has to make our own choices. At least forums like this can give us the information needed to help make a reasonable decision.

[Seattle]

I wish my 020's were radial so that I could replace the front with the Avon Radial.

Tom, they were speaking of the 020 Radials combined with the Avon, but I think they've been dicontinued. Now only the bias are being made by Bridgestone in the 020 version.

[tomandmelanie]

Got on to the thread because I just mounted a new set of Avon Storms and wanted to see what others had to say about them. The tires meet all the specs for the LT and I was careful to make sure they did before I purchased a set. I ride two up with my wife and would like to continue to avoid any accidents with her on the bike. I'm not so careful with my sport bike and have managed my share of slides down the road.

I have no issues with some of the tire experiments that people discuss, try or make here, I do think one should be very careful not to make recommendations or seem to give approval that less experienced riders may accept as proven or ok. If you mix tires you owe it to less knowledgable riders to end with NOT RECOMMENDED.

I'm not trying to be a butt head and I do things that are NOT RECOMMENDED however my opinion and the facts may differ at times and I think we all owe it to new riders or new LT riders to be careful to separate the two. The more careful we are to separate the facts, opinions, recommended and not recommended here in this forum the more useful it is to all. Not trying to rain on your parade.

[Brian-NC]

I'm looking really hard at the new Avon Storms as well. The price difference is enough to kick the metzelers to the curb. Since you've had them running for a while, could you give them a thumbs up or down? I ride a 50/50 mix of one or two up and safety is the # 1 concern for me. I guess I'm also a bit skeptical of the load rating issue but maybe I'm just too anal about things..

Brian
Charlotte, NC

[ironbuttwannabe]

Just got done mounting my Avons. Wandered what pressure to run? I pumped them up to the max. 42 front and rear. Only ride solo? Any other recommendations?

[ErnieA]

I don't know what you guys are thinking but a Bridgestone 020 160/70 with a 963 lbs weight rating is a bias ply tire. The Avon Storm is a radial tire. Mixing a front radial with a rear bias ply tire is not adviseable, using tires that don't meet BMW's weight rating is not adviseable. Mixing and matching tire brands is not adviseable ... you only have two wheels between you and the road.

Relax Tom. Many have mixed tires and none have posted problems. Do as you will and know all of us have been sufficiently cautioned by your concerns. Thx,