New Avon AV-45 Front

[lovetomotor]

Last night I mounted and balanced an new Avon front tire on my '03 LTE. I have had one set of Metzelers and 4 sets of 020's, the 020's have been flawless and I'm probably nutz for trying something different. But I have a couple of questions and observations so far;

The Avon was by far the easiest tire I have ever mounted on the LT front. It seemed to have more flex as a new tire than the worn out 020. Neither of my Avons have the little yellow dot on the sidewall showing the lightest point of the tire. Sort of preturbs me because I always find the heaviest point of the rim (tireless) and mount the tire with the little yellow dot there for a balance with minimal weight. I did find a stamp inside the tire so I lined that up with the valve stem and was able to get a fine balance with my normal 10g of weight on the front wheel. I will also have to say the Avon tire seems unbelieveable 'true'. As I spin the mounted tire/wheel on my balancer, the side of the tire has no runout that I can detect. So far, I've only had a short test drive and I like it. I have another couple thousand miles left on the rear 020, so the real test will be when I swap that out for the AV-46.

I'll have some more information forthcoming on my evaluation.

[grifscoots]

I likes the front Avon, too. Been running them the last 4 sets of tires. They get better mileage than the O20 and seem more eager to fall into a corner, making steering quicker when strafing the twisties. I've never tried the back Avon, Dave Shealey didn't like it because of squirmishness and thats all I need in my life is more squirmishness.

[dshealey]

Yes, the Avons are MUCH more flexible than the 020's. I also did not like the fact that they were not marked for ballancing, did not look inside for a mark though. Why would they not follow industry standard marking procedure?

A couple riders like the Avons front and rear, but more of us do not like the rear. For me, the rear of the bike wallowed like a drunk Hula dancer with the Avon rear. I thought it may be a bad tire, so Avon sent a new one to a local dealer for installation, knew in the first 2 miles it was no different, so ordered a new 020 and pulled the Avon off as soon as it arrived. If you think the front was "soft", wait until you see the difference in the rear! It is like jelly compared to the 020, and the 020 is much more flexible than the 880. The 880 rear is hard to mount, the 020 easier, the Avon you can pull off and put on very easily. I think it is WAY too flexible for the LT's weight.

[kip]

that is a classic!

now if i can just find some other scenario to use that phrase :)

:)

[lovetomotor]

Yes, the Avons are MUCH more flexible than the 020's. I also did not like the fact that they were not marked for ballancing, did not look inside for a mark though. Why would they not follow industry standard marking procedure?

A couple riders like the Avons front and rear, but more of us do not like the rear. For me, the rear of the bike wallowed like a drunk Hula dancer with the Avon rear. I thought it may be a bad tire, so Avon sent a new one to a local dealer for installation, knew in the first 2 miles it was no different, so ordered a new 020 and pulled the Avon off as soon as it arrived. If you think the front was "soft", wait until you see the difference in the rear! It is like jelly compared to the 020, and the 020 is much more flexible than the 880. The 880 rear is hard to mount, the 020 easier, the Avon you can pull off and put on very easily. I think it is WAY too flexible for the LT's weight.

Geez, and I just thought I was really getting efficient with my tire changer. After your impressions I'm not sure I even want to put the Avon on the rear for a test. I'll keep you guys posted.

[bustedknuckles]

rear of the bike wallowed like a drunk Hula dancer with the Avon rear
I tried the Avons just as David and got the exact same feeling out of the rear tire. They stick nicely in the twisties but I do lots of straight line riding also. The drunk Hula dancer thing was not for me!

[lovetomotor]

I tried the Avons just as David and got the exact same feeling out of the rear tire. They stick nicely in the twisties but I do lots of straight line riding also. The drunk Hula dancer thing was not for me!

Just curious how many miles each of you logged on the rear AV-46? Under 50; 1000?

Thanks,

[motorhead]

Did the Avon front & rear set .... smoked em in the twisties after 5400 miles.
Metz 880's in the twisties gone in 8000+ miles.
I agree on the drunk hula dancer feel of the Avon rear while new, but feeling was gone in @ 1500 miles once contact patch wore down & flatened out some.

** Now running the Avon front/ Stone Bt-020 rear combo .... Its far more stable feeling with equal traction to the Avon rear.

Scott

[bustedknuckles]

Just curious how many miles each of you logged on the rear AV-46? Under 50; 1000?

I ran close to 5000 miles on the replacement tire Avon sent me. There was plenty of tread left at that time. The drunk Hula dancer feeling never went away as I recall. The wife said to loose the tires because she was able to tell a difference also. Must keep the SO happy as she rides most every time the bike is not used by me for commuting purposes.

[dshealey]

Just curious how many miles each of you logged on the rear AV-46? Under 50; 1000?

Thanks,

I probably had 5-600 miles on the first one, when I got the new one installed to see if the first one was a bad tire, I put less than 250 miles on it before going back to a BT-020 radial rear.

[lovetomotor]

I probably had 5-600 miles on the first one, when I got the new one installed to see if the first one was a bad tire, I put less than 250 miles on it before going back to a BT-020 radial rear.

I have already purchased a new AV-46 rear. I have a few thousand more miles left on the rear 020, but if I can stand it, I'm going to run the AV-46 a couple thousand miles and see if it gets any better.

I'll report back in a few weeks.

[meese]

My rear Avon (actually Shealey's take-off) did settle down after a couple thousand freeway miles, but never felt as good as the BT020. That Avon got me out of a pinch and saved a cross-country trip, but I've never seen any reason to order another.

Since it's already ordered, then give it a try. It's how it feels to you that matters.

[dmacd]

nchecked the Avon web site and after putting in the make, year and model the message comes up "no tire fitment for this model" but if I try it for a GT I get a recommendation, and the front tire is the same size! Perhaps Avon does not recommend their tires for such a heavy bike as the LT.

[ironbuttwannabe]

it only goes up to 2004. I think I remember it had to do something with changing the rake on the LT in 05.