A Tyre Thread

[Frankie]

I know tyres are a yawn kinda thing to discuss, been done to death all over the place, this is not about is 180 better than 190, do i need to change my gearing now? is my speedo still reading right? is my tyre sticky enough? bla bla bla, as we all know by now, a tyre is only as good as your head thinks it is, they are after all, in the main pretty good.
No my little piece is about my experience of the tyre I have been using for more miles than I expected, which i thought would be of interest to the rest of you. If not move on nothing to see here

I have been looking at my tyres, and have realised its time for a new set, unlike normal they are not about to explode, they have not squared off to that level of total hate for your tyre , nope there is a little life, but not a lot. Which then got me to thinking when the hell did I last change them, seems for ever. Most of the time, my tyres have worn out very quickly! At this point I must say I have not changed my riding style at all.
After some some checking, it seems I purchased a pair deal back in Nov 2017, ha ha I know, how long ago, normally they are done a lot quicker than that!
So looking back on the miles done between now and then, and taking into account they are still in shape, only used for road as I have not taken the S1 on track for a while, have done a euro trip, I am gobsmacked how well they have held their shape, worn evenly and too be fair did not cost a bomb in the first place.
So talking numbers > estimated mileage since I put them on has to be around 7,000 miles so far, and as I say they are not done yet. Some of you may consider this to be low, for me its not, so this is a result for sure
Cost when bought has decreased from the purchase back in 2017 ha ha, I am happy with that, only a couple of quid, and that includes delivery

I have to say these tyres have been great hence why I have purchased again.
What is it that I am using, Avon AV66 Storm 3D Ultra X-M, in my opinion a tyre I have had total confidence in the dry and the wet, and man as the euro trip proved we has some wet on one of those days, fast road riding, slow road riding, cold and warm roads, as you know I ride all year in all conditions. Not done a rack day on them, however I do believe that it would perform well enough for a days session on a road bike on track.

So Thank you Avon for the extremely underrated tyre, I look forward (when they arrive) to more of the same.

Oh yes how much were they ? £154.50 (2017) and now £149.50 One bloody rear for the track bike cost more than this

[Kwacky]

Avons have been recommended to me for a few years now but I've never tried a set. No reason, I've just tended to stick to what I like.

[Frankie]

Same here, used them first on the old steelie CBR600 for a bit, then back onto the M5's and M7's then those horrible PR4's which wore in a very strange way, a few super sticky tyres that wore out in about 1000 miles, then onto these, and soon to be for a second time
Its hard to change when you are happy with a tyre thats for sure.

[duke63]

I keep the receipts for my tyre purchases and try to remember to write the mileage on there as it makes for interesting comparisons.

As you say tyres are a very individual subjective choice but there are some great deals to be had a out there. I have just replaced the Multi front tyre with another Metzeler Z8 which I bet is close to 10 years old in design now but it does everything I want from a tyre for £200 a pair fitted. I don’t see any reason to change at the moment. I don’t think Road riding only much more is needed.

The only tyre I have ever used which I thought was shit was the Michelin PR4. It wore in a strange fashion and I always thought the front and rear profiles were mismatched from new. Yet others rave about them.

[Kwacky]

They have updated the Z8s a couple of times.

I like them. They work well for my needs on the Versys. I do tend to square mine off before they need changing but that's the nature of the riding I do.

I tried the 01s and didn't get on with them. Far too flat for my tastes. They were slow steering. I guess if they start off square it takes longer to square them off.

[Cavetroll87]

I had Avon's on my hack when I was doing mega mileage and in all weathers and to be honest they were amazing, they didn't square off, they were good in the wet, yup the grip wasn't sportsbike like but that wasn't what they were for, id use them again, they were Avon Ultra Storm 2's.

[Frankie]

I had Avon's on my hack when I was doing mega mileage and in all weathers and to be honest they were amazing, they didn't square off, they were good in the wet, yup the grip wasn't sportsbike like but that wasn't what they were for, id use them again, they were Avon Ultra Storm 2's.

This is one of the reasons I posted this, the fact that these tyres dont feel like "Touring" tyres, they feel the same to me as various sports aimed tyres that I have had on the same bike. Then it could be down to the quality of the clever suspension set up on this machine... who knows

[Blade]

7000 miles is mighty impressive

Just read an article and the XM in the title stands for extra mileage.

Apparently to help achieve this the rear comes with 8mm of tread which is nearly double the useable tread on my supercorsa which come with 5mm when new.

I understand why many manufacturers don't want to put extra rubber on there tyres (cost, performance) but what a difference in mileage it clearly makes and sounds like the performance was still maintained.

[D6Nutz]

These are going to be high on my shopping list for the vfr when it needs new boots. It's got PR2's on at the moment, they're not bad and seem to deal week with the cold, but they're probably not going to last to much longer at the current mileage.

[Cav]

Definitely avoid Metzeler Racetec RR K2.... I only get 9 sessions out of one of those! 3 of which were gentle!

I estimate that to be about 100 miles

[D6Nutz]

Definitely avoid Metzeler Racetec RR K2.... I only get 9 sessions out of one of those! 3 of which were gentle!

I estimate that to be about 100 miles

Lol, I'd need to change tyres more often than I filled up with fuel...

[Rossgo]

That's great mileage from a tyre to be honest and must of been a money saver as well without even realising!!

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[Stonesie]

I've never tried the storm but a friend had them on a Hyabusa and enjoyed them all year round. I had the 3D ultra sport on the KTM and on a dry day they were brilliant but the rear didn't like wet weather and a 1.3 V-twin.

I am on the Continental Road Attack 3 at the moment and love them but it is too early to tell how long they will last, they do come with a deep tread so should last a while.

[Kwacky]

Avon Storm 3DXM fitted to the Versys today.

A puncture to the rear of the Z8 meant I needed a new rear so I looked at these as they're recommend.

They don't seem to have that new tyre feel. The Avons feel a bit stiffer than the Z8s, there's a bit more vibration from them.

From memory Avon tyres come good after a few hundred miles so I'll scrub these in and report back.

[Frankie]

Avon Storm 3DXM fitted to the Versys today.

A puncture to the rear of the Z8 meant I needed a new rear so I looked at these as they're recommend.

They don't seem to have that new tyre feel. The Avons feel a bit stiffer than the Z8s, there's a bit more vibration from them.

From memory Avon tyres come good after a few hundred miles so I'll scrub these in and report back.

The vibration could be all the extra rubber/ tyre pressures, either way I hope you like them, I know I have enjoyed the new set I put on for France. Managed to give them a proper run on the way home from Portsmouth lol.....when we arrive back from France.

[D6Nutz]

Avon Storm 3DXM fitted to the Versys today.

A puncture to the rear of the Z8 meant I needed a new rear so I looked at these as they're recommend.

They don't seem to have that new tyre feel. The Avons feel a bit stiffer than the Z8s, there's a bit more vibration from them.

From memory Avon tyres come good after a few hundred miles so I'll scrub these in and report back.

The vibration could be all the extra rubber/ tyre pressures, either way I hope you like them, I know I have enjoyed the new set I put on for France. Managed to give them a proper run on the way home from Portsmouth lol.....when we arrive back from France.

I hope they are liked too. From my perspective, they never had that new feeling either. But on the flip side 6k later they don't have that old and worn out feeling either.. I know what I would prefer..



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[Rossgo]

Could be stiffer but maybe more mileage from them too

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