| Author | Message | ||
     Stevem123 |
Well I rode the snot out of the Avons and I have to say they are the best tires I have found so far for hard riding or sport touring. I ride the Santa Cruz mountains and coastal Hwy 1, I'm a heavy guy near 300 and my previous tires "Dunlops D616s" only lasted 2800 miles before they were toasted. The Avons lasted 4300 miles of very hard riding both in the twisties and on the slab. I was very satisfied with them. They stick very good, warm up fast, and had a great feel. I did notice the decel-no hands-wobble got worse as the front wore down. The front wore down on the sides because I've been braking much later into the turns than I ever did before. This accounts for the wear on the sides of the front. The rear wore down in the middle a little faster than the edges but was pretty much evenly worn. I'll buy them again but this time I needed new skins and all I could find locally were "Metzeler Roadtec Z6s". First impressions of the Metzelers is the bike wants to fall over into the turns much easier. Almost too easy as it felt like it would keep going over unless I countered the effect. I believe it has to do with the progressive leaning contour of the front tire. It's much rounder at the sides than other tires I have used. I guess it'll take some getting used to and might get better with a little wear. I'll report mileage on these when the time comes but I suspect they won't last as long as the Avons did. I'm going to have to plan ahead and get some Avons on hand before the Metzelers wear out. Try the Avons out for yourself. I think you'll like them.  BC Steve | ||
| Roadrailer |
I'm glad you liked the Avons. I only have a few hundred miles on mine right now, but they seem to be a huge improvement over the 616s. Hopefully I'll get more than 4300 miles, though. I did notice the decel-no hands-wobble got worse as the front wore down. Just a question about this (not meant as any sort of flame): Under what circumstances, other than testing for the wobble, are you decelerating on a motorcycle with no hands on the bars? I've seem this mentioned many times here, as well as other places around the 'net, and I've always wondered if this is a regular practice for some folks. I just can't imagine a situation where I'd want (or need) my hands off the bars while slowing down.  | ||
| Dr_greg |
I'll be getting something over 8,000 miles from my rear Avon Azaro AV46. I'll fit another when it's worn. Good tire. Of course I'm relatively light and am not a hooligan like the rest of youse guys. | ||
| Stevem123 |
I expect most will double the mileage I got on the Avons because I am totally serious when I say I rode the piss out of those tires. Figure a track day as my regular commute!  As for the hands off decel I was talking about, I only do that as a check to see how the tires and alignment are doing. It's not a regular thing but in reality you should not have a front wobble without rider input. I am getting used to the progressive lean-in on the Metzelers and it actually makes high speed sweepers easier to maintain a line. I've also noticed with the Metzelers that the decel no-hands wobble has completely dissappeared! That's interresting for sure. BC Steve | ||
| Smcnamara |
In case anyone is wondering what a D616 looks like after it's been up to temperature on the track....  |
