Avon roadrider cracking

[waterman]

Late last summer, on the advice of many here and some personal experience with Avon, I purchased a pair of roadriders (AM26). Installed them late last year and maybe put 1000 miles on before hibernation. Really enjoyed tires, stick well in corners and seems to wear well. Everything was good.

Today, the second day I have had bike out of mothballs, I noticed that rear tire is showing what I would call age cracks. After looking at tire, I realize that it was produced in 37th week of 2006.

Front tire does not show any cracking and its DOT stamp is 20th week of 08, much newer.

Sorry about blur, irish holiday, It does say 3706

The other side.

Not sure of options, I will try to contact seller and see what they say. Would really hate to open tire and tube but may if I don't get any satisfaction with seller. Any ideas? Other than clean those disgusting rims.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. waterman,

Coming from someone who recently rode around on a plugged rear tire every day for over a month, those pictures are kind of scary.

I'd replace that tire as soon as I got a chance. When I got a flat and plugged my rear tire, I couldn't afford a new set of tires until the following month. Luckily the puncture was almost right in the middle of the tread and the tire had plenty of tread left. I plugged it and rode it like that (very gingerly) for about 1500 miles. But I would be very uneasy riding on a rear tire that looked like that on the sidewall. Please be safe, or as safe as possible.

Granted, I'm not up on the Avon tire construction. That tire just looks scary to me.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[gus33]

I seem to remember hearing about quite a few other people with similar experiences with that tire. I think it was a manufacturing thing with a bad batch(s), but I thought it was more recently than 3706. I love the tire but I would check with them about the dates for the problem batche(s).

 

[mighty13d]

call avon, definitely. The tire isn't old enough to have cracks like that. the rear on my bike is a hell of a lot older than that and doesn't have any cracks at all.

 

[paco13]

I had the same exact thing happen with a Pirelli sport Demon last year. bought and installed new in the spring, and half through season it looked like that. Up until then I loved the Demons, I replaced with Bridgestone battle axe BT45R'S and after the second half of season on them I can say they are my new fav tire.

 

[waterman]

Did you contact anyone about the cracking pirelli sport demon and if so what did they tell you, if I may ask. I am not dissatisfied with avons, I just think I got a reject, lemon.

 

[reddirtrider]

I just recieved my Avon Roadrunner (rear) from Bikebandit and the date code is 2408. So this tire was manufactured the 24th week of 08. I'm not sure why yours is so old. I'd ask for a replacement.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. waterman,

It's possible that either the dealer or manufacturer will at least prorate the replacement cost for you. Make a couple of phone calls and see where it gets you. Be polite, email your pictures if necessary. It can't hurt. Good luck.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Planecrazy]

I would agree ... a tire with only a thousand miles on it, installed late last summer should be covered in some way/shape/form by the dealer/manufacturer. If you go in with the receipt from the work last year and show them pictures of BOTH front and rear tires I think they'd be hard pressed not to offer you a considerable break on replacing the defective one.

Regards,

 

[jwit6]

I put a set on my 80 GS850 last year in November. Less than 500 miles on them. The rear is showing sidewall cracking by the bead area. Date code shows 1408.

 

[marz]

i had pair on my bike for what 6/7 years. never cracked.in that time they were worn out ,but still dint crack... i liked em lots.. great tires.. but id think your back tire is very wrong..

 

[salty_monk]

Think I'll have to check mine... The front on the skunk is ok, I looked at that when I took it off today

 

[bwringer]

Just throwing this out there... it's just a thought, and may have nothing to do with anything, but...

What did you use for tire mounting lube? Or did someone else mount the tires? What did they use?

Every so often, no matter what the brand of tire, someone comes along and complains about cracking on the sidewall of a relatively young tire.

I sort of wonder if it might have anything to do with using a hillbilly homemade substitute like dish detergent, WD-40, or bear grease instead of tire mounting lube. (I've always been amazed and appalled at the concoctions people will try in order to avoid spending $14 on a jug of RuGlyde, but never mind that.)

I'm certainly not casting any aspersions, and you most likely have a defective tire. You certainly received an older tire than you should have. And quite frankly, a hunk of rubber that's going to be scrubbed against the road for several thousand miles should stand up better to chemical attack a lot better than that.

I've also seen several times that bikes and tires should never be stored near electric motors or other sources of arcing or ozone -- apparently, ozone breaks down rubber very quickly.

I don't know if Avons age any better or worse than other tires -- they never last more than a couple of months for me before they're worn out -- but it seems they should make it through a winter at least.

Heck, I've got a set of six year old Dunlops hanging on a spare set of rims that still look great. (And before anyone's panties start to wad up, no, I would never ride on them, but they serve well enough as rim protectors for now).

 

[waterman]

Brian you must have a steel trap for memories, it was I whom you had chastised for using such hillbilly lubricants like WD40 and dishwater soap for mounting tires. Yes I am still guilty of using soapy water to mount tires, but everytime I do it I think of RuGlyde and wish I had some to try. Necessity being mother of invention, I use what I have on hand. Maybe this time I will find some, where do you purchase said item?

Which brings me to some good news, contacted Tires Unlimited and they will refund tire. Of course I will need to pay shipping. They did offer to mount tire when they realized I was local ohio resident. I explained two hour drive is probably out of question for a tire so just ship it.

 

[Planecrazy]

Brian you must have a steel trap for memories, it was I whom you had chastised for using such hillbilly lubricants like WD40 and dishwater soap for mounting tires. Yes I am still guilty of using soapy water to mount tires, but everytime I do it I think of RuGlyde and wish I had some to try. Necessity being mother of invention, I use what I have on hand. Maybe this time I will find some, where do you purchase said item?

Which brings me to some good news, contacted Tires Unlimited and they will refund tire. Of course I will need to pay shipping. They did offer to mount tire when they realized I was local ohio resident. I explained two hour drive is probably out of question for a tire so just ship it.

Hey, good deal! I probably don't need to tell you this, but make sure you request that they send you a tire with a recent build-code this time!

Regards,

 

[flyingace]

Brian you must have a steel trap for memories, it was I whom you had chastised for using such hillbilly lubricants like WD40 and dishwater soap for mounting tires. Yes I am still guilty of using soapy water to mount tires, but everytime I do it I think of RuGlyde and wish I had some to try. Necessity being mother of invention, I use what I have on hand. Maybe this time I will find some, where do you purchase said item?

Which brings me to some good news, contacted Tires Unlimited and they will refund tire. Of course I will need to pay shipping. They did offer to mount tire when they realized I was local ohio resident. I explained two hour drive is probably out of question for a tire so just ship it.

Is using hillbilly lubes KNOWN to crack tires, or is it just a possibility? I used dish detergent on my rear tire, and it's 3 years old - no cracks. But if there's a danger of harming the tire, I'll change my ways.

 

[rudy]

I only use any kind of lube when absolutely needed. Always try to get the tire on dry and clean. If it does need a little extra somethin-somethin, I use a VERY small bit of Dawn in a bowl of water. Same soap I use for wetsanding. I'm sure even just straight water would do alright too. I've never seen tire mounting lube up here, though I've never really searched for it either. Should look into it, but I've never had a problem yet.

 

[jpaul]

It's good to hear they're making good on the tire. I just checked my spreadsheet and my GS500 got a pair of tires in June or July of 2007. I replaced the rear last year with 14,000 miles on it. The front tire is still on with 18,890 miles on it. I think I'll measure the tread depth tonight so I can estimate when it will need replacing.

I've never used anything but soapy water as a tire lube. My dad never used anything else either, and he started changing tires on cars in the mid 1940's. I would have to see documented proof from an independent lab before I'd believe that a dilute solution of dish soap could have an adverse effect on vulcanized rubber. I would expect rainwater in the northeastern US (acid rain capital) to be more harmful.

 

[reddirtrider]

Count me in with the hillbilly crowd. I've been changing tires (mostly on dirt bikes) with a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a bowl of water for years. No problem and they go on much easier than dry, which I have to tip my hat to anyone who has the patience to do it that way.

When I was yiounger I tried to convince my mother soap was bad for me. She didn't buy it and over the years I've dropped that position. My wife is happy I did.

 

[paco13]

I wouldn't use WD40, It isn't friendly to rubber.
Soap though I have had no troubles with and most times don't need anything. I worked in an automotive tire shop years ago and the lube bottles hung on the side of machines were full of soapy water, thats all we used.
I use car wash soap/water now. Meguiars to be exact.
Yup, some of it inadvertantly gets on my tires when I wash my bike too, and they haven't melted off the bike.

Another auto-shop I worked in used this tire lube specific stuff we called peanut butter 'cause thats what it looked like, don't know its real name. I hated that stuff, made a mess.

And no I never contacted Pirelli. The tread was pretty well worn and figured wouldn't get much pro-rated any how and would probly have to pay ship, So said "screw it".