Avon Roadrider cracking Again

[posplayr]

This is the reason that I put Metzelers on my 1100E last year, and Shinkos on my (now kparkfan's) 850G this year.

I need new tires this year for my 700ES.

Much as I've wanted to try them, they will not be Avon Road Riders.

Getting a cracked RR tire is not guranteed although it is alarming that it happens at all. I think it still gets down to whether you can afford to replace the defective tire(if it happens) and are willing to deal with it (if it happens);

I have two sets that have not had cracks like these or and the minor cracking that did occur, would not raise any structural concern.

If I needed to order some today, I probably would buy the RR's. The last set I bought were abut $150 so not the end of the world.

reading the reviews here seems like there were only two people out of 27 mentioned cracking. One guys said he wore his tire out in 1500 miles. Makes you wonder if the wheels are out of alignment.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/28/396/12107/PRODUCT-REVIEW/AM26-Roadrider-Rear-Tire.aspx

[Griffin]

Getting a cracked RR tire is not guranteed although it is alarming that it happens at all. I think it still gets down to whether you can afford to replace the defective tire(if it happens) and are willing to deal with it (if it happens);

I have two sets that have not had cracks like these or and the minor cracking that did occur, would not raise any structural concern.

If I needed to order some today, I probably would buy the RR's. The last set I bought were abut $150 so not the end of the world.

reading the reviews here seems like there were only two people out of 27 mentioned cracking. One guys said he wore his tire out in 1500 miles. Makes you wonder if the wheels are out of alignment.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Rear-Tire.aspx

There are eight firsthand accounts of cracking Road Riders on this thread, over the past couple years. I'm sure there have been thirty or fifty people here who have bought them in that time, and have suffered no issues.

But that's too high a failure rate, and Avon doesn't seem to be terribly concerned about it.

They may be the best tires in the world, and it's too bad. But I just don't want to deal with the hassle if there is a problem.

My 700 has a set of Pirelli Stradas on that are from 2005. I haven't been riding it much the past few years, it's been more of a once in a while type of rider. I'll be riding it more this year though, and I don't want to be riding around on six year old tires, so the old Pirellis will go.

And be replaced by a new set of Pirellis (Sport Demons).

Interesting to note that the six year old Stradas have about 5,000 miles on them, and no sign of cracking at all. They're just harder and slicker than they should be, which is to be expected after this long.

[posplayr]

There are eight firsthand accounts of cracking Road Riders on this thread, over the past couple years. I'm sure there have been thirty or fifty people here who have bought them in that time, and have suffered no issues.

But that's too high a failure rate, and Avon doesn't seem to be terribly concerned about it.

They may be the best tires in the world, and it's too bad. But I just don't want to deal with the hassle if there is a problem.

My 700 has a set of Pirelli Stradas on that are from 2005. I haven't been riding it much the past few years, it's been more of a once in a while type of rider. I'll be riding it more this year though, and I don't want to be riding around on six year old tires, so the old Pirellis will go.

And be replaced by a new set of Pirellis (Sport Demons).

Interesting to note that the six year old Stradas have about 5,000 miles on them, and no sign of cracking at all. They're just harder and slicker than they should be, which is to be expected after this long.

The Sport Demons are nice, they just wear out way too fast. The first tires I used on my 1100 were SD and I think the rear was square in less than 2K miles. Once the rear goes flat the bike is a bear to lean over. It is the very nice round profile of the RR with high pressure (limited side wall flex) hat makes the bike handle so well with them and they stay that way much longer.

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

[Griffin]

The Sport Demons are nice, they just wear out way too fast. The first tires I used on my 1100 were SD and I think the rear was square in less than 2K miles. Once the rear goes flat the bike is a bear to lean over. It is the very nice round profile of the RR with high pressure (limited side wall flex) hat makes the bike handle so well with them and they stay that way much longer.

This bike sees almost no straight line riding. I have bikes much more comfortable for that task. I ride it pretty much only when I'm corner carving, hence the limited miles over the past few years.

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

I dunno. Maybe they did, and they're dead, so they can't tell us about it.



Really though, this whole thing leaves a bad taste for me with Avon in general. I just don't want to support a company with a problem that they don't seem terribly interested in solving.

[bonanzadave]

There is a big Classic Jap bike show coming up at a honda dealer near me. Im thinking I park the Bike there with a big sign. Avon Road Riders suck !

They do feel pretty good in the corners. Maybe Ill keep the front for a while. What should I match it with on the back ?

[tkent02]

So how many failures have there been world wide on these tires? We GSR guys are only a very very small sample of the road riders they have sold. The fact that they are not admitting there is a problem is enough for me. No integrity, no tires, no mas.

[Mysuzyq]

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

Your approach is far too forgiving IMHO, Jim, esp. with something as important from a safety standpoint as tires. I have Avon RRs on my bike right now, and they seem to be fine, but I won't be buying them again. Not sure what is more troubling....the ongoing issue with defects, or the company's cavalier attitude towards it. I think they should be thankful there hasn't been a catastrophic failure involving injury/loss of life (yet), involving litigation. I really don't feel like rolling the dice in terms of getting a tire developing visible defects.... and who's to know about any invisible defects, if quality is as issue.
I'll probably be giving the Shinko tires a try...my buddy has been speaking highly of them, and has used several sets on his 'Busa....hopefully the bias-ply versions are also as good.

[posplayr]

Your approach is far too forgiving IMHO, Jim, esp. with something as important from a safety standpoint as tires. I have Avon RRs on my bike right now, and they seem to be fine, but I won't be buying them again. Not sure what is more troubling....the ongoing issue with defects, or the company's cavalier attitude towards it. I think they should be thankful there hasn't been a catastrophic failure involving injury/loss of life (yet), involving litigation. I really don't feel like rolling the dice in terms of getting a tire developing visible defects.... and who's to know about any invisible defects, if quality is as issue.
I'll probably be giving the Shinko tires a try...my buddy has been speaking highly of them, and has used several sets on his 'Busa....hopefully the bias-ply versions are also as good.

I dont know what the pattern is, I just know the defects have not affected all of the RR's so it seems a bad batch of rubber or something else in the process.

I would not call it cavalier, just pragmatic. But of course I would watch them like a hawk for any kind of splits like Dave's. I'm certainly not defending Avon in any way.

If they came out and said, we have a bad batch of tires and are recalling all......... that would be more comforting that they have isolated the issue.

[themess]

There are eight firsthand accounts of cracking Road Riders on this thread, over the past couple years. I'm sure there have been thirty or fifty people here who have bought them in that time, and have suffered no issues.

But that's too high a failure rate, and Avon doesn't seem to be terribly concerned about it....

...So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

If I'm not mistaken, there was another thread on RRs with cracks, which had several other instances.

I worked a long time in quality assurance. An organization never ignores quality problems in just one area. If RRs crack, there are (or will be) other problems that we won't know about, because those problems aren't visible.

This was more than one bad batch of rubber (and I know rubber mixing very well.) This was a bad recipe, plus a lack of design quality control. plus an inadequate system for responding to field complaints. My recommendation: Neve buy Avon tires.

[7981GS]

My recommendation: Never buy Avon tires.

Daniel

[waterman]

There is a big Classic Jap bike show coming up at a honda dealer near me. Im thinking I park the Bike there with a big sign. Avon Road Riders suck !

They do feel pretty good in the corners. Maybe Ill keep the front for a while. What should I match it with on the back ?

Do you want another cracked tire for your display? How about some extra pics to go along with your tire? Maybe just print a copy of this post and the email correspondence.

[waterman]

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

Your odds may be right but I really doubt Pirelli or Bridgestone or even Shinko has a failure rate anywhere close to 10%. As for replacement, I had one replaced only to fail again. I don't think they are entirely unsafe, but I wasn't about to take off on a high mileage trip with them.

Confidence is so paramount to our endeavor, I don't want to think about whether my rear tire is going to rupture do to a defect, especially with so few miles.

[posplayr]

Your odds may be right but I really doubt Pirelli or Bridgestone or even Shinko has a failure rate anywhere close to 10%. As for replacement, I had one replaced only to fail again. I don't think they are entirely unsafe, but I wasn't about to take off on a high mileage trip with them.

Confidence is so paramount to our endeavor, I don't want to think about whether my rear tire is going to rupture do to a defect, especially with so few miles.

Twice burned I see your point; I'm just batting better odds makeing me more complacent. Truth be told I probably will never buy anymore RR's either as I will only be running radial on my GS1100ED and GSXR1100G. The GS750 seems fine and will hoepfully be gone before needing any more tires.

[posplayr]

If I'm not mistaken, there was another thread on RRs with cracks, which had several other instances.

I worked a long time in quality assurance. An organization never ignores quality problems in just one area. If RRs crack, there are (or will be) other problems that we won't know about, because those problems aren't visible.

This was more than one bad batch of rubber (and I know rubber mixing very well.) This was a bad recipe, plus a lack of design quality control. plus an inadequate system for responding to field complaints. My recommendation: Neve buy Avon tires.

I don't think it is too much of a leap to infer that given your serious concerns about Avon RR's and that beyond just "not buying anymore", you would urge replacement of any RR (not just at end of life) regardless of the outward appearance of the RR tire.

Given your background and understanding of the field, your stated lack of confidence in the Avon product (based on an apparent corporate failing to institute appropriate quality control), it certainly sounds like you "should be" urging the immediate replacement of any Avon tire products.

Is that true?

[themess]

I don't think it is too much of a leap to infer that given your serious concerns about Avon RR's and that beyond just "not buying anymore", you would urge replacement of any RR (not just at end of life) regardless of the outward appearance of the RR tire.

Given your background and understanding of the field, your stated lack of confidence in the Avon product (based on an apparent corporate failing to institute appropriate quality control), it certainly sounds like you "should be" urging the immediate replacement of any Avon tire products.

Is that true?

To be consistent, yes, I should be. But I'm not completely consistent. It is a matter of balancing unnquantifiable risks against known costs.

For Road Riders, yes. I would buy other tires immediatly or very soon. For other Avon tires, already in use and in apparently excellent condition, I would continue to use, but replace with another company's tire, and do so earlier than usual. And I would send Avon a letter explaining why.