Avon Roadrider cracking Again

My buddy just put a set of RR's on his Hawk... the tire that was made in 08 has cracks starting on it, even after only acquiring 150 miles: The funny part is the tire that came from JC Whitney was made in '09, the tire that supposedly came direct from Avon's warehouse had the '08 stamping.

His other tire marked 09 seems to be fine he said. I Googled the problem and it seems to be sketchy for 08 and older tires having cracks...RR's that is.

I was just going to go back to my Spitfires, but they are on national backorder...so I'm unsure if rumor is true or not about them being discontinued.

If DK has fresh sets of RR's, I may go that route. My Spitfires are at 9000 miles and are in need of being retired. Wear bars are now level with the tread blocks.

Ok, we are at about a year later, how are the Avon's holding up?

Still cracked, still rolling down the street. Has about 2200 miles on it now.

Good news is that they haven't cracked any more after the initial cracking. Of course, picked up a big wood screw about dead center when I was going to send this back for replacement. Told myself to forget it and just drive it. That is what I have been doing.

Would I recommend this to others, no. I am using bike exclusively for commuting and watch the tire like a hawk. Loses air about weekly, mainly due to the plug I put in tire.

I just bought a set of roadriders from dennis kirk this week.
Front 100/90/19 date 0510
Rear 120/90/18 date 4709

So there fairly fresh, problem is there going to be siting around for about a year before I mount them. Had a slight change of plans.

[bonanzadave]

Any cracks yet?

Funny ! (NOT) The guy doing it did mention how fresh they were by the date code. Got them from DK/Parts Unlimited.

[tkent02]

Having the RRs put on right now..........

Any cracks yet?

[bonanzadave]

Having the RRs put on right now..........

[Steve]

...

U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number
This begins with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next two numbers or letters are the plant code where it was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year the tire was built. For example, the numbers 3197 means the 31st week of 1997. The other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's discretion. This information is used to contact consumers if a tire defect requires a recall.

...

Almost, but not quite.

The four-digit date system was not implemented until 2000.
If a tire was made in the 31st week of 1997, the THREE-digit code would be 317.

Since there was no way of telling whether that was 1997. 1987, 1977, whatever, the four-digit date code started in 2000.

If you see a tire with a date code of 3197, that means that it WILL BE MADE in the 31st week of 2097.

.

[tkent02]

Hope AVON does right by you all...

They did, a year ago.

My cheap priced Shinko's are looking pretty good right now... LOL

I WAS thinking about the Avon's for my next set but you all are scareing me now...

Hope AVON does right by you all...

Ok, we are at about a year later, how are the Avon's holding up?

[Bill C.]

Roadriders AM26

Well a week turned into a month before I got my tires mounted. Rode the bike today a what a differance they made. Will keep a eye on the sidewalls. My 850 turns and rides so much better. I will keep everybody posted on how they wear and if there are any problems. Finger crossed. I now have about 400 miles on my tires and no problems so far. I love the way the handle and the ride is much better. I would recommend them to anybody looking for a well priced good handling tire.

There is another thread on the forum that also deals with Avon Road Roder sidewall cracking.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?p=975536#post975536

I installed a set last fall on my 850. Already showing signs of cracking. Date is 2008 production.

Ok, got my roadriders in. I'm at work and they will probably be put on in the coming weeks after I get my dyna s to function properly. For the record my tire birthdays are the 43 week of 08 for my front which is 100/90-19 and the 41 week of 08 for my rear: 120/90-18. Look forward to Avon's great customer support (not). So basically, avon's response sounds like they intend to either cover up the issues or not look for issues concerning quality control and let this type of crap go on. And by stating, "go to a dealer," is like telling me that after I have been sold something that is defective, to get the defective unit analyzed by some schmuck that will charge me labor to get the crap off my bike so I can put some other replacement tires on for another nominal fee. My Avons are not even on the bike yet but I hate to put them on knowing that they may fuel further frustration. But I respect those who recommended them to me and will just have to cross my fingers and believe in magic and pete the magic dragon I suppose with Avon's loving set of corporate values profiled in their response to this ordeal....

This is the response I just got from Avon USA,

Thank you for contacting Avon Tyres. This time of year we see allot of cracking due to dry rot and although we are seeing some additional issues with circumferential rubber cracking, many of the reported cases are spring time dry rot. Forums can be very misleading. We have not had any tires fail due to these cracks and we are replacing them just like any other manufacturers warranty. We are looking for a trend in manufacturer date and at this time do not have a particular date range of defective tires. Each warranty done helps us to get a better understanding of the issue. For all of the Venom & Roadrider sizes there are less than one half of one percent warranted for all issues, and that is not a very big number. If you are experiencing an issue with your tire, please proceed to any dealer that will work with you to have the tire inspected. In Canada you should try to work with the dealer that sold the tire to you and they will have to contact Parts Canada as they are our only Canadian distributor and handle all warranties in Canada. Have the dealer call Parts Canada with their findings and please try to have your tire present at the time of the call so that they can get some info from it. If the dealer feels that the tire is unsafe to ride on, Parts Canada should replace it.

Thank you for supporting Avon Tyres and ride safely.


I guess if you bury your corporate head in the sand deep enough any problem will go away.

What a crock.

Let me translate what they said:

"You are a blip on our radar and we aren't too concerned with your findings."

This is the response I just got from Avon USA,

Thank you for contacting Avon Tyres. This time of year we see allot of cracking due to dry rot and although we are seeing some additional issues with circumferential rubber cracking, many of the reported cases are spring time dry rot. Forums can be very misleading. We have not had any tires fail due to these cracks and we are replacing them just like any other manufacturers warranty. We are looking for a trend in manufacturer date and at this time do not have a particular date range of defective tires. Each warranty done helps us to get a better understanding of the issue. For all of the Venom & Roadrider sizes there are less than one half of one percent warranted for all issues, and that is not a very big number. If you are experiencing an issue with your tire, please proceed to any dealer that will work with you to have the tire inspected. In Canada you should try to work with the dealer that sold the tire to you and they will have to contact Parts Canada as they are our only Canadian distributor and handle all warranties in Canada. Have the dealer call Parts Canada with their findings and please try to have your tire present at the time of the call so that they can get some info from it. If the dealer feels that the tire is unsafe to ride on, Parts Canada should replace it.

Thank you for supporting Avon Tyres and ride safely.


I guess if you bury your corporate head in the sand deep enough any problem will go away.