Since there seems to be a problem with Avon Road Riders

[JES_vfr]

Spit fires are about 20% the tire that the road rider is, it is like comparing apples to pianos.

Wow! You didn't have to dig all that up. I really appreciate your help.

Those Battlax bt-45's seem to be a good compromise between performance and price for my budget.

If I can scrape up the extra cash, I may still go with the Roadriders. We'll see how it goes.

It wasn't that hard Chris, I just went to one online vendor and plugged the tire sizes into their sizing app.

As for the Battlax's, the last time I used them, I was keeping my fraternity brother's new CBR1000 from gathering dust. He was called up for Desert Storm 1 and I needed a bike, so the deal was quickly struck. I got a bike to ride for almost two years and he did not have to pay for storage.
They were pretty good tires then and on the big CBR I did not hesitate to run them until they had no chicken strips.
They'd be a good tire for a gs today.

[JES_vfr]

Do you drive like an insane idiot on the street ?
I don't run "crap" tires on the street period. If you are pushing a bike to the point where it starts to exceed the capability of any brand of clean condition DOT tires, you have a date with the grim reaper in the near future....

Unless the tires in question are like the brand new 'DunFlops' that were OE on my VFR800.
They were utter crap tires from the factory.
I practically danced a jig when with only a little more than 600 miles, I found a drywall nail almost to the shoulder of the rear tire..
Off came the terrible 'Dunslides' and on went a set of Avons Azaros.
They were not even promoted as sport tires, instead they were listed as sport-touring tires, yet they were 100% better than the OE 'Dunjunk'

Since then I've had other bikes with Pirelli's to Shinko's.
Some have good grip, others were greasy and some were like polished steel.
It is very possible to find the limits of a dot tire without breaking the law.
But that is just proof that not all tires are the same.

[SVSooke]

Unless the tires in question are like the brand new 'DunFlops' that were OE on my VFR800.
They were utter crap tires from the factory.
I practically danced a jig when with only a little more than 600 miles, I found a drywall nail almost to the shoulder of the rear tire..
Off came the terrible 'Dunslides' and on went a set of Avons Azaros.
They were not even promoted as sport tires, instead they were listed as sport-touring tires, yet they were 100% better than the OE 'Dunjunk'

Since then I've had other bikes with Pirelli's to Shinko's.
Some have good grip, others were greasy and some were like polished steel.
It is very possible to find the limits of a dot tire without breaking the law.
But that is just proof that not all tires are the same.

The SV650S I had before this bike had Dunlop D220 (?) tires on it.Slow to warm greasy at the best of times.Never felt confident on them.I'm a slow ,cautious type rider not a speed demon.Put a set of Pirelli Diablos on it.Instant transformation.Has shaken my confidence in Dunlop tires to the point of not wanting another set again,rather a shame as I know they have some good ones.

[hjfisk]

The SV650S I had before this bike had Dunlop D220 (?) tires on it.Slow to warm greasy at the best of times.Never felt confident on them.I'm a slow ,cautious type rider not a speed demon.Put a set of Pirelli Diablos on it.Instant transformation.Has shaken my confidence in Dunlop tires to the point of not wanting another set again,rather a shame as I know they have some good ones.

I ride on the bridgestones on the street Battleaxes on the ZRX, and BT45's on the GS's , On the track I like the pirrellis or metzelers. I have run Dunlops and they seem to be a bit lose to me. They are a liked tire on the track for those riders whom like to back their bikes into the corners, they are able to get that 2 wheel drift going.I'm just not that good

[lurch12_2000]

I think it's reasonable to have doubts about purchasing Avon Roadriders based on feedback in this thread:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0&postcount=79

This may be a handful out of a few hundred active forum members using Roadriders, but we haven't heard any feedback of cracking of Spitfires or Shinko 230's recently purchased. And looking at some of the pics posted in that thread, it's more than just small surface cracks for the new Avons! Since most of us would replace tires with this type of cracking on any GS we purchased then why would we overlook this on new tires and not question their quality. I'm not sure waiting for one of these Avons to fail while riding hard would be a turning point for making a decision. There also doesn't seem to be any attempt at resolution by Avon. Those who are happy with Roadriders and never had cracking will probably keep on buying them and still tout their virtues.
BTW, the set of Spitfires I have on my GS1000G (never bought them before and they were included with the purchase) have faired well for over 2k miles. No squaring off at all, tested fine in heavy rains and grips well on the corners without squirm. We're all prone to exaggeration so I measured my chicken strip at 1/8" and it may be at none if my exhaust and hwy pegs didn't scrape unweighting the bike. I don't ride on the track so for $135 for a pair I would recommend the Spitfires as a good alternative.
Most tires will square off if you do mostly highway riding, do burnouts and stoppies, or don't like to hit the corners hard. I've ridden Roadriders on my old GS1100E and liked them but wouldn't buy another set until someone tells me that other new tires have the same handful of similiar cracking issues and it's of no concern.
So let's hear of cracking of new tires on the others to arrive at a reasonable decision process...for me anyway.

I checked for a new set(2 tires) for my GS1000G:
Avon Roadriders, DennisKirk, $224 shipped
Bridgstone Spitfires, MotorcycleSuperstore, $135 shipped

[lurch12_2000]

update....

At least from Dennis Kirk, Avon reseller:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?p=1460482#post1460482

[MadCapsule]

Quick update for this old thread:

Finances decided for me. I ended up going with a Shinko 230 Tourmaster, 100/90-19, in the front and a Shinko 712, 120/90-18 in the rear.

I know they're not the world's best tires by any stretch. But they're sure to be better than the rock-hard Dunlop 404 that was on the rear and the old, cracked Cheng Shin that was on the front!

[Nessism]

Quick update for this old thread:

Finances decided for me. I ended up going with a Shinko 230 Tourmaster, 100/90-19, in the front and a Shinko 712, 120/90-18 in the rear.

I know they're not the world's best tires by any stretch. But they're sure to be better than the rock-hard Dunlop 404 that was on the rear and the old, cracked Cheng Shin that was on the front!

Why not a 230 on the rear? 230 is V-rated, but 712 is only H.

[MadCapsule]

The 230 rear looks squared off down the center and I wanted to go with a rounder profile.

My bike won't be seeing 149 mph any time soon, so the V-rating is of little concern to me. I'd be surprised if it could exceed the max H-rating of 130 mph.

[Nessism]

The 230 rear looks squared off down the center and I wanted to go with a rounder profile.

My bike won't be seeing 149 mph any time soon, so the V-rating is of little concern to me. I'd be surprised if it could exceed the max H-rating of 130 mph.

I don't know where you are getting the profile info from but the 230 is quite rounded.

[MadCapsule]

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

Looks pretty flat down the center to me.

[Nessism]

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

Looks pretty flat down the center to me.

That photo is a super fat tire that's not even installed. You can't judge installed profile based on that.

A 120/90-18 tire is marginally too wide for a 2.15" rear Suzuki wheel, but many people (including me) use it. If anything you need a flatter profile tire so the sidewall doesn't pinch in too much. Regardless of that, the 230 is not a flat profile tire at all, and when installed on a 2.15 wheel it's almost too rounded.

[MadCapsule]

That photo is a super fat tire that's not even installed. You can't judge installed profile based on that.

A 120/90-18 tire is marginally too wide for a 2.15" rear Suzuki wheel, but many people (including me) use it. If anything you need a flatter profile tire so the sidewall doesn't pinch in too much. Regardless of that, the 230 is not a flat profile tire at all, and when installed on a 2.15 wheel it's almost too rounded.

Oh well. I have what I have. I'm not sweating it and neither should you.

And, like I said, the V-rating is useless to me anyway.

[Nessism]

Trust me, I'm not sweating.

V-rated tires are rated for high speed, so the construction is quite robust and stable. The 230 is also of belted construction also so the tread life will be better.
Oh well.

[MadCapsule]

Duly noted.

However, I'm not super-concerned about tread life with these tires. I fully intend to buy a nicer set of rubber next summer. The riding season is quickly fading here and I needed something that I didn't have to worry about flying to pieces at anything above 40 mph.