Avon AM26 Roadrider tires on EV?

[flower_king001]

Looking to put new tires soon on my 1998 EV. I have ran Metzler Marathon's in the past and had a bad experience with the thread flying off the rear in the shape of petals. At present time I'm running Bridgestone Battalax BT-45's but experience bad road response going over "tar snakes" and think painted white lines. I have read that Avon AM26 Roadrider's are designed to help eliminate that above "bad" road situation. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

[yogidozer]

surprised you had trouble with  Metzler Marathon's, I've had very good results from them on my 99 EV. Maybe you had a fluke, or another issue like not balanced?

[Gliderjohn]

I have used the Avon's on my T-3. Great handling on dry and wet, hot afternoon tar snakes on a curve will still get your attention. Only get about 3,000 miles out of a rear but around 8-9,000 on the front.
GliderJohn

[tris]

I really liked the RRs on my old Cali.

[guzzinka]

I've got those Avons on my Jackal, great tires.  Beware the rear size, 140 was too wide, used a 130/90.

[flower_king001]

surprised you had trouble with  Metzler Marathon's, I've had very good results from them on my 99 EV. Maybe you had a fluke, or another issue like not balanced?

Tires were properly balanced and pressure check weekly. Rear only had 3,000 miles on it when the trouble started. In the end Motorcycle Super Store refunded me the full price. i also did some research on the Web and found others having the same problem.

[Vagrant]

the avons worked as well as anything on the 01 EV at least since the old 491's were discontinued because they lasted too long.
I put Shinkos on the last time. 230 I think and so far 2000 miles later I think I like them better. price is sure right. 

[flower_king001]

Hi Vagrant,

 I have been thinking about trying a pair of Shinko's...in my Revzilla cart at this time i have the following:

Shinko 712 Rear Tire 130/90-17 68H
Shinko 230 Front Tour Master Tire 110/90-18 61V

I was looking at the 230 rear but was wondering if the rain groove down the middle would cause any adverse effect as the 712 has no center groove?

Might be worth a try at $137 for the pair

Two photos are examples of what happened to my Metzler  rear 880

Thanks...



 

the avons worked as well as anything on the 01 EV at least since the old 491's were discontinued because they lasted too long.
I put Shinkos on the last time. 230 I think and so far 2000 miles later I think I like them better. price is sure right.

[yogidozer]

WOW that's scary! I'd like to hear what Meltzer had to say about that.
I've used only them on my 99 EV w/o ever seeing anything like that

[antmanbee]

I run Shinko 712s on both my Jackal and Calvin.
On the front of both bikes are 100/90 18 and they have a center groove. The rears have no center groove and are 130/90 17 on the Jackal and 150/70 17 on the Calvin.
I prefer the 130 on the Jackal as it seems to lean easier, but my Jackal is lighter and has dropped forks by about an inch, so that may be part of it.

[Ncdan]

I run Shinko 712s on both my Jackal and Calvin.
On the front of both bikes are 100/90 18 and they have a center groove. The rears have no center groove and are 130/90 17 on the Jackal and 150/70 17 on the Calvin.
I prefer the 130 on the Jackal as it seems to lean easier, but my Jackal is lighter and has dropped forks by about an inch, so that may be part of it.

I am ready for a tire on the back of my calvin now. It has a Kenda 140-70-17 however the manual calls for a 140- 80-17, is the 150-70-17 roughly the same size?

[PeteS]

I ran three sets of Metzelar 880s on my Goldwing with no issues but many on the Goldwing forum produced pictures like yours. I am on my second set of Metzelar 888s which replaced the 880s. No problems with these either and they work well, good grip wet or dry.
Shinko seems to make a good tire. Many sets on my KLR but mileage is less than half of the Metzelars.

Pete

[perter]

I've had Avon Roadrider on my SP1000 for the past year, about 4000km so far and plenty of rubber left on the rear still.

I run 110/90 front and 120/90 back, there is very little clearance to the driveshaft... be aware of the actual width which seems bigger than the nominal

I think it's a great tire for warmer days. Since I live in northern Europe, I ride in cold weather too, and when the temperature drops below 10c it tends to stiffen and loose the grip a little, especially if the roads are wet. It may not be an issue to you though.

[EV11Jack]

I have Michelin Commander II's on my '98 EV11. I can't say enough good about them. Very confident inspiring ride & control. Wearing very well so far. I read a lot about them & checked numerous rating sites with all saying good things about them before I pulled the trigger. I run Ride-On in them & I think that's added to the smoothness of the ride. Check them out. I think you will be pleased on what you learn.


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[AZRider]

Wow, those ME880's are a horrorshow!
I used those for most of the 160,000 miles on my 98 EV and only had trouble when I failed to keep up on the tire  pressure, but even then I just cut tire life by a few thousand miles while blasting across Kansas.

At the dealership where I have worked for the past two seasons, we have seen three sets of Avons that were dry rot cracking badly when under four years old (from the sidewall manufacture date stamp), and have stopped selling them without giving that warning. Though I haven't confirmed this, we heard from one of our sales reps that Avon warehouses tires in a Southwest desert state where the warehouse gets very hot indoors.

I have Michelin Pilot Activs on both of my EV's now. Definitely good, but not long-lived enough for the touring EV. Better suited to the cafe racer EV, but not so perfect that I won't try something else for the next set. I was talking to the tech guy at Metzeler's US distributor earlier and he has me curious to try the Sport Klassik tires on the cafe racer. Unfortunately, the ME888 Marathon Ultra isn't yet available in the 140/80-17 rear size, so I can't try it on the tourer to see if it's better than the ME880. Hopefully soon. I am not a fan of the Lasertec on the EV because I didn't feel like they gripped well enough to justify how quickly they wore out. So I am still juggling what to get next.

[flower_king001]

Update:

Mounted/balanced/installed
Shinko 712 Rear Tire 130/90-17 68H)
Shinko 230 Tour Master Tire  Front Tire Size: 110/90-18 61V)

Put about 100 miles on and so far pleases...but time will tell.

I also bout a set of Shinko Raven's for my Breva 1100 but won't need them till the spring. So for $297 I got both pair of tires delivered to my door. I have a no-Mar tire changer and balancer which has paid for itself in the last several years.

[john hooper]

I have done thousands of miles on my ev on roadriders, they really suit the bike and last reasonably well, recomended.

John