Avon Azaro ST AV45 / AV46

[TheLeprechaun]

I'm nearing the end of my Diablo's tire life and I'm looking for new tires once again. I've heard reports of Avon tires having a longer tire life. Whether it's true or not, I'd really like to know. So, for riders who have or have had Avon tires on their bike, please post your reviews. Make sure to mention the following details:


1. The model of tire.
2. The type of riding you do.
3. Where you do this riding.
4. How long did the tires last?
5. How is the dry pavement grip?
6. How is the wet pavement grip?
7. Would you recommend these tires? Why or why not?


I do a lot of riding in the twisties, but I also need a tire that can stand up to the super straight slabs we like to call interstates. I know the two don't go hand in hand, but a tire that handles both tasks well is what I'm looking for.

The tires I am considering (Sport and Sport Touring respectively):

Avon Azaro SP SPort

http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/images/tyrepictures/Azaro-SP-AV50.jpg http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/images/tyrepictures/Azaro-SP-AV49.jpg


Azaro ST 45 and 46

http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/images/tyrepictures/Azaro-ST-AV46.jpg http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/images/tyrepictures/Azaro-ST--AV45.jpg


To view the tire specs and info, click the following link:

http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/Product.asp?ProdType=SportTouring


*Edit* Guess I should have changed "tire" to "tyre" for you guys :wink: .

[Scoobs]

1. The model of tire. AV45 / 46's
2. The type of riding you do. Various. Bit of commute, weekend thrash.
3. Where you do this riding. Southern England
4. How long did the tires last? 6k ish rear, 10k ish front
5. How is the dry pavement grip? Good
6. How is the wet pavement grip? Sketchy
7. Would you recommend these tires? Why or why not? Good in the dry. Don't like in the wet. Not as good as BT020's for all condition riding. Go for the Bridgestones IMO.

[PaulD]

Tendency to flat quite quickly with staight line riding.

Go for Bridgestone 020's similar life but i think a better tyre.

It depends on the price as well i suppose. In the local bike shop last weekend they had an offer on Avon's £162 fitted. How does that compare to the states.

I lived in Racine for a while and i now the riding around there would have suited a harder tyre like a Michelin Macadam, great for the staights and a reasonable grip on corners if not pushed too hard.

[rictus01]

Try looking in the tyre section?

http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=8241

Cheers Mark.

[Nut E1]

I used to have the azzaro sp 49 & 50 on my R6 and they are the best tyre I've ever used. great in the wet and dry... I used to commute 70 miles a day on them and go for weekend thrashes in the twisties and never had a problem once, as for tyre life, they seemed as if they would last a long time but my bike got stolen before i could find that one out...
I'm not sure if you would get the same feeling from these tyres on the SV, but I can't wait for my O.E. ones to run out so as I can try them...
I would recommend, also I think it was in Performance Bikes a while back they did a thing on best tyres for a particular bike each month and the Avons came out top on the two occasions I read it...
Hope this helps... :)

[TheLeprechaun]

Sorry, I didn't notice there was a tyre section :oops: .

[OnFire]

1. The model of tire. ST45 /ST46
2. The type of riding you do. Some commuting, mostly weekend warrior now.
3. Where you do this riding. Cat & Fiddle, Cheshire and surrounding.
4. How long did the tires last? I gave them away before they were wore out, about 3000 miles done on them.
5. How is the dry pavement grip? Rear ok, front appaulling
6. How is the wet pavement grip? Exact opposite of above.
7. Would you recommend these tires? Why or why not? I would only recommend to someone I wanted "out of the way". These tyres are complete crap and are only IMO to be consided for touring use only. I would take the stock Mez's over these. Also you will get a front end wobble with these tyres at 40-50 mph when you let go of the bars.

[steviemcd]

If you can't ride fast enough to get a sport touring tyre up to temp then you will always find fault.

[SteveNZ]

If you can't ride fast enough to get a sport touring tyre up to temp then you will always find fault.

Define "fast enough" :)

[TheLeprechaun]

AVON AZARO ST AV45 / AV46

(Please excuse the American pricing and spelling in the post...)

http://www.sporttour.com/AV45_46.jpg


Size:

120/70ZR-17 Front
160/60ZR-17 Rear

Purchased from http://www.swmototires.com/ , $215 shippied (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!)

I've finally had a chance to put on some decent mileage in the twisties with these tires. :D Here's the review:

My SV650 came with Dunlop D220s mounted to it; these were satisfactory tires, but really didn't shine in any one category. After two D220 rears, I switched to Pirelli Diablos, new to the the market at the time. The Diablos are great sport tires. They provided levels of grip beyond anything the street could call for - they're a good compromise between occaisional track riding and aggressive street riding.

The Diablos accomplish good mileage for their intended purpose; however, they didn't suit my needs/demands well. I do a lot of aggressive street riding, but I also demand a lot of mileage out of my tires. I'm in college, paying for it out of my pocket, so I don't have a lot of discretionary income to throw down on a new set of tires every 3,000 miles (the average life of the Diablos for me).

That said, I decided to go for the Avon Azaro ST. The tires were not recommended by many, but this is mostly due to Avon's seemingly poor past reputation and the fact that a very small amount of people have actually had experience with their latest line of tires. Many riders suggested Pilot Roads or the new Metzler Z6 Roadtec. I decided that I wanted to give the Avons a chance as I've heard they have quite the dedicated following. Many riders have exclaimed that the tires have high levels of grip for a sport touring tire while being able to provide unheard of mileage.

After my recent rides in the local twisties, I found the above to be no myth. The tires have a nice round profile that is very confidence inspiring - they let you know that at any given point in your turn, you'll always have that extra bit of grip if something hairy comes up. I was achieving some pretty steep lean angles with these tires without experiencing any slipping (while hanging off aggresively, the tires are scrubbed to the edge :D). Even over loose gravel, they still leave you feeling comfortable and calm, always wanting to add more lean angle.

Turn in and stability feel great with these tires. At times, my Diablo front would feel like it was sliding out and occaisionally it did. This hasn't happened at all with the Avons. They always feel stable and handle irregularities in the roadway while leaned over very well.

i haven't had a chance to test the tires out in the rain yet. As soon as I get a chance, you'll see a report.

The tread of the tires is very deep, but due to the tire design, tread flex is not an issue. Avon uses a variable-belt-density design that allows for a stiffer tread at the center (for better mileage) with a softer grippier side for good grip in the corners. I've heard mileage reports of anywhere from 7,000-12,000 miles per rear. Once I finish off this rear, I'll post a brief report of the performance over the whole tire life.

Now, don't get me wrong, these are sport touring tires. They are not for everyone - if you're doing track days and want a tire that will work for you on and off the track, I'd look at a different tire, possibly Avon's super sport tire (I think I may be an Avon convert for a while :P ) . I will give 'em a shot on the track (Road America) later this month, so I'll post up how well they performed. These tires will satisfy a good 90% of all riders needs on the street; they are a wonderful street tire. If you like to ride aggresively on the street and demand high mileage, don't overlook this tire, it could be the best SV decision you've ever make.

Look for a video of these tires in action some time next week :).

[TheLeprechaun]

These tires impressed me a lot yesterday, so I felt I should share the experience...

I lead a couple of riders through my favorite twisty roads around here. What were they riding? CBR1000RR's wearing Pirelli Diablo Corsa tires (very sticky!). I was on my "little" SV still wearing the Avon sport touring tires. The conditions weren't necessarily favorable - the temperature was around 90 degrees and the roads were somewhat warmer I'd imagine.

Nonetheless, these tires reached operating temps correctly and kept me railin' hard in the corners. The two 1000RR guys complained of slipping and sliding through the tight turns that I had no problem with. Now, I can't say that they are accomplished riders, so their opinion of what is going on may not be exactly true. Sure, 150 hp to the rear wheel is a good reason for the rears on those bikes to slip, but at the temperatures those tires are designed to operate on, they really shouldn't be experiencing any sliding (they weren't draggin' knees).

I came into a turn a little hot and leaned the bike way over. I felt my jeans barely scrape the ground, so I knew I was over hard. As the turn was a decreasing radius turn, I still needed to scrub off some speed, so I was on the binders through much of the turn before powering out. I was quite surprised the Avons continued to grip, even at the very steep lean angle I was at. For a sport touring tire, this is pretty impressive in my opinion.

However, I would say I was nearing the limit of the tire's adhesion. I hang off quite a bit on the bike, and after looking at the rear of my tire, there is no unused portion - at all. If I were to give any more lean angle, I'd be concerned about running out of tire. But, what do I know, I could just be paranoid about this. I guess I'll have to crash to find out :lol: .

After 1200 very hard ridden miles, these tires are showing very little wear. In fact, the little extra bits of rubber from being molded are still on the tire! I'm quite impressed with these tires and their continued excellent grip. I wish I could run the Z6's and the Avon ST's back to back for comparison, but my feeling is that they Avons perform just as well as the Z6's. This is a great tire for the majority of riders out there. :P I plan on purchasing another set (or the lastest from Avon) whenever these wear out

[Dan_SV]

I like these too, I'm in the same situation as you, currently tight on money, and using the bike to commute.

The bike originally had an AV45 front, and an AV36b rear. The rear was hideous, even in the dry, stepped out a couple of times in the dry on the road, and once or twice at a hot cadwell park. The rear was really ****e in the wet also. I never experienced any problems with the front, which allways served me well. The rear was cooked, and I wanted to put a pair of tyres on, so 014's were the order of the day. The front AV45 was mothballed for time being.

I then went to Bridgestone 014's. The first year did about 3000miles, (winter riding), then the second rear did about 1000-1200 miles (summer riding). I simply don't have enough money to replace a tyre that frequently (works out to just under a months use with my mileage). So I have now put an AV46 on the rear. Initial impressions are good, but It's still running with a front 014, which will be seen out soon, and replaced with the part worn AV45.

When I get the pair on, obviously I can report more accurately, but so far I would say the rear feels good in the dry, and the front was allways ok too. Hopefully I will get decent mileage out of the tyres.

Don't write them off.

Danno.

[Dan_SV]

Small update.... The rear tyre can be spun up at will in 2nd on a wet road (you do have to provoke it a lot, and it is quite funny) the rear can also feel a bit sketchy in the wet generally.

Still don't think I have found my ideal compromise, but these will have to do for the Summer.

Danno.

[RandyO]

I have read this thread and I am windering if I am running the same tires.

I am on my 4th set of Azaro STs, they have excellent wet grip, good dry grip (for a sport touring tire) and no flat spot in rear or scalloping in front, I get 10,000-13,000 miles per set(I change tires in pairs)

I wonder if the posters with lesser results are running the right air pressure.

Avon uses a variable belt technology that requires a higher air pressure than what suzuki recommends, 42psi rear and 36 psi front, not 36/33. an email I recieved from avon stated that for every 2psi you drop from their recomendation, you will loose 10% of tire life, rubber might overheat with agressive riding and get greasey

also note that they do not use a dual compund like other tire manufacturers, the denser belts in the center means less flex and less heat, towards the edges, the carcass flexes more for more heat and a stickier tire

[Dan_SV]

36 and 42 for me, haven't worn em out yet so cant report on longevity. Bear in mind that in the U.K. wet usually equals cold, and that means less grip. A hot wet road supposedly has more grip than a cold dry one :?:

Also British roads tend to get very greasy when they are wet, so this could also be contributary to the lesser amount of grip.

This is all speculation though. One things for certain, they have a nice profile and feel nice in the dry, and also have plenty enough grip for an SV in the dry. In the wet, they could be better.

Danno.