Best tyres? Avon v Bridgestone v ??

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by northwind

I had an Avon Azaro, 45 or 46 or whatever it may be, on the back of my SV for a while last winter and hated it, really massively unimpressed compared to the Roadtecs I usually have, and the 020 that came on my other spare wheel. In the wet, it always felt much like the roadtec does when stone cold, no matter how long I'd been riding. It was fine in the dry, no complaints there, but then it was winter so I wasn't really pushing them much. In the snow, though, they're pretty decent for road tyres. I couldn't get the bike out of the driveway with the Roadtec rear last time it snowed

I have Avaon Azaros AV 45/46 (Sport Touring compound) on my curvy. I like em. I also got on OK with the original Mez6 that everyone hated so much on the curvy. I believe this is because both the tyres were intended for heavier bikes (e.g. VFR / ST4 etc) than the SV and so never got up to temp. As I ride with pillion and am not slim, I work these tyres a lot harder and so they work for me. Just a thought.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I also got on OK with the original Mez6 that everyone hated so much on the curvy.

Mez4, it was. I wonder what you're comparing the Azaro and Mez4 with? I'd have probably been perfectly happy with the Azaros if I'd never ridden on better.

[Luckypants]

fair point. Other tyres I've tried are Dunlop D202 (OEM) and Bridgestone 020 on my VFR 750 before.

[northwind]

Hum, fair play then, I'd call the 020 better than the Azaro but you've probably got more time on them than I did.

[Scoobs]

Originally Posted by northwind

I'd call the 020 better than the Azaro.

So would I. In the dry, there was very little to separate the two, but in damp or wet conditions the 020's were a lot better IMO.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Scoobs

So would I. In the dry, there was very little to separate the two, but in damp or wet conditions the 020's were a lot better IMO.

I'm a wuss, I don't go out much in the wet.

























Hmmmmm...... In fact I don't go out much!

For wet weather I would choose either of these three:

Pirelli Diablo Strada's

Metzler Z6's

Continental Road Attacks.

The Strada's are very good in the wet, damp or dry.

The Metzlers for me worked very well in the dry and damp but seemed to loose a lot of grip in proper wet conditions. Don't quite understand how that works when, as Ian has stated, they are basically the same tyre as the Pirelli with a slightly different tread pattern.

The Road Attacks I absolutely love. Work brilliant in all conditions. Unbelievable grip straight away from cold. The only downside I found with these tyres was the wear rate. For some reason I wore the edges of the front tyre down to less than legal in 5000 miles. The rear wore out the centre in about the same time. For someone that can not throw new rubber on every 5000 miles I did not find them very economical.

I am now sticking with the Z6's for the Deauville and the Stradas for the SV.

I found that the Bridgestone 020's were a good tyre and still are, but have found the the others I have listed have gone that little bit further for feel and grip.

I've never tried Avon tyres but have heard plenty of people give good feedback from them.

I have to make sure that I get longevity as well as performance out of the tyres I use, quite simply because I can't afford the more expensive and less longer lasting tyres.

For me Pirelli Diablo Strada's fit the bill the best of all of them.

Originally Posted by northwind

Racetec's a very sporty tyre, literally a road legal race tyre... Sportec M3 is more in line with the other ones you've described.

I had one of these fitted during a visit to the south of Spain. Due to a few reasons this was the only tyre that I could find to fit the SV rear at the time. By the time I had made the 1500 mile trip back to the UK they were shot. Still they were indeed a good 1500 miles.

Looks like Avon are replacing the Azaro ST with the Storm ST (fitting for my bike as it's rained nearly every day since I got it in October).

"The Storm-ST replaces Avon’s Azaro-ST and builds
on its predecessor’s talents."

Anyone have any experience of these? Characteristics compared to the Azaro?

This is the data sheet:
http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcyc.../pdf/storm.pdf

[northwind]

Looks interesting... Lot of techno-gibberish