Avon Road Rider Cracks

[OldVet66]

I had two rear Road Riders crack in a year, the front cracked the second year. It was in an unheated garage in Northern Virginia. Having no problem with my Shinko's.

[derwood]

My 130/90 17 cracked to the point of being unusable, i checked it in the spring after being in a heated garage all winter, and there was some very minor cracks close to the bead. I didn't ride the bike much until August, the cracking was horrific by then. Avon and the online retailer were great about the return, and i was out of pocket zero dollars.
I really thought the tire was great other than the cracking issue. I may try another set, but this time i may go with 140/80 17, and 120/80 16 on the front , stock sizes (in AUS) according to my factory manual.

[derwood]

Couldn't resist.

We've all seen this style jacket. (Marlon Brando The Wild One.) How many have you seen that are lined with rabbit? My father's father did this when he was 90 and legally blind.

AVON Roadrider cracks.

[hjfisk]

I hate to be another to complain about the Roadriders, But I bought a new Road rider for the rear of my 1000G back in May of this year. I am very at omit about my air pressure's and keeping them where they should be . I run the rear at 42 PSI for two up riding and I will admit most of it has been 2 up . But this Roadrider tire has turned into a chopped tractor like tire in 3 thousand miles. I had been getting around 5-6 thousand miles out of the bridgestones .. I guess I will be going back to the BT 45's

[themess]

FWIW, for the past 5 months I've been changing jobs and moving, which has taken so much time that I've mostly ignored the GSR. I miss it.

I heard it may have to do with really cold winter storage temps. Dave is in minnesota, you are in Jefferson, not so cold.

I wonder if that's it? Dave what kind of temps were your tires stored at? Stored for how long?

Tires should never, ever crack due to cold storage. If rubber is frozen, then flexed too much, cracking might result. (Tech language for freezing is dropping below the glass transition temperature, Tg) Sidewall compounds are typically pretty soft because they are meant to flex a lot. In more expensive tires, the SW could have three or more compounds in it. Center would be soft so that it can flex. Near the bead it would be much harder, since it is supposed to transition to the nearly brittle rubber in the bead package. Upper SW would be half way between SW and tread rubber, which is harder than SW but not hugely so.

Threads on Avon Road Rider cracks have been running for several years. The tire engineers and compounds certainly know about the problem. Avon has (1) decided that it is only a cosmetic defect, OR (2) doesn't care, OR (3) doesn't know how to fix the problem without compromising performance characteristics.

Now this has got me re-thinking what to put on my bike!! I have the same year, 82 1100E that you have! My question to you is.....what is the benefit to deflating the tire over the winter?

There is no benefit to deflating a tire over the winter. 50 years ago, with cotton tire cord and ancient technology, relieving stresses in the tire might have marginally helped. Deflating the tire, folllowed by temperature changes might compromise the seal between wheel and bead. That won't happen with a fully inflated tire. If a tire is deflated over winter, both wheels should be off of the floor.

My 130/90 17 cracked to the point of being unusable, i checked it in the spring after being in a heated garage all winter, and there was some very minor cracks close to the bead. I didn't ride the bike much until August, the cracking was horrific by then. Avon and the online retailer were great about the return, and i was out of pocket zero dollars.

I really thought the tire was great other than the cracking issue. I may try another set, but this time i may go with 140/80 17, and 120/80 16 on the front , stock sizes (in AUS) according to my factory manual.

Threads in this forum on tire performance characteristics always put Road Riders near the top.

Stock size tires should be best, since tire size is part of the suspension system. When one part is changed, everything is changed.

I would not buy Road Riders without knowing that the defect is only cosmetic. Corporations have a way of settling wrongful injury/death suits out of court, with clauses prohibiting even admitting that there was a settlement. There is no way for us to know that these tires are safe. None.

[bonanzadave]

The tire engineers and compounds certainly know about the problem. Avon has (1) decided that it is only a cosmetic defect, OR (2) doesn't care, OR (3) doesn't know how to fix the problem without compromising performance characteristics.

Back in post #24 the AVON rep thinks they have it figured out. I would not install this size with a mfg date before 2013.

"The UK has modified the sidewall compound in 2013 in this size to make it more flexible so this issue should be resolved now. Took a while to figure out a fix."

[Ecklund]

Back in post #24 the AVON rep thinks they have it figured out. I would not install this size with a mfg date before 2013.

"The UK has modified the sidewall compound in 2013 in this size to make it more flexible so this issue should be resolved now. Took a while to figure out a fix."

My tires are only one data point, but your advice to not use Avon tires made before 2013 sounds right.

[bonanzadave]

your advise to not use Avon tires made before 2013 sounds right.

Ill let you know how mine held up to the MN winter.....around May 2015.

[GSX1000E]

Why is anyone here still foolish enough to buy any of these after all of the many, many documented problems and admission of guilt from the manufacturer?
There are many other tires available for these bikes WITHOUT these issues. Bridgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Shinko, etc. And with the exception of Shinko, all cost about the same after the new
government foreign tire tariffs that were added early last year.

[Sandy]

Why is anyone here still foolish enough to buy any of these after all of the many, many documented problems and admission of guilt from the manufacturer?
There are many other tires available for these bikes WITHOUT these issues. Bridgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Shinko, etc. And with the exception of Shinko, all cost about the same after the new
government foreign tire tariffs that were added early last year.

.....and Dunlops. They seem to be ignored by a lot of people around here. I've been running Dunlops for the last 20 years with never a problem, other than they're a pig to mount (GT501), They get cold stored every winter (temps down to -30C) and nary a crack. They didn't have proper sizing for my 750EF so I've got a new set of BT45's for it. Hope I have as good success with them.

[bonanzadave]

.....and Dunlops. They seem to be ignored by a lot of people around here.

I got scared off by the old 391 & 491 Tour Elites. Snakey in the corners but pretty stable and long wear straight up and down.

[Sandy]

I got scared off by the old 391 & 491 Tour Elites. Snakey in the corners but pretty stable and long wear straight up and down.

I wasn't a Dunlop fan either until I ran 591R's on my FZ750. I've only used GT501's on my GS1000 and they seem to do the job, haven't spit me off yet.

[lurch12_2000]

I buy the Dunlop Sportmax Q2 and Q3's for my Bandit and like them. I don't buy the bias Dunlop's for the old GSes because for the same price I could buy an Avon (well, maybe not now in light of the persistent cracking issues that is popping up). So I go with the Shinko 712's for half the price. The Dunlops tend to be long lasting but get stiff and slippery on the old bikes I've had. In fairness because of their durability and the previous owners lack of miles used they tend to be over 10 years old but the tread looks hardly worn.

[Sandy]

I buy the Dunlop Sportmax Q2 and Q3's for my Bandit and like them. I don't buy the bias Dunlop's for the old GSes because for the same price I could buy an Avon (well, maybe not now in light of the persistent cracking issues that is popping up). So I go with the Shinko 712's for half the price. The Dunlops tend to be long lasting but get stiff and slippery on the old bikes I've had. In fairness because of their durability and the previous owners lack of miles used they tend to be over 10 years old but the tread looks hardly worn.

Dunlop makes many different models of tires for our old bikes. I haven't used the cheaper Dunlops because they tend to not give the performance I want and seem to be older designs. The GT501s for me have performed flawlessly both wet and dry and allow for quite spirited riding when the occasion arises. As for cost and mileage, I only wish they were as cheap as the Avons and got more than 5,000 miles on a rear and only about 8,000 on the front. Hmmmm, maybe i just answered my own question about why not many use them.

[lurch12_2000]

Dunlop makes many different models of tires for our old bikes. I haven't used the cheaper Dunlops because they tend to not give the performance I want and seem to be older designs. The GT501s for me have performed flawlessly both wet and dry and allow for quite spirited riding when the occasion arises. As for cost and mileage, I only wish they were as cheap as the Avons and got more than 5,000 miles on a rear and only about 8,000 on the front. Hmmmm, maybe i just answered my own question about why not many use them.

Those Dunlop 501's have a similar tread pattern front and rear as the Shinko 712's. Probably Shinko copied? I think you can count on the same amount of mileage and performance out of the 712's at about a 3rd of the cost...something to consider.