Avon Roadrider cracking Again

[bonanzadave]

-----Original Message-----
From: bonanzadave@gmail.com [mailto:bonanzadave@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 9:21 PM
To: US Sales
Subject: Contact Us

​

Hi Guys, This, Im sure, is not new info. I got a set of Avon Road Riders from you last May 2010. Rode 6 months (<1K miles) and then stored the bike until yesterday. There are some serious sidewall cracks in the Back tire. NOT safe at all. What is Avon doing about this ? Regards, Dave


On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 12:18 PM, Customer Service <customerservice@denniskirk.com> wrote:

Dave,​

I apologize that you are experiencing cracks on your sidewall. Normally what we require is to have our customers send a few photos to us to forward to our warranty department to determine if the tire would be covered under warranty before having the customer pay for shipping, etc. What we do is base the warranty on the remaining depth of tread so please send photos of that also. You may send them to customerservice@denniskirk.com and put attention Amy in the subject line along with your name, address and phone number in the body of the email.​

Thank you and have a great day!
Amy
Customer Service
Dennis Kirk, Inc.
955 S Field Ave.
Rush City, MN 55069
((800) 328-9280 ext. 2208
www.denniskirk.com

​

 

[Guest]

I had an Avon RR tire replaced for the same issue in 2009 - the local dealer got me another tire but I had to pay for the mounting again...

This, after I contacted Avon directly (via e-mail) to complain (with pics & date codes) only to be told that they were unaware of any cracking problems with their AM26 tires.

The whole thing left a sour taste in my mouth regarding Avon & I haven't bought another Avon since, nor will I ever again.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

Its a cheap chinese knock off maybe?
You know they actually are counterfeiting bearings.
I read it on the Timken site. Shocking really.

its nasty when a company is willing to ruin their reputation among a group like this forum. Word sspreads fast.

 

[tkent02]

Their denial and lack of integrity is remarkable after so many bad tires.
I'm finished with them too. No more Avons for me.
Bastards. Too bad, I really liked the tires.

 

[Guest]

I've sort of been following this for a while as I'm getting closer to the time when I need to buy tyres.

So if the Avons are becoming a no go from this issue, what's the next best alternative? Given I'm on the 450, tyre sizes are a little more difficult and I think I need a 90/90-18 (3.00-18) front and a 100/90-18 (3.50-18) rear.

Bridgestone Battlax maybe?

I've been sort of counting on the Avons for a while now as they seemed to be a reasonable quality tyre that came in the right sizes for me...

 

[Guest]

Its a cheap chinese knock off maybe?
You know they actually are counterfeiting bearings.
I read it on the Timken site. Shocking really.

its nasty when a company is willing to ruin their reputation among a group like this forum. Word sspreads fast.

It is possible. There was a thread a year or two ago on counterfeit parts. Might have been gaskets. Anyway...If we buy Viagra, for example, from the local CVS, the chance of getting a counterfeit is next to zero, because they will buy directly from the manufacturer or from known reputable wholesalers. Buy it off of the interent, and the chance of a counterifeit gets very high.

I'd think that Dennis Kirk would be one of the last places that would have counterfeits. They are big enough and old enough to know who buys directly from Avon, and Dk'S business relies on its reputation.

 

[bonanzadave]

Dave,​

​

Thank you for the photos. This is a warranty issue. Please send the tire back to us for warranty evaluation.​

Thank you and have a great day!
Amy
Customer Service
Dennis Kirk, Inc.

Amy,

What do I do for a tire in the mean time?.......

Dave

Dave,​

​

We can have you purchase a tire and if the tire you send back to us comes back as defective, then we'd be able to refund your credit card. However, if the tire does not come back to us as being defective, then you'll have two tires.​

Thank you and have a great day!
Amy

 

[FreshStart]

Dave,



Thank you for the photos. This is a warranty issue. Please send the tire back to us for warranty evaluation.​

Thank you and have a great day!
Amy
Customer Service
Dennis Kirk, Inc.

Amy,

What do I do for a tire in the mean time?.......

Dave

Dave,


We can have you purchase a tire and if the tire you send back to us comes back as defective, then we'd be able to refund your credit card. However, if the tire does not come back to us as being defective, then you'll have two tires.​

Thank you and have a great day!
Amy

hahahaha that is the worst response i think ive ever heard. The tire is obviously defective and besides if the problem isnt a "warranty issue" you wont have 2 tires you will have 1 tire and a rubber ring

 

[Guest]

It is too early to declare defeat.

Send it back to DK, and if they don't refund the cost of the tire, plus return shipping, post in the Deadbeat Alerts section.

 

[Griffin]

This is the reason that I put Metzelers on my 1100E last year, and Shinkos on my (now kparkfan's) 850G this year.

I need new tires this year for my 700ES.

Much as I've wanted to try them, they will not be Avon Road Riders.

 

[posplayr]

This is the reason that I put Metzelers on my 1100E last year, and Shinkos on my (now kparkfan's) 850G this year.

I need new tires this year for my 700ES.

Much as I've wanted to try them, they will not be Avon Road Riders.

Getting a cracked RR tire is not guranteed although it is alarming that it happens at all. I think it still gets down to whether you can afford to replace the defective tire(if it happens) and are willing to deal with it (if it happens);

I have two sets that have not had cracks like these or and the minor cracking that did occur, would not raise any structural concern.

If I needed to order some today, I probably would buy the RR's. The last set I bought were abut $150 so not the end of the world.

reading the reviews here seems like there were only two people out of 27 mentioned cracking. One guys said he wore his tire out in 1500 miles. Makes you wonder if the wheels are out of alignment.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/28/396/12107/PRODUCT-REVIEW/AM26-Roadrider-Rear-Tire.aspx

 

[Griffin]

Getting a cracked RR tire is not guranteed although it is alarming that it happens at all. I think it still gets down to whether you can afford to replace the defective tire(if it happens) and are willing to deal with it (if it happens);

I have two sets that have not had cracks like these or and the minor cracking that did occur, would not raise any structural concern.

If I needed to order some today, I probably would buy the RR's. The last set I bought were abut $150 so not the end of the world.

reading the reviews here seems like there were only two people out of 27 mentioned cracking. One guys said he wore his tire out in 1500 miles. Makes you wonder if the wheels are out of alignment.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/28/396/12107/PRODUCT-REVIEW/AM26-Roadrider-Rear-Tire.aspx

There are eight firsthand accounts of cracking Road Riders on this thread, over the past couple years. I'm sure there have been thirty or fifty people here who have bought them in that time, and have suffered no issues.

But that's too high a failure rate, and Avon doesn't seem to be terribly concerned about it.

They may be the best tires in the world, and it's too bad. But I just don't want to deal with the hassle if there is a problem.

My 700 has a set of Pirelli Stradas on that are from 2005. I haven't been riding it much the past few years, it's been more of a once in a while type of rider. I'll be riding it more this year though, and I don't want to be riding around on six year old tires, so the old Pirellis will go.

And be replaced by a new set of Pirellis (Sport Demons).

Interesting to note that the six year old Stradas have about 5,000 miles on them, and no sign of cracking at all. They're just harder and slicker than they should be, which is to be expected after this long.

 

[posplayr]

There are eight firsthand accounts of cracking Road Riders on this thread, over the past couple years. I'm sure there have been thirty or fifty people here who have bought them in that time, and have suffered no issues.

But that's too high a failure rate, and Avon doesn't seem to be terribly concerned about it.

They may be the best tires in the world, and it's too bad. But I just don't want to deal with the hassle if there is a problem.

My 700 has a set of Pirelli Stradas on that are from 2005. I haven't been riding it much the past few years, it's been more of a once in a while type of rider. I'll be riding it more this year though, and I don't want to be riding around on six year old tires, so the old Pirellis will go.

And be replaced by a new set of Pirellis (Sport Demons).

Interesting to note that the six year old Stradas have about 5,000 miles on them, and no sign of cracking at all. They're just harder and slicker than they should be, which is to be expected after this long.

The Sport Demons are nice, they just wear out way too fast. The first tires I used on my 1100 were SD and I think the rear was square in less than 2K miles. Once the rear goes flat the bike is a bear to lean over. It is the very nice round profile of the RR with high pressure (limited side wall flex) hat makes the bike handle so well with them and they stay that way much longer.

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

 

[Griffin]

The Sport Demons are nice, they just wear out way too fast. The first tires I used on my 1100 were SD and I think the rear was square in less than 2K miles. Once the rear goes flat the bike is a bear to lean over. It is the very nice round profile of the RR with high pressure (limited side wall flex) hat makes the bike handle so well with them and they stay that way much longer.

This bike sees almost no straight line riding. I have bikes much more comfortable for that task. I ride it pretty much only when I'm corner carving, hence the limited miles over the past few years.

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

I dunno. Maybe they did, and they're dead, so they can't tell us about it.



Really though, this whole thing leaves a bad taste for me with Avon in general. I just don't want to support a company with a problem that they don't seem terribly interested in solving.

 

[bonanzadave]

There is a big Classic Jap bike show coming up at a honda dealer near me. Im thinking I park the Bike there with a big sign. Avon Road Riders suck !

They do feel pretty good in the corners. Maybe Ill keep the front for a while. What should I match it with on the back ?

 

[tkent02]

So how many failures have there been world wide on these tires? We GSR guys are only a very very small sample of the road riders they have sold. The fact that they are not admitting there is a problem is enough for me. No integrity, no tires, no mas.

 

[Guest]

So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

Your approach is far too forgiving IMHO, Jim, esp. with something as important from a safety standpoint as tires. I have Avon RRs on my bike right now, and they seem to be fine, but I won't be buying them again. Not sure what is more troubling....the ongoing issue with defects, or the company's cavalier attitude towards it. I think they should be thankful there hasn't been a catastrophic failure involving injury/loss of life (yet), involving litigation. I really don't feel like rolling the dice in terms of getting a tire developing visible defects.... and who's to know about any invisible defects, if quality is as issue.
I'll probably be giving the Shinko tires a try...my buddy has been speaking highly of them, and has used several sets on his 'Busa....hopefully the bias-ply versions are also as good.

 

[posplayr]

Your approach is far too forgiving IMHO, Jim, esp. with something as important from a safety standpoint as tires. I have Avon RRs on my bike right now, and they seem to be fine, but I won't be buying them again. Not sure what is more troubling....the ongoing issue with defects, or the company's cavalier attitude towards it. I think they should be thankful there hasn't been a catastrophic failure involving injury/loss of life (yet), involving litigation. I really don't feel like rolling the dice in terms of getting a tire developing visible defects.... and who's to know about any invisible defects, if quality is as issue.
I'll probably be giving the Shinko tires a try...my buddy has been speaking highly of them, and has used several sets on his 'Busa....hopefully the bias-ply versions are also as good.

I dont know what the pattern is, I just know the defects have not affected all of the RR's so it seems a bad batch of rubber or something else in the process.

I would not call it cavalier, just pragmatic. But of course I would watch them like a hawk for any kind of splits like Dave's. I'm certainly not defending Avon in any way.

If they came out and said, we have a bad batch of tires and are recalling all......... that would be more comforting that they have isolated the issue.

 

[Guest]

There are eight firsthand accounts of cracking Road Riders on this thread, over the past couple years. I'm sure there have been thirty or fifty people here who have bought them in that time, and have suffered no issues.

But that's too high a failure rate, and Avon doesn't seem to be terribly concerned about it....

...So you have maybe a 1 in 10 chance of getting a bad tire; it is up to personal risk tolerance (risk of replacement not risk of crashing) . I dont think anyone has had a failure have they?

If I'm not mistaken, there was another thread on RRs with cracks, which had several other instances.

I worked a long time in quality assurance. An organization never ignores quality problems in just one area. If RRs crack, there are (or will be) other problems that we won't know about, because those problems aren't visible.

This was more than one bad batch of rubber (and I know rubber mixing very well.) This was a bad recipe, plus a lack of design quality control. plus an inadequate system for responding to field complaints. My recommendation: Neve buy Avon tires.

 

[7981GS]

My recommendation: Never buy Avon tires.

Daniel