1200Pete
Registered User
Well this is a debate that has run and run and I think I may have the answer.......
Over 10,000 miles ago last year I fitted a pair of Avon Asarco SO/T 46's to my Blackbird, this was after having two sets of Bridgstone 020's previously.
At the time I had no complaints about the 020 I just thought I would try the Avon's, well they were fitted and before I got home (a 20 min journey) I had both my left and right knee on the tarmac !, the confidence they inspired was out standing.
Then, with luggage I found a problem, the bike would weave and "shimmy" from the front end, after a day at Bruntingthorpe proving ground courtesy of Avon the problem was solved ( it turned out to be a fault with one of the machines, resulting in a faulty batch, I wont bother getting too technical now).
So a free set was offered and as this fault only upset the bike with luggage I decided to get the most out of the old one's, well I punished the old Azaros badly, including wheelies, rolling burnouts, continuous hard acceleration and two up riding, They lasted 5,000 miles, that is 2,000 miles more than any other tyre has lasted.
Stability ?, 195 mph Indicated, steady as a rock.
Wet weather ?, Well I have video footage of some pretty extreme lean angles in the rain.
The reason for this thread ?, I have just re fitted an 020 again, after 2 sets of Avon's, just to see what if any difference there was, well the difference is scary, I rode on the 020 the same as I would on the Avon and the Bird hated it, first off I had to stop and make sure the thing was not flat, the bike weaved under hard acceleration and kept stepping out when accelerating hard out of bends. The high speed stability I had come to know and love was also gone.
Now I know every one with 020's on there bike is going to say well mine are ok, well yes they are ok up to maximum mph, they are ok up to maximum lean angle, they are ok even ridden fairly hard, but if you want that little bit extra surprisingly it's got to be the Avon, stability is a little bit better, grip is a little bit better, stability under extreme acceleration out of bends is twice as good and the wear rate is almost twice as good.
See told you it was controversial
But hey that's just what I noticed :dunno:
Over 10,000 miles ago last year I fitted a pair of Avon Asarco SO/T 46's to my Blackbird, this was after having two sets of Bridgstone 020's previously.
At the time I had no complaints about the 020 I just thought I would try the Avon's, well they were fitted and before I got home (a 20 min journey) I had both my left and right knee on the tarmac !, the confidence they inspired was out standing.
Then, with luggage I found a problem, the bike would weave and "shimmy" from the front end, after a day at Bruntingthorpe proving ground courtesy of Avon the problem was solved ( it turned out to be a fault with one of the machines, resulting in a faulty batch, I wont bother getting too technical now).
So a free set was offered and as this fault only upset the bike with luggage I decided to get the most out of the old one's, well I punished the old Azaros badly, including wheelies, rolling burnouts, continuous hard acceleration and two up riding, They lasted 5,000 miles, that is 2,000 miles more than any other tyre has lasted.
Stability ?, 195 mph Indicated, steady as a rock.
Wet weather ?, Well I have video footage of some pretty extreme lean angles in the rain.
The reason for this thread ?, I have just re fitted an 020 again, after 2 sets of Avon's, just to see what if any difference there was, well the difference is scary, I rode on the 020 the same as I would on the Avon and the Bird hated it, first off I had to stop and make sure the thing was not flat, the bike weaved under hard acceleration and kept stepping out when accelerating hard out of bends. The high speed stability I had come to know and love was also gone.
Now I know every one with 020's on there bike is going to say well mine are ok, well yes they are ok up to maximum mph, they are ok up to maximum lean angle, they are ok even ridden fairly hard, but if you want that little bit extra surprisingly it's got to be the Avon, stability is a little bit better, grip is a little bit better, stability under extreme acceleration out of bends is twice as good and the wear rate is almost twice as good.
See told you it was controversial
But hey that's just what I noticed :dunno:
