demon Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Anybody heard of the new line of Avon tires called Vipers? http://www.avonmotorcycle.com/us/en/News.asp?ID=71 They supposedly are a little stickier than the 49/50 that Avon has now. Interesting stuff. Wonder when we'll see them in the states? They're already out on the street in England. I was gonna try the 49/50 combo, but if I could get my hands on a set of these :twisted: Look good don't they. Links: http://www.bikersoracle.com/blackbird/foru...achmentid=20986 http://www.bikersoracle.com/blackbird/foru...achmentid=20988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrated Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Good find Donnie. I'll probably be looking into these as soon as I can wear out the Battleax BT014's that came on my 1000RR. I don't think it will be that long!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALCXX Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Vern, I just bought a set of AV 49/50's to try out for the 954. I'll let ya know how they hold. Later, Cal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrated Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Please do. I don't think the BT 014's are going to last to long, although everything I've read about them, they say that they are a great tire for grip, feedback, turn-in, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I don't think the BT 014's are going to last to long I guess I will find out too because two of them are going on my bike tonight. I don't do high miles though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demon Posted March 25, 2005 Author Share Posted March 25, 2005 They are Bridgestones after all. After what happened at the Bridgestone plant here, I wouldn't run a set if they were given to me. About 3000 people are loosing their jobs cause Bridgestone can make the car tires cheaper in Mexico. Bet the price don't go down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALCXX Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Vern, I wanted to tell ya, I'm currently running the Michelin Pilot-Sports on the 954 and I don't like them. Jeff, (CBR-RR-EXCESS) is running a BT-010 and BT-012 on his 954. His turns in better with the Brigstones than my Michelins. I wanted to try the Avons on the 954 because I like them so well on the XX. I'm running an AV 49 on the front instead of the AV 45 and I like it much better!! The AV 49 is wearing fast but I don't care cause it HOLDS!! I'm not brave enough to leave "darkies" out of the corners on the XX so, the AV 46 (rear) is plenty good enough. The 954 will get an AV 50 on the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RQ Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Well gents, saw the interest in the Vipers, and here is a copy of a mail I sent to a couple of mates this morning. My previous were D208 rear, 207 front: Well gents, the official review of the Vipers after 300kms: Had them on the bike at 1500 on Saturday having paid the fitter ……….. actually lets not get into that rip off fitment lark again………. Off I went to find the straightest bit of road in the county to ease them in. After 40 kms of dual carriageway riding at a constant of 60mph+, I took a roundabout (carefully). It was like riding on blu tack. Amazing. Now, bearing in mind the sidewalls hadn’t met road yet, the grip was incredible. After a few more miles I started getting adventurous. Not even 70 kms of riding done, and it was holding slip roads onto motorways and roundabouts better than that condom of a D208 was ever doing it. Heat up times are much quicker too. After only a couple of hundred yards you can feel warmth in the tyres without having to start stop to get the friction up. There is one thing that you must get used to. The centre tread of the tyre is a much firmer compound with the construction packed tighter, whereas the off centre is more flexible to give a bigger print when leaned over. When upright, the bike felt firm and solidity I haven’t felt before. It accelerated quicker than on the 208 (so now its like I'm in "Back to the Future") and brakes with more confidence. When coming from a long straight to a 10 / 20 mph corner is where you’ll find the difference. As it moves to the second (more flexible) part of the compound while cornering, you can feel it. The bike doesn’t as such shift position, but you can feel the flex in the tyre ever so slightly. As Bridgestone make a particular tyre for the Blackbird which is something like quadruple belted with the inside made of fooking titanium and concrete or something, I’m thinking that the bike is a bit heavy for the Avons. It’s not something that’s going to make me go out tomorrow and change them, but with a combined rider / bike weight of 310kgs (before dinner) I’m guessing that it is flexing that bit more than it would do on a lighter bike. Other than that, I’m happy with them. The grip levels are increased by a factor of 20, and the ride is more confident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demon Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 Thanks RQ. That's the kind of feedback that I was looking for. Looks promising. I currently run the Avon 45/46 combo and am totally satisfied with them as a sport touring tire. I saw some stuff on the Vipers on the BIRD site and would like to try them if we get them on this side of the pond. If we can't get them over here, I'll go with the 49/50 combo on my bird. Really like the way Avon puts the tires together. The 45/46 are the stickiest sport touring tire that I've personally run and was thinking about going with a tire with a bit more grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RQ Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Demon, This is my first test with Avons, and to be honest they are not bought over here at all! The set cost me €260.00 in comparison to about €360.00 for the equivilant michelins. I am happy with them in the dry, I just need (not often asked for) a wet day to see how they are on wet roads. Seemingly they are fabricated with large amounts of Silca therefore increasing grip in the wet, and significantly reducing warm up times on wet roads. I'll let you know how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demon Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 If they are constructed anything like the 45/46's, they'll grip well in the wet. I have no complaints on mine, just need a little more stick in the dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Krypt Keeper Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Will be nice to see them stateside.. I am running a 46 Rear with a 49 Front. After doing my rotors this weekend I got a close look at how worn my front tire is with only 4500 miles on it :shock: New front tire will be needed soon :x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RQ Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Ok, wet weather test done! It poured here last night, so I donned my waterproof overalls, winter gloves (coz it was cold too!) and headed out for a blast. The Avons are better in the wet than the Dunlops ever were in the dry!! I was hoofing the bike into corners tyring to get it out of shape, but nothing. Under heavy braking and very hard acceleration you notice a slight loss of traction, but I mean that you would have to really concentrate to notice it. Accelerating while cranked over coming out of bends was confidence inspiring too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXBIRD Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 Looks they used the treads sparingly. So, grip is mostly from the material rather than the pattern of the treads then, right? Is that the logic? Are treads only to channel the water away/out? I have 45/46 for over 6500miles with still so much life on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RQ Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 This is the tread pattern, hope this link works. They are deep enough and regular enough too. The tread helps disperse the water, and the silca in the compound helps it heat up quicker in the wet. No, link won't work. Is there a way of posting a pic on this site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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