“Avon Spirit ST 1000 Mile Review.”

Written on: 22/09/2020 by BrinnyBiker (22 reviews written)

This review comes with a few caveats. 1. Motorcycle tyres are an intensely personal choice. What I consider to be the best thing since sliced bread, you may think are teflon coated cack. 2. The bike they are fitted to has a 110 horsepower engine, so it's no fire breathing dragon. 3.Your riding style maybe very different from mine. 4. This review is written at 1000 miles after fitting. I will write a further review when they're ready for replacing. All that said, here goes. The previous tyres on the bike ( a Cam Head BMW R1200RT ) were Avon Storm Ultra II's. At 7300 miles they had 3mm of tread remaining and the rear had squared off to the point that you could almost stand the bike upright without a stand, so pretty squared off. The front had the first signs of a flat edge forming but no cupping. Comparing the tyres gives little indication of all the changes Avon say are in these tyres. The tread pattern in a bit different but that's all. Once mounted the tyres were scrubbed in over a couple of hundred miles before undetaking a short touring holiday in Wales. On the RT the tyres are very good. The tyres warm up quickly, the feedback is excellent and the tyres stay on line through the bends whether it's a fast sweeper or a tight footpeg scraper. They inspire confidence in the dry. It's a case of look where you want to go and the tyres will take you there. Even if you misjudge a bend they will change line mid corner without drama though to a large extent that's also a property of the bike they're fitted to. In the wet? Has it been raining? I hadn't noticed. These tyres are as sure footed in the wet as they are in the dry. Even on damp roads that hadn't seen rain for some time I never felt any loss of grip when feeding in the power, but as stated previously, the RT is no fire breathing dragon. Overall, they get the thumbs up. How long they last is another matter but I have one of the previous generation tyres, the 3D-XM, fitted to a Triumph Trophy and at 4000 miles it is showing little sign of squaring off. Avon say the Spirit ST is an evolution of the 3D-XM so hopefully it will be as durable. Time will tell. Anything not to like? About the tyres, no. Avon were running a cashback scheme at the time I bought these tyres and I have to say it sucks. They send you the £30 cashback as a prepaid credit card which is a pain in the rear end as it was useless on anywhere but Amazon and you end up with small change left on it. Note to Avon. Just cut the headline price of the tyre as they're competitive tyres without the dumb cashback scheme.