Avon warns bikers against fitting the wrong tyre

Avon Tyres is stressing the importance to motorcyclists of fitting the appropriate tyres to their bikes this summer. Peter McNally, Avon Tyres’ technical product manager for motorcycle tyres, comments: “We see many people on sportsbikes today who ‘over-tyre’ their bikes on the road. This means they’re using machines with tyres that are effectively race tyres but using them on the road or on the occasional trackday.

“The problem [is] that these tyres may not get up to the proper working temperature, whereas tyres designed for high-performance motorcycles on the road – like our 3D Ultra Supersport and 3D Ultra Sport tyres – are designed to work across a broader temperature spectrum and last better, too.

“In many cases people may follow the well-intentioned but sometimes erroneous advice of friends, or journalists who may have used or tested the tyres solely on track, or in very different conditions than those found on UK roads. Also, the type of rider you are and the bike you are riding needs to be taken into account. Don’t forget, often our summer ends up wet and sometimes cold, so if you regularly ride on the road, make sure your sports tyres suit these conditions – not a sunny, hot trackday.”

Gary Bretherton, Avon Tyres’ sales manager, agrees with McNally on the importance of not choosing the sportiest tyre available, but also says the problem extends to some motorcycle owners going the other way, which is where dealers have a part to play in matching the right rider with the right rubber.

He explains, “We always stress to our retailers that they should sell the right tyres for the right bike, but it can be a difficult balance to make. As Pete says, sometimes motorcyclists are led by what the press say, which can be a good thing, but sometimes getting the rubber that saves a tenth of a second in a lap round Cadwell Park isn’t what is good on the road.

“Some owners go the other way and put sports-touring tyres on a sportsbike. They may do only 2,000 or 3,000 miles a year on their machine but have tyres on that can do 10,000-12,000 that perhaps do not give the outright performance that their machine does. We – and the dealers – need to help people work out what should be fitted to give the best compromise between performance and longevity.”

Avon says it has a tyre to suit every motorcycle, manufactured in the UK, from Distanzia tyres for the popular Adventure bike class to the latest 3D Ultra family for full-on sportsbikes. The 3D Ultra range is the company’s latest sports tyre brand, coming in three versions – 3D Ultra Sports for road-riding, 3D Ultra Supersports for road-riding and the occasional trackday and 3D Ultra Xtreme for trackday only use.