[Review] Avon Storm Ultra 2

DirtFlier

DirtFlier

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Location
Troy, OH
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2010 Silver NT700V/ABS
I bought a set of Storm Ultra 2s in February of this year to replace the Bridgestone 023s on my bike. I put the rear on first as the front Bridgestone was still OK. Calculating the rear mileage now, I was amazed to find that I'd put 8200 miles on the rear Avon and it looks great and still without a wide, flat band down the center.

The front Bridgestone will be replaced today at 14,600 miles. Although it provided great mileage it had been noisy for about the last 2,000-3,000 miles. The rear 023 was the same way in that it still had rubber remaining but I could no longer stand the noise! Noise and rapid wear for the rear tire was a major complaint with the 023s.

Avon replaced the Storm Ultra 2 with an updated tire so this particular model is no longer available unless you can find NOS sitting somewhere. A lot of the online shops no longer show this model.
 
Thanks for the report! The Storm 2 Ultra seems to be the favored tire (or tyre) by the guys in the UK forum. I gave serious consideration to the Avon before settling on the Dunlops, with which I have been well pleased. Keep us advised on longevity, performance etc. I have been seeing an ad here and there for an "extra mileage" version of the rear tire.

Mike
 
Mike,

My rear Avon Storm Ultra 2 which was installed in March still has no flat band down the center and it's been ridden a lot on the slab, going/coming from South Dakota for MSTA event in Rapid City. The other day, I was shocked when I did the math and discovered the rear tire has 8800 miles on it and it still has a rounded profile!

I honestly wanted to stay with Bridgestone but their replacement tire for the 023 only talked about increased grip and made no mention of extended mileage. The front 023 provided long miles but the rear was toast by 10k miles. That's when I decided to try the Storm Ultra 2 which a few close friends have been recommending for years.
 
The Avon's weren't near as good as the PR3's. The rear on mine squared off nicely at around 6k. I wore it down to the belts at 10-11k IIRC.
 
Rear Avon now at 9322 miles and it still looks rounded and handles great. A tiny bit of noise from the rear but not objectionable.
 
That sounds pretty good. My last PR3 was pretty well squared-off at 10K. My "new" PR4 has over 9K on it and still looks and feels good.
 
How do some of you get such high mileage from your tires?

I vowed to not get the Avons again given their limited life and price (they were better than stock). The PR3's looked almost new at the same mileage the Avons squared at.
 
Don't know about PR4s or PR3s, but the Avons did pretty good in really wet, at least they did the two times I rode them in the rain :)
 
I've done quite a few miles on the Three Flags ride in rain with a pair of PR4s. I've been impressed. But I still treat rain as if it's completely ruined traction. I slow down quite a bit and then gradually ease back up to what feels like a comfortable speed. With the PR4s on this trip, that speed has been pretty close to what I would have been riding on dry pavement.
 
[My question about the Avons though...is how well do they work in rain?...Chris]

This model is named "Storm Ultra" so obviously a lot of development work went into providing lots of grip in the wet but without sacrificing long distance mileage.
 
Tires have been the greatest single improvement in the motoring world followed by computer control in my lifetime. I will never forget the catastrophic failures that where fairly common place not so long ago. Call it marketing hype if you like but I am willing to bet Bernd Rosemeyer would have liked to have some modern tires the day he died. The term blowout was a common term when I was a kid. The last one I remember was in my dad's car coming home from the Catskills and the bang and the sliding around the road on the Hawks Nest. Things like that leave a mark.

Tires are much better than ever before. Like all things made by man there are limits.
 
My ex-wife and her partner had a blowout on their anniversary model GW1200. I happened because a big nail was stuck in the tire and tore up the bead. It was a catastrophic crash and they still bear the marks.

The closest thing I've had to a blowout came because I had a BMW 90-degree adaptor on a rubber tire stem (Don't do that, boys and girls! It causes bad centrifugal forces that destroy the rubber tire stem!). It was almost catastrophic when the tire very suddenly went flat at 75mph.

I can say that in the only 18 years I've been riding grip and wear-resistance have increased a whole big bunch.
 
It's difficult if not impossible for any individual to do a personal eval on tires. Most of us wait until we have umpteen miles on tires before changing them so that's our last impression of that particular tire. At the end of tire life (any brand), they all feel crappy and make lots of noise. Changing to a new tire of another brand in one day can and does transform the feel of the bike.

And tires are a lot like shoes or motorcycle seats - what one person loves, another might hate! :)
 
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My rear Storm Ultra 2 passed 12,000 miles over the weekend and is still holding up fine. It only shows mild flattening in the center and tire noise in the turns is minimal. I've been using the standard PSI settings of 36F and 42R. In all fairness & honestly, my riding conditions are not like you have in the Plains states with high speeds and high temps possible - both are real killers to tires - but I'm still pleased with these tires that are moderately priced compared to Pilot Roads.
 
DirtFlier said:
My rear Storm Ultra 2 passed 12,000 miles over the weekend and is still holding up fine. It only shows mild flattening in the center and tire noise in the turns is minimal. I've been using the standard PSI settings of 36F and 42R. In all fairness & honestly, my riding conditions are not like you have in the Plains states with high speeds and high temps possible - both are real killers to tires - but I'm still pleased with these tires that are moderately priced compared to Pilot Roads.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear the good report on the Avon's. They were my second choice after Dunlop.

Mike
 
The center section of the rear Storm Ultra is now starting to show wear bars at 13k miles but it still has siping that crosses the middle. I'll buy another Storm Ultra 2 and keep it in reserve.
 
Chris, you live in Seattle. We should be asking you how well tires work in the rain.

Daboo said:
I totally agree with you, Karl. Tires have improved a lot.
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I used to think the Dunlop K-81's were a great improvement over the K-70's. Of course, that was over 40 years ago.
Know why they were called "K-70's"? First model that worked.
 
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Yesterday, I searched for a new rear Avon Storm Ultra 2 and found they are mostly out-of-stock since this model has been discontinued.
They had them at Dennis Kirk (an internet store) and for the bargain price of $132 with free shipping so I jumped at it. I'll have it on Tuesday. :)

FYI: I usually don't buy the latest and greatest of any product so for me, the Storm Ultra 2s are fine.
 
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Last week, I had a friend suffer a rear tire failure on her NT, fitted with Storm Ultra 2s. It had fairly low mileage and she's gentle on her tires.
 
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