One of the latest reviews to come in from Avon’s recent launch of their all-new Spirit ST in Portugal is from British Dealer News, the leading UK trade publication for the 2-wheel industry.
BDN sent Products Editor Colin Williams to Portimao, and having never been on track before he was given the difficult task of following Avon Brand Ambassador Steve Parrish around the circuit.
But before that he had plenty of time to test them on the road, and in their June 2017 issue he had this to say:
“I tried the Spirits on a Triumph Speed Triple, Suzuki GSX-S1000F and Yamaha Tracer 700 to see how they measured up.
The tyres warmed up quickly from the off, giving good levels of confidence as I tipped into the roundabouts leading away from the circuit. As speeds increased heading along the sinuous lower section of the test route they felt reassuringly grippy on all three of the bikes, even on the dusty and broken tarmac. As the corners became tighter and the road climbed the tyres proved to be light-handling and made it easy to lean the bike from one side to the other. Even the Suzuki’s snatchy and abrupt throttle action in the tighter corners failed to upset front end grip.”
On track the new Avon continued to impress as Colin says:
“The Spirits showed that using a sport touring tyre on track is not an impossible task. Fitted on the Yamaha XSR900, Suzuki GSX-S750 and Triumph Speed Triple RX they were grippy and confidence inspiring for this novice track user. Even on the heavier and more powerful Kawasaki Z1000SX and Suzuki GSX-S1000F they proved to have ample front-end grip, although some of the faster testers reported a tendency to spin-up under power at full lean.”
Clearly the Spirit ST is not designed for use on the track, but it certainly does give testers the chance to really push on and find the limits of the new rubber in a way they possibly couldn’t exclusively riding on the road.
You can find out more about the Spirit ST range here.
