Like a lot of sport touring riders, the team at Motorcyclist Magazine put in a lot of miles every year.
Naturally, every rider wants a tyre with perfect grip in both dry and wet conditions, as well as something which handles superbly, and wears so slowly you end up selling the bike three years later still fitted with the same set of original equipment tyres that were on the bike in the showroom.
Back in the real world, where they key word is ‘compromise’, they decided to put the latest Avon Storm 3D X-M to the test, focusing on the most important aspect of all to them, mileage. Avon claim that the Storm 3D X-M will yield an extra 15% – 20% mileage over it’s predecessor, the Storm 2 Ultra.
Motorcyclist fitted a pair to the big FJR1300ES, and so far have put 6,710 miles on the rear on back roads, commutes and long tours.
The team said:
“What’s more, the rear Avon still looked virtually new. And when comparing used tread depth to new, we think the rear 3D should last 12,000 miles or more. Which is amazing for a tire holding up a heavy, reasonably powerful bike while still offering very good grip. (Unfortunately, California’s drought kept us from testing the Avons’ wet traction.)”
Front heavy machines like the FJRs can often chew up front tyres as fast as they square off rear ones. At the same mileage, the magazine report that the front was visibly cupped, with plenty of centre tread still remaining. This did start to affect handling, but prior to this the steering was reported to be neutral, with excellent stability. Not uncommon on these big sport-tourers, it’s best just to keep an eye on those pressures!
With a wider range of sizes introduced in 2014, the Storm 3D X-M is available for a wide range of machines. Find out more and see all sizes here.
We’ve also been running our own in-house test, and you can read our own, impartial review here.
