Whether they ride off-road or not, the majority of adventure bike riders want a tyre that looks the part on the bike – which can mean big block patterns, designed for digging in on loose ground, squirming under pressure on the tarmac.
Most manufacturers now produce a 90/10 on/off-road tyre, and British based Avon are no exception, the new TrailRider being their latest entry to the adventure bike market.
It’s a chunky road tyre, whose carcass is based on that of the Storm 3D X-M sport touring tyre, and the rugged look has been designed so that in no way does it affect the performance when riding on the road. Sipe technology controls temperature build up for a more consistent performance, and the Enhanced Aqua Flow tread pattern and high silica compound work together to offer superb levels of wet grip.
Launched earlier this year in Bavaria, Motorcycle Sport & Leisure magazine’s Tony Carter got the opportunity to test a pair on the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 on the German roads and had this to say about their performance:
“We rode almost 200 miles on big adventure bikes across a variety of road types during the day-long launch, where the TrailRiders performed extremely well. We didn’t venture off the Tarmac, but we did take in some autobahns to confirm that even in excess of 120mph, stability and predictability is superb.
Outright grip was balanced, which allowed for a high angle of lean – in terms of feel, it was certainly on a par with many sportsbike tyres.
There were no signs of wear on the centre of the tread after our day of testing (high speeds for so long would normally show small tears in the centre tread, but none were visible on the TrailRider).
I did have one moment with the TrailRider that showed how composed the rubber is – I turned into a long left hander, crossing over a wide strip of over-banding and the tyres slid for a fraction of a second before instantly composing themselves.
With the feedback and stability on offer, first impressions are that the TrailRider is a confidence-inspiring tyre for the road-based adventurer.”
Available in a range of 18 sizes, you can find out more about the Avon TrailRider here.
