With the 2015 Bol d’Or looming, the October 2015 edition of RiDE Magazine have been looking at the various different roots riders can take on the 700 mile plus journey down to the south of France from Calais.
Instead of taking the concentration sapping Autoroutes, Alan Dowds has covered more than 2,000 miles on his Honda Crossrunner test bike, fitted with the latest Avon Storm 3D X-M sport touring tyres.
The famous Bol d’Or endurance started back in 1922, and takes place at the Circuit Paul Ricard, attracting riders from across Europe in their droves, on many a riding bucket list – like a trip to the TT.
Of the tyres Alan says:
“On a big trip, conditions change quickly. In the UK, temperatures were in the mid-teens, with gentle drizzle. Through northern France the mercury dropped further as we hit heavy rain. But by lunchtime the next day the Honda’s dash shows 36° and I’m drinking half a litre of water at every stop.
A decade or so ago you’d have struggled to find a tyre that could make a decent fist of handling all those extremes. Not any more though. The Avon Storm 3Ds we fitted coped impressively with our 2000-mile trip. Stacks of confidence and feel when leaving a cool, damp London; good ride and stability on the motorway; and fuss-free on the mountain roads around Paul Ricard and Nice. Even on the hottest asphalt, the Storms didn’t flinch at hard braking, peg-scraping lean or full-beans acceleration. And at the end of the trip, the rear was showing no signs of squaring off, despite all the hard motorway miles.”
Find out more about the Avon Storm 3D X-M here.
