Had them on the bike at 3pm on Saturday having paid the fitter ……….. actually lets not get into that rip off fitment lark again………. Off I went to find the straightest bit of road in the county to ease them in.
After 40 kms of dual carriageway riding at a constant of 60mph+, I took a roundabout (carefully). It was like riding on blu tack. Amazing. Now, bearing in mind the sidewalls hadn’t met road yet, the grip was incredible.
After a few more miles I started getting adventurous. Not even 70 kms of riding done, and it was holding slip roads onto motorways and roundabouts better than that condom of a D208 was ever doing it.
Heat up times are much quicker too. After only a couple of hundred yards you can feel warmth in the tyres without having to start stop to get the friction up.
There is one thing that you must get used to. The centre tread of the tyre is a much firmer compound with the construction packed tighter, whereas the off centre is more flexible to give a bigger print when leaned over. When upright, the bike felt firm and solidity I haven’t felt before. It accelerated quicker than on the 208 (so now its like I'm in "Back to the Future") and brakes with more confidence.
When coming from a long straight to a 10 / 20 mph corner is where you’ll find the difference. As it moves to the second (more flexible) part of the compound while cornering, you can feel it. The bike doesn’t as such shift position, but you can feel the flex in the tyre ever so slightly. As Bridgestone make a particular tyre for the Blackbird which is something like quadruple belted with the inside made of fooking titanium and concrete or something, I’m thinking that the bike is a bit heavy for the Avons. It’s not something that’s going to make me go out tomorrow and change them, but with a combined rider / bike weight of 310kgs (before dinner) I’m guessing that it is flexing that bit more than it would do on a lighter bike.
Other than that, I’m happy with them. The grip levels are increased by a factor of 20, and the ride is more confident.
Ok, wet weather test done!
It poured here last night, so I donned my waterproof overalls, winter gloves (coz it was cold too!) and headed out for a blast.
The Avons are better in the wet than the Dunlops ever were in the dry!! I was hoofing the bike into corners trying to get it out of shape, but nothing. Under heavy braking and very hard acceleration you notice a slight loss of traction, but I mean that you would have to really concentrate to notice it. Accelerating while cranked over coming out of bends was confidence inspiring too!
I'm converted, and never going back!!!
