Avon Cobra Venom front WARNING!

[Bonzo]

Check your tire pressure before you ride!

I noticed my front tire losing air, about 5 psi a week, then over a three day period it lost 20 psi. I pulled the tire and soaped it up and in about 60% of the tread groves almost by the side walls there were small tears that were foaming, not bubbles but foam.

I went to my local bike shop and ask him if he ever seen this and he said no.I ordered a new tire and he suggested I call Avon.
To Avon's credit they answered the phone in 3 rings took my info, asked what the mileage was and asked to speak with Mike the bike shop owner and he told them the tread depth etc..

Bottom line they are sending me a new tire and I bought one because I can't wait 5 to 7 working days.
It seems there might be a defect in the 2008 batch of tires, but they did not come right out and say it!
Pics to follow

[T.P.]

The Avon Tire Rep is ....... Jesse Priel   E-mail address is  JPriel@avonmotorcycleusa.com    phone # is 1-800-624-7470  He is located out in Oregon, and is a great guy to work with. T.P.

[Strong Eagle]

This has been going on for a long time with Avon... this is my front tire from 4 years ago... I got 2 free ones... caused by a belt that is not centered properly during manufacture.



And, the back Avons are subject to belt separation - I got a new tire for this one, too.  At least the Avon people were honest... they said it was cheaper to replace tires than to execute a higher level of quality control and that they did not think the defects were life threatening.

[Al in AK]

Thank You for the heads up. I have 4 front tires being delivered tomorow. I ordered them online from Motorcycle Superstore. being from Alaska I had to use one of my vendors in Seattle, who added them to there north bound freight. I will check them out.  

Just to clarify, I have the Avon Venom R font tires coming. Not to be confused with the new Avon Cobra tire.

[3fan4life]

I'll have to keep an eye on my new Avon Cobra front....





I have had some issues with premature wear from the rear Avons. But so far the fronts have been respectable tires.

It does seem that the major weakness of Avons is their susceptability to problems related to low air pressure.


 

[Bonzo]

I'll have to keep an eye on my new Avon Cobra front....





I have had some issues with premature wear from the rear Avons. But so far the fronts have been respectable tires.

It does seem that the major weakness of Avons is their susceptability to problems related to low air pressure.


 

I always run 40 psi up front, and check my tire pressure just about every time I ride. The Avon Rep. suggested 42 psi, after asking my size and weight. I don't think 2 psi should cause this.

[Bonzo]

This has been going on for a long time with Avon... this is my front tire from 4 years ago... I got 2 free ones... caused by a belt that is not centered properly during manufacture.



And, the back Avons are subject to belt separation - I got a new tire for this one, too.  At least the Avon people were honest... they said it was cheaper to replace tires than to execute a higher level of quality control and that they did not think the defects were life threatening.

  That is exactly what happened! The little cracks in the tread grooves!

[bg]

  thanks for the heads up.
i've run 2 sets of venoms and just put on a set of cobras.
i'll keep a check on these new ones regularly.

[solo1]

I had a low mileage Avon Venon on the front that was losing air slowly.  I couldn't find any nails in it.  After soaping it for the third time, I found the problem.  It was bubbling air through tiny cracks in the tread.
I replaced it with a Metzeler.  I probably could've called Avon but I wanted a tire that was LESS responsive to steering inputs anyway.  The sidecar rig didn't like the Avon.

[Tundra]

Is this problem with the Avon Venom only? I still currently have the Venom on the front. New Cobra is waiting patiently in the garage. Now that I went and looked at the tire, I do see cracks in the area mentioned. I check my tire pressure almost every ride, definately every ride with the wife. I have only noticed 2-3 psi loss from the regular 40psi I run it at. Thought this was normal?  Did the Cobra replace the Venom? Or are they both available?

[RedValk]

i have been running DUnlop Elite 3 the last couple of years....BUT....BEFORE these tires i have now, i ran Avon (Venom) exclusively for a BUNCH of years. Someone posted about this very problem like ....eh....3-5 years ago...can't remember EXACTLY when.

Sure enough, after someone else posted, i went and looked at my Avon front tire (or should i say tyre, in the case of Avon   )...and there they were....cracks in my tread (several were very DEEP cracks!) all over that front tire! MANY folks had that same problem....years ago...with the Venoms.

BUT.........i'd still buy Avons again. THey stand behind their tires. In fact, i took that front tire...that was like a year and a half old....and more than half the tread gone....to the local dealer (still on the bike). They called Avon...and after getting all the details on tire tread/age/etc....they STILL gave me another front tire for about half price! i posted about that here..........back in 1692 or whatever year it happened  

So...........this story has been going on .....on and off i suppose..........for quite a few years now??????

[3fan4life]

Is this problem with the Avon Venom only? I still currently have the Venom on the front. New Cobra is waiting patiently in the garage. Now that I went and looked at the tire, I do see cracks in the area mentioned. I check my tire pressure almost every ride, definately every ride with the wife. I have only noticed 2-3 psi loss from the regular 40psi I run it at. Thought this was normal?  Did the Cobra replace the Venom? Or are they both available?

It is my understanding that the Cobra replaced the Venom.

There are probably some Venoms still out there for sale.

I'm running a Cobra on the front now, it replaced a Venom that gave me apx 18k mi.

I'll definately keep an eye on my front tire to see if it develops a problem.

But, so far I have no complaints about using the Avons on the front.

It's just the rear Avons that let me down.

[Tundra]

Thanks 

[..]

I had a problem with about 80% of the Avons I put on my old Valkyrie.

Pressure loss, premature wear - had 1 front down to the wear bars at 4,000 miles, splitting, cracks, uneven weight - yep balanced correctly - on FOUR brand new ones.

I gave up with them and went back to Dunlops on the front and 2 Cooper Zeon on the back .

Too many Avon quality problems with only 2 small contact patches on the ground.

[Michael K (Az.)]

Quote fron Tim,  "Someone posted about this very problem like ....eh....3-5 years ago...can't remember EXACTLY when." end quote.

That could easily have been me! Avon was very responsive with a replacement for me but, -----


 

[Gary]

So far so good on my Avons.

Front - Venom's
24K (Texas/Oklahoma hwy)
16K (Colorado)
14K still on, maybe a couple thousand left on her? Cobra on order. (Colorado/N. New Mexico)

Rear - Venom's
21K (Texas/Oklahoma)
14K (Colorado)
15K (Colorado/N. New Mexico)
Rear now has a new Cobra

I did have a slight noticable bump felt on the front when cruising at about 35mph but no other signs at any other speed. I rode it out for 16k.

My stock Dunlops were changed out at 11k, the front might have had a couple thousand left but I had them both changed at the same time that first time out.

[FLAVALK]

My front Avon Venom currently has 20k+ miles on it and it has had a sloooow leak since new....about 4 psi/week. Every time I ride, I pump it up to 42 psi.

I have a new Avon Cobra in the garage ready to replace it when I feel the need. Don't know the exact cause of the leak, and don't really care. To me it's not that big-a-deal. It  performs very well and until it doesn't...I will run it. 

[stormrider]

Probably should have called Avon when my rear Cobra developed a seperation with only 4k miles last year. The front seems to be holding up good. don't have to worry about the rear anymore, darkside and loving it.

[Strong Eagle]

I've got to put a new rear tire on the beast... it has been Metzelers in the past... but they are no longer on the island. My mechanic said he could get an Avon... after my experience and these posts I am going use it... what the hell... and today a Cobra showed up... very nice looking tire... definitely a different look than the Metz... a profile that looks something closer to a sport bike tire.

Comments on the Cobra?  Never been on one.  How is it in the rain, a particularly important factor here?  I got 9K out of my Metz... can I expect better with the Avon with a similar need to twist the throttle?  TIA

[hubcapsc]

Comments on the Cobra?  Never been on one.  How is it in the rain, a particularly important factor here?  I got 9K out of my Metz... can I expect better with the Avon with a similar need to twist the throttle?  TIA

I just put on my second Cobra rear. I got better mileage out of the Cobra than previous Venoms or Metzlers.

I went six plus hours in the rain a few weeks ago, only slipped when I got on a big painted road
arrow (D'OH)...

I took one last ride on it, it rained on the third day of the ride, and I did some hydroplaning,
but then I was following Britman's crowd on a curvy road  ...

Anyhow, it looked like the following picture on the first day, and the tire surface had worn
down to the same level as the wear bar by the third day...



-Mike

[Dragonryder2]

We have just two tires on the road and they don't think enough of us to do better quality control????  DUH! ! ! !   what is wrong with that picture.

I am having a new COBRA installed on my Valk as I type and now I am wondering if I should go back to Metzzzz or Flops.  HMMMMMMMM

How about Bridgestones on the VALK do they make 'em???? 

[Willow]

I am having a new COBRA installed on my Valk as I type and now I am wondering if I should go back to Metzzzz or Flops.  HMMMMMMMM

How about Bridgestones on the VALK do they make 'em???? 

Don't overreact.  For every brand you choose you'll be able to find someone with a horror story.

But then if you don't want to risk riding on those Cobras I could take them off your hands.  Wouldn't be worth much, of course.   

[Bonzo]

Well I bought and put on a brand new Avon Cobra on the front, and yes Oss you were right, its a brand new tire, different tread design and they dropped "Venom" . Avon is sending me a new tire to replace the defective one, so I will have a spare for next year. I could not wait the 5 to 7 working days!
The Cooper Zeon 2xs is fine in the rear!

[Bagger John - #3785]

Blondie's Tourer is now getting a new set of Cobras; just dropped the wheels and skins off at the tire shop. We'll see how they work - OEM Dunlops made that particular bike handle funny.

[Jay]

I ran a couple sets of Venoms on my 99 Tourer.  They handled very well and got respectable miles out of them.  However, I did have the cracks develop in the tread of one of the rear tires.  Avon replaced it for free, which is nice, but I think they need to do a better job manufacturing.  Have since run E3's front and rear, currently running a Battlax rear, E3 front.

[Strong Eagle]

New Avon Cobra on the back today... like all new tires it feels great... rolls into the turns so nice.

So... a question... what does an Avon Cobra rear cost in the US?  And a typical mount charge? 

[Bagger John - #3785]

So... a question... what does an Avon Cobra rear cost in the US?  And a typical mount charge? 

I got a set for $350 delivered to my door. IIRC, rear was $189 by itself.

Mounting and balancing for both (including disposal of the old tires) was $50. An area bike shop does it for a bit cheaper but I would spend the difference in gas money, so I went with the closer of the two.

[Strong Eagle]

So... a question... what does an Avon Cobra rear cost in the US?  And a typical mount charge? 

I got a set for $350 delivered to my door. IIRC, rear was $189 by itself.

Mounting and balancing for both (including disposal of the old tires) was $50. An area bike shop does it for a bit cheaper but I would spend the difference in gas money, so I went with the closer of the two.

Thanks.  I paid Sing $ 380 or about US$ 228 for rear tire, mount, tax... not bad on an island where everything is imported.

[Bagger John - #3785]

Just got back from a 75-mile shakedown ride on Blondie's Cobra-equipped Tourer. The thing handled like a pig with the stock 206Rs, which in all honesty had 2kmi of like left on them. When I had the bike apart I swapped the stock shocks for their I/S counterparts, having had a low-mileage set on-hand.

Her bike has always felt top-heavy and a trunk, I/S tank and other niceties don't lessen the problem. One really had to have a heavy hand when cornering the bike on its OEM Dunlops.

No more. While you still have the sensation of riding a large, bulky machine it'll snap right into turns...regardless of speed. The rear seems to grip better than the E3 which I have on a few other of our bikes.

If this handling is retained through most of the tires' life, I'll be buying more.

The new shocks may have contributed a bit to the overall difference in the bike's road manners but IMHO the Avon is still a better tire than the stockers were.

[Duct Tape]

About 2 weeks ago I noticed some cracks in the treads on my front Venom.  Last weekend I thought it was handling a little mushy.  I checked the pressure and was down to 15 psi in the front.  I try to run about 40-42.  It had been about 3 weeks since I'd checked it.  I aired up to 42 last Sunday.  I checked it Tuesday and it was down to 35.  I don't know how old or how many miles are on the tire.  It was on her when I bought her about 9k miles ago.  It was just getting down to the wear bars, so figured I might as well change it rather than worrying about checking the air every couple of days.

Dennis Kirk seemed to have the best prices.  The Cobra was about $160.  The Metzeler was $116.  Had really intended to go with the Cobra, but cash flow won and ordered the Metz.  Arrived Friday.  Pulled the wheel this morning.  The Honda dealer mounted it for me, and I had it back on by noon.  I put some Ride-on in too.  We'll see how it goes.

While I had the wheel off I figured I'd clean it up a little.  Just happened to have some Bomb's Away metal cleaner/polish and thought I give it a try.  Wow!  Did a bang-up job.  Didn't really take that much effort to get a near-mirror shine on that wheel.  The Bomb's Away says it's also a sealer and has some wax in it, but I finished it off with a coat of Pig Snot.  Anyway, the wheel looks great for now, we'll see how it holds up.

Only had time today to put in about 15 miles to get the Ride-on rolled in.   The Metz felt good.

[V98]

Did about 250 mi. today and while taking a break noticed that all the rain grooves on my front Cobra have visable cracks at the base of the tread blocks  . I've seen this on an old dryrotted tire before, but not on a tire that only has 1872 miles on it. Not loosing any air yet but I'm going to drop the Avon rep a friendly email tonight explaining the situation and then try to call him on Monday. This sux because I really like this tire. It's night and day from the original Dflop. Hopefully he'll send me a new one but I'll still have to remove the wheel and eat the cost for another mount and balance. Just what I wanted to do during riding season, NOT!