Avon Cobra tire bad

[Firefighter]

Hello again, Went for a short spin today, got back to the house and about 30 minutes later, went outside and found the rear tire flat. Had to air it up to move the bike into the garage, and right away could hear the air leaking. Found a bulge and some tread splitting near the center of the tire. Thought it was going to blow out. I have owned the bike just over 2 years and have logged 12,000 miles. I don't know how many miles the tires have total, but they still look new to me. The bike is a 2000 IS with 37,000 miles. The tire is an Avon Cobra AV72 180/70R16. I run 40 to 44 pounds of pressure. I use drive-on tire seal, balancer. I have to replace the tire. Anyone having this trouble? Do tires normally go bad this way? What tires do you guys like best and what size? I had rather wear the tire out than have it go bad this way, kind of scarey. Should I replace the front tire too? Glad I made it home or was not far away. I had no indications of tire trouble.  Thanks for any input, really appreciate this forum!

[Challenger]

I would be tickled s#!tless to get 12000 miles out of a rear Cobra, but being that as it may,  Since they were on the bike when you got it and don't know where they were purchased, I doubt that Avon will do anything. Doesn't hurt to ask though, I would probably replace both tires at once. 

[sandy]

Avons do this rarely. Most of the time they replace them free or maybe prorated based on tread depth. I use Cobras on my Tourer and put 42 F and 46 R. I currently have 16K on the rear and it has lots of tread left.

[Chrome]

Hey Fire Have had a bad Avon Venom and Cobra.Both went bad and Avon did replace one but not the one that blew out. Crap tyres and bad to deal with.
Chrome
Orginal Post http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,21181.msg184039.html#msg184039

[Momz]

Having several Valks, I've had the opportunity to try Avon Venoms, Cobras, and Metzler 880s.

After at least 100K, I'd say the Avon Cobras are the best of the "premium" tires.

I had Bridgestones on my I/S, and I could not wait for them to wear out! They growled in the cornered and slid out when cornering (very scary).

Although I've never had Dunlop E3s, several riding buds don't like them. Or you could go cheap and go with a set of "Shinko"s.

YA PAYS YER MONEY,....AND YA TAKES YER CHANCES 

[Dougger]

Find the manufacture date on the tire and call Avon customer service. I had a Venom that ha split in the center thread area. They replaced the tire and I think they even paid for the mounting.
I have been very satisfied with Avon.

[Keitho]

Hello firefighter.
I was out riding my 2000 Interstate tonight & my rear Avon Cobra tire started losing air. I was lucky that with three pit stops for air, I finally made it home.
I found that the tread has started separating in the middle of this tire also.
This tire has @ 20000 km on it.
After reading this topic & Chromes postings ........................ I am now not sure what to do.

[NCGhostrider]

I had a 2 Venoms that pretty much did the same thing.  They were close to the end of their tread life at 7-8k miles, so I did not pursue any compensation.   I went back to a c/t for safety reasons (flame away!), since I doubt I will have delamination problems.  My wife loves the ride and lack of tire noise.    

The last tire started delaminating while I was coming home from the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma.  I noticed a vibration,    I stopped and inspected the tire and made it home, very slowly!!  My wife was with me, which actually rattled me a bit thinking about what might have happened at high speed.

Craig
NcGhostrider
99 I/S

[Cattman]

I'm on my second cobra after 3 venoms. All got 11-13 k on the rears running 46#. Sounds like you got most of the useful life out of it.

[Chrome]

Hey Keitho To answer .

I am now not sure what to do.

3 Valks and 3 sets of E3s. Some might not like them but never had a bad one yet. Get Stick to cut you a deal on some.
Adrian

[Keitho]

Hey Chrome.
I am one step closer by knowing what tire "not to buy".
After watching this attached video, I do not want to be like this fellow.
2000 valkyrie interstate rear tire blow out 900lb bike not cool.
After researching this Avon tire problem I have had, I have found out that this is not a rare occurance but is rather common.
Until I feel Avon has their obvious problem solved, I will be running another make of tire.
Safe riding my friend!

[alph]

had the same problem two weeks ago myself!! 

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,45440.0.html

[steve 3054]

I'm not sure but it looked like the bike was dancing quite abit, then checked the front tire???  It may have been the back tire all along saying Hey look at me !!!

[bandit1957]

Okay, so I have been an Avon Fan for quite a few years.   However my best friend rides an 1800 Gold Wing and he prefers the E3 (as do the rest of my buddies with 1800 Wings).   So I have a bad blowout in a light shower yesterday (with a Passenger on back) on my 98 Tourer.   The bike damn near dumped me.   So long story short, what is the risks/constraints on running E3 rear and Venom fronts.   Each time I have had to replace the tires, i have been locked into Avons.   My dealership says no issue, but they stock E3s and have to order my Avons so their motives are suspect.

[Farther]

I have a hard time thinking that mixed tire brands is a problem  My next purchase will be an Avon rear with a Metzler front.

[whitestroke]

My Avon Venom delaminated with only 4K miles but it was 9 years old.  Look for the date 4 numbers on the sidewall, first 2 are the week# last 2 are the year.

[Bugslayer]

 Found this problem last week. There were six or seven deep splits in the tread where I could see the white strings inside the tire. I'm lucky I didn't have a blowout on my return trip the day before.

[Motorider]

I run Cobras all the time. I`m lucky to get 7000 miles out of a rear, I do ride two up 90% of the time on crappy Pa. roads. Has anyone had the rubber splitting problem, while running 36 PSI as the manual calls for? Just asking. PS Bought a rear Metzeler 880 while on a trip in Colorado, it was the only tire the dealership, had that fit the Valkyrie. I got 4000 miles and the left side of the tire was bald. That will be my last Metzeler.

[pancho]

Found this problem last week. There were six or seven deep splits in the tread where I could see the white strings inside the tire. I'm lucky I didn't have a blowout on my return trip the day before.

What kind of pressure were you running in that tire Bugslayer???

[Bugslayer]

Found this problem last week. There were six or seven deep splits in the tread where I could see the white strings inside the tire. I'm lucky I didn't have a blowout on my return trip the day before.

What kind of pressure were you running in that tire Bugslayer???

42 rear / 40 front

[pancho]

That's scary,, I'm running an old Venom I got on a used Pinwall wheel right now,,, looks great, feels good,,  guess I better keep my eye on it.

[John Schmidt]

I run Cobras all the time. I`m lucky to get 7000 miles out of a rear, I do ride two up 90% of the time on crappy Pa. roads. Has anyone had the rubber splitting problem, while running 36 PSI as the manual calls for? Just asking. PS Bought a rear Metzeler 880 while on a trip in Colorado, it was the only tire the dealership, had that fit the Valkyrie. I got 4000 miles and the left side of the tire was bald. That will be my last Metzeler.

First of all, pay no attention to the 36psi called for in the manual. That's for the OEM tires that originally came on the bike and most riders quickly found that was too low a pressure. The tire reps eventually agreed when confronted at rallies. As for mileage on Metz tires, when I was running bike tires front and rear I kept them at 40/42, both Metz. The rear was a 200, not a 180, and before I went to a c/t I would get over 12k miles without any problem. My current front has close to 18k on it now with no issues. I'll probably change it before long simply due to age. Just don't run them with low pressure....that's anything under 42 in back, most run even more.

[Flat6Valk]

avon the only tire for me.  I had a set on Venoms and lost a rear tire.  I consider it my fault tho.  I did not watch the pressure.  My Cobras have 14K and I think at 18K (I project) im going to replace them even if they look good.  There just is no reason for me to test my tire luck on a 2 wheel vehicle.

Greg

[sandy]

I've got 135K now and have run Avons since about 50K. On my 2nd set of Cobras and have 23K on the rear. It's not down to the wear bars yet. Running 46 PSI all the time. Never had a bad Avon.