Azaro rear tire failure

[hlh1]

Over the Memorial Day weekend I loaded up the 99 with my wife and I to enjoy SW Virginia.  I have the Storm 2 on the front with 11k miles and the Azaro rear with about 4500 miles on it.  I figured we'd finish off these tires over the next 3-4 days and 1000+ miles.  Hitting the road on Friday morning I noticed, when coasting, that something was lighly "popping" the bike.  My first thought was a bad wheel bearing but I'd just replaced the front and rears at the last tire change and continued on the trip.  The "pop" got a bit worse throughout the 350 mile day and I stopped and spun the tires looking for any problems and saw nothing.  The next morning we set out for Burkes Garden and this time I noticed more of a bump, all the time.  Pulled over and now I see a mild bulge in the rear tire, with no puncture, just a mild bulge.  I figured we could ride a 200 day and then head home the next, wrong (don't give me a hard time I know I should have turned around then and will in the future).   We rode the bike hard over the next couple of hours enjoying the Avons excellent traction while testing the bikes ground clearance.   About 150 miles later we stopped for lunch and I looked at the rear tire and now I'm seeing steel threads and a 1/2 inch gash!  I call around to motorcycle dealers but they're all closing because of the holiday weekend and are no help.  I decide to limp back the next 50 miles to the motel and the "bumping" became worse and worse.  Arrived at the hotel with a 1 inch gash and it's now not ridable.  Also the tread depth was quickly thining at and around the bulge, but was fine on the rest of the tire.  It's interesting that the tire is still holding air pressure like this, but the next day it was flat.  Long story short we could not find a trailer or alternate transportation because of the holiday weekend and ended up being loaned a truck and trailer from a riding friend and we hauled the bike back to Richmond.  Once home I mounted a new Avon set, Storm front and Azaro rear, on the C10 and all was well with the world.   I contacted Avon about this because it seemed to me that this tire self destructed.  Not good.  They were concerned but were convinced that I punctured it somehow and they'd never heard of a failure like this with an Azaro.  The PR guy also mentioned that they plan on making the Azaro for the C10 for the forseable future, and I'm glad to hear that.  As a good will gesture Avon sold me another Azaro rear at their cost.   I bet, and hope, that this is a fluke.  I've loved the Avon combination of the Storm 2 front and Azaro rear and will continue to use them.  These tires do everything I ask of them, peg feeler to peg feeler, except the rear won't last 10k miles.  I typically run two rears for one front. 

Here's a pic:

[Furbo]

Interesting....betting something happened that damaged the underlying belts.  I like the Avon Radials as well, but have never gotten more than about 4-5K out of them. Just put new ones on last week. 

[hlh1]

I tend to replace the Avons before I get to the warnings, and that's about 5000 miles for me.  Yes, it seems like this one came apart fromt he inside out.  Accoring to Avon this is an anomoly. 

[lt1]

Let's see if I've got this straight:

You go off on a trip and notice a problem right at the start, but ride 350 miles 2-up as it gets worse.  You finally decide to seriously look at the problem and discover that you have a dangerous condition with your tire.  You ride the bike hard two-up, "testing the cornering clearances" for another 150 miles.   (I liked the part about "we".  That implies that your wife understood and agreed to the risk.)   And you would prefer that nobody gives you a hard time about your choices or decision-making process.

Thanks for sharing.

[hlh1]

Let's see if I've got this straight:

You go off on a trip and notice a problem right at the start, but ride 350 miles 2-up as it gets worse.  You finally decide to seriously look at the problem and discover that you have a dangerous condition with your tire.  You ride the bike hard two-up, "testing the cornering clearances" for another 150 miles.   (I liked the part about "we".  That implies that your wife understood and agreed to the risk.)   And you would prefer that nobody gives you a hard time about your choices or decision-making process.

Thanks for sharing.

Exactly!     thanks for understanding... 

[Grandk]

hlh1 - The same thing happened to me over Memorial Day with the about the same amount miles on my Avon Azaro rear tire.
I live in RI and got stuck in Greenfield,MA.

I did not get any warnings as you did (poping, etc.) however my tire failure looks exactly like yours, the Steel Belt was protruding through the tire as well. I thought that I may have hit a piece of metal or something that sliced the tire but I'm now having second thoughts after seeing the picture you posted. That picture is to the "T" exactly the way my tire looked.

I love the Avon combination (Storm 2 front & Azaro rear) but after seeing your report and having my experience I'm a little concerned about this being a fluke or not.

Glad that your OK, let's hope we have a better Memorial Day next year.

[CoffeeRider]

I have always run Avons on my '02 and get about 12k on the front tire and around 6.5 to 7k on the rears although my last one made it to 9k. I noticed that the rear tire reaches the end of it's life very quickly instead of wearing slowly like the front. I have seen it go from looking and riding normaly to being "squirrely" and wearing flat in just a couple of hundred miles. I never ride two up and keep the front tire at 42 psi and 40 in the rear. I love my Avons and am glad to hear they will continue to make them in C10 size! I have had more confidence in riding this bike/tire combo than any other ones I've had!

[hlh1]

I have had more confidence in riding this bike/tire combo than any other ones I've had!

I totally agree!  I run 41 lbs front and rear. 

[enim57]

When I was looking at Avon's a while ago I did a search and found a couple of posts on different websites where the Azaro had bulged, but not broken like yours. The tyres were all around the same manufacturing time so a lot of posters put it down to a bad batch, others said they wouldn't use them. Unless yours is a few years old it would not be the same batch. Mine is nearly worn out (almost 10000 km) and is OK but I'm thinking I might go back to Metzeler Lasertech, they grip well but don't last as long.

Regards, Russell

[hlh1]

When I was looking at Avon's a while ago I did a search and found a couple of posts on different websites where the Azaro had bulged, but not broken like yours. The tyres were all around the same manufacturing time so a lot of posters put it down to a bad batch, others said they wouldn't use them. Unless yours is a few years old it would not be the same batch. Mine is nearly worn out (almost 10000 km) and is OK but I'm thinking I might go back to Metzeler Lasertech, they grip well but don't last as long.

Regards, Russell

Mine had a 2009 manufacture date on the failed tire. 

[enim57]

Mine had a 2009 manufacture date on the failed tire. 

I was reading the articles in 2008 so they would have been older than yours. In the topic below SteveJ in reply 12 stated he had a carcass failure in a rear Venom. Food for thought.
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=9713.0

Regards, Russell

[Furbo]

I have always run Avons on my '02 and get about 12k on the front tire and around 6.5 to 7k on the rears although my last one made it to 9k.

Noticed alot of variance on mileage amoung folks. Likely a riding style or environmental difference.  As I ride in Europe, on the hwy am usually doing around 100mph. High speed = high heat = lower tire life.

At least that's my thoughts....such as they are...

[xjs36uk]

Here in Austria it is illegal to have tyres on your vehicle that are more than 4 years old. I've not long fitted an Azaro rear and a Michelin road 2 front, and am exceptionally happy with the combination in grip stability and handling. I do ride my GTR very hard so will be keeping a close eye on that rear, although I think it won't suffer a problem as it was manufactured 3 months before fittment, it may well be that having the 'old' tyre on there combined with hot and cold extremes in weather caused the tyre to effectively delaminate. I may just be one of those things.

Hey Furbo, looks like you're the closest member to me down here in Carinthia, I think around 4 hours apart. Big waves from Austria.