Round, Black and Not Cosmetics.

For most automobile drivers, tires aren’t thought much of until they have become either flat or are in dire need of replacement. Motorcyclists, however, tend to be very anal when it comes to tires. If you think about it, they’re almost the only things between the rider and the road. Furthermore, motorcyclists only have two tires connecting them to the road, where auto drivers have four.

Riders get very passionate when it comes to what type and brand of tires to put on their bikes. Sportbike riders are among the worst of the bunch. We demand grip, longevity, and compliance, all at a competitive price. Not a tall order to fill at all, is it?

When it comes to choosing tires, if people hear Avon, they first think cosmetics; tires are the furthest thing from their minds.

Today I will review the Avon Viper Sport AV 59 120/70 front tire and the Avon Viper Sport AV 60 190/50 rear tire. The Avon Tire Company is a British tire manufacturer that’s been producing car tires since 1885 and motorcycle tires since 1911. Though not as well known as Bridgestone, Dunlop, Metzler, Michelin, and Pirelli; Avon is gaining ground among sportbike enthusiasts. The AV 59 and AV 60 tires will be evaluated on the following: ride quality, grip, turn-in, steering precision, braking, wet weather grip, mileage, and confidence.


The test bike of choice for the review is none other than my 2004 Kawasaki ZX-10R sportbike. Tire pressure for the front is 34 PSI and 38 PSI for the rear. Let’s get started.

During installation, I noticed that the carcass felt noticeably stiffer than the outgoing tires. Which told me they’d be more difficult to install, and there would be necessary suspension adjustments. I also noticed the lack of balance marks, which added an additional thirty five minutes to the installation. Circumference measurements showed the front tire to be the same size as the outgoing tire. However, the rear tire measured eleven millimeters larger in diameter, which would raise the rear axle roughly five millimeters. Once they were properly mounted, a ride was in order.

A short freeway ride revealed the need to reduce compression damping to compensate for the stiffer sidewall of the tires. After the suspension adjustments were made, ride quality noticably improved. On smooth pavement, the tires offered a very compliant ride. Once the pavement got bumpy and rippled, the tires’ stiffer carcass made itself felt, but they still tracked accurately and provided good feedback. A few passes through several different sections of road at a steadily increasing pace showed the tires’ neutral and predictable character, doing exactly what I asked of them.

Within a few minutes, the Vipers heated up quickly and offered tremendous grip on the street. After a few break-in miles and increasing lean angles, I was comfortable with their grip. I started braking deeper into corners, and applying more throttle at the exits.

The rear tire handled the 160 horsepower from my ZX-10R with out any slips or complaints provided throttle was added smoothly. Steering at the front was very good with only a slight tendency to stand up under braking. Trail braking deep to the apex of the corner, while changing my line, did not phase the frontend either. There was no tendency to fall into corners, and additional rider input wasn’t required until the next direction change when transitioning from vertical to full lean. Going from full left to full right leans and back, showed the tires to be quick in direction changes with no twitchiness. In addition to excellent grip in dry conditions, the additional silica mix in the tire compound aided in wet weather grip.

With the excellent grip offered by the Vipers, one would think thread life would suffer but that’s not the case. After 4,300 miles, the Vipers have even wear from edge to edge and still offer excellent grip during spirited rides. The front tire hasn’t shown any uneven wear and should be good for another 1,500 to 2,000 miles. The rear tire should have another 1,000 to 1,500 miles before it’s replaced.

With my riding style, I tend to be smooth on the throttle, brakes, and transitions so the Vipers suit me well and offer loads of confidence. I have yet to reach the limits of the Vipers on the street, simply because their capabilities are beyond what the street environment can cope with safely. While Avon doesn’t market the Vipers for track days, it would serve a rider well in that environment, provided they don’t get carried away with chasing lap times.

The Avon Vipers AV 59/60s offer a great ride quality, loads of grip, precise steering/turn-in, excellent feedback while braking, good wet weather grip, excellent mileage, and a ton of confidence. For the price, the Vipers are right in line with the competition as is their performance. So, the next time you hear Avon don’t think of make-up but round, black sticky tires that would suit many sportbike riders well.

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