[tenny80]

I did a search and have not found anyone else running the Avon Spirit ST. They are a new tire in the last year or so and are a 100% road, sport touring tire. Price is good, much cheaper then the Road 5 or Roadtec it competes with. I bought a set online.

I'm guessing long mileage on a Vstrom since it is meant for the heavy sport touring bikes.

I currently have Shinkos and when riding season starts i'll wear them out before putting the Avons on for a trip to the blue ridge parkway/dragon in late May. So I wont have anything to update for a while, but someone else must have tried them?

 

[tenny80]

Finally got around to installing these last night and will be testing them out this weekend. I'll let you guys know what I think! Not much interest in this tire from the Vstrom crowd but it looks like it might be a great option!

 

[nvr2old]

Looking forward to your report.

 

[NVDucati]

I haven't used that model but I bet you will like them. For the last few years I have been using Avons on my V-2 and SV605N. I've developed a a lot of confidence in the brand. One thing for me is that they make all of their tires - themselves.
VisorDown did a recent test of the Spirit ST article here

 

[tenny80]

Looking forward to your report.

I haven't used that model but I bet you will like them. For the last few years I have been using Avons on my V-2 and SV605N. I've developed a a lot of confidence in the brand. One thing for me is that they make all of their tires - themselves.
VisorDown did a recent test of the Spirit ST article here

I have just returned from a 6,000km trip to Newfoundland. Unfortunately because I was so far away from the Island and I had some time constraints I did about 4,000km of highway. The tires held up very well, they did start to square off but not until I was almost home.

I think these tires will probably last 15-18,000km on the V2 and even longer on the 650.

Handling is fantastic, I had the bike leaned over further then I ever have before on the viking trail! It was like being on rails.

I didn't notice any difference on gravel roads compared to the stock tires.

Being Newfoundland I had the joy of using these tires in 5C pouring rain with 80-100km/hr winds. No issues with the tires.

They are also very quiet. I think I will be sticking with these tires from here on out. I'll swap on some Shinko 804/805 for any dirt oriented trips I am doing.

 

[tenny80]

So the Spirit ST now have about 7500km on them. They still have tons of tread left but have developed some flat spots. I had a lot of highway on the newfoundland trip and I use the bike to commute and take the highway most every day so it's to be expected. I think my last estimate of 15-18,000km on these tires on a V2 is very likely.

These are my new tire of choice! I have done a lot of gravel, fire access roads, abandonded railway beds, etc with them and have no issues. I can't notice any difference between them and the OEM tires. They are obviously not as good as the Shinko 804/805 setup but it's not as much difference as you'd think by looking at them.

 

[tenny80]

Avon Spirit ST now has over 12,000km on my 2018 Vstrom 1000 XT. Very impressed with this tire. It is a 100% road tire but I have done all kinds of gravel roads, Forrest access roads, old railway line trails, etc No issues at all. I did go down some atv trails and got into some mud holes and they are of course absolute garbage in deep mud

Flat spots have not gotten any worse, and I don't think i'd even have any if it wasn't for all the highway I did going to Newfoundland.

The front tire has tons of tread left, I expect i'll get over 20k on it. The rear still has lots of life left, I can probably get at least 15k out of it by looking at the wear on it right now.

I may change the rear over winter for the heck of it though, I usually like to do as much maintenance as possible over winter so it does not cut into my time to ride. I am also curious to see just how long these tires will run so I may not haha.

 

[tenny80]

So with all of my long trips cancelled (Thanks Covid19) I have not had much urgency to install my new Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires sitting int he garage, I want to try them out though so I'll likely do it soon. I have about 14,000km on these tires now and they are close to the wear bars. I'd like get another 2,000km out of them if I wanted to really push it as they are a slow wearing tires. The front has tons and tons of life left and I will save it to put back on at some point.

 

[Motocanada]

Tenny, I swear by Avon tires on all my bikes. They have a more round profile which I find makes the steering of any bike more neutral.

 

[nvr2old]

Thanks for keeping us updated. Nice to have a long term review.

 

[Motocanada]

here's a review of Avon Trailrider

 

[tenny80]

Tenny, I swear by Avon tires on all my bikes. They have a more round profile which I find makes the steering of any bike more neutral.

The Spirit is a great tire if you don't plan on doing much offroad. I pushed t hem beyond what a street tire is for and they did fairly well. I took them off tonight. The rear tire would do 16,000km on a V-Strom 1000 if you wanted to run it right down. The front I don't think would last another 16k, I think it's probably good for 25k. I went to a 50/50 tire so I didn't want it on any longer. Trailmax looks great, VERY round for a 50/50 tire, on par with the Spirit ST which is probably why they get great reviews for onroad performance.

Thanks for keeping us updated. Nice to have a long term review.

No problem! would highly recommend them! Very easy to tire to install as well !