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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| I recently installed a set of Avon Cobras replacing the original E3's. I did it mainly in an effort to get better wet weather traction and to get rid of the half-life noisiness. Most of us have noted from time to time how sensitive the VV is to tar snakes. On my regular Saturday ride is an uphill right turn with a huge nest of tar snakes right in the middle of the turn. The front always squirms up a storm going through them. Last Saturday I hit them as usual but this time the bike didn't even budge. Nothing! I was so surprised I turned around and went through them again. Still nothing! I'm on my 3rd VV all of which have run E3's and all of which have squirmed around going through tar snakes. If the Cobras are this immune to tar snakes I'll be really interested to see how they do in the rain.
Marc |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | Interesting. I would'nt think that any M/C tire is immune to tar snakes. Maybe is this because the tar snakes are not as soft; due to the cooler temperatures. I find them bad in the summer, but not during late fall/winter/early spring.... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| I considered the temperature but that's really not a factor here. The temps were about the same as the last time I rode that route. I think the tread makeup between the two different brands probably accounts for something. The rest of the day I went looking for tar snakes just to see and it didn't react to any of them. I'm sure when its really hot and they have turned to goo the front's going to move around but I can tell you for sure it doesn't move anywhere near like it has in the past. You know when you're making a turn in town and go through the combination of water and algae often found in the low area between the two streets and the front slips ever so slightly? It hardly does that anymore either. I think something is surely different. Maybe one of the other guys running Cobras will chime in.
Marc |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | Marc, glad to hear you like the Cobras. I thought I had read on one thread that you weren't sure if you liked them or not.
Personally, I think it's the tread design and the tire composition. I can't comment on tar snakes as we have only a few here in FL. But I get much better grip wet or dry with my Cobras than I did with my E3's. I am riding 40 and 40 PSI (or close to that) and have Ride On in both tires. I did not do Metzlers with my Vision as I had heard about some recent issues with them here and there. Yet on my old rides I have always loved the grip Metzler provided over any other tires. So I may try them next time around to get a comparision between them and the Cobras.
Edited by MaddMAx2u 2012-11-30 1:34 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| MaddMAx2u - 2012-11-30 10:31 AM
Marc, glad to hear you like the Cobras. I thought I had read on one thread that you weren't sure if you liked them or not. The issue I'm still dealing with is how much more the bike moves around at freeway speeds with the Cobras vs the E3's. I'm still hoping I will get used to it. I have a used set of E3's with 4000 miles on them that I'll reinstall when the Cobras wear out just for the comparison.
Marc |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | Someone once compared Avon tires to riding on gummy bears. Just that kind of traction. It's been so long since I've had a bike with Avons, I can't remember just how good they were. I rarely hear anything bad about them. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 65
| As soon as my E3's are used up I am going with AVON. I have had excellent service from them on HD Electra-Glides as compared to Dunlop and Metzler. Better on tar snakes, better in the rain and last longer! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| marcparnes - 2012-11-30 2:17 PM MaddMAx2u - 2012-11-30 10:31 AM Marc, glad to hear you like the Cobras. I thought I had read on one thread that you weren't sure if you liked them or not. The issue I'm still dealing with is how much more the bike moves around at freeway speeds with the Cobras vs the E3's. I'm still hoping I will get used to it. I have a used set of E3's with 4000 miles on them that I'll reinstall when the Cobras wear out just for the comparison. Marc I have about 5k miles on my Cobras and haven't noticed any problems at speed. I don't think I'll get the miles I got with the Dunlops but the trade off is worth it to me. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| Visions always move around a little bit at 75+. That's no big deal even though they do move around more than other bikes I've had. With the Cobras installed the hunting became more pronounce. It doesn't do anything that bad, it just kind of floats around a bit. I lowered the pressure down to Vic's recommended 36/38 and that helped. I thought it was due to the rain grooves on our SoCal freeways but I also feel it on asphalt. I'm just hoping its something I forget about over time.
Marc |
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Tourer
Posts: 444
Bay of Gigs, WA | Had a Metzler Marathon installed on the back before I heard about the darkside, so that's where I'll go next. At 12,000+ miles the E3 on the front was getting worn, but it was working fine right up until I hit the back of that truck. LOL Anybody know anything about darkside for the front? It seems the added grip I've read about with car tires might have gone a long way to saving me 3-4 grand in plastic. |
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Tourer
Posts: 499
Chattanooga, TN | Marc, you ever try the Goldwing tires? These are the Bridgestone G704/G709? Just curious. I just put the front one on and it is waay better than the E3. Still waiting to wear out the rear and then I'm trying it as well. I've run nothing but E3's for almost 30k miles until now. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| baadawg - 2012-11-30 1:35 PM
Marc, you ever try the Goldwing tires? These are the Bridgestone G704/G709? Just curious. I just put the front one on and it is waay better than the E3. Still waiting to wear out the rear and then I'm trying it as well. I've run nothing but E3's for almost 30k miles until now.Yep, I did on my 2010. I took them off after a little while. I didn't like the profile, the bike felt like it was going to fall over in corners. Too pointy.
Marc |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| The man is right. I went to Metzler and the tar snakes are gone.
When I had Harley's tar snakes were unheired of and I think its cause they had more groves an less smooth spots.
E3's will never be on my bike again |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | Man! I thought I found the perfect tire (the E3's) and now all ye guys are dissing them. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| willtill - 2012-11-30 4:51 PM Man! I thought I found the perfect tire (the E3's) and now all ye guys are dissing them. There's nothing wrong with E3's. I like Cobras because in my opinion they handle better wet and dry. This is my first set on a Vision and I think I'll be giving up about 1k miles in wear and that's fine. |
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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | Marc,
I'm on my 3rd set of Avons First set I got 9K on the rear and 15K on the front, front could have gone longer but the 2nd rear was down to the cord (literally) with 6K on it. The traction NEVER falls off for me, there is little noticeable loss of traction between new and 9K miles. Granted there is some but not what the E3s did...I ride the Dragon and Cherohala skyway all the time and ride it hard sometimes and I will never go back to E3s....
I have ridden in an all day thunderstorm rain ride from Nashville to Memphis this summer and I can honestly tell you I rode at 70 MPH without any real concern the grip was so well. ON the E3s I would sweat bullets and I started out that way on this ride with the Avons, but the longer I rode in the rain on these tires the more comfortable and increased speed once I realized how well they did...
Avons are great, but if you raise a little hell with them the tire life will fall off quickly, that's why I only got 6K on my last rear tire, dropping the clutch and going hard into and out of corners hard will shorten the longevity of the tire, but the grip they give you I will stay with them, there that good!!! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | marcparnes - 2012-11-30 5:03 PM
Visions always move around a little bit at 75+.
+1
But I don't notice it being any worse with the Avon's. I've always felt as though it was all that damned fairing up front that caused the movement. Too much updraft and not enough down pressure. But what do I know. Think I'll try the Metzler's next time. Just to see~!
Edited by MaddMAx2u 2012-11-30 10:57 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | joe schmoe - 2012-11-30 8:06 PM
Marc,
I'm on my 3rd set of Avons First set I got 9K on the rear and 15K on the front, front could have gone longer but the 2nd rear was down to the cord (literally) with 6K on it. The traction NEVER falls off for me, there is little noticeable loss of traction between new and 9K miles. Granted there is some but not what the E3s did...I ride the Dragon and Cherohala skyway all the time and ride it hard sometimes and I will never go back to E3s....
I have ridden in an all day thunderstorm rain ride from Nashville to Memphis this summer and I can honestly tell you I rode at 70 MPH without any real concern the grip was so well. ON the E3s I would sweat bullets and I started out that way on this ride with the Avons, but the longer I rode in the rain on these tires the more comfortable and increased speed once I realized how well they did...
Avons are great, but if you raise a little hell with them the tire life will fall off quickly, that's why I only got 6K on my last rear tire, dropping the clutch and going hard into and out of corners hard will shorten the longevity of the tire, but the grip they give you I will stay with them, there that good!!!
6K ? I'd have to buy 4 or 5 back tires a year . I'll stay with E3's . I'm not a wealthy man. I bet I can get 3 times that out of the E3. I've got 14K on it now and it has a good bit more life in it. Even at 9K on your first set, I'm confident my rear E3 will go twice that distance. I don't ride aggressively, I know that plays into it. If I did ride aggressive, I couldn't afford to change the Cobras like underwear anyway. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 209
| it seems to me,any decent 'new ' tire feels a whole lot better than an 'old' one thats needs replaced. if you compare new with new, and identicle situations then you can judge tires. that new tire feel is awesome though! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | Yea, Banjo, that's true. Many who have never tried anything other than an E3 have made that comment. But a worn Avon, IMHO, is much better than a worn E3. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 209
| I purchased set of e3,s about 3 weeks ago. mainly because they come from factory. this was before I read all the posts. anyway I rode all over tar snakes today to see for myself. I think they did great. smooth as could be. but maybe next time i,ll give the avons or cobras a try. 'don,t knock it til you,ve tried it" my daddy always said.
Edited by Banjodan 2012-12-03 8:27 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 125
| We ride from Nashville to these same roads which takes about 3.5 hours and it rains quite a bit in the summer. We love these East Tn. Roads! The Skyway is our favorite road and its in your backyard! Lucky dog....
i have had great experience with the Avons and no issues at all riding in the rain with them. I have been running them for most of this year and love them!
They are sticky and hold up well IMO. I dont worry much about the tar snakes as they are hardly noticeable with the Avons.
I will keep on using Avons for sure.
FWIW |
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Cobras and Tar Snakes
