Avon have supplied me with their Distanzia radial AM43/AM44 tires for the first leg of the TwoWheelWandering tour, to the North of Canada and Alaska. These tires replace the AV33/AV34 Gripster as their dual-sport touring tire for heavy bikes. The KLR is a mid weight but loaded up and with a second body takes it into the next bracket.
The tires worked well in every condition Alaska and the Canadian North could throw at me. Wet calcium dirt had them slipping, but all bikes up there had this problem, including those running DOT legal knobbies.
Wet performance on-road was great, admittedly I wasn't pushing my loaded bike in the rain, especially when 2-up, but I never felt them slip or hydroplane once. Loose dry gravel was fine, I dropped my rear pressure from the 42psi max to 25-30, and they were very solid.
The chip seal roads saw to it the rear was down to the centre wear indicators in about 5500 miles. Better roads and lighter loads would probably give more miles on a KLR, but it seems to be that the bias has been towards performance rather than longevity.
I'm hoping to be able to test the new S and T rated Distanzia, the bias ply versions, as the Twowheelwandering tour continues.
However, I can say with experience that the radial Distanzia is able to be removed and replaced using only the standard 8" tire irons. Do it near a garage somewhere as you WILL need FAST high pressure to seat the bead on a new tire. |
