Avon is to launch a new sport-touring tyre range named Storm-ST, replacing its highly popular Azaro-ST product. Storm-ST has already been tested and approved for fitment to all major motorcycles in conjunction with the well-respected German TUV agency.
Available from Autumn 2006, Storm-ST is available in 15 sizes:
Fronts AV55 - 110/70ZR17, 110/80ZR18, 120/60ZR17, 120/70ZR17, 120/70ZR18, 130/70ZR17
Rears - AV56 150/70ZR17, 150/70ZR18, 160/60ZR17, 160/70ZR17, 160/60ZR18, 170/60ZR17, 180/55ZR17, 190/50ZR17, 200/50ZR17.
Storm-ST is the first tyre to include Avon’s new ‘Reactive Footprint’ [RF] technology.
Reactive Footprint technology marries Avon’s unique variable belt density [VBD] carcass with Lifetime Profile Engineering [LPE] to produce a footprint which changes size and shape, depending on the bike’s lean angle, for the full life of the tyre.
The result is a contact patch that grows as the bike leans, giving more grip in corners whilst minimising wear rates when travelling in a straight line.
This technological breakthrough could eliminate the need to use dual compounds and would help solve the uneven wear problems associated with them.
Pete McNally, Avon’s Motorcycle Product Manager explained, “These new technologies combine to make a tyre that doesn’t just handle well when new but also in the last 25% of its life.” He continued, “With Storm-ST it’s not just the compound that’s harder in the centre and softer at the edges, it’s the whole tyre. We believe we are the first manufacturer to produce a reactive footprint tyre for motorcycles.”
In addition to Reactive Footprint technology and Lifetime Profile Engineering, Storm-ST is bristling with an impressive array of advanced features:
A new Super-Rich Silica compound [SRS] delivers sure-footed grip in both wet and dry conditions and allows the tyre to quickly warm up to reach optimum working temperatures.
‘Inverted Front Grooves’ (IFG) on the front tyre, a system pioneered by Avon in the late eighties and only now being adopted by the competition, resists ‘stepped-wear’ and ‘cupping’ to deliver smooth handling throughout the tyre’s life. A further advantage of the IFG configuration is improved wet braking and shorter stopping distances.
The Storm-ST rear benefits from Avon’s Enhanced Aqua Flow [EAF] pattern, first used in sports tyres, which rapidly clears away surface water to further increase confidence in the wet.
Also developed for sports tyres and now built into Storm-ST is Avon’s Advanced Tread Arc Combination [ATAC] profile which varies the tread profile across the tyre for the ultimate in handling and stability, whatever the lean angle. The ATAC profile results in neutral contours, ensuring smoother transition on lean angle changes, and noticeably increases stability, especially under heavy braking
Finally, all components are fine-tuned by Avon’s Enhanced Stability System [ES-System] to deliver a tyre in which the carcass, sidewalls and tread pattern work together to reduce localised flexing within the tyre structure to optimise grip, durability and warm-up capabilities.