It’s a Sunday afternoon in May and it’s raining cats and dogs, there’s about half an inch of standing water on the road yet for some strange reason I am getting ready for a bike ride! The neighbours apparently think that I am crazy judging by the looks I’m getting as I wheel my ZXR-400 out of the garage.

The reason for my madness is that I have been offered the chance to road test a rather unusual set of tyres. They are Avon Pro Extreme wets and they have been fitted to my own bike to see how they fare in a long term tyre test.
These tyres are not the sort of thing that you would usually see fitted to a sports bike, in fact you would be far more likely to see them fitted to a SuperMotard bike. This is the reason we have fitted these tyres to a ZXR-400, so that you can find out how they perform on a normal street/sports bike.

Styling– the wet look!

Looks are all important for the street cred biker!. There’s absolutely no doubt that I would be lying if I said that the only factor when choosing tyres is their performance. Sports bikes are designed to look good, and let’s face it, who wants to spoil the styling by fitting the wrong tyre? Just have a quick look over the fence at some SuperMotard bikes, they are very style conscious and Avon Pro Extreme Wets are a very popular fitment. Looking at my ZXR with these tyres fitted, it looks like the bike means business and that some serious wet weather riding is in order!

Have you tried it wet yet?

These tyres are road legal wets, but the biggest question on your lips must be; “how do they actually behave in the wet?” Before fitting these tyres I had been warned that they work best in about an inch of standing water and that ‘knee downs’ in these conditions were certainly possible. Needless to say I was anxious to try riding in the rain. At the first opportunity when the skies opened – proper torrential rain – I just had to take the ZXR out of the garage and give the tyres a good blast down the local test route. What can I say but, I’m glad I did

So off down the road I go, still struggling mentally with the concept of going for a bike ride, for fun mind you, in this amount of rain! With each successive corner my confidence in these tyres builds, I already notice the increased grip and I’ve not even made it out of town yet. Riding down my favourite B road, I can feel the tyres cutting through the standing water, I’m able to hold good corner speed and the tyres are offering an excellent level of grip. For the whole ride the only thing holding me back is the psychological barrier of riding enthusiastically in torrential rain, and of course the inconsiderate car drivers coming in the opposite direction that feel the need to drive right through the middle of the deepest puddles showering me with even more water! Before this first proper ride in such a lot of water I didn’t believe that riding in rain could actually be fun, but I arrived home with a huge grin on my face, and that was just the first one!

Riding in torrential rain might not be for everyone, but how do these tyres behave in the damp? Well fantastically is the answer. On a damp road riding a sports bike your primary fear is a low side that would usually mean easing off, however with the Avon Pro Extreme Wets, think again! On a damp and slippery road the Avon wets are just beginning to come alive, they are both confidence inspiring and provide excellent grip, this yet again makes corners on a damp road pure fun.

So do they work in the dry?

For general street bike riders the majority of miles you do are probably going to be in dry conditions, how do these tyres behave in the dry? The tyres are wets, they work best in standing water, so needless to say, I was a little sceptical as to quite how well they would work in the dry. Would they be completely out of their element and simply just disintegrate with dry miles?

Well the answer to that question is absolutely no. they are as good in the dry, the overall grip is just great. I have a higher profile 120/70 fitted to the front of the bike instead of the standard 120/60 fitment, a profile that is really quite different to the previous fitments. The result is that bike just drops into corners, you can feel the block tread moving around a little bit as you lean the bike over and set yourself up for the corner, but when it’s over, no more movement.

I have done in the region of 700miles on this set of tyres and so far I am extremely impressed. The tyres are very useable in all conditions, they don’t rip to pieces when riding in the dry and they make riding in the wet so much more enjoyable. I have used these tyres in a wide range of conditions ranging from glorious sunshine, perfect bike riding weather, right through to torrential rain and they have performed brilliantly in all conditions. Comparing them to a “traditional” sports road tyre you would normally fit to a sports bike, the Avons are possibly a little vague in terms of initial feel, but this is due to the block tread movement and in no way upsets the stability of the bike. After this mileage, the tyres are beginning to show signs of wear, but they are good for at least the same mileage again. An educated guess would put the life of the rear tyre in the region of 2000 – 3000 miles depending on weather and how aggressive your riding is.

These tyres would be an excellent choice for a street bike rider intending to ride throughout the “off season” and brave the inclement UK winter weather, they provide grip and confidence in almost all conditions. If you are a track day addict then my advice is to invest in a spare set of wheels and shod them with these babies for that inevitable wet track day, oh you will have fun then!

All the miles that I have done on these tyres have been for pleasure, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. My only complaint is that my bike is now really filthy from all the wet weather I have ridden in, I suppose I had better give it a clean!