Family's trip of a lifetime on Avon Tyres

ERJ staff report (TP)

Melksham, UK – A family currently on a motorcycle trip of a lifetime have chosen to use Avon Distanzia tires for their memorable trip.

Avon Tyres said Aad Schram, his wife Jeannette and son Mike are currently in South America enjoying a round-the-world family motorcycling holiday while uploading their adventures on a popular website, earth-roamers.blogspot.com.

Their current trip began in 2012, Aad explains: “I've had motorcycles for over 30 years and enjoyed quite a few trips on them, but this was going to be a bit more than a holiday. It started, as always, with wild plans. Right from the beginning Mike wanted to do Alaska to Argentina. He also wanted to see Europe, Russia and Mongolia (to name but a few). I was looking forward to Norway, the Baltic states, England and Portugal. Jeanette joined in with Africa and New Zealand.”

For Aad – a traveller of some experience – there was only one choice of tire: “Why did we chose Avon Distanzias? Tires are very important. I've had very good experiences ever since I fitted the first set of Avons on my 1971 Triumph T120. Every bike that I fitted with Avons became a better handing one, including the 2009 T100 Bonneville I have now. In my view, spending a bit more for good tires is more important than spending a lot more for a better helmet.”

Both Aad and Jeanette use Triumph Bonnevilles and Mike a single-cylinder Yamaha XT660R. Aad said: “Sure you can do the Dalton, the Denali and the Top of the World Highway on road tires but more grip on gravel and dirt can be the difference between finishing the trip joyfully or in hospital.

"We also wanted something we could use on the road without vibrating to death. Mike's Yamaha came with another manufacturer’s tires and they seemed okay but the front was struggling for grip when wet. After they had worn out, we fitted Avon Distanzias and the difference was enormous. Much more grip in the wet! I was a little concerned about fitting Dual Sport tires to our Bonnevilles though. It's a road bike after all, not designed for this or this kind of tire but we fitted the Avons and haven't looked back. The Distanzias have proven to be the best wet weather tires we have ever had.”

The family have just celebrated the arrival of 2014 in Lo de Marcos, a small Mexican town on the Pacific Coast – and still the Avons keep on going!

“Unbelievably they not only grip well but also last long,” said Aad. “This is not a combination I expected. Both Bonnevilles have about 14,000km on the rear and plenty of tread life left! The Yamaha, being a single, is a bit harder on tires but still gets 16,000km out of a rear!”

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Press release from Avon Tyres