After much internal debate, I've decided to go away from the Avon front, for exactly the reasons you mention
@Stillserving . It is a great tire, with phenomenal grip, its not terribly noisy and wears well. There is nothing wrong with the Avon front, but, there is room for improvement in the 30-40f temp range when it's wet outside. I had a couple quite scary moments in January because of that (yeah, I know, who rides in January in the 30s...lol).
That said, Ill be trying out a Pilot Power RS rear flipped backwards on the front. 140/70R17, W speed rated, triple compound, and it is a 3d printed tire not traditionally wrapped tread. I've never been comfortable with the idea of running a rear flipped backwards as a front, however, since the new tires (Michelin Power RS, Dunlop Q4, and Michelin Road 5) are all 3d printed, there is no seam like usual.
@1olbull has a Road 5 rear mounted backwards out front right now, looking forward to his feedback, since it's a very similar tire to the Power RS from a technical perspective, just with better wet grip and longevity compared to the Power RS.
The Power RS is going to wear fast, but, I'm totally ok replacing front/rear at the same time instead of weird intervals where I never have a new set because of wear offset.
Michelin Power RS Tires - RevZilla