Tyres

John Cone

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Having riden Jap bikes for a log time, I like modern rubber and have got Metzlers back and front on the Prince. I did'nt have any problems with even having the bike stood for over 12 years, no cracking or flat spots. The first few white lines had the old ring piece twinging but they gradually softened up. The tyres that is.
 
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Comet Rider

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As has been stated before, I run Avon "RoadRiders" front and rear (19" front and 18" rear)

They seem to perform extremely well on the Comet, and are still showing nice even wear characteristics:D I found the SpeedMaster front tracked groves and over banding to much, which resulted in a flighty front end, the SM rear was OK until you came to a roundabout in the wet, when it would step out at the slightest provocation:eek:

Having spoken to my friendly tyre shop, he recomends either Continentals or Avons for most older bikes, but if you have either 20/21" fronts try Hidenaut (Len Mathews can correcxt me on the spelling) who make all sorts of odd sizes:D

Neil
 

Tom Gaynor

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I run Avon speedmaster front, roadrunner (rider, whatever) rear. The roadrunner is labelled 110/90 which is "furrin" for 4.10/3.50. Safety Mileage rear was OK in the dry, but in the wet one felt one was skating on thin ice when it climbed up on the corner. I have a prejudice against mixing makes front to rear, FWIW.
Because i measure such things I know that modern Avon road rubber is the same hardness as Dunlop and Michelin race rubber used to be. Suits me...
IHRO regulations limit the tyres to be used in their classic races. These are Avon AM20 90/90, Avon AM22 110/90, Avon AM22 120/90, or Dunlop KR485 (which is a front triangular designed for a 125, but flattened out on the wider WM3 rim a Manx uses). My distinct impression is that this reflects Avon's greater interest in "old bike" tyres, albeit with modern rubber. If you want the real period look, you could go for Speedmaster front, GP rear, both in race rubber, like a 350 Manx with which we are both acquainted.
Good idea to run a WM2 front - but too late, too much money already spent!
sorry to drag up old threads but i am looking at treating my rapide to new rubber this year. There is no choice with the 20" front but i understand that the current speedmasters are made out of modern rubber which should help. The question is do I get a 'classic' tyre (they still make 410-19 roadrunners and TT100's) or do I go for a modern tread 110/90 (eg. roadrider) - has anyone any experience.

In response to Toms comment above - there is a way of increasing the contact patch with a 20" front and that is to fit a WM2 rim - as against the vincent fitted WM1 - interestingly Avon recommend a WM2 for their 300-20 speedmaster. with this in mind I got my front wheel rebuilt a few years ago with a WM2 and it handles very well (for a Vincent) especially considering the speedmaster is about 20 years old !
 

Ken Tidswell

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I have used 3.60X19 front and 4.10X19 rear TT100's . As the front tyre wears the feedback from the front tyre disappears , but still grips.This was my preference for along time. i have tried 100/90X19
Road Rider front but don't like the heavier streering. The 20inch front ribbed I don't like because there was no feel at all, and it had a tendency to drift on long flat corners. I am going to try 90/100 Road Rider front next . My 4 pence worth.
Be very careful with Avons , when newly fitted, they are very slippery as like diesel oil patches ,until the mould release agent wears off, which takes some time.
 

serious C

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I use Heidenau 3.50-19 57H K34 Oldtimer TT by Heidenau on my Comet.
I put about 3000 miles on it and its still more than half of the range left.
So at least for a single they are highly recomendable.No troubles
handlingwise.
 

roy the mechanic

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Boggler 122 makes a good point regarding new covers + lack of grip. The answer is quite simple. Gently break the tread area with a large bastard file(yes Ms net nanny) that's it's correct name. This is the racers trick, has worked well for me for 30 years. Roy.
 

peterg

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Non-VOC Member
Adrift on a 3.0 X 20 and a prayer

Howdy Chaps,

Mold release agents? Just take a lightly saturated rag with an astringent like spray Brake Clean and slowly wipe the outer tread perimeter, no manual drying required as it evaporates very quickly.

Have read with interest posts regarding lack of communication imparted by 3.0 x 20 Speedmaster equiped fronts. My mileage of the last decade had been entirely on a touring spec Vin with a (marginally low inflated) 3.50 x 19 which apparently is only marginal better by reason of it's slightly larger foot print. Wanting a vintage experience, both aesthetically and with operational feel, but some element of predictability (safety - especially two up). I opted to go with a setup then that provides slight understeer on turn in, communicative transition at apex and degree of oversteer dictated by rider throttle - all of this conducted at a rate of g's that wouldn't spill your cocktail if seated comfortably in the back of a limo. Thus, front shock set soft on jounce with strong rebound - to get the front end down and planted when trail braking in - running 10wt and a generally stiff rear on 20wt that did doesn't do much to speak of either way. I didn't care about weight transfer particularly for acceleration seeing how that is being done somewhat leisurely. We have lots of sweeping country roads here that lend themselves to settling into a good rhythm, with pleasant elevation changes offering much 3rd-4th gear 50-70mph riding for long periods at a time.

So, stepping up for an even more vintage experience, ie, stock clutch, Miller 6v genie and other period pieces for this new Shadow, just carefully assembled both shocks and filled with recommended oils from publications on the subject and set off with this 3.0 x 20 Speemaster equiped machine. Wow, very spooky. Not helped by the fact that within the 10 years since that first Vin resto I have discovered custom compounded front linings which I have bonded on and then hand radius for much better bite, but to the accompanyment of little/no dive, any braking done while leaning in to a sweeper just results in this machine gently drifting the front - no drama - it just wants to track right off the road in lazy arc. With an undersized 3.0-3.25x19 tube fitted, do not want any shuffling between it and the tire, so, am loath to drop air pressures to find grip as I'm not running bead locks on this one.

Suitably chastened, I'm thinking maybe MrGaynor's recommendation for a race compound front might be the answer (??). Afterall, the race compound RB2 front for /2 BMW's transforms them.
 
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