Using Racing Tyres on the Road

Rob H

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I am fed up with the 19" avon safety milage on the rear keep squaring off when it starts to wear

What's the issue with using racing tyres on the road. Was looking to use the Avon GP and speedmaster front for 19/20 inch wheels. They seem to be made of a different compound and have a higher speed rating over their road equivelent. I am assuming they offer a bit more grip and are a softer compound not lasting as long. They are also twice the price of the normal road equivelent.

However they are listed as not for road use and I guess would void your insurance if noticed during any accident.

Any recomendations or or thoughts welcome
 

Monkeypants

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Avon Roadriders are a good grippy tire and road legal too.
They are available in the 100/90/19 size for front or rear. It gets tricky with the 20" front rim, even the old Speedmaster is not shown in that size on the current Avon fitment chart. I could not find any 20" tires in any width/type on the current chart.
Best is probably a switch to an 18" rear and 19" front rim sizes, then there is a lot of selection from Avon and other manufacturers
If you do switch, make sure to use wide rims. I switched to WM3 x18 rear and WM 3 x 19 front, thinking the extra width over stock was more than needed. In fact while WM3 is good for the front, it is somewhat limiting on the rear. I needed a tire with carrying capacity for two up riding. The 120/80/18 often gitted to Vincents for this useage, however for the newer profiles like the Roadrider, a WM4 is the minimum width, WM 5 is recommended.thett
Fortunately there is one other tire size which Avon does make for
 

Monkeypants

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
things locked up again before completing
The other heavy rated rear tire size Avon makes in the Roadrider is the 4.00 x 18. This size designation is misleading, the actual tire is nearly five inches wide and will just fit on a Vincent rear. It is marginally narrower than a 120 , has a 64 weight rating and is OK for fitment on WM3 rims. It also has about fifty percent more tread depth than the 100/90/19 Roadrider. I have put four thousand miles on this one and it still looks good for another four thousand. I was lucky to get five thousand miles from the old 100/90/19 size or the 4.10 x 19 sized Roadrunners.

Glen
 

Kansas Bad Man

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
The (for off road use only )is for the protection of the tire manufacturer . Racing tires in general are limited production which contributes to the high cost. Five years ago Dennis Manning had Goodyear design 4 special 400 mph plus tires for his LUCKY 7 Streamliner. the cost for the
4 tires was 175, 000 dollars . I bought FOUR USED 40 year old Firestones at a cost of 1200 dollars. The fronts are running about 600 dollars each now, I have 3 of those and one ,one off solid aluminum front, cost 2000 dollars. When I first started the liner build, I leased two M/Ts rear at a cost of 1200 dollars . M/T required there return in 4 years, I had to sign a legal contract before they would send me the tires. As I said its all about protecting the manufacture from law suites. Before you can race a vehicle or even participate as a spectator you will be required to sign a waver of liability, further protection from law suits for product failure and the race promoter liability.

Max
 

davidd

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Rob,

It think that the issue is the usual one that comes with consumer protection, namely, the race tires are different from street tires and consumers do not understand the issues with race tires. I think the major issue is wear. It varies wildly. I use the Dunlop KR124A and KR825 on the racer. I can run an entire season on them. My friend Tim Joyce wore out a pair in two practice sessions. Tim is a bit faster than I. This kind of variation drives safety folks crazy.

There are race compounds available for modern bikes, but they last only 2-3,000 miles. They tend to be to wide for us, but to my knowledge, they are usable as racing tires being the same compound, it just that they are stamped "DOT". I have friends who ride non-DOT race tires on the street and I know of no one who has had a problem. They love them. It is a personal decision and most riders decide to give up the better traction and handling because of the potential liability issues.

As Glen suggests, you can find a sticky DOT tire, but you may want to do some research and ask around about various compounds. This is something the tire Rep. can talk about and it may be worth a call. As an example, Avon lists a racing 20" front rib, but I am not sure that they could tell you where one is for sale. It is quite a good tire.

I raced the Avon AM18 tires for years and they were quite good in racing compound. I never had a width problem with Avons, but I did with the Dunlops. I had a WM-3 on the front and the Dunlop wanted a WM-2. I was running off the edge of the tire on the front while still 1/4" from the edge on the rear because the wide front rim changed the profile of the tire. These are US sites, but I would assume these are available:

http://racedunlop.com/classic.php

http://www.avonmoto.com/products/non-dot-race-tires

http://heidenautires.com/motorcycle-race-tires/

I have never used the Heidenau tires, but a lot of the racers seem to like them.

When buying a tire check the date on it. If it is too old try to buy from someone else. Freshness counts for a lot in tires.

David
 

Rob H

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Thanks for the reply, the basic issue is I would like to retain the standard 19 WM2 rear and 20 WM1 front and looking for different options to the safety mileage on the rear. The road racing Avon GP and associated Speedmaster for the front is available in the UK but when I went to buy was told they are not for road use. Does anyone know if these are actually marked not for road use?
 

vibrac

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I have a stack of old AM23 18" race tyres from the comet which I would happily use on the road unfortunatly I dont have any 18" road bikes.
As I recall I read somewhere the "Not for highway use" panel is a US (lawyer happy land) requirement not a UK one (but it may be by now)
To avoid a lot of argument with the initial inspectors and police perhaps I would work a dremel on the little panel on the side but as I say I dont have any 18" bikes.
In the real world even after a seasons racing there is plenty of tread left and they are far better than the square sided road items, and that comes from someone who does many miles on the road each year on trials tyres
 

BigEd

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
VOC Forum Moderator
I am fed up with the 19" avon safety milage on the rear keep squaring off when it starts to wear

What's the issue with using racing tyres on the road. Was looking to use the Avon GP and speedmaster front for 19/20 inch wheels. They seem to be made of a different compound and have a higher speed rating over their road equivelent. I am assuming they offer a bit more grip and are a softer compound not lasting as long. They are also twice the price of the normal road equivelent.

However they are listed as not for road use and I guess would void your insurance if noticed during any accident.

Any recomendations or or thoughts welcome

I have used Avon Roadriders front and rear on my Rapide. I find them an excellent all round tyre for general use, solo, two up with luggage, wet or dry. I have completed probably 30,000 using them so I obviously find them good for my purpose. My wheels are both 19" so your problem is that Avon do not seem to list a 20" tyre, of any sort.
I did a bit of a search and found an Avon Speedmaster ribbed front 20" tyre listed at the link below. There may be alternative 20" tyres listed by other manufacturers.
http://www.vintagetyres.com/item/682/300s20--300x20--avon-road-tyre--speedmaster-ribbed-front
 

vibrac

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Yes dont be too put off by non apperance on avon site they keep old twats needs like ours under the radar
You will find the dies are still there at Coopers (Avons) and they produce batches on demand for large suppliers like Central wheels who then factor them on.
This is the cause of many "they are not making them anymore" scares
 

Rob H

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I have used Avon Roadriders front and rear on my Rapide. I find them an excellent all round tyre for general use, solo, two up with luggage, wet or dry. I have completed probably 30,000 using them so I obviously find them good for my purpose. My wheels are both 19" so your problem is that Avon do not seem to list a 20" tyre, of any sort.
I did a bit of a search and found an Avon Speedmaster ribbed front 20" tyre listed at the link below. There may be alternative 20" tyres listed by other manufacturers.
http://www.vintagetyres.com/item/682/300s20--300x20--avon-road-tyre--speedmaster-ribbed-front

What size are your rims and what size tyres do you use?
 
Top