Avon Roadrider Universal vs dedicated rear fitment

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The worse part about the Blue Ridge Parkway isn't the drivers, it's the #$%^#! deer.
Oh yea! Nearly clobbered two. A fawn with spots still on who saw me coming around the corner, it turned tail and tried to bound away but it was as if it was on an ice rink spinning its hooves on the asphalt flailing about like crazy and not going anywhere fast. I guess the hooves and asphalt combination is very slippery. I found that almost comical watching this until the mother deer jumps out right in front of me with a just miss. I Almost did a hobot goat scene. I am always scanning for the bastards.
Cheers,
Thomas
 
We were there in June at a Moto Guzzi rally. One jumped in front of my brother. After that we went a wee slower. Not that you can go that fast there anyways.

Was this thread about tires?
 
Deals gap , blue ridge Pw .. great roads for pensioners in oversized motorhomes .
To me , a good MC road is one where you can not break the speed limit , unless you want to risk your life . No dividing line , no pointers in every bend ..
Technical ? .. Boring is more appropriate ..
Deals gap , blue ridge Pw .. great roads for pensioners in oversized motorhomes .
To me , a good MC road is one where you can not break the speed limit , unless you want to risk your life . No dividing line , no pointers in every bend ..
Technical ? .. Boring is more appropriate ..
Yes on the B/R, pensioners with motorhomes get in the way but mostly on Weekends. Deal gap has a tree of shame of motorcycle parts hung there from crashes to remind riders. I wouldn't say it is boring. You are scraping your pegs in some corners.
o_OYes Swoosh you need really sticky tires to go around some of these corners:D back to tires.
cheers,
Thomas
 
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the thread took a detour. Prob never happened before.
I rec'd a letter back from 2wheel.com, saying the Conti 19" radial rear was not avail from their distributors. Whey they don't just tell the distributor to get them, I don't understand.
Seem to be avail in the UK, Europe, and Australia, but not the States, what the heck is that?
 
CanukNortonnut and MrRick

The Bridgestone spitfire S11 is a front tire that you reverse to put on the rear. I've been running 100/90 on the front and 110/90 on the rear. Both 19s. I don't ride in the rain if possible so don't know about that and yes it does have the center groove but it doesn't bother me. There are better tires but I think its a very good deal at approx $100 for an all around tire and seems to get fairly good mileage. And its better looking than some tread patterns I've seen.

Avon Roadrider Universal vs dedicated rear fitment
How does this tire behave on tar snakes and steel grated bridges? I too am wondering about that center groove. One of the things I hated about the TT100's
T
 
2wheel.com writes back again about the Conti rear: "Unfortunately, We don't have any control in what they offer. "

What a business model, eh? The customer (2wheel) has no control over what their distributor offers?
 
2wheel.com writes back again about the Conti rear: "Unfortunately, We don't have any control in what they offer. "

What a business model, eh? The customer (2wheel) has no control over what their distributor offers?

They are but one customer of the wholesaler. Is the tire DOT approved? That might be another issue.
 
A green lane is pretty exciting at 5mph when suddenly appears a Range Rover with a posh lady on the mobile doing 10mph ...
Sometimes the tyres arent going to save your poor self no matter what they are.
 
A Norton Commando, a decent headsteady (CNW/Jim Comstock) with 2.5 inch rims and 100/90 Avon Roadriders at both ends, has grip aplenty, light, quick precise steering, stability that you can count on and very acceptable tyre wear if you do what Thomas and I do. When the rear wears out, front tyre to the rear and the new tyre on the front.
Why would you screw around with perfection and compromise any of these attributes for the sake of a few dollars?

The Commando is not a relic to put on a pedestal to admire and show people how it used to be. Spend some time setting up your Commando PROPERLY and you won't want to ride anything else.
 
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Jim,
These are on your Avon Cobras correct? Tail of the D. Way too much traffic I agree.
I would love to do that road you linked me to.
Cheers,
Thomas

Yes, I have run the Cobras for quite a while now. Granted, I don't play roadracer on the street anymore. There are usually too many other things to put you down long before loss of traction gets you.
[but then -I will never again run Kenda's in the rain. Set my stock MK3 down on my knee once on Monarch pass -jeans, no knee slider, Ouch!!! But I saved it.]
 
Yes, I have run the Cobras for quite a while now. Granted, I don't play roadracer on the street anymore. There are usually too many other things to put you down long before loss of traction gets you.
[but then -I will never again run Kenda's in the rain. Set my stock MK3 down on my knee once on Monarch pass -jeans, no knee slider, Ouch!!! But I saved it.]
Jim,
See the thing about the dedicated front tire fit to a rear rim is that when you are traveling and if you need to change out the tire, most M/C shops will not install it on your bike if it's for the rear. You would have to buy the tire and then do a change out in the parking lot as you are assuming the risk. I wonder about insurance claims if in case of an accident.
We get away with it in North America but maybe not so much in the EU or other countries. If you buy a Norton and get it certified they would tell you to change out the rear tire if it is designated as a front tire before you get the pass.
These are things that would concern me a little and to others who are not mechanic's by nature, well that narrows their options.
cheers,
Thomas
 
Jim,
See the thing about the dedicated front tire fit to a rear rim is that when you are traveling and if you need to change out the tire, most M/C shops will not install it on your bike if it's for the rear. You would have to buy the tire and then do a change out in the parking lot as you are assuming the risk. I wonder about insurance claims if in case of an accident.
We get away with it in North America but maybe not so much in the EU or other countries. If you buy a Norton and get it certified they would tell you to change out the rear tire if it is designated as a front tire before you get the pass.
These are things that would concern me a little and to others who are not mechanic's by nature, well that narrows their options.
cheers,
Thomas


All good points. But then I have never paid anyone to mount a tire on my Norton.

I just carry a couple short bars and I know how to NOT pinch the tube...Jim
 
A Norton Commando, a decent headsteady (CNW/Jim Comstock) with 2.5 inch rims and 100/90 Avon Roadriders at both ends, has grip aplenty, light, quick precise steering, stability that you can count on and very acceptable tyre wear if you do what Thomas and I do. When the rear wears out, front tyre to the rear and the new tyre on the front.
Why would you screw around with perfection and compromise any of these attributes for the sake of a few dollars?

The Commando is not a relic to put on a pedestal to admire and show people how it used to be. Spend some time setting up your Commando PROPERLY and you won't want to ride anything else.

It's just possible that there are other setups that work as well as yours does.
It's also possible that there are combos that work better than yours does.

There is usually more than just a single approach.
Since these Avon Cobras give better wear plus stand up to Jim's riding, I expect they would work for any of us.
I'm going to give them a try.
If you don't hear from me, I went down on my cheap tires...
 
It's just possible that there are other setups that work as well as yours does.
It's also possible that there are combos that work better than yours does.

There is usually more than just a single approach.
Since these Avon Cobras give better wear plus stand up to Jim's riding, I expect they would work for any of us.
I'm going to give them a try.
If you don't hear from me, I went down on my cheap tires...

The moon might just be made of cheese, but don't count on it.

So, tell me, why do 99% of people totally dismiss Avon's own recommendations for rim size, based on what their tyres are made for and then make light of my choice as being maybe OK compared to some fanciful selection of tyre and rim combinations selected at random?

IF, and it's a big IF, certain people tried this particular rim/tyre combo, then perhaps you may find that it is all that Thomas and I say it is. But, then again, you're not just going to give up your pre-conceived notions without a fight now, are you?
 
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There may be some resistance to the wide rims due to fitment. If you want to stay stock or relatively stock, the wider rims wont do.
Not really a case of "dont look right" rather the additional things needing doing so you can use them.
Well, this is the case for me.
 
Actually I'm all for following Avon's recommendations if if fitting new rims, provided you dead set on running only that tire brand/model .
My current rims fall within their requirements so I'm not about to change them. The advantage at road speeds is likely not measureable.



And then there is an entire world of other tire companies out there, some with very good products.
It wasn't very long ago that Roadriders had serious problems with delamination, sometimes within days of fitment, so they have not exactly been perfection.


Glen
 
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