Period tires: Dunlop TT100 vs Avon Roadrunner

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MichaelB said:
Interesting, cause I too ran the Avon GP's in the 70's. They tracked a little squirelly on the Freeways.
Was told the K-81's were worse, so I stuck with the GP's.
Understand this was back in the 70's when I'm in my early 20's and poppin for a set tires was a BFG!!
Couldn't afford to experiment and get it wrong.. So I stuck with what I knew.
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My comments on GP versus K81 come from 1973-1974 time and I did experience the K81 being better on the rain grooves. These days I’m in the Avon Roadrider group. In the early 80s Avon Universal as they were a bit cheaper than the K81. Between those and the Roadrider I used Avon Venom until they were hard to find.
 
My aggressive and competitive type riding went the way of the buffalo as did my reflexes long ago. Besides I just like how a pair of K81's look on a Norton. They please my eyes more than anything else. If I were to be temped into 'gettin' it on' I believe I'd consider updating not only the tires, but an entire motorcycle which hadn't been down the rough road and around the block upteen thousand times.
I don't know guys...It's been and still is a great bike, but....it's getting near fifty and there's no telling what's lurking in there awaiting potential failure. Aircraft frames are retired after so many hours...I'm not junking my Norton, though she just won't be pushed to the fullest. Therefore I'll just stick with dated design...If it were one of the new Nortons you can bet your ass I'd be slapping some top stickers on it and changing them often because for that cost & bling I'm gonna bring some natural smoke to the blacktop.
I'm not picking on new Nortons either because I'd most likely be even meaner to a new Ducati, and the devil take me for it.
 
Same goes for the TLS or lockheed caliper brake, 19” wheels, dim Lucas lighting, vibrating tail light assembly, tickle leaky Amal carbs, knocking top out Roadholder fork, etc, etc....
 
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jbruney said:
My aggressive and competitive type riding went the way of the buffalo as did my reflexes long ago. Besides I just like how a pair of K81's look on a Norton. They please my eyes more than anything else. If I were to be temped into 'gettin' it on' I believe I'd consider updating not only the tires, but an entire motorcycle which hadn't been down the rough road and around the block upteen thousand times.
I don't know guys...It's been and still is a great bike, but....it's getting near fifty and there's no telling what's lurking in there awaiting potential failure. Aircraft frames are retired after so many hours...I'm not junking my Norton, though she just won't be pushed to the fullest. Therefore I'll just stick with dated design...If it were one of the new Nortons you can bet your ass I'd be slapping some top stickers on it and changing them often because for that cost & bling I'm gonna bring some natural smoke to the blacktop.
I'm not picking on new Nortons either because I'd most likely be even meaner to a new Ducati, and the devil take me for it.
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Yes they are getting up there with age, but if maintained they will hold together and will age with grace, things do wear out but that all part of it fixing or replacing things that needs it, my bike is showing its age, has paint peeing of it the tank has dents, scraches and worn paint, but with what I have done to it over 43 years of ownership I have improved everything that it needs, running modren tyres on it and anything else to make it handle and stick to the road better than when I brought it new all them years ago, at the age of 17 and I am still riding it like I am 17 when I do take it out, it not ridden as much these days as I have my modren Triumphs so it semi retire just like it owner, but when I do take it out I still ride it as I always have, I am not going to change my riding habits, I might be older and more wiser but I will still ride my bikes the same and my Norton has never let me down and will show a few younger riders and their buzz bikes a few tricks and they might call me old man but the also my bike and myself lots of respect once I have given them a good run lol.

Ashley
 
What are you supposed to do with a bike that don't leak, shake, breakdown, or dump yer ass on the pavement...I called it quits on the Lockheed MC after a fistful of fluid and a hole in a hurricane fence. Man has to draw the line somewhere.

Only items I've not been into are the motor, trans, & clutch. Everything else has been gone over or replaced....The brakes are okay and keep me honest.
 
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elefantrider said:
Same goes for the TLS or lockheed caliper brake, 19” wheels, dim Lucas lighting, vibrating tail light assembly, tickle leaky Amal carbs, knocking top out Roadholder fork, etc, etc....
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Do I detect a bit of sarcasm???????????????????????????
 
jbruney said:
but....it's getting near fifty and there's no telling what's lurking in there awaiting potential failure. Aircraft frames are retired after so many hours...
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Aircraft frames are made from aluminium which means it does not have an endurance limit and will die from fatigue cause by stress cycles. That is why they are retired.
Steel does have an endurance limit, which if stresses are kept inside, will theoretically last forever.

concours said:
Fear of the unknown....
I guess I’d feel better on proven parts...
https://advrider.com/f/threads/my-t...snapped-off-while-riding-pics-inside.1175503/
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The snapped footpeg mount is steel and was either:
1. incorrectly installed, or
2. overstressed at some stage in its life.
Looking at the failure site it smells like fatigue so I'd opt for 1
 
Any difference in quality from the made in Japan and made in Indonesia versions?
I have 2 sets which were made in Japan.
Haven't tried the Indonesia-produced version yet.
 
elefantrider said:
Any difference in quality from the made in Japan and made in Indonesia versions?
I have 2 sets which were made in Japan.
Haven't tried the Indonesia-produced version yet.
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Depends on the compound, if its soft it should be good for grip, but of course not knowing without riding on them for some time will answer your question, but don't push new tyres till they had some run in time first.

Ashley
 
elefantrider said:
Any difference in quality from the made in Japan and made in Indonesia versions?
I have 2 sets which were made in Japan.
Haven't tried the Indonesia-produced version yet.
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In terms of specification of compound etc I would imagine they’ll be identical. In terms of ‘quality’ tyres are rather complex things, they’re not just a big moulded part as many imagine. Quality deficit would usually show up as a tyre that’s difficult to balance. The cause being lack of attention to detail in the tyre assembly process (tyres are assembled from many ‘components’ and only put into a moulding machine at the end of the process to form the tread). Tyres from countries less associated with quality and precision are more likely to suffer. But then again, this can happen with any brand.
 
The thing that made the K81 a great tire is it’s semi - “trigonic” profile and the actual tread pattern.

The triangular shape was derived from Dunlop’s line of “Trigonic” racking tires, the trigonic shape optimizing contact patch area when heeled over - that was before really good brakes.


Then, those free standing five sided pointed blocks out at the edge of the K81 give the tire an unequaled ability to communicate slippage to the rider. Tires with a trials universal pattern of free standing square blocks are similarly communicative when run aggressively on pavement.

Those blocks bend and slip in a way that blockless slicks or semi- slick edge patterns do not. That fact is why those slick type tires typically are less communicative. They don’t have wiggly blocks tha let you know when you are “at the edge “ as soon or as loudly as the K81 does.

Don’t misread what I’m saying, all tires communicate, it’s just that they do so in different languages and at different volumes.

What I am saying is that K81s speak early and clearly. They tell you “Hey, that’s far enough!” In a way that’s hard to miss. Other tires are stickier/faster but few speak as clearly.
 
Still not too comfortable with the idea of Indonesia-made Dunlop K81 tires.
Is that sub contracted, or in a Dunlop factory?

Whilst on the topic of quality Japan-made tires, has anyone run a BT45 Battlax 19" front tire as a rear?
I know the tread of a front tire is not deep, but the 19" Avon Universal is not deep either.

I like the appearance of the BT45's tread pattern better than Avon Roadriders or Continental Classic Attacks.
That is my modern go-to tire. I have seen it is for NYC and CNW also. However they always use 18" rears.

I don't think it would be a problem using the BT45 100/90 x 19 front on the rear, aside from the reduced life. I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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I picked the Road Attack radials up today and after a lengthy discussion am in no doubt these will outperform any bias ply tyre.
I was told the ride being a radial will be superior also and have made (with wide rim cost) a great choice in general even if expensive.
These will be run at around 38 / 42 psi.

Period tires: Dunlop TT100 vs Avon Roadrunner
 
Time Warp said:
I picked the Road Attack radials up today and after a lengthy discussion am in no doubt these will outperform any bias ply tyre.
I was told the ride being a radial will be superior also and have made (with wide rim cost) a great choice in general even if expensive.
These will be run at around 38 / 42 psi.

View attachment 11245
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Can you remind us of the rim diameters and widths and tyre sizes of this set up again please TW.
When will you be testing them dya think?
 
Time Warp said:
I picked the Road Attack radials up today and after a lengthy discussion am in no doubt these will outperform any bias ply tyre.
I was told the ride being a radial will be superior also and have made (with wide rim cost) a great choice in general even if expensive.
These will be run at around 38 / 42 psi.

View attachment 11245
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Are you going to seal your rims up and run tubeless or run them with tubes???

Ashley
 
elefantrider said:
Still not too comfortable with the idea of Indonesia-made Dunlop K81 tires.
Is that sub contracted, or in a Dunlop factory?

Whilst on the topic of quality Japan-made tires, has anyone run a BT45 Battlax 19" front tire as a rear?
I know the tread of a front tire is not deep, but the 19" Avon Universal is not deep either.

I like the appearance of the BT45's tread pattern better than Avon Roadriders or Continental Classic Attacks.
That is my modern go-to tire. I have seen it is for NYC and CNW also. However they always use 18" rears.

I don't think it would be a problem using the BT45 100/90 x 19 front on the rear, aside from the reduced life. I am sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've run the Bridgestone front on the rear. Quite acceptable but didn't last long.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Can you remind us of the rim diameters and widths and tyre sizes of this set up again please TW.
When will you be testing them dya think?
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ashman said:
Are you going to seal your rims up and run tubeless or run them with tubes???

Ashley
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Ash, I will use IRC tubes (the good one's)
Nigel, they are 19 x 2.5 inch EXCEL's.

My Norton experience to date has been one WTF to the next (If someone wants to offer me a sensible amount for my in bits 71 Fastback, all there with tons of new parts $$$$$$$$$$ ready to go back together from the Comstock head downwards feel free to do so)
Make an offer.... 2 x TR5T... Sunbeam S7 deluxe... 57 TR6... 07 Hypermotard... Way to many projects where you actually forget what motorcycles are for, not fixing but riding.

I am not going to go into detail but life as it does sometimes has been a bit of a drama itself over the last few months.
I will keep the 850 but these tyres for it won't be turning a wheel real soon until I get the engine sorted and that falls further behind every day due to other bikes and going from one to other which makes for next to no real progress.

Every time I rely on an outside source, a good deal of the time it is a PITA ... wrong size rims, crankshafts that bearings grind on, crank regrinding that takes monthssssssssss, engine balancers who can not drill a hole and scratch new journals etc etc etc ......... You get to a point where you need to go look in the mirror and think about that $20k Honda sitting in the garage doing no miles in the best part of the year here for heading north to the top end.

You know ignorance can be bliss, the more you learn (mechanical etc) the more you look and the more you will find and that has been my problem, you can not make a bike perfect but when you try to do it with multiple bikes it is a recipe in frustration fuelled by unrealistic expectations costing 10's of 1000's of $.

Whinge mode off. :D

The short answer.
Tubes.
Will get back when I know the answer.
 
I feel for you TW, I really do!

This is one of the reasons a was glad to move house (bear with me, it is relevant)... we used to live out in the country where my workshop was a former workhouse bakery. The sq ft was almost as much as our house...

The one rule about space is... we will always fill it.

I forget the numbers, but I got way out of control with bikes and projects. I was basically struggling to keep one bike even close to the standard which I desired.

So, when we moved house into town a few years ago that ‘luxury’ workshop wasn’t possible. So I’ve now got a 10’x15’ shed and I set myself a limit of 3 bikes. 3 bikes fit in the shed with room to manoeuvre. And 3 bikes seems to be a quantity I can keep on top of and develop somewhere close to what I actually want.

It’s a proof of the ‘less is more’ maxim, for me at least.

I’m not saying I kept to the 3 bike rule exactly, I did for a while, but I’m stretching it now, but even at +/- a couple, I’m still way fewer than I was at my worst!
 
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