Tyres

Hello to all that know,
After restoring my Norton 750 from a 30 year slumber ( me included) I am riding on the tyres that I bought for the bike before the lay up ( Dunlop TT). These tyres are as new with no obvious faults but they are thirty years old and tend to make me a bit nervous when cornering or pushing on a bit. I feel that they should be changed but to what, tyre technology has moved on a lot in thirty years and so I don't mind changing to something that will help a born again biker regain his confidence and get the best out of his machine. Do I stick with Dunlop or what do you, the people that know, recommend ??

Avon RoadRider AM26 are a popular road tire.

http://www.avonmoto.com/products/street-bias/roadrider

Not done many miles on them yet, but changed from old low mileage t100's and the bike feels so much better.
30 years the rubber will be hard, the sidewalls had started to crack on mine.

concours said:

Avon RoadRider AM26 are a popular road tire.

http://www.avonmoto.com/products/street-bias/roadrider

Click to expand...

What series are we looking at, universal or otherwise, and are we staying with a 19 inch?

I ran Avons for many years and they are a great tyre. My problem has been wearing out the centre of the tyres on the mainly straight roads we have here.
On my last makeover, I changed to an 18" WM4 rim with Bridgestone BT45 120/90-18 rear. I know it's a PITA but it gives you the option of modern dual compound tyres. So far wear in the tyre centre is negligible , and they handle very well. A lot of folks here have done a similar upgrade.

johno

Stick with the 19 " as stock ,these tyres recommended are a vast improvement over the TT 100's. Easier to get on and off the rims and lighter too.

When I brought my 74 Commando new and the books I got with it had a book on tyres, it also said the Commandos were designed to run 19" wheels so the 19" wheels were all part of the whole design that took into the over all handling etc but things have changed in the moden world and tyres have made a big improvement over these years but going to the lengths to change wheel sizes so you can get better tyres is also changing the way the Commandos were designed, I am happy with my Avon RR, but not all tyres are going to get long milage, remember these aren't sports bikes, but you can still make them handle good with all the new goodies on the market.

Ashley

TT100s today are a better tyre than TT100s 30 years ago. I'm happy with the handling with them on my bikes and I like a spirited thrash ebery now and then - on the bike that is.

If your goal is to have a smooth riding bike, go with Avon Roadriders.

If you'd rather have an authentic and original look, nothing beats Dunlop TT100s.

I have Roadriders on both of my Commandos and they perform very well. They grip well, turn in nicely, don't wander on cracks or grooved roads, and are good for quite a few miles. The look is a bit too modern for my taste, but they are attractive and the performance is impressive.

TT100s, on the other hand, make for a less stable ride. They shimmy badly on roads that are longitudinally grooved for water drainage and don't wear as nicely as the Avons. They're still a good enough tire and really ride nicely on smooth roads like good asphalt. And their look is just right for a Commando.

Have TT100 on Commando and Trident. Above comments are entirely correct. Esp the part where they dont last
very long and the wiggles over the pavment grooving they do now.
Avons dont look right but that may not matter so much as you shell out for new rear tars all too frequently.

...that is right, the correct spelling is "tars".

Gonna try this again. If I were to go with 19 inch front and rear, which tire/tires on that link would I be looking at? Thanks.

100/90/19 'Universal' towards the bottom of the page.

Excellent. Thanks again.

Or 90/90 front, 100/90 rear for slightly quicker steering.

kommando said:

Or 90/90 front, 100/90 rear for slightly quicker steering.

Click to expand...

+1

kommando said:

Or 90/90 front, 100/90 rear for slightly quicker steering.

Click to expand...

+2

And use the dedicated Front 90/90 as well.

I'm also pondering tire choice for 19's at both ends. It would be easy to go with the Avon's if they only made a dedicated 19" rear. Complaints about poor mileage with the "universal" at the back end is putting me off. I'm really leaning toward a set of the ContiClassic Attack's. Has anyone tried them yet? They do have a rather modern look, but that's ok if they work good.
Bill

Last year I replaced my well loved but worn out (well the rear anyway) Avon Super Venom's with Roadriders and I decided to try 100/90/19's on both ends. Mistake! The light steering and quick turn in to the corners is gone. I suppose I could put a good spin on it and say the bike is now more "stable" but I really miss the light steering. Lesson learned for me...always put a 90/90/19 in front. If you prefer cruising straight down the highway instead of attacking the corners you might like the 100/90's better.

It might turn in even easier with the 90/90 front, but it's no slug with the 100/90 on both ends. I've raised the bike a little with a longer rear shock and some front fork mods, and we're still grinding the peg rubber off in the corners (we being my grandson and I, with the grandson doing most of the grinding). I wouldn't really call our riding style "cruising straight down the highway". I would describe the bike as very light steering and falling easily into the corners with a neutral feel through them. Not really trying to disagree with you. Clearly those words have different meanings for different folks.

Back when I started racing my PR, it came stock from Norton with 19" K81s, 4.10 rear and 3.60 front. I raced it with those tires until they were worn, and subsequently raced it with all sorts of tire combinations, both 18" and 19", from skinny to wide, mostly with a smaller front than rear, but not always. The differences in steering and turn in really weren't that big. The extreme was the wide 18" racing slicks of the '80s, which did require a little more force on the bars to start a turn, but nothing that really slowed the lap times down. In the high speed sweepers, the bike was always very stable, no matter which tires I used.

Ken