Tire Talk - Musings from The Goose

How much affect does a rear tire have on the tracking and unstable feel of a bike? A LOT! Much more than I ever suspected.

 

In another thread several weeks ago I reported that I had to take off my rear tire before I had a new one available. Because I ride every day, I decided to re-mount an old Brickstone rear tire that I had sitting around for emergency use. This tire was flat as the proverbial fritter and mostly bald, but I figured I could run it for a couple of weeks. I was absolutely shocked with how bad the bike handled! This thing started trying to weld itself into every groove and ridge on the road, and if there was a spot near a light where the asphalt was bubbled or rolled up from the heat and weight of the cars, the bike would pitch hard back and forth as it contacted the uneven surface. Going over a ridge of uneven pavement between lanes was actually scary. All of this attributed to just the BACK tire alone.

 

Last night after work I finally decided I had to mount the new Avon rear tire. Today, the bike handles absolutely perfectly again! No more tracking, the rolled up asphalt is undetectable, and the bike makes the transition between uneven lanes with hardly a blip. My front tire is an Avon Venom MT90 with 16,000 miles on it - same tire I had on it yesterday when it handled so badly with that old Brickstone rear. Today with a new Avon Venom on the rear, that 16,000 mile Venom on the front is handling every bit as well as I remembered when I first mounted the Venoms. I suspect that the quick handling that we get from the MT90 size up front actually made the impact of that flat rear tire worse than it was when it was still in use with the original front tire.

 

On another note, anyone who has run the stock Brickstones is undoubtedly familiar with the infamous howl they make as they wear. I can conclusively tell you that the flat rear tire is where that howl is coming from! As soon as I put that old tire back on, the howl was back with a vengeance any time the bike as not being held in a perfectly straight line. The slightest hint of a lean left or right would just make that tire wail!

 

Stay tuned for the next phase of this impromptu experiment. In about a month, while that new Avon rear tire is still new, I am going to re-mount the old fat Brickstone front tire to see just what effect that tire alone has on the handling of the RSV. I'll let y'all know!

 

Final bit of information for anyone who has hung in here this far - I use a Harbor Freight tire changer that makes mounting skins a breeze. The learning curve is minor - after about the third tire change, the operation is so smooth and easy that dismounting and mounting a tire is truly a 5 minute operation. If you want to do this work yourself, that tool pays for itself with the very first set of tires you change. For anyone in North Texas who is interested, I'm more than happy to let you come over and use mine s'long as you bring a six-pack with you! I can't supervise without a beer, ya know? Good luck,

Goose

Goose, You mount your own tires, but how do you balance them? Do you use a bubble balancer, a knife edge balancer, or take them in to a dealer for a spin balance?

Found your "musings" interesting. Thanks for sharing it. Learned something too as I had the Bridgestones before changing to the Avons and always thought that the awfull howl was from the front tire.

Will be interested in the next installment.

Cheers, Gary B

Thanks for all your research and information on this subject. Without your posts I probably would have not went with the Avon & smaller front. Now that I have I am realy glad I did.

 

Again - Thank you,

I ditto Roadkills, statement

 

I just put the AVons with 130 frt. What a differance. the Bike is so light to throw around the corners now. Love it. Thx.

Goose, You mount your own tires, but how do you balance them? Do you use a bubble balancer, a knife edge balancer, or take them in to a dealer for a spin balance?

I simple stick the axle back in and set the tire between two jack stands. The grease seals do have a little friction that affects the free rolling of the wheel, but I haven't found that to be a problem. I have thought about using a slightly smaller bar instead of the axle, just never got around to doing it. When necessary, I use self stick weights from JC Whitney. I checked the wheel without tire, and it is balanced perfectly. The Avon's do not have a heavy-point mark like most brands (Avon claims they don't have a heavy spot). I generally check the balance before I seat the tire and rotate it a little if necessary. No weight needed at all on the one I did last night.

 

Frankly, I think my ballance job is better than the shop's! Good luck,

Goose

I put the Avons on my Royal Star Tour Classic, cannot beleive the difference the smaller front tire made. Put on 230 miles last sunday riding double, can now turn around on a city street without any concern. Feels like someone took 50lbs. off the handle bars. Also tracks through 50-60 mile an hour curves better than my Metzlers, hope the Avons will be as good in the rain. Bought them through the place in arizona,awesome prices & free shipping.

Thanks for all your research and information on this subject. Without your posts I probably would have not went with the Avon & smaller front. Now that I have I am realy glad I did.

 

Again - Thank you,

I appreciate the kind words - I'm just glad the information helped someone! I know I have gotten a lot form other folks here, and it is just dumb to make everyone re-learn something themselves if we already have the knowledge. Best of luck to y'all,

Goose

Real nice post Goose...lots of usefull info there!

 

Just before I replace my Bridgestones with the Avon's...I too noticed how flat the rear had worn. Kinda made me realize why the rear end would slide sideways when I had to brake hard...no traction. Don't know if you noticed this as well?

Real nice post Goose...lots of usefull info there!

 

Just before I replace my Bridgestones with the Avon's...I too noticed how flat the rear had worn. Kinda made me realize why the rear end would slide sideways when I had to brake hard...no traction. Don't know if you noticed this as well?

Not really. Actually, that big flat rear tire should have BETTER traction when braking on dry pavement. Think about it - the flat surface puts more of the tire in contact with the road if the bike is straight up - bigger contact patch, more traction. The only reason it might have started sliding more on you is if the rubber was starting to harden with age? My rear tire was shot in 6 months, so age didn't come into play!

 

On a related note, my last Avon rear flattened out a lot by the end too, but never to the extent that the Brickstone did. Based on my recent experience, I think that is why I noticed the tendency to track grooves increase again as the tires wore down, but also why it never got really bad like it was as soon as I put the old Brickstone back on.

Goose

I just bought the changer at the local Harbor Frieght store on Main street. I had an e-mail coupon so I got it for $29.95. I'll wait until the motorcycle tire changer accessory goes on sale and buy it next.

 

Here is a good review of the tire changer by 4strokes:

 

http://www.4strokes.com/reviews/harborfreight/mctirechanger/

 

I've included a .jpeg of the coupon if anyone is interested.

 

Thanks again to Goose for the writeup.

I can't stress enough how great this thing is to use for such a low cost. Last night I mounted the tire on backward (even after checking the arrow first!). If I was still using tire irons, I think I would have probably shot myself when I noticed it. Using the changer, I was able to just pop the tire back off, flip it, and pop it back on the rim in about 3 minutes flat! It took longer to carry it back out to the changer and clamp it in than it did to reverse the tire.

Goose

I just bought the changer at the local Harbor Frieght store on Main street. I had an e-mail coupon so I got it for $29.95.

 

Wow...that's unbelievable...what a deal!