[JM360]

Watching a dime city cycle you-tube video on a triumph they modified man called the avons on it death master"s lol. Are the new 19"dia. speedmaster really that bad or a reputation they had many moons ago.

 

[crazypj]

He has no idea what he's talking about.
Post link to vid
I haven't tried the newest ones but I have used them over the years on numerous bikes
Avon Speedmaster ribbed have always been a good tyre, tracks well and handles predictably. (also grips pretty well) they were originally designed for 19".wheels
It may be an old design but it's several thousand times better than the Firestone's people want to fit to 'cafe bikes'

 

[YucA]

I'd take any text or dialogue from DCC with a large grain of salt....

 

[Geeto67]

I'd take any text or dialogue from DCC with a large grain of salt....

And by grain you mean a solid block weiging a literal ton.

I have used them in the past and they aren't exactly a good wet weather tire compared to say a modern avon roadrunner or metzler lazertec, but deathmaster? fucking clown shoes.

 

[o1marc]

You mean a salt lick like this:

 

[Geeto67]

not big enough.

To be fair, I bet dipshits eat stuff like this up. It makes them feel like they have some cool "inside" info and cultivate a culture of uninformed purchasing toward shallow ends.

Also to be fair I am not british, I have no concept of what the limeys did or didn't do in the 60's-80's. They could have called them deathmasters for all I know back then. I don't really think that gives a kid from say omaha nebraska who has never ridden on a set license or legitimatimacy to call them that, but hey I can't say they weren't for sure given that nickname.

In my limited experience they weren't bad. They weren't great either but if you are used to riding on bias ply tires they were better than most out there. I wouldn't trade a set of radials for them but I certainly would prefer them over a set of say Firestone Deluxe champion what have youse, since they are made by a real tire mfg and are speed an load rated for most 60's and 70's motorcycles (not 40's-50's harleys). I hear a lot of people complain about how they "follow" the marks in the road and the ruts and such but anybody who has ridden any bias ply tire motorcycle has that issue. Bias ply just isn't that great.

Which brings me to another rant and some focus to this thread. I think people are generally spoiled in this modern era. They have forgotten things like the quirk of carburated engines, bad tire tech, and worse brake tech. Once a week I hear a complaint about how their SOHC cb750 doesn't idle when cold without a little throttle and choke. No shit. my firend's all original 1966 bell air with 60K miles was the same way. my GTO was also the same way. Carbs for cars had a little tang to raise idle speed so you didn't have to hold the gas down while warming up but when was the last time someone saw a "choke" idiot light? Starting something carbed was a procedure, now with FI you just turn the key. Hell on my ducati I don't even have to hold down the button, just tap it once and the starter will keep cranking until the bike runs. Old tire tech was just that, old tire tech. A new set of avon road riders will bend over a speedmaster and take what it wants, and they are made by the same company out of mostly the same compounds. You can't buy an old tire design and expect it to work like a brand new set of radials.

Don't get me wrong I think the new stuff is wonderful and I wouldn't trade FI or modern tire tech for anything...but I don't complain about the quirks of the old stuff, it is kind of the charm of owning old stuff. I mean if I own a model T I am not about to start bitching about having to hand crank it to start but I feel like some of these new kid complaints are just that bitching a about a model T hand crank.

 

[JM360]

not big enough.

To be fair, I bet dipshits eat stuff like this up. It makes them feel like they have some cool "inside" info and cultivate a culture of uninformed purchasing toward shallow ends.

Also to be fair I am not british, I have no concept of what the limeys did or didn't do in the 60's-80's. They could have called them deathmasters for all I know back then. I don't really think that gives a kid from say omaha nebraska who has never ridden on a set license or legitimatimacy to call them that, but hey I can't say they weren't for sure given that nickname.

In my limited experience they weren't bad. They weren't great either but if you are used to riding on bias ply tires they were better than most out there. I wouldn't trade a set of radials for them but I certainly would prefer them over a set of say Firestone Deluxe champion what have youse, since they are made by a real tire mfg and are speed an load rated for most 60's and 70's motorcycles (not 40's-50's harleys). I hear a lot of people complain about how they "follow" the marks in the road and the ruts and such but anybody who has ridden any bias ply tire motorcycle has that issue. Bias ply just isn't that great.

Which brings me to another rant and some focus to this thread. I think people are generally spoiled in this modern era. They have forgotten things like the quirk of carburated engines, bad tire tech, and worse brake tech. Once a week I hear a complaint about how their SOHC cb750 doesn't idle when cold without a little throttle and choke. No shit. my firend's all original 1966 bell air with 60K miles was the same way. my GTO was also the same way. Carbs for cars had a little tang to raise idle speed so you didn't have to hold the gas down while warming up but when was the last time someone saw a "choke" idiot light? Starting something carbed was a procedure, now with FI you just turn the key. Hell on my ducati I don't even have to hold down the button, just tap it once and the starter will keep cranking until the bike runs. Old tire tech was just that, old tire tech. A new set of avon road riders will bend over a speedmaster and take what it wants, and they are made by the same company out of mostly the same compounds. You can't buy an old tire design and expect it to work like a brand new set of radials.

Don't get me wrong I think the new stuff is wonderful and I wouldn't trade FI or modern tire tech for anything...but I don't complain about the quirks of the old stuff, it is kind of the charm of owning old stuff. I mean if I own a model T I am not about to start bitching about having to hand crank it to start but I feel like some of these new kid complaints are just that bitching a about a model T hand crank.

Never owned an avon tire but have been told they were good. Bought a new vette in 73 my 2nd one of 4 back then. Tires on it were the first radial put on the vettes. Firestone 500 it was called. I pulled up to a light car is not a week old. beside me are two girls in a ford capri. I start showing off with the now weak as wet toilet paper 454 , 4 speed. Going fast then backing off. Im now coming up fast on the back of a car in the right lane doing the 45 he was supposed to do. The speedo was saying 110 when I went into the left lane then quikly whipped it back in the right lane. Its now sliding sideways, then backwards then facing forward, kept it in the road. Less then 6 months later i hear on the news, Firestone 500 being recalled. Never owned a firestone since then. The three cars I owned before that manual steering my first power steering car one week driving it.

 

[Geeto67]

yeah but I bet every car you own now has a radial tire on it. And your daily driver can probably run circles around that corvette. In fact there are SUVs and station wagons now that come close to the mythical 1g on the skid pad which was unheard of for performance cars 30 years ago. That's progress.

you wouldn't get into that 73 vette now and expect it to operate like a brand new honda civic. but some of these cafe kid's that is their expectation - their cb750 needs to start and work like it is a brand new CBR with break in miles on it.

 

[o1marc]

Never owned an avon tire but have been told they were good. Bought a new vette in 73 my 2nd one of 4 back then. Tires on it were the first radial put on the vettes. Firestone 500 it was called. I pulled up to a light car is not a week old. beside me are two girls in a ford capri. I start showing off with the now weak as wet toilet paper 454 , 4 speed. Going fast then backing off. Im now coming up fast on the back of a car in the right lane doing the 45 he was supposed to do. The speedo was saying 110 when I went into the left lane then quikly whipped it back in the right lane. Its now sliding sideways, then backwards then facing forward, kept it in the road. Less then 6 months later i hear on the news, Firestone 500 being recalled. Never owned a firestone since then. The three cars I owned before that manual steering my first power steering car one week driving it.

And this was somehow the tires fault, really?

 

[Hoofhearted]

Speedmasters were the shits back then. The only thing better was a set of Dunlop racing tires. Radials, soft compounds etc. hadn't come along yet but that doesn't mean that Speedmasters were crap. Far from it. Tires along with everything else have come a long ways since then. Dime City should change their name to Dumb Shitty Cycles.

 

[TCed]

For cars we ran Continental radials back in the 70's and they worked.

 

[JM360]

heres the thing about the 73. like I said weak as wet toilet paper. But with only 4000 miles on the car obviously still in warranty I pulled engine out. by then the LS4 454 had 8.25 compression. same engine the pickup had with better exhaust manifolds. The engine now goes back in . It now has 4 bolt mains, steel crank, 7/16 L88 rods, Open Chamber 13 to 1 trw pistons, Rectangle port heads. Tarantula edelbrock single plane, 850 dp, headers are 2 1/8 hooker ( still in the attic ) Camshaft crower solid 90 on the overlap. Rea. as originally ordered 3.36 new, rear tire 28 dia. It now pulls to 7600 engine now .060 over 467cu. Rich boy in parking lot 400 hp turbo porcsh. How About $500.00 from 100 mph.Take $500.00 home with me,. speedo went past 160 front end light big time. Judge butler... James What am i going to do with you. 4 th time liicence pulled in a 6 yr period. other cars 3.00am dra racing. rarely ever worked on a motorcycle to this day.

 

[JM360]

for sure not blaming it all on the tires, 20 yrs old big problem. They recalled the tires did not use the name again. first time my license pulled at 16. One of my cousins came by a few yrs ago has since died. He says I raced two cars one night with him in the car. I could not even remember him riding with me in the car or what I raced, just asked if I won. by age 26 I was in business owning trucks mostly left the cars behind. Long time friend of mine has owned 20 vettes. current, 67, 427/435 vert, 70 LT1 and a 2003 C5 ZO6 he bought 1 yr 0ld. 69 to 79 I owned new 69 z/28 age 16 folks bought this one i made the $121.00 month payment for 36 months. 19, 72 vette kept 6 months. Ordered the 73 454, 4 speed, no a/c or power windows, sissy shit not needed, extra weight. Got rid of it in 75 bought a 66 427/ 425hp vert same yr. 78 ordered new 78 l/82 vette, 4 speed. bought a new 78 3/4 ton pickup, 454, Silverado. Did not care for the vette Sold it for what I paid for it, everyone hot for the new rear window change back then. Then ordered a new 79 Z/28. End of my hot rodding days.

 

[Big Bad Bob Dog]

Every time. Every time I have had to order something from DCC. They fuck it up. Need some 105 mains for 550, and 40 pilots? Nup, here's 3 105's and a 110 sealed in a bag, with some pilots made for carburetor which can only be described as Chinese. They fought hammer and tong about the correct speedo ratio with me on a 500/4. Made my client buy the wrong one and lo and behold. I was right and they have to swap it now.

Their descriptions are terrible. There are no such thing as pre-jetted carbs and their website makes me want to deal with paper.

Also, tire front. I still will be a big fan of the road riders until something comes my way. Wish they could make them a radial.

I will always say this about the lazer tech. The rear is good, but that front tire I call bullshit. Pushes the water fine, but either I got a 4 year old one off the bin, or it was just the hardest compound I've dealt with this side of a firestone. Barely any flex in the sidewall either. Fitting it made me want to throw the tire machine through the roof.

Nope. I'll keep drooling at this girl with these lovely shoes.

 

[crazypj]

'Real' Katana came stock with Pirelli Phantom (at least in Europe)
Strange thing, Phantoms' had a reputation for letting go without warning on majority of bikes but on Kat you could drift it at 80mph + without any worries

 

[Geeto67]

It's funny, I wonder if it was a product of the tread or the compound back then. Pirellii brought the phantom back for the ducati sport classic line and while they are a decent dry weather tire they kind of blow in the rain. They are more like a hard compound racing slick than a street tire.

 

[Tanshanomi]

Wait, Speedmasters are bad? This from a company that sells Firestone Deluxe repops?

 

[Tanshanomi]

It's funny, I wonder if it was a product of the tread or the compound back then. Pirellii brought the phantom back for the ducati sport classic line and while they are a decent dry weather tire they kind of blow in the rain. They are more like a hard compound racing slick than a street tire.

We forget how far tires have come. I was young and stupid back then, and wanted to put a set of the first race-compound Dunlop 291R Sport Elites on my street bike. The guy at the shop talked me out of it, and I'm so glad he did. Even the 291S's I did get would get a noticeable glaze on them overnight. They were downright scary for the first half-mile or so, much longer on a cool, wet morning.