H: Hubs, Wheels and Tyres Tyres

[Bill Thomas]

I am trying to build a bike on the cheap !!, I have a pair of old type wheels, So sticking with old size, I might weld strength plates on the front brake plates, Never done that before, I would love to see what the Bike will look like, I have seen on the Telly how they use a computer to see how one would look, It's going to be Standardish !!, But a little different !. Cheers Bill.

 

[vibrac]

So, Is nobody running 300/20 ? ribbed front , Why am I always different. Cheers Bill.

I am Bill us old guys know what worked through the gooseneck works on the road

 

[Albervin]

Anybody tried a 100/90/19 rear roadrider, With an old style 300/20 front ?, Mine is for a Comet.
Just fitted one to my old Comet with a worn 90/90/19 front roadrunner and it's very Pointy !!, Can't get a corner right !, It had an old venom on the rear before and it went just where I wanted.
Cheers Bill.

Bill, you have fitted a front tyre to the rear. So all the braking on the old front is now acceleration and moving forward on the rear. A bit confused as to whether you are using a 90/90-19 or 100/90-19.
Either way putting a front tyre on the rear does not work. Discovered this in 1972. Why would you use a 19" front tyre on the rear of a Vincent?

 

[greg brillus]

I have a 100 x 90 x 19 Avon RoadRunner on the rear of my Rapide with a stock 3.00 x 20 ribbed SM Mk 2 on the front. Works very well.......I got a bit tired of the 3.50 x 19 SM Mk 2 rear ending up looking like a car tire, with the center flat, like a sidecar tire. Remember these modern Avon ribbed tires can actually be used for racing.....I know many blokes who use them on race bikes with great success.

 

[Bill Thomas]

Bill, you have fitted a front tyre to the rear. So all the braking on the old front is now acceleration and moving forward on the rear. A bit confused as to whether you are using a 90/90-19 or 100/90-19.
Either way putting a front tyre on the rear does not work. Discovered this in 1972. Why would you use a 19" front tyre on the rear of a Vincent?

Morning Albervin, Sorry, I might not have told it like I wanted to, I run a Comet now with a Venom on the front 90/90/19 and have just fitted a Roadrunner 100/90/19 on the back, they are duel marked, Front or Rear, It now rides very pointy, Bit like TT 100 tyres, It's messed up my corners, But I will get used to it, I raced for years on TT 100s, Still got one on the front of my Special , The begger wont wear out !!.
But my thoughts are on my next Comet, I will use a 300/20 front ribbed, But I don't want a square type that they used to use on the back, I wondered if anybody has used a 300/20 ribbed front with a roadrunner 100/90/19 on the back.
Greg I think you are right, Just bought a 300/20 ribbed front, Very soft and marked for 112 mph !!, Not sure my 560cc will do that ??.
Vibrac, What do you use on the back, Cheers Bill.

 

[Hugo Myatt]

Bill,
Altho' I've not ridden it yet, the previous owner of my Rapide had fitted 19's front and rear.
He had ridden the bike all over Europe without any prob's

HTH
Neil

19" front and 19" rear on WM2 rims was the spec supplied to the Argentinian market. I have this on one of my Comets - 3.25S x 19 Speedmaster AM6 on the front, 3.50S x 19 Safety Mileage AM7 on the rear. The handling is satisfactory, at least to me, and until the rear SM wears square that is, but I'm with Albervin here. 28 psi on the front is the max or it begins to feel like a road drill. 3o/32 psi on the rear keeps a more rounded profile on the SM.

My other Comet has standard 20"WM1 front and 19" WM2 rear fitted with 3.00S20 Speedmaster front and 100/90V - 19 Roadrider at the rear. This seems even more secure on the bends but I'm hardly an 'earholer'. The only problem with 20" fronts is the difficulty of getting tubes. The ones I purchased from the spares company have two sizes marked on the tube - 20x300 and 21 x300! They also do not hold their pressure for very long and need to be checked before every ride.

Incidentally why are tubes now supplied with two nuts on the valve stem and where does the second nut go?

 

[Bill Thomas]

Thanks Hugo, Funny the bit about tubes, I was worried about the 2 nuts and the washer, More so because when I took my old rear tyre off, The valve shot towards the spokes and across the shop !!, It's been on there for years, There is not much that holds the valve in the tube, Because of how they make them now,
I went on the web and tried to find info', A lot of people say throw the second nut away and the other should be left loose on the outside, !! NOT GOOD.
The washer and one nut SHOULD be on the INSIDE, And the one on the outside should be left loose so you could see tyre creep !. Cheers Bill.

 

[vibrac]

So, Is nobody running 300/20 ? ribbed front , Why am I always different. Cheers Bill.

I came across an article in an early 60s motorcycle mag today it said a lot of things but one item caught my eye don't expect top level braking on your Vincent unless you have a narrow front tyre when the tread is pushed hard into the road surface that's how the good results came in the road Tests the author? PCV

 

[TouringGodet]

I wondered if anybody has used a 300/20 ribbed front with a roadrunner 100/90/19 on the back.

That was my combo on the Shadow for many years, and a couple of trips across the US. But I got tired of the short tread life of the Roadrunner. I too do not care for the Safety Mileage II and the square profile. I have the same style Bridgestone 19 inch front/rear as on the Comet front, on the rear of the Shadow, it has worked well. Just bought an 18 inch RoadRider for the rear of the Egli. If the tread life is decent, I might try a 19 RoadRider front/rear on the rear of the Shadow, next time it needs a tire. I will always have a 300-20 ribbed on the front of the Shadow.

 

[Bill Thomas]

That was my combo on the Shadow for many years, and a couple of trips across the US. But I got tired of the short tread life of the Roadrunner. I too do not care for the Safety Mileage II and the square profile. I have the same style Bridgestone 19 inch front/rear as on the Comet front, on the rear of the Shadow, it has worked well. Just bought an 18 inch RoadRider for the rear of the Egli. If the tread life is decent, I might try a 19 RoadRider front/rear on the rear of the Shadow, next time it needs a tire. I will always have a 300-20 ribbed on the front of the Shadow.

I thought I was taking a risk !, With a Wm1 rim , It looks a bit narrow, But I want to use this old wheel, Thanks Lads. Bill.