Avon Super Venoms

[Lucky]

ok, so my refund is on it's way, & my trusty Metzlers are being forced into retirement.  i'm going to order new tires. knowing what i want, i called the bike shop to get prices.  i noticed online that Super Venoms & Roadrunners both have the designation "AM20", & the tread is similar.

can anyone with Super Venoms look at them & tell me if they are actually marked "Super Venom"??

looking at $245 mounted, balanced, tax etc, i wanna pay for the ones i'm asking for.

Thanks, --Lucky

[h2olawyer]

Mine are marked "Super Venom" on both front & rear.  AM20 front AM18 rear.  The rear in size 110-90-18 is a front or rear tire.  The tread pattern is the same as the rest of the rear tires in the Super Venom series.  That was my main worry when I ordered mine.  Didn't want the front tread style on the rear.  The roadrunner tread is not quite as aggressive but otherwise very similar.  Almost hard to see in the photos.

Pretty good price for getting the work done for you.  I paid around $190 for just the tires.  Glad I can mount & balance on my own.

H₂O

[supervision]

  Mine only say Roadrunner  The front is an AM20 size 90/90H-18, measures 3.75 total width. The rear is an AM21, it is 110/90H-18, 4.5 total width.  Mine are only H rated because I wanted to stay with the 90/90 on the front   

[YellowJacket!]

ok, so my refund is on it's way, & my trusty Metzlers are being forced into retirement.  i'm going to order new tires. knowing what i want, i called the bike shop to get prices.  i noticed online that Super Venoms & Roadrunners both have the designation "AM20", & the tread is similar.

can anyone with Super Venoms look at them & tell me if they are actually marked "Super Venom"??

looking at $245 mounted, balanced, tax etc, i wanna pay for the ones i'm asking for.

Thanks, --Lucky

Wanna tryem before you buyem?  Thats the ones on my bike.

They both say "Avon Super Venom"

David

[reckon]

ok, so my refund is on it's way, & my trusty Metzlers are being forced into retirement.  i'm going to order new tires. knowing what i want, i called the bike shop to get prices.  i noticed online that Super Venoms & Roadrunners both have the designation "AM20", & the tread is similar.

can anyone with Super Venoms look at them & tell me if they are actually marked "Super Venom"??

looking at $245 mounted, balanced, tax etc, i wanna pay for the ones i'm asking for.

Thanks, --Lucky

why are you giving up on the metziez??


they are like my motorcycle security blanket,...................I can't live without em'

[67GTO]

Could someone tell me what AM20 and AM18 means? ???

[Tiger]

 :) Try this link... http://www.cycleshopusa.com/p160.htm

[h2olawyer]

If you are too lazy to click the link, AM18 & AM20 are just tire model designations.

H₂O

[67GTO]

Got it ;)

[Lucky]

i'd get the Metz again, but the ME77's are history in our size, and i'm hearing better reviews on the Super Venoms.

[Lucky]

btw, i have an 'all over' rim leak on the front.  if i use soap spray i get tiny bubbles all around, & have to add air every few days.  what grit do i sand the bead to to insure a seal?

[h2olawyer]

The most common bead leak problem is bits of old rubber from previous tires & the various goops used to mount & dismount them.  I'd say use a brass brush to clean all that gunk off the rims.  Then some goo gone or similar cleaning solvent, followed by some brake cleaner.   If you still need to dress the rims, use some medium grit - 180 - 200 followed by some 400.  That should leave a great surface for the beads to properly seat.

I haven't had to clean aluminum or alloy wheel bead leaks - even in several years of tire shop work.  When it happened on steel rims, a steel wire brush worked wonders without any additional sanding or dressing / polishing.

H₂O

[Lucky]

will do, thanks.

[h2olawyer]

The Super Venoms are great tires.  I've had them in hot weather & they stick like glue.  They also work well in wet, cold & even slushy conditions.  Found that out twice last summer.  One ride, over Trail Ridge Road in late June, was wet with some snowflakes in the air, melting as they hit the ground.  Slow speeds on that road - speed limit is 35 MPH but you can't go that fast very often because of the heavy tourist traffic.

In late August, I went on a ride with a friend.  He was on his radial shod new Honda VFR.  When we left Ft. Collins, it was cloudy & cool but didn't look too nasty.  By the time we reached the top of Cameron Pass - 80 miles & an hour & 45 minutes west, at over 10,000 feet, there was fairly heavy snow falling.  It was melting on the pavement but sticking to all the fauna.  When we finally reached Snowy Range Road in southern Wyoming, the temps were in the upper 20s (F) and the previously wet roads had become slushy with about an inch of the stuff on the road.  Still mostly water, but very slippery.  I kept up with the Honda (he's an excellent rider) and never felt like the tires were slipping very much.  Fairly twisty road & maintained 30 - 50 MPH through most of that part of the ride.  (except for the couple times I had to stop & scrape the ice off my visor  ::) )  Also, about five miles over the top was heavily fogged in (actually riding in the clouds) so speeds were 10 to 15 MPH because we could see only a few feet ahead.

The roads between Cameron Pass and Snowy Range Road were wet & temps were in the upper 40s.  Fairly light but steady drizzle on the whole ride.  The turns are not very sharp in that area (known as North Park).  Speed limit is 65 MPH & we consistently maintained 15 - 20 over that in the cold, wet conditions.  Never even a minor "pucker factor" in any of the corners.  That's saying something as I'm kind of a chicken when it comes to taking corners fast.

I currently have over 3,000 miles on my Super Venoms & they look like they have at least that much life left in them.  Pretty good for a tire that's made for the sport end of sport touring.  The rubber is fairly sticky.  They have worked so well for me that I'll likely keep mounting these tires for the foreseeable future.

I am not receiving anything from Avon or any tire manufacturer or dealer - just want to pass on my experience with the tires.  I know Motorplow had an issue of fast wear with his.  Like the roads he rides in Virginia, the roads here are mainly chip & seal.  Guess the process out here is less abrasive.  Still, it makes for a good road surface - after the excess 'chips' are off the road.

H₂O

[reckon]

ok so metzlers are no longer available in the stock size,....

when the set of oversize ones I have now start to wear I'll check out a set of the super venoms.

super sticky and a VERY even round cross section profile (I hate the way triangular profile tires handle) is what I love about the metzlers, AND when you slide a metzler tire, either on purpose or by accident, they get GRIPPY-ER as the length of the slide increases

this fact has saved my ass more times than I can count, and is the primary reason I like them so much

[Lucky]

i ordered my new meats today.
Ahhhh, i love the smell of fresh release compound in the morning.  it smells like...Victory! (after it's worn away)

--Lucky

[NewVisionGuy]

Yeah...  until the gloss is   gone,  they can be a little slick.   I  slid  the V-star  around a corner  on  it's  maiden  voyage.  I'm  pretty sure sparks were flying off the pegs  too.   ::)   It  just  doesn't  handle  like  my V  does.   >:(     

BTW:  I think  I'm going to put Avons  on my V too  here in  about a week or so.   I also  need to change out  the stator  at one point or another  before  then.  I've been slacking.  It's just so  frickin' cold.

[kwells]

H20...you say you mount your own tires?  Do you have a shop?  I plan to be ordering a new rear for my Triumph as well as a set for my Red Vision...and later on a set for the Black vision.  What kind of pricing you have for Visionaries to help mount? 

[h2olawyer]

Kevin -

I got the tire mounting machine for both auto & motorcycle tires from Harbor Freight.  I could use some better tire irons, but otherwise it works great.  I also built a gravity balancer from some angle aluminum & rollerblade bearings.  I need to get some more wheel weights & lead tape strips.  I will have the stuff at the 25 year celebration, available for all to use.  I just use my home garage / shop.  Cost is free - or some beers if you feel the need to do something.  William - the guy with the Venture we rode with last Fall & I split the cost of the machine.  We've each done one set of tires.  He did a set on his GTS & I did my Vision.  It has already paid for itself.  The wide radials are more difficult.  The Vision tires almost slipped off & on.  Using enough Tire Snot really helps.

I worked in a tire shop for several summers in Steamboat, so I didn't get into this on a whim.  Mounting motorcycle tires requires a little more precision & finesse than auto & truck tires.

I need to do some fine tuning to the balancer but otherwise, everything works great.

Let me know when you want to do the job.  I have it all on a doubled 4x4 sheet of plywood.  It fits into the truck great.  Can do it at my house or anywhere mutually monvenient.  I want to head south soon to get some more beer brewing supplies.  The store is close to I-25 & 120th.  Wouldn't be any real trouble to go farther south as long as I'm there.

H₂O

[Tiger]

...I worked in a tire shop for several summers...

8) The first job I had when I left school and was awaiting my auto-mechanics apprenticeship was at a tire shop....went back years later as the "Break down" fitter...it has proved a very usefull asset, at time's. Although, I don't have a tire machine, just leaver's, which I really need to up-date...someday... ;D ;D :D :D :D :D

                  8).......TIGER....... 8)