Avon Super Venoms

[h2olawyer]

Steamboat, being a ski & summer resort town, has two busy seasons.  At the time I was a tire tech during the summer, I ran ski lifts in the winter.  I spent three summers at the tire store.  The final year, I drove the large service truck & worked mostly with heavy equipment tires (tractors, loaders, scrapers & smaller mining haul trucks).  Some of the tractor & loader tires were calcium filled.  Those were a real pain to deal with.

The heavy equipment tires are in many ways easier than car tires.  Most of the work is done with hydraulics.  The only tough part was swinging the 16 lb. sledge baseball style to push the outer ring back so the lock ring could be removed.  Glad it only took 4 to 8 hits to get the job done.  My fast time on a scraper tire - from arrival to mid-inflation was 45 minutes.  The guy who trained me could do one in a half hour.  Actual tire removal & installation was done with the boom & a sling.

The heat finally made me decide to give up physically demanding work in the summer & I resumed formal education.

The Harbor Freight tire machine is really just a frame to hold the rim and make it a little easier to lever the tire off.  It comes with a large bar to remove the tire.  It also operates the bead breaker.  The bar well with car tires but not with motorcycles - except with the bead breaker.  A couple pieces of cut up plastic milk jugs serve as rim protectors & I have been using some various construction levers as tire spoons.  They're rounded on the edges so they don't cut the tires but some real spoons would make it easier.

H₂O

[Kevin]

I recivied a email from Bike Bandit today they have tires on sale. When you mount new tires wipe them down with brake cleaner to remove the mold lube.

[h2olawyer]

I used a sheet of 180 grit sandpaper to clean mine off.  You still need to ride easy for about 100 miles to assure the beads have properly & fully set.  That mileage also gives the tires time to heat up & evaporate the moisture out of the tire lube used to slip the tires over the rims.  That's also why it is not recommended to use soapy water as a bead lube.  Even after the moisture is gone, the soap remains slick & the tire bead can slip off or rotate around the rim.

H₂O

[zore]

I recivied a email from Bike Bandit today they have tires on sale. When you mount new tires wipe them down with brake cleaner to remove the mold lube.

I would be really carefull doing that.  I've never done anything to new tires but take it easy for the first few 100 miles.   I probably go thru 2 sets of tires a year on my main bike and not had a problem. 

[kwells]

ok, it's about that time to actually place the tire order.

I know swmototire.com has been used by members on the forum but they dont seem to be carrying SuperVenoms.  Has anyone had success with other online tire vendors?

kEvin W

[h2olawyer]

I got mine from American Moto Tire.  However, they,too, seem to no longer carry them.  Dennis Kirk says they have them in stock.  They have high initial prices but will match internet prices with proof from the online dealer.

Maybe Avon is phasing the Super Venoms out???

EDIT:  Just checked Avon's website & they still show SVs in the correct sizes.

Checked SW Moto Tire, American Moto Tire & Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse.  None show the Super Venom as available.  You might try contacting these dealers to see if they can still get them.  They all used to carry them.  If they are no longer available, I may have to try the Pirelli Sport Demons next.  Too bad nobody can give me a straight answer on whether or not the Metzeler Lasertec in 110/90-18 (H or V rated) is available in the US.  I contacted Metzeler a while ago to ask about it & they said "If it is on our North American website, then it is available."  However, when I contacted several dealers, they said no such size exists.  Felt kind of like Yossarian!

H₂O

[kwells]

Denniskirk only has the rear listed ...has 3 models...1 rear SV and 2 for Road Runner


edit...looks like they have them...just not listed if you select xz550

[h2olawyer]

You must be looking it up through the 1982 Yamaha Vision filter.  That way, you only get the 90/90-18 fronts available.  Won't show the 100/90-18 fronts of the 1983 Visions.  I'm looking at both F & R Super Venoms on Dennis Kirk's site on the other tab in my browser.

The Super Venom is not available in 90/90-18.  You will need to bump up a size.  Not to worry - that's what came on the 83s even with the narrow 1.85 inch rim width.

H₂O

[kwells]

yeah,
got the 110/90-18 and 100/90-18 selected...

about to pull the trigger looks like 217.98 including shipping

[Lucky]

"You can have the tires, we have plenty of them, unless you order them, then we are out."
--Vision 22

[h2olawyer]

 ;D  Glad somebody picked up on it.   ;D

H₂O

[Night Vision]

better hurry up and get on DK if you want new snakeskins............

"snakeskin shoes....baby put 'em on your feet" - Lonesome George

I saw Super Venoms listed as "discontinued" on a site...

I just ordered the RoadRunners from DK because I can't find them anywhere else in the stock 90/90/18 - 90/110/18 size either...

I like the skinny tires  ;D you didn't see Lance winning tour 'd france with big fatties on his bicycle.

[h2olawyer]

Tires Unlimited lists the Super Venom as discontinued.  Thet CLAIM the Road Rider is a direct replacement for both the Super Venom & the Road Runner.  Cost is lower than either of those tires.  Like the Super Venom, the 110/90-18 is a combination F/R tire.  Tread pattern has a 'radial' look to it.  Tread for F & R looks identical.  Wonder if they are as sticky?

Figures - I find a tire I really like & they discontinue it.

Just finished mounting a set of Avon Viper Sport AV 59 & AV 60 radials for my friend with the GTS.  Went on the rims much easier than the Bridgestone BT-020s we put on 18 months ago.  Like my Super Venoms, the first bead nearly fell on the rims.  The second bead took some lever work, but not a lot.  3 or 4 pries & the tire was on the rim!  I sure like tire companies that have the installer in mind when they design a carcass.   ;D  However, they dropped a notch or two for me since they are discontinuing the Super Venoms.

My new V project will need tires.  Not sure whether to get the new Road Riders or try the Pirelli Sport Demons.  Would go with the Metzelers if I could find the correct rear . . .

H₂O 

[kwells]

hmmm...wonder if we could inquiry as to its stickiness

[Lucky]

Figures - I find a tire I really like & they discontinue it.H₂O 

That has happened with every set of tires i've bought for this bike!!  >:(  but on the flip side, every new set has been better than the previous set...

Catch 22 is one of my all time favorites, i still like the movie too. it's rare that i like a movie after reading the book..

[h2olawyer]

Avon tires (tyres for those of British origin) has a pretty good website.  They have contact info as well.  their description for the Road Rider is as a commuter tire for high mileage.  Ddoesn't sound like they're as sticky.  Maybe we should start a mass complaint on their discontinuing the Super Venom?

www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/

Catch 22 is one of my all time favorites, i still like the movie too. it's rare that i like a movie after reading the book.

I agree- most movies ruin the book.  Guess us older folks mostly prefer to use our imaginations rather than be spoon fed the images.  Plus, it's hard to digest a large book into a 1.5 - 2 hour movie.  Too many subtleties & nuances left out.  Catch-22 was well done, though.  Been a while since I saw it.  Law school ruined most law related movies & programs for me as well.  However, 12 Angry Men, Anatomy of a Murder, Witness for the Prosecution, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Caine Mutiny and, as odd as it seems, A Fish Called Wanda & My Cousin Vinny are each great in their own way.  The first five are good courtroom dramas.  I like the last two comedies for the way they poke fun at lawyers & the court.  I also like to watch Rumpole of the Bailey on PBS when it runs.

H₂O