Ok so I am making a foray into vintage racing with a kz650.. Found a 18 inch front wheel. So what are my choses for tires and brands. Avon? Continental? or what others are available. Would like to hear about plus and misses of each, quick warm up would be key.. Thanks
Since you're getting wheels and tires, why not go for 17" and have a great tire selection? That is a V-5 bike so 17" are legal. If you run it in AHRMA then it is a Middleweight Superbike and 17" are legal there, too, I think.
I have the Avon AM22/23 on my V-2 bike that is limited to 18s. The 130/65vb18 is developed to run on a rim as narrow as a 2.15. They call it cantilevered and is only available in the race compound. I like them.
So....whos got the best deals on 18s? Heidis, contis, avons? I need skins for mosport..chris marshall is shreading the heidenaus and is happy with them..The contis seem populat on the south side though.. are avons really over 400 a set? Ouch.
Funny just got to my shipment of tires and there street compound.... I asked and ordered race compound tires..H64R H65R The Order has RRRRs all over it... that seems to be missing from the tires? 1st and last time I order anything from Revzilla.
I think the set I bought last year weren't marked RSW but they are. Do they have a coloured stripe around the centre? I think that's how you can tell. I'll try to check what is written on the sidewall tonight.
They have( dry) on the sidewall and the strip is tan/gray in color down the center. Also the lettering is h65 with no R after it the front should also be 100/90R-18 it doesn't!
I'll check this evening but I think that they are the RSW ones. I've had a couple of sets of Heidenaus and the first ones were marked RSW but the ones I have now aren't. I enquired about this and if I remember correctly the word "dry" denotes the racing compound along with the stripe. Try contacting MotoAmore (http://moto-amore.com), they will be able to tell you which ones you have.
From what I was able to find on the Web dry = rsw with a yellow strip on the tire. My only concern is the age of the rear 1514 I am going to return that and find another closer to 17
One thing you need to know about Heidenaus, they feel rock hard but they warm up very quickly and then feel very sticky.
I use the K65's front and rear (3.00/3.50) on a 250 Ducati. It took some hunting to get the optimal pressure but now I set them cold at 28psi front and 30psi rear. I arrived at this by checking the pressure as soon as I came off the track and I looked for an increase of 10-15% from cold. I will still check them occasionally and adjust accordingly, especially on very hot days. The lower the cold pressure the hotter the tire will get, these tires will wear out very quickly if run too hot.
I have been selling Avon race tires to vintage riders for many years. They are non-DOT tires, for racing only, and yes they are over $400 a pair. I get them from Performance Tire, a major distributor, and they are shipped direct to the customer; I do not keep them on hand because my volume has always been small and in the past couple of years it has become even smaller. The Avon's have been uniformly good for many years; they are good in the dry and in the wet. They warm up quickly on cool tracks and last well during summer months. Our personal use has been on RDs and TD/TR3, fairly light machines but they put out good horsepower. They a pair of 90/90-18 (front) and 110/80-18 (rear) will usually last one season. Ridden very hard the rear might need replacement for the GNF. The front cost is $205.28 and the rear is $223.14 plus shipping of about $23.00. These are current race tires, not old tires or street tires. Other sizes are available up to 150/70 B18s. Lyn Garland [email protected] 770 775-3249
