VL Tire Information

[OLLIE]

I read the thread below regarding Buzz Kanters 31 Harley V, and have a question regarding the Avon tires that he installed. My 34VLD sees a lot of highway use and I would like to put a new set of tires on it. I currently have Avon SM 400S19's (front and rear), however, the thread pattern is like for sidecar use instead of a high speed thread. This causes my bike to handle real funny when pushing it through a corner. The tires on Buzz's bike don't look like my SM 400S19's. Are they perhap Avon AM9 4.10-19's? Has anyone used the Avon AM9 4.10-19 tires on their stock VL rims? Is there a better tire to be using on my stock VL rims for a lot of highway use? Any recommendations and/or information that anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ollie.

[Rollo]

VL tires

Ollie,
How fast you planning on going on the highway? I have the Coker Diamond Tread on my two 36 VLH's and the Firestone zig-zag pattern on my 33 VLD. I haven't had any trouble with either yet but notice the Firestone ones ride and little smoother overall. About the max speed I have gone thought is 65 for short distances. My 33 has 19" rims and the 36's have 18. From what I have heard from others thought is tread life on the Diamond ones isn't much and that the zig zags last longer. Since these bikes don't maintain highway speeds for long I run vinage look tires rather than modern ones. Highway speed in my area is 75+++ and VL's just can't maintain that or let's just say I'm no going to push them to that.

Rollo
AMCA #12766

[OLLIE]

VL tires

ROLLO: Although I put on a lot of highway miles, my average speed is around 50 mph with an occasional "burst of speed" to 60 mph or so. My VLD has always been very happy running at 50-55 mph for long distances. Most of my cruising is on secondary highways that have a lot less traffic than the freeways. This lets me travel at a comfortable pace and allows me to see many small towns and meet a lot of interesting people that I would have otherwise missed. I'd just like to put really good "modern" tires on the bike if possible. It does not bother me to have "modern" looking tires on the bike. Really good handling and traction mean more to me than having the "original" looking tires. Besides, when I'm riding I can't see the tires anyway. I'm hoping someone can can give me some insight as to which specific Avon tires will meet these requirements. Thanks for your response. OLLIE

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear All, I usually put on the Coker tyres, but I called the factory when I wanted to do some speed runs and they told me their tyres were not speed rated. So I switched to Avon Super Venom AM18 tyres with a street/race profile on my '34 and cranked it up to an electrically timed 103 mph on an airfield over here. I've also used Dunlop Gold Seal K70 in a 4.00 x 19 which was perfectly OK, and found I have a project bike with a nos Goodyear Eagle 4.00 x 19 on it.

Those VLs were undergeared originally and will usually pull a 25 tooth front sprocket on modern roads. This shows up the gap between second and third gear, when the 4-speed gearbox transforms the riding experience.