Panhead Tires

[VPH-D]

Would someone relate their experiences with repop Speedgrip tires? I'll be needing a set of tires in the spring for a '51, and will run the old Avon tires as an alternate.
Thanks
VPH-D

[65eglide]

plain and simple they **** !!
there the worst in any kind of cornering and wait until you hit a section of road that has grooved pavement when there resurfacing it
I have them on mine and can't wait to change them over to the dunlop 402's

[Magic]

Today I'm a year older by #....LOL Yea i just had a few drinks too! I should. My thought on tires, My oldy but goodies either are original or rideable riders. with such lowground clearances of the Panheads...being conscious of the the braking & handling of the era, I prefer the quality Nostalgic style offered by reproduction companys as original tires are scarce and nice to save when needed being they don't dryrot like modern tires do. yea there is a sacrifice in handling I'm sure....But at my tender age of ................49..............LOL Life is just a ride on a good road. Keep Ridin them, Merlin

[rick anderson]

Repop Goodyear

Hello,
I'm not sure but I believe the tire your talking about has a "DIAMOND TRED"? If thats correct, in my experience these tires feel very dangerous on "metal grate bridges" as well as grooved roads. In one experience going over a metal grate bridge I had to put my feet down because it felt like I was riding on ice.

I have just recently replaced the "GOODYEAR EAGLE 100" tires on my 65 FLH with "COKER" reproduction of this tire. These tires feel great on the road, with the exception of grooved roads.

Although these tires work well, they did not feel safe for the first thirty miles or so. They felt like they were losing traction in turns. This may have been because of the "blue coating that you see on new white walls. This coating is very slick and covers the whole tire. It could have been the the little rubber "tits" or "nubs" that you find on new tires. After I washed the bike a couple of times and got the "blue stuff" off or maybe wore the tires in?, I'm still not sure, but suddenly they are working very well. The bike feels like a different motorcycle compared to the old Goodyears witch still had plenty of tred. Also I'd like to add, any less than 32 lbs of air presure and it felt like I was riding thru mud.

Rick.

[58Panheadfan]

I would go for AVON MK II - best Tire I had on my 58 DuoGlide. Also I had mounted a coker whitewall - nearly impossible to ride with this type of tire! Hope that helps...

[Robert Luland]

Guys let's get real. I read this post yesterday and really gave it no mind until this morning. As I'm walking aroung the shop I can see at least eight Goodyear Eagles. Mind you that's what I can see at a glance. God knows whats buried up on that pallet racking. The fact is I wouldn't risk your life or mine running on them. I have tires with dry rot so bad you could put your hand through the side wall. I might ride them from the trailer to the assemble area but that's as good as it's going to get. There are two items that are going to have be dealt with in the future of the Amca. One is tires. They are getting older and I see no reason to buy shhit tires just because they look like the originals. In fact, the idea is just plain stupid. The next off subject is wiring harness. The original old timers are faced with the fact that the moment they rip down that harness will fall apart in their hands. The rules can govern all they wan't but common sense and time take it's toll. Bob

[DWN]

Speaking of old tires, it seems like a good time to head off on a tangent.

When I got my Henderson, I put on a set of re-pop Firestones on the advice of Dale Walksler. But he also told me that if I really intend to ride the bike, I should consider finding some later rims and run modern tires, keeping the original wheels and clincher tires for "show".

So, I've mentioned the idea of rounding up some later Henderson wheels, or even just Henderson hubs to lace 19" or 21" wheels to those in the know. Some folks seem to think that's the smart way to go, while others cringe at the thought of deviating from original.

But, I intend to enjoy this bike as the Henderson Brothers would want, not just let it rest in the garage forever.

[c.o.]

Tuck those originals away for safe keeping rickeieio and put some new stuff on burn up some pavement.............. Nobody can fault you for wanting to ride your bike......

[rick anderson]

Who said anything about using old dry rotted tires?

[Robert Luland]

I didn't say anything about running dry rotted tires. I just brought up the point that the orginals days are numbered. A little trick for the grated bridge thing. I found years ago to ride in a criss-cross pattern when I hit that stuff. I can't even conceive of going down on that stuff. Talk about Halloween #7. Yuk! Bob