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ROD¹ said :-
Ian, Did you ask Avon if they still make the speed master rear tyre? These were the preferred front tyre for an outfit back in the day.
I believe some tyre manufacturers make small batches of retro tyres, like the TT100 from Dunlop ect.
The square section of the speed master rear would give the same properties as lowering the tyre pressure, giving a greater contact area.
10/04/2026 12:07:50 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I have just checked the web but the speed master does not seem to be available.
The best I can find in an 18" is the Heidenau K28.
10/04/2026 12:15:35 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I think the rear was called the Safety Master (popularly known as the skidmaster)? As I remember the front (ribbed) was the Speedmaster. I have one on my Norton Electra with a TT100 on the back....
I've been having a chat with an ex aircraft engineer on a BSA forum and he tells me that nose wheel shimmy is a problem on aircraft. They had a special tyre to counteract it:
10/04/2026 12:24:51 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Then this popped up!
https://www.aceclassics.co.uk/products/avon-sm-mkii-400-18-rear-tyre/...
10/04/2026 12:18:36 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Well spotted. A bit pricy though! And showing as out of stock.......
10/04/2026 12:21:28 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I can't see any availability on the Avon. However, I've used Mitas tyres successfully on other bikes and in fact have one on the sidecar wheel. The H-03 looks like a possibility and at £50 good value:
10/04/2026 12:39:17 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian that's interesting re the tyre pressures , is the 21psi recommendation related directly to the unladen weight or just as you say the minimum pressure to keep the tyre on the rim ? I have a road rider front on my solo Enfield and the bars can flap about a bit when slowing down.. I better get out the weighing scales. Roadriders have fairly stiff side walls compared to some "classic" type tyres which could also be part of the problem , either way if you don't hear from me again you'll know lower front tyre pressure isn't a good idea! (currently 30psi approx)
Nigel
10/04/2026 14:38:22 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Interestingly, looking at the workshop manual the front pressure is 16 psi! Of course tyres used to be much stiffer then. I think I'll probably go for the Mitas although am feeling a little more confident now. Maybe a slightly longer test run at 24 psi is in the offing? I'm also still considering adapting the BSA steering damper.
Given the amount the outfit veers on acceleration / braking with 42 bhp I wonder how those with Gold Wings etc manage?
I have found a graph / spreadsheet showing weight / pressure relationships courtesy of Claude that I'll try to post.
10/04/2026 14:50:40 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Here you are:
10/04/2026 14:49:50 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've ordered the Mitas from Demon Tweeks in 3.50x18 size. Meanwhile have taken the old Roadrider off the front wheel. What a struggle! I had to use my home made bead breaker for the first time since making my Tiger wheels tubeless (below). The tyre was like iron, which is not surprising - when I looked at the date code it's 16 years old. I think it would have held the bike up with no air at all it was so stiff, and this probably contributed a lot to the shimmy problems. The task wasn't helped by the Akront flanged alloy rim, which seems to be deeper than the chrome rims I'm used to. Fortunately managed without nipping the tube or damaging the rim so am just waiting for the postie with my new tyre. I think there's room under the mudguard for it.....
I suppose I should now check the date code on the back tyre although it (and the front) wer performing fine when the bike was a solo. Although only in the dry of course. And I don't want to repeat that fight any time soon.
14/04/2026 10:23:02 UTC
nab301 said :-
Just for the record, my foray into lower front wheel tyre pressures on my solo Enfield didn't appear to improve anything , it is possibly a little more stable with the higher pressure..
Ian, how on earth does that bead breaker operate?!
Nigel
14/04/2026 13:21:09 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I'm glad you saked Nigel - shows someone's paying attention. I think I did post about it years ago - it must be nearly 20 years since I made it. Essentially it's a square made out of 4x4 timber with the dimensions such that the rim rests on the square and the hub, disc etc drop through. One of the arms of the square is elongated - to the upper right in the pic. Then it's a simple matter of taking another 3 foot length of 4x4 and loosely attaching that to the extended arm with a strap. A short length of - wait for it - 4x4 is then positioned on the tyre wall. If the far end of this long length is pushed down, the block pushes down on the tyre wall breaking the seal on the rim. The whole lot sits on a workmate to bring it to working height.
That picture shows it in use on the Tiger's front wheel, removing a tubeless tyre (although fitted with a tube). I sealed up the spoke nipples with a heavy duty aircraft fuel tank sealer to allow the use of tubeless tyres which was a great success. The Tiger was still on the road last year so despite the dire warnings from "experts" it hasn't killed anyone.
14/04/2026 16:19:07 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Of course the main use for the frame is to act as a support when fitting / removing tyres as the rim sits on the frame while the spindle / sprocket / whatever drops through.
Anyway, successfully fitted the Mitas this morning although the flanged rim was a bit of a tussle even with the softer tyre. This picture shows another weapon in my tyre / wheel armoury: a jig for adjusting spokes and balancing wheels which is what I'm doing now. It's not perfect for this job as it depends on the wheel bearings being very free, and most sealed bearings offfer slight resistance. This pic makes the tyre look huge - it's not.....
The jig is made from 1/2" MDF (which I had to buy, shock horror) and various bits of scrap wood. It and the tyre fitting frame have been in my shed for 20 years or so. I have a pair of Dunlop tyre levers that are about a foot long and 1.5" wide so help preserve the rims from damage. Both are perforated with a series of holes where I've used them to make impromptu pullers at various times.
15/04/2026 12:04:12 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
....a dn now the wheel is back on the bike, fortunately without fouling anything although it's a little closer to the mudguard than ideal. Will it have the desired effect? Will I come back and tell you if it does? Is the moon made of green cheese? All these and others will be answered in due course.
15/04/2026 16:28:46 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Green Cheese, I prefer a nice Cheddar or maybe a brie if the mood takes me.
15/04/2026 18:01:00 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Red Leicester for myself, but I did develop a strong preference for Mimolette when I was in France last year.
15/04/2026 19:05:09 UTC
nab301 said :-
Thanks Ian, working with what I had at the time years ago I made my bead breaker and balancer frame out of 1" square furniture metal some threaded bar and a few nuts... . Currently I have a couple of pallets so will probably make a square, wheel rim support frame and might even place it all on the workmate.
I remember you posting about the Tiger rim sealing job but I think that was on the Guzzi forum, as you mentioned there a failure couldn't be any worse than a tube blow out.
Nigel
16/04/2026 13:29:03 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
This is my bead breaker...
16/04/2026 15:26:56 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Good to see variations on a theme..... I must say both of yours look heftier than mine. But yours don't have the rim-supporting frame. Wood is much easier to work with, plenty strong for my needs and also kind to the rim and tyre.
Yes I think I did refer to the tubeless conversion on a Guzzi forum but wrote it up more fully on a Triumph one. Not sure if it's still there or whether I am still persona grata.
16/04/2026 16:42:21 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed, Leader, love the gate, it's a real Trigger's broom.
Upt.
16/04/2026 23:18:17 UTC
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