Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board Avon Roadrider Mk2 Tyres

I am thinking of putting Avon Roadrider Mk2 tyres on my 1966 A65 Lightning.

I've only ever ridden it before with K70's on, with the standard sizes of 3.25x19 front and 4.00x18 rear.

I have read lots of reviews on the Avon Roadrider Mk2 which, as usual, are full of contradictions. The majority are good but there are a few that claim they suffer from 'structural failure'?

I'm not planning on doing any knee down riding on my Lightning. As well as getting too old for it I know, from my past experiences on the bike, that the main stand and foot rests will hit the deck before my knees do and I wouldn't want to damage anything that I've spent a lot of time and money on restoring.

I'm sure there are must be plenty on here who have used this tyre and would appreciate any feedback you can give me.

Thank you,

Kev E

I believe there was a problem with the tread splitting in a batch of Roadriders (Mk1) produced in 2013

Road Riders for me, used several sets, no failures, a rear last about 3,000 miles, fronts a lot longer.
I havent ridden a bike with K70s fitted since the 1970s so cant comment on A B comparisons. If someone offered me a ride on a bike with K70s now I would probably decline it, never liked them.maybe the rubber has changed over the years.

In my opinion the only drawback to Roadriders is if you ride straight up and down most of the time. Center wears and you have a square tire. Not that K70s didn't do that as well. Rode quite a lot on them in the past and the only strong point I can mention is they are fine on gravel roads. Plus having that "original" look I guess. I may drift away from the RRs on the rear and go for a dual compound. Main road blasting to the fun roads.

Interesting Gavin, I got 3000 out of a K70 (3500 at a push but it was weaving a lot by then) the last roadrider I had was still fine at 6000 miles, although shortly after I had an issue where the back wheel locked and that gave me a nice wear patch down to the chord so it needed swapping.

Road Riders are a great tyre! I've only used the Mk1 up to now, although have some Mk2's for the OIF which are waiting to be fitted.

The only criticism I have with the road rider vs the K70 is the K70 was still a half decent tyre for trail work (the RoadRider isn't) the K70 also isn't a bad tyre. On the right bike it will handle well (my Canam 250 was great with them on, but it also handled well on tight bends with trials tyres on) they just don't suit the A65 as well as Roadriders do.

I've had good luck with Roadriders MK1s on multiple bikes over the years. There are a bunch of people Racing on the street versions. Nobody has ever mentioned anything about one coming apart. If by chance you prov this wrong and get one that goes bad, Avon is a reputable company and I'm sure they will want to help you out. But if your worried why not call them up and ask them?

I have a similar relationship with Michelin USA. Years ago I put the wrong Macadam tire (the one they recommended) on my BMW R65. Michelin set me a credit with which I bought the right sized tire and told me to keep the wrong one. Unfortunately for me, this tire hanging on a wall caused me to build a motorcycle around it!

The trick to equalising wear on the rear is to accelerate hard out of corners, they dont last any longer but it stops them flattening quite so badly.YMMV

And if that makes you perform a highside, wear on the top and side of the bike will also equalise.

I've been using the Road Riders for years now. Can't say what's the difference between Mk1 and Mk2.
I've never used K70, but I can say that the RRs compare favorably to K81 Dunlops.

Thanks for all your comments chaps.

I will give the Avon Road riders a go.

According to Avon the MK2 is better than the MK1 in the wet, never had an issue with the MK1 in the wet but will no object to being even better.

I/ve used Dunlop TT 100 since when they first came out on my BSA Gold Star and have found them to be really good whatever your riding style

Hi John,

I was considering the TT100 tyre but my only concern there is that they don't have the correct sizes that are standard fitment on the A65.

My only ever TT100's came on my Commando when I bought it, went in the bin 2 weeks later with loads of tread left, could not stand the following of road grooves and odd sensation going over white lines.

+1 to that , even Road riders do it a bit once they are worn, I like to change the rear once " white lining" starts. This is usually before they are properly worn , I think its the carcasse flexing about.

Hi Kev,

Firstly, you'll probably find the Roadriders to be good. Mind, I say "probably" because a motorcycle's a physical anachronism, only viable because of the human sat astride it; the rider keeps it viable based on a set of inputs interpreted by his/her brain; there just isn't any guarantee your brain will interpret every input the same as another human.

However, don't fall into the trap of thinking Roadriders are "the correct size" just because the ones you've looked at have the same numbers moulded on the sidewalls as K70's. Or that TT100's aren't "the correct size" just because you don't see ones with the same numbers moulded on the sidewalls as K70's.

Biggest problem with numbers moulded on sidewalls is they're "section widths" (and, by arcane calculation, "section heights"). How does "section width" relate to the real world? Buggered if I know, and I've been interested in the 'best' tyres for my old heaps for about forty years ...

To decide if your new 'best tyres' (Roadriders?) will actually fit your motorcycle, you need to look at "overall diameters" and "overall widths" - designers of our old heaps weren't generous with spare space around wheels.

When you look certainly on https://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com/tire-line/K70/ (click on "Explore" | click on "View Specs") and https://www.avontyres.com/en-gb/tyres/roadrider-mkii?cartype=motorcycle, you'll see K70's and Roadriders with same numbers moulded on the sidewalls are not actually the same real-world sizes at all ... particularly the widths.

When comparing, also bear in mind overall widths are based on the tyre mounted on the maker's recommended rim width for the tyre size, this will almost always be one width greater than the rims on your bike; in case you're wondering, the WM2 on the front of your bike is equivalent to 1.85, the WM3(?) on the rear of your bike is equivalent to 2.15.

Then even if, say, the 3.25 Roadrider will fit between your bike's fork legs, fatter tyres don't always make a better-handling bike - your bike is light and very low-powered compared to some of the 1980's Japanese bikes that also use V-rated tyres.

Finally here, whatever you fit, risking telling you something you know already, don't use the recommended tyre pressures in a '66 manual; modern tyres (and that applies to the K70 pressures) start at 28 psi/~2 bar front, 32 psi/~2.2/2.3 bar rear.

Hth.

Regards,