LA_Dog
Go Fast, Go Faster
Had to swap out tires on the Dog so figured I would post this info for other Pro Sport owners- The previous owner of my bike had a Dunlop D404 on the rear (150/80 B16, bias ply) and a Dunlop Elite 3 120/70 R21 (radial!) on the front. Bad match up (mixing bias rear with a radial front) and the rear D404 is nowhere near load rated heavy enough, and it is clearly too narrow for the 5" rim.
Anyway- I spoke with Avon tech support, a fellow rider named Dana, very helpful and knows our Dogs. Avons were OEM fitments for most of the BDM bikes from 2000 onwards. Spec for the Pro Sport rear is an Avon Venom AM42 160/80 B16. If you have the stock 18" front wheel, the matching front is the AM41 90/90 18, or the Cobra AV41 90/90 18. I'm running a 21" x 3.5" front so I put on a Cobra AV41 120/70 21. All mentioned tires are non-radial, bias play reinforced. Rubber is really sticky, tread design and profile is very nice. Contact info: www.avonmoto.com (800) 624-7470 > Option 5, ask for Dana
Rear tire fits NICE!!! See pics- I got maybe 3/16" to 1/4" gap between tire and belt. Side profile of tire is excellent for the 5" wheel.
I tell you though, mounting the 160 Avon on the 5" wheel was a challenge! The inner carcass of the Avon is a bit narrow due to how the belting is pushing inwards on the sidewalls. So when you get the tire it looks like a pinched doughnut. I put it on the rim no problem, but, I could not get it to sit outwards against both rim shoulders to inflate it. What I did is this, worked perfect:
NOTE: Before you mount your tire or proceed with the below, sure to spray the beads of tire with some WD40 or other simple non greasy lube. I use a teflon dry lube spray, since I'm using Dyna Beads I don't want any wet lube residue inside the rim. Dry lube works great.
Also spray some lube on a shop towel and wipe the metal shoulders of inner rim and the upper beads of rim. make sure the rim beads are CLEAN and free of any old rubber. Carb spray on a shop towel takes that old rubber off real nice. NO WINDEX for "tire lube" unless you want to spend the next hour cleaning tan / gray discoloration spots off your nice billet wheels (you have been warned)!
Get a 1" wide ratchet tie down strap. Lay rear wheel on side, pulley side down, with the tire mounted on wheel. You want to first put down a couple of 4x4 pieces with a soft cloth on top, one 4x4 on each side under wheel edges, to keep the pulley off the ground and give you a stable platform. If you don't have 4x4 pieces, doubling up some 2x4 pieces will work too.
Now wrap the ratcheting tie strap around the outside of tire circumference - make sure strap is centered on the tire tread all the way around. make sure the tire is centered best as possible in the wheel. Now ratchet that strap down until the center tread of tire starts to compress inward and the sidewalls will flex outward to touch the rim bead shoulders- you don't need much ratcheting and this is super easy / safe.
Here is an example photo of how the ratchet strap is placed onto the tire:
Now hit the tire valve with compressed air and viola! baby will pump right up, beads pop on, all good. NOTE! loosen ratchet immediately after the tire starts to fill but before beads seat - do NOT leave tie strap tight and pop on the beads, you risk messing up the tire. You're only using the ratchet strap to get the air seal going, so as soon as the tire catches air and starts expanding, stop filling and loosen / remove the tie strap. Then keep filling till "pop" of bead set. If it does not start filling / you hear air leaking by instead, ratchet it down some more. You should be using a good compressed air source with a tank, so you have some pressure to seat the tire. I use a 1.5 gal small portable compressor and it holds up to 140psi. I usually only fill the tank to 80 psi. NEVER fill the tire to more than 50 psi or so to seat the bead.
Fill to 50 psi, let air out, add dyna beads, refill to your preferred psi, done!
Anyway- I spoke with Avon tech support, a fellow rider named Dana, very helpful and knows our Dogs. Avons were OEM fitments for most of the BDM bikes from 2000 onwards. Spec for the Pro Sport rear is an Avon Venom AM42 160/80 B16. If you have the stock 18" front wheel, the matching front is the AM41 90/90 18, or the Cobra AV41 90/90 18. I'm running a 21" x 3.5" front so I put on a Cobra AV41 120/70 21. All mentioned tires are non-radial, bias play reinforced. Rubber is really sticky, tread design and profile is very nice. Contact info: www.avonmoto.com (800) 624-7470 > Option 5, ask for Dana
Rear tire fits NICE!!! See pics- I got maybe 3/16" to 1/4" gap between tire and belt. Side profile of tire is excellent for the 5" wheel.
I tell you though, mounting the 160 Avon on the 5" wheel was a challenge! The inner carcass of the Avon is a bit narrow due to how the belting is pushing inwards on the sidewalls. So when you get the tire it looks like a pinched doughnut. I put it on the rim no problem, but, I could not get it to sit outwards against both rim shoulders to inflate it. What I did is this, worked perfect:
NOTE: Before you mount your tire or proceed with the below, sure to spray the beads of tire with some WD40 or other simple non greasy lube. I use a teflon dry lube spray, since I'm using Dyna Beads I don't want any wet lube residue inside the rim. Dry lube works great.
Also spray some lube on a shop towel and wipe the metal shoulders of inner rim and the upper beads of rim. make sure the rim beads are CLEAN and free of any old rubber. Carb spray on a shop towel takes that old rubber off real nice. NO WINDEX for "tire lube" unless you want to spend the next hour cleaning tan / gray discoloration spots off your nice billet wheels (you have been warned)!
Get a 1" wide ratchet tie down strap. Lay rear wheel on side, pulley side down, with the tire mounted on wheel. You want to first put down a couple of 4x4 pieces with a soft cloth on top, one 4x4 on each side under wheel edges, to keep the pulley off the ground and give you a stable platform. If you don't have 4x4 pieces, doubling up some 2x4 pieces will work too.
Now wrap the ratcheting tie strap around the outside of tire circumference - make sure strap is centered on the tire tread all the way around. make sure the tire is centered best as possible in the wheel. Now ratchet that strap down until the center tread of tire starts to compress inward and the sidewalls will flex outward to touch the rim bead shoulders- you don't need much ratcheting and this is super easy / safe.
Here is an example photo of how the ratchet strap is placed onto the tire:
Now hit the tire valve with compressed air and viola! baby will pump right up, beads pop on, all good. NOTE! loosen ratchet immediately after the tire starts to fill but before beads seat - do NOT leave tie strap tight and pop on the beads, you risk messing up the tire. You're only using the ratchet strap to get the air seal going, so as soon as the tire catches air and starts expanding, stop filling and loosen / remove the tie strap. Then keep filling till "pop" of bead set. If it does not start filling / you hear air leaking by instead, ratchet it down some more. You should be using a good compressed air source with a tank, so you have some pressure to seat the tire. I use a 1.5 gal small portable compressor and it holds up to 140psi. I usually only fill the tank to 80 psi. NEVER fill the tire to more than 50 psi or so to seat the bead.
Fill to 50 psi, let air out, add dyna beads, refill to your preferred psi, done!
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