The origin of the Gangster Whitewall

When Harley Davidson was starting to build up sales momentum in the 1980’s there was also an increased interest in nostalgia.

I was prompted by a friend, who was an Indian collector and enthusiast, to see if Avon would consider building an H speed rated whitewall tire. At the time the only wide whitewall motorcycle tire was made by the Coker Tire Company.  They were marketed toward machines that were mainly for display. Goodyear had long ceased production of their whitewall, which had been a favorite of the Harley crowd.

 I asked the Export manager at Avon if they would build such a tire, and I wanted it based on Avon’s old style Roadrunner Universal. This way only one tire would be needed as it could be used on both front and rear applications.  Every time I asked he would tell me how difficult it was to make as the entire production for whitewalls would have to be done differently.

Normally, in the automotive world, when a whitewall is being built they lay down a strip of white rubber on the sidewall then cover it with a layer of black rubber on top. After the tire is pressed (molded) they buff down through the black to the white layer. The problem with an H speed rated motorcycle tire is the side walls are too short and by the time all the necessary legal information is printed on the side, there is no room for a whitewall to buff down to it. 

As a result the Gangster is made with the whitewall having all the lettering in the white. Therefore the tire goes through the factory after it is built, with the white exposed to all types of contamination and any contaminated tires need to be scrapped, increasing the cost.  It took me 4 YEARS of hounding them to get it built.

When we launched the tire it was an immediate success and we were behind 2-3,000 tires for over two years. All of these tires were to come to the US only. In England they put a set on a bike and went out to take photos and when they rode it back to the factory a guy was following them and would not leave until they sold him the tires off the bike. The crazy thing was we were selling tires back to England and France and they were being sent by air.

One time when I was at Harley’s headquarters in Milwaukee they said to me if Avon ever came up with any unique concept they would consider buying tires from Avon.  Here is where the fool in me comes out. I was at Harley on another issue and pulled a Gangster whitewall section out of my bag to ask them what they thought. There was immediate enthusiasm and then they got very subdued saying they would need to consult the design department. Don’t know what I was thinking because as soon as I was out the door I know they called Dunlop and asked for a wide whitewall. The good news was it took Dunlop two years to get it to market which gave Avon two years with no competition.

What was interesting was the Dunlop was technically illegal. They chose the buff down method and the lettering was too small. When the Department of Transportation was notified their response was: “You are contacting us about a labeling infraction? We do not have the time or resources to enforce this problem, but don’t you do it.”

After about four years into production we got a consumer letter condemning the use of the name ‘Gangster’ saying we were hurting motorcycling’s image. Some how I think they missed the concept that this was a nostalgia thing that had the look of the car tires of the 1920’s when gangsters were in their heyday.

So there you have it.  Max’s tale of how the Avon “Gangster” came into play!  The Avon Gangster tyre is still available.  See www.avonmoto.com for a dealer nearest you!!

Have you ever wondered where the “Fat Freddie” Tire came From?  In this feature, Max Martin recalls about the inspiration and commencement of the Avon “Fat Freddie” Tire, also known as the start of the Wide Tire Craze!

If you have ever been to a custom bike show, rally or anywhere that custom Harley-Davidsons gather, you have no doubt seen the oversize or fat rear tired monsters. This is the story of how the oversized tire came about. Now you may be thinking that some marketing genius in a corner office behind a fancy desk dreamed it up.  Or that a bunch of marketing guys in a big conference room around a walnut table had a brain storming session. That might be the way some products come into existence, but that is not how the first oversized tire came to be.

When Dealer Expo used to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, there was as much business done in the bar as in the convention center.  I happened to be standing and talking with two well-known custom bike builders. Donnie Smith and Dave Perewitz, as well as the late Gene Koch who was a Drag Specialties sales rep. I asked Donnie if he could have any tire built for him, what he would want. I actually knew he was going to ask for a very large ‘Drag Race’ size tire but I asked anyway. He said “I want the largest tire you can make”. I told him I did not think that was what he really wanted because Avon at that time made some industrial applications that were quite large. The thing I found interesting was he wanted a 16” tire because the east coast roads were poor and the additional sidewall flex would help the ride. I knew the west coast look would have been for a low profile 18”

.

So my next job was to determine exactly how wide we could go.  I started doing some research and determined the widest tire that would fit a stock HD frame without cutting the frame rails could be 8” wide. You would still have to offset the motor and make everything else yourself. Now I had to convince the factory in England to make it. This was in the days where everything was done by fax. I sent a fax to the UK saying I wanted them to build a 200/60H16. It went kind of like this:

UK: What is the application?

US: Nothing. It is for custom Harleys

UK: Is there a wheel for it? Will it fit? What do you have to do to put it on?

US: There is one rim available. You either have to use a custom frame (one available) or cut the back half of your stock Harley Davidson off and make everything else yourself.

UK: What will the front tire be?

US: Either a 90/90H21 or 90/90H19

UK: Wait a minute. You want us to build a tire that fits nothing, you have to cut you bike in half to put it on and you are going to put a little skinny little tire on the front?  Are you out of you mind?

US: Yes…trust me on this.

AM23 "Fat Freddie" 200/60B16

As they say the rest is history.

Honestly I never thought it would grow into what it is today. The 230 tire came next, and is still in production today.  This also started an entire trend and Hot Bike magazine awarded Avon Tyres the ‘1992 Innovative Product of the Year’.  In the 2000’s came the Venom 250, 300, and even the 330. 

Next I’ll tell you the story behind the Avon Gangster Tire.  

Harley's Sport Bike

While working for Avon Tyres, it had put me in contact with some really great people and some interesting situations. Prior to the development of the European Economic Community, the German government had a TUV standard that tires had to pass; today it is the ECE75.  This was because of the high speeds that could be obtained and sustained on the Autobahn. 

In Europe, the motorcycle manufacturers also recommended specific tires for replacement on each model. Therefore, every year the bike and tire manufacturers would get together to test tires. Harley was just starting to sell quite a few more bikes in Europe and at Avon we were having clearance problems with some model tires rubbing on certain model Harleys.

All the tire manufactures made tires in compliance with the ETRTO (European Tire and Rim Technical Organization) which gave the industry some standards for both the tires and the motorcycle manufacturers. However Harley was not going by the rules for the “tire envelope” and parts of the bike were contacting the tires.  Harley had a meeting Milwaukee to discuss this problem. 

So there I was, sitting in this very fancy  meeting room waiting for some of the engineers and the first thing I noticed was that there was a noise coming from the floor above us that sounded like someone was moving boulders around on steel wheeled carts. One of the guys said it was the engine painting department.  He went on to say that the EPA wanted to shut them down but they were “grandfathered in’. I was anticipating someone falling through the ceiling during our upcoming meeting!.

The same guy then says to me, before the meeting started, “What do you ride?”.  I responded “I ride a sportbike’.  At the time I was riding a new Honda CBR600F2 but did not disclose what I owned.  He then responded “Oh, we have a Sportbike!”  

I was familiar with their line of bikes and it was before they owned Buell so I am sitting there running down the list in my mind and not coming up with anything and he adds…..”The Sportster”.           “Oh right” I responded.

One needs sometimes to look back on history because there was a day when the Sportster came out that it was the fastest thing on the street. But times have changed - but the Sportster?  Not too much.

Sportster Then

Sportster Now

Stay tuned for information about "The Britten"!!

And, don't forget, you can know look up your Ventura Motorcycle Dealer on a Map online at www.ventura-mca.com!  Until next time!

Dave Leach, Four Time Isle of Mann TT Winner

Dave Leach with the famous Yellow with Red Polka Dot Helmet!

  

On my first trip to the Isle of Man in 1990, I met Dave Leach, a racer riding for FM Yamaha and shod with Avon tires.  He was a three time TT winner, with his first race win in 1988 on a Padgetts FZ1000 0W01. In 1990 he was riding a FZR400 RRSP, which is kind of a baby 0W01.

Standing at the starting line I was talking to Dave and told him we did not have that Yamaha in the States. He said to me “You can buy this one in about an hour and a half”. So during the entire race I was thinking “do I really want to buy this thing?” I didn’t think I could get a license for it in the States; I don’t race and I cannot afford to buy it and just put it in my garage. After the race, which Dave had won (his Fourth win); he asked if I wanted it.  I said no.  I guess some guy from Japan bought it and had them crate it up, with the bugs still all over the front of it and send it to Japan.  Dave also took a 3^rd in the Senior Class, a 5^th in Formula 1, and 10^th in the Junior Race.  Unfortunately his bike broke down while leading the Supersport 600 race.  But that’s just racing!

Later he asked if I wanted to go to the awards banquet, and since I had a ticket and he had won I thought it might be cool. We show up and Dave says we should sit in the back.  In my mind I’m thinking ‘you’re one of the heroes, we should be up front’.  After we sat down they start by saying “Finishing 20^th in the 125cc class is…” With that we left and snuck down to the bar for about an hour, and then came back to get his trophy. 

IOM TT Trophy

I might add they are one of the classiest trophies around.

The next year Dave came to us to race a 750 at the Daytona 200.  It’s my turn to show him around.  I took him to the short track races, to which he thoroughly enjoyed. While we were at the stadium we ran into some of the staff from the Speedway.  They invited us up to the top level, where the announcer sits.  They interview Dave during one of the breaks and asked him if he liked dirt track to which he responded that he would give it a go if they had it in the UK, as it looked like fun!  Then they asked him about racing at the Speedway. He said “It is a little scary going 170mph right next to the wall.”  Now I am thinking to myself, here is a guy that rides 100 mph on very narrow country roads with light poles, houses, and stone walls everywhere, and he thinks Daytona is “a little scary”. 

The terrible part of this story is in 1992 Dave was racing at an Irish road race and crashed in the rain.  He came off the bike and ended up straddling a tree at probably 60mph (ouch!). It almost killed him.  But it did shorten him by I think he said a little over a ½ inch. Two years later he was at Daytona getting around with two canes and informed me all the ‘important parts’ worked fine.  

In 1995 he made a return to racing the Isle of Mann TT, which at the end of the 1997 season (after sitting out 1996) he hung up his leathers for good.  Here’s a video link of Dave in Practice in Ireland in 1995 (watch for that helmet!!)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuDMYUUqB0s

I guess scary is a relative term.  

Dave Leach at IOM Parade of Champions

The Surprised Brit

One of the great things about the motorcycle industry is meeting a lot of really great people.  And you get to do things with motorcycles all the time and call it ‘work’.

I have been going to Monterey, California to attend the races at Laguna Seca Raceway since the mid ‘60s, when I was in high school. Back then it was with SCCA and the Can-Am car series, and I was part of the crash crew (but that will be another story). I started attending the AMA National roadraces in the mid ‘80s then it was World Superbike, followed by the 500cc GP races, and now the MotoGP. The second year of the 500 GP they ran side cars with the bikes and it was quite wild as several flipped in the cork screw!  

Trackmaster Triumph

Since Avon Tyres dominated the side car races, three of the guys from Avon Racing UK came to the States. For one of the lads, Andy, it was his first trip to the States.  So we decided to show the boys a good time.  I let Andy ride the bike I brought down, an ex-dirt tracker, the Trackmaster Triumph, and he acted like he was Scott Parker or somebody.  

The racing went very well for Avon and the team of Steve Webster and Tony Hewett won.  Steve is the only man to win 10 FIM World Sidecar Championships. The team is most probably known for their spectacular crash at the Dutch GP in 1985; here’s the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_DZ1SXEoQ .

Steve Webster and Tony Stewart, Laguna Seca

Left to Right:  Nick Ienatsch, myself, Steve, and Tony, and the passerby

That night all the lads from the UK and I were out for a victory drink at what is now know as Sly McFly’s.  I had noticed this “young lady” (I am going to be nice and say in her 30’s) who was probably a regular at the place, flirting with all the guys at one side of the bar. On my way back from the restroom she and I came face to face and I asked her “Would you be up for some fun?” I explained I had this Brit friend with me (I pointed him out) and it was his first trip to the States and he would be over the moon if he got a little attention from a California girl, maybe even a little kiss on the cheek. I never would have asked her, but I had a feeling she was the kind of gal that would be up for that sort of thing. Now Andy and I are sitting in the front corner of the place with a window behind us.  On our left I saw her coming back from the restroom.  Then she turns at the door, goes outside past our window and disappears.

Then the Avon lads sitting across the table from Andy and I get a very startled look on their face. Moments later she reappears and proceeds to sit on Andy’s lap. To say he was surprised would be an understatement!  Andy has a tendency to talk the talk, but not necessarily walk the walk. She gets him to turn his chair so she can straddle him. She has her arms around his neck and is giving him all her attention and he has not spoken a word and is beet red.  The more dumfounded he gets, the more she pours it on!.  She is really eating it up and the next thing I know she grabs her shirt and flashes him. I thought Andy was going to pass out! She soon departed and I don’t know how long it was before Andy took a breath. The reason the boys across the table were in shock was when she went out earlier, she flashed them through the window behind our backs.  Welcome to California Andy!!