rom the moment it debuted in 1975, Honda’s Gold Wing set the standard for luxury-touring motorcycles. Since then, countless millions of miles have been racked up on Gold Wings, which up until recently were renowned for their smooth running and long-haul comfort, but not necessarily for their stunning performance or sporty handling.
     Then in 2000 Honda upped the ante with the GL1800. Never before had a motorcycle combined the comfort of a touring bike with the performance and handling of a sportbike. The only downside to this quantum leap in touring technology was tires, which the heavy and powerful bike ate up like a kid with Halloween candy. But now there’s a tire to match the GL1800, the Avon Venom R.
     It took Avon tire engineers two years to develop this tire. Avon’s goal was to build a superior-handling and superior-performing tire for the GL1800. Building tires is as much art as it is science, and Avon designed, built and scrapped 20 different versions before coming up with a Venom R with the right combination of performance and features to go with Honda’s maximum tourer.
     Weight has always been an issue with big touring rigs, and even though the GL1800 is lighter on its feet than its predecessors, Avon found a way to make it feel even lighter, with the Venom R’s enhanced low-speed handling. Knowing riders would make use of the bike’s 100 horsepower and 100 foot-pounds of torque, Avon concentrated on improving high-speed handling, too, using a multi-arc tread contour for light, neutral turn-in and great cornering stability.
     Because not all touring is done when the sun shines, the Venom R has superior wet-weather handling. And since ride comfort is petty much what the luxury touring class is all about, Avon engineers gave the Venom R a unique sequential tread pattern—a slightly modified version of the tread design on the ever-popular Venom series tire—for quiet running so tread noise doesn’t drown out the music of the road.
     Big bikes carry big loads, so the front Venom R is rated for a maximum load of 598, while the rear is rated at 825. That’s more than enough to handle even the largest loads commonly packed on bikes like the big Wing. Advanced casing technology results in low rolling resistance, cooler running and higher mileage.
     The new Venom R for the GL1800 comes in sizes 130/70HR18 for front applications and 180/60HR16 for rear applications. Look for the new Venom magazine ads featuring the GL1800, and stock up so you’ll be ready when your GL1800 customers come asking about them. Call your Parts Unlimited rep today.

Venom GL 1800 Front and Rear: Two years in the making, Avon’s Venom R offers great high-speed handling and excellent cornering stability, as well as the ability to handle the large loads commonly found on bikes like the Gold Wing.