ld school choppers and bobbers are definitely hot right now, and Avon has the tires to complete that classic look. Check out the Avon Venoms on this beautiful bobber built by NYC Choppers. Looks good, doesn’t it?
      Old-school choppers and bobbers, arguably, are the hottest things going. They’re cool, they’re fun, they don’t cost a king’s ransom to build and they look great. A big part of that look, though, something often spelling the success or failure of the effort, comes with the wheel-and-tire combo. Pick the right stuff and you’ve just nailed it. Choose wrong and, oh well, you might as well park that thing in the back row. Now, it goes without saying that the wheels will be laced, the rims either plated, powder coated, satin finished or painted.      And if you can bring yourself to do it the bobber/chopper look is really best when the front brake is deleted. Nothing cleaner than a simple, unadorned spool. So that takes care of one part of the equation, the wheels. The second part, and equally important, are the tires you’re going to fit to those rims and for that you need look no further than Avon.
     Start with the front. If it’s the whitewall look you’re going for you’ll find it in the tried and true Venoms. There’s a whitewall 100/90-19, a 110/90-19 and an MH90-21 all available, and whitewalls are definitely a look to consider. Any day of the week. There are some great Venoms in the blackwall look, too. And for a really old-school blackwall look there’s that Avon Speedmaster. These ribbed fronts are right at home on a bobber or vintage-classic chopper. The Speedmasters are available in 19-inch and 21-inch diameters, in 3.25 and 3.50 sizes for the 19-in. versions and a super-skinny and oh-so-cool 3.00-21. Either way, Venom or Speedmaster, you’ve got the perfect bobber/chopper front tire. Now, what do you match it with at the rear?
     Once again flipping through the FatBook and shopping the Avon pages you’re going to find plenty to complete the look. First off, there are some great looking whitewalls in those familiar Avon Venoms. There’s a 150/80-16 and a 130/90-16 and they’re available in wide- or narrow whitewall, perfect for an old-school application. And with Venoms front and rear you’ve got more than just the whitewall look. You’ve got Avon Venoms, great tires in any application. And for a rear tire to match that Speedmaster front, if that’s the choice, the options here could begin with that old classic, the Avon SM Mk.II, sized 5.00 x 16. This is the same tire that was so popular on just about every Panhead on the road years ago, and today–with the resurgence of all those Pans, Shovels, Knucks and Flatheads–that SM Mk.II is just as correct. It’s as cool and as good looking as ever. Another blackwall option could be the Avon RoadRunner Universal. This 130/90-16 comes with a slightly more modern tread pattern (that SM Mk.II is about as old school as it gets!) but the RoadRunner Universal is also a great match with the ribbed Speedmaster. And how about a whitewall rear to go with that Speedmaster front? Try the Gangster Universal. Another 130/90-16, the Gangster’s super-wide 2 3/4-in. whitewall definitely makes the statement and the tread pattern on this one is pretty funky, to boot.
     So there it is. Blackwall or whitewall, tall, ribbed and skinny or maybe a little chunkier and lower to the ground, either way Avon has the right tires for the old-school look. Call it all the “other side of custom” because the biker world doesn’t revolve around 250s, 300s and 330s alone, not anymore. And old school or new Avon has what it takes. It’s all available through Drag Specialties, so call your rep for more info.