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Post by xyshannen on Oct 2, 2014 16:52:50 GMT -5
I agree that road condition and driving style has to be the reason behind so many wearing out tries so fast. My Lance now with over 2500 miles still has the original tires and the tread still looks new. I'm about to get new ones because I want white wall p rated tires. Not to mention my rear tire has actual dry rot splits on the side walls. I'm going with a Shinko SR723 Series Tire - Front/Rear - 120/70-10 on my 3.5 10" rim so I have a little more tire height and a lower RPM cruising speed. Not to mention a lil more top end.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 3, 2014 13:49:14 GMT -5
Xyshannen,
Since I recently upgraded to P-rated tires (and wanting whitewalls) I figured you might want a "test-report" on the Shinko SR723 P-rated whitewall...For my old Kymco, using a 120-70-12 up FRONT, the Shinko was about the only P-rated whitewall available. Sadly, for the REAR... a 140-70-12, there is NO factory whitewall. THAT is another story... I absolutely CANNOT recommend painting a whitewall... LOL! Too much hassle. Back to the Shinko... It's GREAT! It is SO far superior to the Kenda J-rated tires. No shimmy, no wobble, no "rock-hard" ride, and smooth as silk up to my max-speed of about 80mph. Looks GREAT too! As a side note, in my "quest" for whitewalls, my dealer was so kind as to actually research with tire manufacturers to see what "mix" would work best together, considering I would be needing another brand tire for the rear, to do a painted whitewall. The consensus was the Michelin "Power Pure". This made a mix of the Shinko old-time-tread, bias-ply up front, and the Michelin modern, performance-tread radial at the rear. Some will argue not to mix radials and bias-plies, but... Doggone if the tire guys weren't right! You don't much visually notice the totally different tread-patterns, and the ride, performance and handling is absolutely MARVELOUS! The overall "feel" is nearly identical to the old Harley big-twins of my youth. VERY satisfying, safe and solid at all speeds. Now, if only Shinko would bump up their "rear" 12-incher from their current 130-70-12 to my required 140-70-12... Oh well, you won't have THAT problem. You can find your Shinko wide-whites for BOTH ends of your scoot! That being said, I've now got around 700 happy miles on my front Shinko SR723 whitewall, on my 360 pound scoot... And I couldn't be more pleased! And, even on a scooter that tops out around 60mph, I highly recommend spending the few bucks extra for P-rated meats... They just handle better, period. And I have a strong suspicion that they'll last longer, too! Those wide-whites will TOTALLY transform the look of your already sharp scoot. ENJOY!  Ride safe, Leo
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Post by peaceful on Oct 3, 2014 14:04:12 GMT -5
Chip sealed roads as mentioned above might explain the huge difference. No chip sealed roads near me but a search of the Internet says chip seal can wear out your tires twice as fast or even faster. Just think about skin on chip seal. Very rough. We have a lot of that in our neck of the woods |
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Post by xyshannen on Oct 4, 2014 7:24:10 GMT -5
Thanks Leo!!! That helps soo much brother. Yep the reason I want P rated isn't that I plan on going 70+ but that like with all my auto's is that a tire rated at the max speed or close to what you want to travel isn't as good as one rated to go 30-40 mph over your normal travel speed. Room too spare is a good thing when you consider what actually happens to a tire when it goes out from excessive speeds. It's bad in a 4 wheeler, and on a 2 wheeler it could mean death. And I totally agree that white walls would look sweet on my scoot. Kinda makes ya wonder why they didn't just put them on from the factory. Would have totally helped sales that's for sure. Placing my order today!  edit: That helpful info on the Shinko's got a bone my friend.. |
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Post by katastroff on Oct 4, 2014 9:47:16 GMT -5
I am running a tire experiment on my Reflex. I thought this might be of interest to others. When I bought the Reflex they put a Bridgestone tire on the back (the front was still useable). It lasted 'til I got back from my trip in 2013 to Arkie land. That was about 7000 total miles on the rear tire. At that point I bought a pair of Shinko tires and changed both. (Unlike the clones the Reflex runs 120/70/13 in front and 130/ 70/12 in the rear). The rear Shinko was gone in 4000 (front is still good for quite a while yet). While we were near Riverside CA I ran over to Chaparral Motor Sports and picked up a Michelin Booper, that lasted 4000. Next I bought another Shinko (different series) and at 1250 miles is was going fast, I could have probably safely run it another 500 miles or so. Somewhere I saw a post by someone who reported that he and some friends has run a 145R12 auto tire on the rear with good results. That is the size used on the early Geo Metros (really great cars). They are hard to find but I located one on line and ordered it. Since we were in PA visiting our son and will be here longer than we are in many places I went ahead and installed that tire so if it was unsatisfactory I could get something else and change again. I have put more than 300 miles on it and so far really like it. I was unsure how it would handle on hard corners but so far I can see no difference on that. It is about 10% more circumference so it makes that much difference and slows the engine down considerable which is great for cruising. I have been riding through the hills of PA and eastern OH pushing it hard on corners to be sure the all weather tread pattern is going to hold when leaning hard. Dry road, wet road, and during hard rain plus 50 miles of 70 MPH interstate. I like it plus it seems to have raised my gas mileage noticeably. As the miles mount up I will post updates here on this thread. I don't know of any other brand or model that this could be done on. Skyrider PS: The tires on my Jonway YY250T was about the same. 2000 on original and 4000 on subsequent rear tires. Pictures? Please please pretty please?  |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 4, 2014 13:03:38 GMT -5
Thanks Leo!!! That helps soo much brother. Yep the reason I want P rated isn't that I plan on going 70+ but that like with all my auto's is that a tire rated at the max speed or close to what you want to travel isn't as good as one rated to go 30-40 mph over your normal travel speed. Room too spare is a good thing when you consider what actually happens to a tire when it goes out from excessive speeds. It's bad in a 4 wheeler, and on a 2 wheeler it could mean death. And I totally agree that white walls would look sweet on my scoot. Kinda makes ya wonder why they didn't just put them on from the factory. Would have totally helped sales that's for sure. Placing my order today! edit: That helpful info on the Shinko's got a bone my friend.. You're MOST welcome!
Since you're using the same tire as mine, I figured it would be good to let you know it's worked well for me. Tires seem to have a MAJOR impact on handling of these smallish vehicles. Although, I'm not sure just how much difference one brand may make over another... My old Xingyue 150 came with bottom-end Kendas, yet it rode and handled beautifully at all speeds. And with 7 years and 4,500 miles on them, they were still like new... no dry-rot, no noticeable tread-wear. Amazing!
My Kymco had brand-new similar Kendas on it, but they were not great at all on the 250. They rode HARD... like steel-rim buggy wheels... LOL! When going through different speeds (around 20, 40 and again at 60mph) as well as when slowing back down, they would "thump"... a LOT... as if they were badly out-of-balance, but they were well-balanced. Also, while slowing down through 10-15mph, they'd induce a slight wobble. VERY irritating... I always attributed the wobble to flex in the step-through frame, but it's GONE with the new tires, so it seems the tires CAN at least aggravate the "step-through" problem.
The combination of the Shinko up front, and the Michelin out back ride VERY much like a mid-sized to large road-motorcycle. I'd say there was at least a 50% improvement in overall riding satisfaction over the J-rated Kendas. That is a LOT of difference!
I realize my scooter is a hundred pounds heavier than the 150, and I often ride at 70mph+ but that is STILL a lot of difference... Like going from a Yugo to a Lexus... lOL!
Those Shinko wide-whites look SO Italian, tread and all, that you're going to love 'em on your ride! With that candy-red, tan leather and such, even the Vespa guyz will be taking notice! SWEET!
Enjoy!
Leo
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Post by xyshannen on Oct 4, 2014 16:24:01 GMT -5
Yeah I can't really say anything good about my tires except the fact that over 2k miles and no noticeable tread wear. They rider hard as a rock. The prev owner kept them at around 6 psi ("cause it makes it ride smoother") and with the factory rear shock being junk and my big ol bum sitting on it, when I hit a bump at 30PSI I feel it shoot up my tail bone. Then there is the issue that wile on some road surfaces, like new black top, the road actually feels like it's floating out from under me. Not something I enjoy! So hopefully these new tires will be the ticket..a new rear shock will help to but thats down the road. This month we are working on getting to 60MPH faster and safer.
BTW, I just love reading your posts. You really have a know how with the written word.
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Post by skyrider on Oct 4, 2014 22:39:06 GMT -5
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 5, 2014 1:13:33 GMT -5
NICE! And being "automotive" grade, it should last forever... Looks really good, too. Great pix! Say, is THAT a MECHANICAL disk-brake there? Pretty good idea...
The square-shoulder tread may lose you a teensy bit of traction around corners, but as soon as it rounds off a little, it will be fine. Back in the day, I rode 16" truck-tires on my old Harleys with no problems.
Stay safe,
Leo in Texas
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Post by bandito2 on Oct 5, 2014 1:37:51 GMT -5
That tire without the aspect ratio specified, is actually closer to being a 145/80R12 than a 145/70R12. The 145/80 is only slightly taller than the 145/70R12 but still should work just fine... and may be even better for fuel economy. The Federal SS-657 145/70R12 (which is closer to the stock scooter diameter) can be found at: www.tires-easy.comSame price as the Yokohama Y732 |
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Post by katastroff on Oct 5, 2014 8:15:58 GMT -5
skyrider Thx!!!! I'm gonna look into this for my build. 
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Post by skyrider on Oct 5, 2014 13:37:58 GMT -5
Leo, from the day I installed that tire I pushed it hard on corners (we were in greater Pittsburg area where there are a lot of really crooked roads and then in eastern Ohio, same kind of roads. ) Perfect road holding all of the way. I even purposely hit some narrow spots where rain washed sand onto the road in corners. Front wheel slipped but rear did not.
In my opinion those who speak out against it have never tried it.
It is hard for me to believe that none of the B & M tire stores could even order that size and I talked to a lot of them as we traveled across the US. Big O, Discount, etc.
The mechanical disk brake is a parking brake that make a very effective brake in case of hydraulic failure. The rear brake handle operates the rear single piston brake and one of the three front pistons together, the front lever operates the other two front pistons
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Post by oldchopperguy on Oct 5, 2014 21:25:31 GMT -5
Leo, from the day I installed that tire I pushed it hard on corners (we were in greater Pittsburg area where there are a lot of really crooked roads and then in eastern Ohio, same kind of roads. ) Perfect road holding all of the way. I even purposely hit some narrow spots where rain washed sand onto the road in corners. Front wheel slipped but rear did not. In my opinion those who speak out against it have never tried it. It is hard for me to believe that none of the B & M tire stores could even order that size and I talked to a lot of them as we traveled across the US. Big O, Discount, etc. The mechanical disk brake is a parking brake that make a very effective brake in case of hydraulic failure. The rear brake handle operates the rear single piston brake and one of the three front pistons together, the front lever operates the other two front pistons Skyrider,
VERY interesting! My old Kymco also uses the hydraulic "mix" to both wheels on the left lever. I like it! The parking brake is really a good thing though. I use a short bungee-cord around one of the brake levers on a steep hill... LOL! It works fine, but it's a little crude...
I think some of the new BMW "Minnie" cars use that same size 12" tire, so they should be available... But if they're listed for the Minnie, they're going to be overpriced. But at least they should be available for a long time!
When I was young, we often used 16" truck tires on our 16" Harley wheels (because 16" car tires just weren't around back then). They always worked fine. Sometimes people get too concerned about the little things, and miss out on some great old-timey answers to simple problems...
Ride safe, and enjoy!
Leo
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Post by skyrider on Oct 6, 2014 12:50:54 GMT -5
Leo, I guess you and are just rednecks.
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Post by xyshannen on Oct 6, 2014 12:58:30 GMT -5
Leo, I guess you and are just rednecks. Now squeal like a pig! |
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