Whew!
THIS one REALLY hits home with me. I just had my front Shinko P-rated 120-70-12 tire split wide open down the center. Turns out it was over 10-years old when purchased. I just replaced it with a new one
(made THIS year...). I rode it 2-years and 3,000 miles with great performance.
In the old days, I'd run anything including used 16" truck tires on Harley baggers. That was then. Things are different nowadays.
On scooters especially, tires make all the difference. I've LEARNED that... My old Xingyue 150 wore bottom-end "J" rated
(62-mph) Kenda 13" tires with a modern "slick with rain-grooves" tread. They were fine except on very slippery surfaces.
My Kymco 250 came shod with new Identical-style J-rated Kendas. J-rated is "62-mph" rated. To be blunt, on the 250 they were truly AWFUL. Even though well-balanced, they felt "weird" above 60, and pushed to 75
(which is faster than they should be ridden) they put the scoot all over the road. When slowing from say, 50, going down to 20, they would "thump" and, induce wobble.
These were the same type tires that were fine on my 230-pound 150. On the 350-pound 250 however, they were almost dangerous.
I wanted whitewalls, AND definitely wanted "P"rated (92-mph) quality tires. I found
ONLY Shinko offered a P-rated whitewall in 120-70-12 for my front. The companion REAR Shinko comes
only in 130-70-12...
NOBODY makes a 140-70-12 whitewall for the rear... My dealer was kind enough to check with some tire gurus as to what REAR tire would be best to PAINT a whitewall on, and mix with the Shinko. Consensus was the Michelin Power Pure. This
IS mixing a modern slick tread-style radial with a vintage street-tread bias-ply tire.
Sounds like a bad idea, but the combo works marvelously, just as the tire expert predicted.
So... the whitewall Shinko went on the front, and the Power Pure with PAINTED whitewall went on the rear. Both P-rated tires performed beautifully with no weirdness or shimmy/wobble at ANY speed. I THOROUGHLY tested them by locking the brakes on both dry and wet pavement, the "oily" center of the lane, and on dirt and gravel... sliding sideways and recovering... I also with a long downhill freeway stretch AND a 30-mph tailwind got the mouse's speedo to 99-mph
(An actual 96). Not recommended, but... I had to be SURE the radial/bias and different tread mix truly WAS safe, and pleasant to ride.
It was!Both performed well, with the old-school street-tread "Vespa-style" Shinko being better on poor-traction surfaces and the "slick with rain-grooves" Michelin being better on dry pavement. I have to admit it was fun smoking the Michelin on a rainy road... Only 20 ponies, but she'd really break loose... LOL!
When you're an old Hog guy and ya got saddlebags, fishtail exhaust and light-up goose on the nose, ya just gotta have wide-whites... Oh, YEAH!For the 99% of riders who wouldn't even WANT whitewalls, modern tread tires like the Michelin
(or Avon, Pirelli and similar major speed-rated makes) all provide good, smooth general performance. But even with ideal tires, air-pressure is a big factor.
My lightweight Xingyue on Kendas handled best at about 30 pounds pressure.The Kymco handles best with around 32 pounds in the rear Michelin and 36-38 pounds in the front Shinko. BOTH tires hold air longer than the Kendas did. Only need air every 60 days or so.
And as mentioned, some
(like my Michelin) are softer and stickier, but wear faster. And, Some are harder
(like my Shinko) and wear slower. Stickier offers more traction, harder offers longer wear. If you ride hard, and have contempt for chicken-strips, go softer and buy 'em more often... Daily-drivers will like long-lasting hard tire compounds...
Yup!
I must note that Shinko tires of this 1950's vintage tread-style are not generally considered "high-end" meats for fast running. My original Shinko failure however is surely due to its age
(my fault for not checking...). It's performance was VERY good until it split open. And, to its credit, the steel belts and inner construction kept it from blowing, and losing air.
I discovered the 8" x 1/2" split AFTER returning from an 80-mph freeway romp. I'll keep EXTRA-close watch over the replacement, but I don't expect it to give any trouble. In general, I think Shinko tires are quite good.
What Ungabunga posted here IS good advice. Especially with smaller scooter tires, you need to do your homework and get quality tires meant for your scooter's weight and speed capabilities.
Personally, I agree with putting higher-speed rated tires even on a 150. They don't cost much more, and, they just ride and handle noticeably better, even at low speed.
Definitely worth the few extra bucks!Just my 2-cents worth...Ride safe...
AND, the right TIRES help you do just that!Leo in Texas
