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Post by carvets on Dec 15, 2016 20:20:18 GMT -5
I have the above mentioned scooter and it has the original Chinese ( Cheng Shin ) tyres ( i am from down under you see hence the spelling ) on it. Thats an 80/80/16 on the front and a 100/80-16 on the back. But trying to find a rear tyre here in Oz has been very difficult. My local bike shop said the only tyres he can access are a Pirelli front 80/80 and another Pirelli front 100/80 . He said although they have different tread patterns , it would basically work putting the larger front on the back wheel. I have looked on the net and cannot find a back tyre to fit my scoot. Another scooter dealer / mechanic said he has had the same problem with some of the Sym scooters. Sourcing tryes has proved to be difficult and sometimes some ad libbing has had to be done.
So my question is has anyone had to do this with their scoot and will it make much difference. I spoke to the local Ducati dealer this morning and he also had trouble finding a rear the size i want. He suggested looking for a 110/80-16 rear . He did say putting a front tyre on the rear was possible , schooled me on how the rubber is layered on the tyre etc and that the tyre has to be fitted in the opposite direction etc , but said that it was possible to do without to much drama and loss of riding enjoyment. Any ideas ?
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 15, 2016 22:10:11 GMT -5
Carvets,
Welcome to the site!I ride a Kymco Grandvista 250 which uses much different size tires (120-70-12 front, and 140-70-12 rear) so my experience isn't comparable to yours... But, after riding big bikes for 50 years, I honestly did not know there were "front" and "rear" versions of tires. I guess it makes sense with the incredible performance of superbikes today...
I suppose a dedicated front tire might be designed only for stopping stress, and a dedicated rear tire might be designed for stopping AND accelerating, but on a sub-400 pound scooter with 10hp I can't imagine any problem using a "front" tire on the rear. There's just not that much stress under acceleration.
I looked on eBay, and found some 100-80-16 tires, some "front" but some "universal". Shipping to Australia might be expensive, but worth it. For the record, because I really want whitewalls, my Kymco wears a mix of tires that most people wouldn't recommend, but they perform marvelously up to max speed of about  -mph. My front is a Shinko 120-70-12 "P" rated (92-mph) whitewall bias-ply and the rear is a Michelin 140-70-12 Power Pure radial, with a whitewall painted on... Yeah, sounds ridiculous, but nobody makes a whitewall to fit the rear. My dealer researched what would be the best rear tire to use with the Shinko front, and the tire distributor recommended the Michelin. I can't argue: it rides great! The mix of brands and radial and bias-ply tires with RADICALLY different tread-patterns has caused NO handling problems at all, dry, wet, dirt, pavement, etc. The scoot rides great at any speed. These scoots are not 200-mph crotch-rockets, and I think sometimes we tend to get too "technical" with bits and pieces that work fine on 300-pound scooters that don't exceed  -mph. Just me... I did find that the "P" rated (92-mph) tires handle noticeably better at all speeds, even slow in-city than "J" rated (62-mph) tires. Enough so that I'd even put them on a slower scoot for the improved handling. Any members out there with more scooter tire expertise, PLEASE chime in to help our new member from Down Under.
Ride safe!Leo in Texas
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Post by carvets on Dec 15, 2016 23:09:47 GMT -5
Thanks for that input . The Ducati guy said much the same as you which was that these are scooters not high performance racing bikes , so i guess lowering my expectations on what results a tyre might give me might be a good place to start. Seems Kymcos are much more popular in The US than here in Oz. Its hard even finding parts , i had to go to the UK just to get an air filter. I have rego due in Feb so i still have some time to find an appropriate tyre/tire . Thanks again.
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Post by rockynv on Dec 15, 2016 23:43:42 GMT -5
Thanks for that input . The Ducati guy said much the same as you which was that these are scooters not high performance racing bikes , so i guess lowering my expectations on what results a tyre might give me might be a good place to start. Seems Kymcos are much more popular in The US than here in Oz. Its hard even finding parts , i had to go to the UK just to get an air filter. I have rego due in Feb so i still have some time to find an appropriate tyre/tire . Thanks again. It is the weight capacity that may get you from using a front tire on the back of a scooter. Scooters are very light in the front with most of the weight being on the rear tire. You may note that tire pressure up front does not change much if at all when loading the scooter to full capacity and that the preload does not really need to be reset on the front however on the back you need to change the tire pressure to match the load along with increase the preload on the rear springs. |
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Post by rockynv on Dec 16, 2016 0:22:42 GMT -5
Call Kymco's main office in OZ or their closest dealer to you. The folks that sell and service Kymco will usually be your best source for information on parts and tires. A Ducati dealer usually won't be the best goto guy for tires on a tall rider 150cc scooter.
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-mph. My front is a Shinko 120-70-12 "P" rated (92-mph) whitewall bias-ply and the rear is a Michelin 140-70-12 Power Pure radial, with a whitewall painted on... Yeah, sounds ridiculous, but nobody makes a whitewall to fit the rear. My dealer researched what would be the best rear tire to use with the Shinko front, and the tire distributor recommended the Michelin. I can't argue: it rides great!
-mph. Just me...