Kendas vs City Grips in the wet w/ABS?

[hypophthalmus]

I think the Pirelli diablos I used said nylon, and the Michelin city grips said polyester. On my car tires, it says nylon, steel and polyester, and also lists how many plies of each. All referring to the structural fibers. I'm not actually sure what you would do with this information.

Motorcycles have speed ratings as well. What's this about standardized traction and wear ratings though?

[hypophthalmus]

Answering my own question:

I didn't see anything at first on my tires, but then I searched for information and came across this:
https://info.kaltire.com/utqg-ratings/

I found it now above the size information, and I'm not sure how I ever missed it. Apparently the traction rating is based on a wet stopping test. Motorcycles should definitely have this.

[Forbes1964]

Answering my own question:

I didn't see anything at first on my tires, but then I searched for information and came across this:
https://info.kaltire.com/utqg-ratings/

I found it now above the size information, and I'm not sure how I ever missed it. Apparently the traction rating is based on a wet stopping test. Motorcycles should definitely have this.

Exactly! Tread wear gives a relative comparison. That way we could get an idea of how long they’d last compared to what we have. Speed ratings would be nice too since some Scooters can exceed 90 mph. It would be nice to know if the tire was rated for that speed. And wet traction is a VERY useful rating since some tires are nearly useless on wet pavement. It would certainly be easier than word of mouth since each person drives differently.


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[Stig / Major Tom]

Answering my own question:

I didn't see anything at first on my tires, but then I searched for information and came across this:
https://info.kaltire.com/utqg-ratings/

I found it now above the size information, and I'm not sure how I ever missed it. Apparently the traction rating is based on a wet stopping test. Motorcycles should definitely have this.

Used that info all the time when buying car tires.....then discovered that it may be a mute point if the dang thing rides like it's made from wood.
So, it's Michelin for me and mine out the door.....
Stig

[Forbes1964]

Used that info all the time when buying car tires.....then discovered that it may be a mute point if the dang thing rides like it's made from wood.
So, it's Michelin for me and mine out the door.....
Stig

True. The ratings aren’t perfect. But they are a good starting point. But they would be perfect for comparing tires such as City Grips vs power pure. The question for me was this. Power pure said they had long life center tread. But is that long life in comparison to soft tread tires or just as long as the City grips? A lot of anecdotal stories. But a standardized test would be great. I had both. Both rode well. But I didn’t have the power pure long enough to asses tread life. My Majesty was totaled at 3k miles. But I knew I didn’t like the ride of those oe tires. But they SEEMED to be wearing ok.


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[CROSSBOLT]

You can bet on me hollaring about wear on PP SC Michelins, Forbes! Only have about 3000 miles on mine....

[Stig / Major Tom]

You can bet on me hollaring about wear on PP SC Michelins, Forbes! Only have about 3000 miles on mine....

Hey I'm doing it extra scientifically - I'm running a 5 yr old  City Grip on the front of my LIKE200i. ..and a Power Pure on the rear.
'Course the Power Pure spotted the City Grip a 13,600 mile head start in the wear contest.
I'll let y'all know if the PP craps out before the City Grip!
Stig

[Jonnielights]

Hello Jon, any chance you can post a DIY on the LEDs you've installed on your LIKE200i?
Bulbs you used? etc.
Or, if not, some photos of them lit up?

Lots of folks have talked about adding LEDs to the LIKE.
Stig

[Jonnielights]

Stig,

So I don't have a DIY on the LED upgrade, but your break fluid photos are a good start for the headlight, I used a plastic/nylon spakle tool instead of the pizza wheel.  Pretty self explanatory once you get the dash off, it's really just a wire clip to hold the lamp in the reflector body in place with a couple of screws but be careful not to drop a washer into the body of the scooter as I did, I had to cobble something up to make it work as a result.  I used a "CREE XPH-50" with a H7 base (three prong) as the replacement. Big improvement!

As for the running lights in the fairing, they can be accessed through the glove box but and are somewhat frustrating to install as you almost have to dislocate your wrist to install them, it took a lot of trial and patience for me to accomplish.  The Lamps used are a T10 base and the brand I purchased was "Yorkim", no trouble yet and added bonus the same lamp can be used for the license plate light replacement.

As for the tail light, top box and rear directionals I would suggest other readers to check out your DIY on your top box install, as that is where I learned how to do it and it's very through. Everything back there is behind that plastic panel  in the wheel well.

As far as kit I used "JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright PX Chipset 1157 LED Lamp Brilliant Red" for the tail light and it has a very good differentiation between break and running light, much brighter when breaking.

And finely for the top box I used "Wiipro Universal LED Light Strip Tail Brake Stop Turn Signal 32LED 8" Flexible led light for motorcycle" super fine wires (break out the soldering iron) and very cheap, but it's fairly bright and I have be happy with it so far.

Hope that helps, and thanks for all the help you have shared.

Jon

[Stig / Major Tom]

Stig,

So I don't have a DIY on the LED upgrade, but your break fluid photos are a good start for the headlight, I used a plastic/nylon spakle tool instead of the pizza wheel.  Pretty self explanatory once you get the dash off, it's really just a wire clip to hold the lamp in the reflector body in place with a couple of screws but be careful not to drop a washer into the body of the scooter as I did, I had to cobble something up to make it work as a result.  I used a "CREE XPH-50" with a H7 base (three prong) as the replacement. Big improvement!

As for the running lights in the fairing, they can be accessed through the glove box but and are somewhat frustrating to install as you almost have to dislocate your wrist to install them, it took a lot of trial and patience for me to accomplish.  The Lamps used are a T10 base and the brand I purchased was "Yorkim", no trouble yet and added bonus the same lamp can be used for the license plate light replacement.

As for the tail light, top box and rear directionals I would suggest other readers to check out your DIY on your top box install, as that is where I learned how to do it and it's very through. Everything back there is behind that plastic panel  in the wheel well.

As far as kit I used "JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright PX Chipset 1157 LED Lamp Brilliant Red" for the tail light and it has a very good differentiation between break and running light, much brighter when breaking.

And finely for the top box I used "Wiipro Universal LED Light Strip Tail Brake Stop Turn Signal 32LED 8" Flexible led light for motorcycle" super fine wires (break out the soldering iron) and very cheap, but it's fairly bright and I have be happy with it so far.

Hope that helps, and thanks for all the help you have shared.

Jon

Thanks for the LED info!

Here's my Bestem 929 top case - comes with these LEDs installed - just attach wires to tail light wires.

Running lights:


When brake applied - bottom row doubles & top portion also lights:



To get this type set-up on my Piaggio - it would cost $300 for the Piaggio case, $110 for mounting, $85 for light kit. (@$500 !!)
Fully lighted Bestem case was $120, and comes with mounting kit!


As for the front running lights - I had best luck turning wheel to side and reaching up under the front cowl.


I will take a look at that CREE headlight. The LIKE200i has a 35/35W bulb, my little Piaggio a 60/55W bulb - BIG difference1


Thanks again - you might want to re-post your info on the LIKE200i section for all those wanting to do LEDs.


Stig

[Jonnielights]

Ok, will do, also, and I might just be overlooking something simple, but I'm not sure how to properly use and respond with the "quote" function on this forum, perhaps I need a DIY on that, hehe.

Jon

P.S. I apologize, I suppose I got a bit off topic for a tire post.

[Snoopzilla]

I will say for a tire I never have heard of, the cst tires that come on the Like 150i have impressed me thus far. Just took it out in the rain to see what she can do and I never lost confidence.  Don’t get me wrong I won’t be replacing them with another set.  But I am in no hurry to throw the Michelin’s on right away. 

[hypophthalmus]

It could be that I'm not sensitive to subtle differences in handling, but my experience in losing traction in the rain is that it happens suddenly and dramatically. The point of the better tires is to push where that happens further down.

[Snoopzilla]

It could be that I'm not sensitive to subtle differences in handling, but my experience in losing traction in the rain is that it happens suddenly and dramatically. The point of the better tires is to push where that happens further down.

I guess I forgot to mention I don’t really ever ride in the rain and considering I have ABS as well now, I will wear these tires out Instead of replacing them right away.  I actually like these cst’s a lot more then the Kenda’s I had on my last scoot, although it’s kind of a hard comparison since this new scooter handles a lot better and different beast altogether.