Best tires for long life.

[Forbes1964]

I realize that I'm going to be riding my 2009 Xciting 250 A LOT! And I need to know what tires are best for long life. Right now I have a Michelin city grip on the rear. It's fairly new. Don't remember off the top of my head what's on the front. Nor do I know how old it is. Tread is good. But my dealer said that he would look at replacing it in a month or so. He stated that the Michelin is a good tire good balance between cost and longevity. Any other ideas? Should I stick with that tire? Of course I want good grip. But longevity is what I'm primarily after as long as the grip is acceptable.

[beermak]

My bike came with kendas... those seem not to show any age at all. Seem to last forever...
The longer thread life the harder its compound thererefore less grip. Its a give or take...

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[Stig / Major Tom]

Yep, the Kendas that it came with will last a long, long, long time.
Some here have no issues with the Kenda tires.
Some say that if you will ride in the wet you will want to get the Kendas off of your scooter ASAP.
On normal rubber tires the fronts last at least 2 X as long as the rears....probably the same for the nylon Kendas.
Hard compounds last a long time - and have reduced grip in the wet.
Stig

[Forbes1964]

I went to the Kenda website. But I don't see my tire size listed for my Xciting 250. --- front : 120/70-15. Rear 150/70-14.


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[Mr. Paul]

Heres a Kenda for your front. The model can be found at several places. Sometime I too have trouble finding tires going to the manufacturer. It would seem logical that the easiest place to find tires would be going to the company that makes them but frequently that's not the case. Heres some Kendas with your size;

http://www.tires-direct.com/rshop/Tire/Kenda/K433F/120-70-15-B-4PR/R-210825

And for the rear;

http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-K434-Rear-Scooter-044341421B1/dp/B00D3R0QFG

I would also recommend looking at the Shinko tires 567 for the front and SR568 for the rear. You get a lot of tire for the money with the Shinkos. I run them on my People 150 and am very happy with the performance. I ride in all weather, including the wet. Longevity is good on my 150. Looking on reviews I have seen many put them on their Burgmans with good performance and longevity. And the price is hard to beat.

[Forbes1964]

Thanks Paul.


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[Forbes1964]

Well, based on the research I've done, I decided to order a Michelin City Grip for the rear. That's what's currently on there now. My Kymco dealer recommend those. He can get them and install them for a fairly decent price. And most of what I've read says that they are good for heavier scooters. The general consensus of my research says that the Shinkos perform well, but have a relatively short life on the Xciting.


There are a lot of services that I'll perform myself on my Xciting. But changing the rear tire ain't one of them. Lol.


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[Forbes1964]

I'll look into the Kendas next time. Then I can compare them back to back. I wish that there was a place where several brands of tires  were compared head to head  with the advantages and disadvantages listed side by side. Anecdotal evidence seems all over the place because drivers drive so differently from each other.


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[Mr. Paul]

I hear ya Forbes! I wish the had something like the online automobile tire retailers so we could compare stats and reviews across tire brands within a given size. Oh well...

[Forbes1964]

Follow up. My dealer mistakenly ordered a Michelin Pilot Power Pure. Rather than wait for a reorder, I went with that one. Hope it lasts.

Anyone have experience with those?

[Stig / Major Tom]

I, for one, hope to live longer with Michelin tires under me.  Good chance you'll live longer when riding on good tires.....than cheap tires.
Just sayin'
Stig

[Tromper]

Anybody have any idea how many miles you're getting out of a given rear tire?
If so, what tire, and how many miles before it was worn out?

Thanks
Tromper

[bleys]

Tromper,

I just replaced my original Kenda tire at 4200 miles.  Probably could have gone another year, but the front needed to be replaced as well, so bit the bullet.   

[Tromper]

I just replaced my original Kenda tire at 4200 miles.  Probably could have gone another year, but the front needed to be replaced as well, so bit the bullet.

Thanks Bleys,

I'm thinking 6k+, on this bike that's sounding like the Darkside might be beckoning.  I gather a couple folks have used the 165/65 R14  Federal Formoza.

Anybody here done that or familiar with that?

[xsel777]

I did some research on tyres after I got a very short life out of a Michelin city grip on the rear of my 500.
Options are very limited here in South Africa,  but I liked the power pure,  because of the dual compound:Harder in the centre,and softer on the sides .
In  my opinion the best of both worlds.


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