Downtown Tires???

[Nireen999]

Just got the new tire put on today and the boy's at the garage said it was a really tuff tire! BridgeStone it is.

[nushipwright]

Glad to hear you've got a brand spanking new rear tire fitted. I'm sure it will be much better than old one with the "flat middle".
Make sure you ride more cautiously for the first 50-80km on the new tire. You need to remove the factory protective layer from the running surfaces before you can ride normally. 

[Nireen999]

LOL yes I had my warning when  I left the garage a wee bit to fast to get onto the street.  Did a little dance in the back. 

[nushipwright]

Yes. You got to be careful. That stuff is slippery like silicone.

[Nireen999]

Lesson learned!!!

[Snorvey]

Yes. You got to be careful. That stuff is slippery like silicone.

And far more effective than a high fibre diet.

[Nireen999]

yes

[Jalmar]

I have only put 3800km's on my bike and the back tire seems to be wearing strangely..  or is it just the way it is.  It is looking flat in the middle of it.  Is this normal.

Hi, I'm new here and new to scooters. But I have been riding for 35 years    Mostly heavy touring bikes. And the problem you show in your picture is a well known problem. But I think I have a solution that you can try 

My scooter is a Kawasaki J300. And that is a Kymco Downtown with Kawasaki badges. I live in Norway, and scooters are not the most common bikes here. You can only buy Kymco mopeds here, so when I wanted a Kymco Downtown, I had to buy a Kawasaki J300. And then I found this forum and registered. I think this forum is a nice source for information, and I hope I can contribute with information as well when I get into this "scooter-thing" 

One thing I have learned over the years is that air pressure is very important on bikes. To low pressure will give you the wear that you show in your picture. I have 3600 km on my scooter now, and my rear wheel is still round and fine. And I do a lot of straight highway with high speed and heavy load of luggage.

In the owners manual it says 33kpi pressure in the rear wheel with full load. I have used 36 kpi. If you look at the side of the tire, you will find a "max load", and thats the pressure you can use to get most milage out of your tires.

The thing is that the worst enemy for the tires is heat. The warmer the tires get, the faster they wear. And they wear most in the middle. If you use higher pressure in your tires you lower the working temp, and therefore get more km out if it.

Eventually the tire will be flat in the middle anyway, if you drive normally. But you will get much more km if you use the max pressure stated at the side of the tire.

I can mention that on my last touring bike, a Kawasaki 1200 Voyager, I got 10K km on a rear tire when I followed Kawasakis recommended tire pressure. I used Metzler tires on that bike. When I talked to Metzler, they said I should use the pressure stated on the tire, and then I got 18K km out of a rear tire.

Just my 2 cents    Hope this will be useful. And I hope my English is readable 

[xsel777]

Sissymary,  I hope to catch up with you regarding mileage.
I like this xc500  too much to part with it.

 Sent from my Samsung Note 3 with Tapatalk

[de dee]

Hi, I'm new here and new to scooters. But I have been riding for 35 years    Mostly heavy touring bikes. And the problem you show in your picture is a well known problem. But I think I have a solution that you can try 

My scooter is a Kawasaki J300. And that is a Kymco Downtown with Kawasaki badges. I live in Norway, and scooters are not the most common bikes here. You can only buy Kymco mopeds here, so when I wanted a Kymco Downtown, I had to buy a Kawasaki J300. And then I found this forum and registered. I think this forum is a nice source for information, and I hope I can contribute with information as well when I get into this "scooter-thing" 

One thing I have learned over the years is that air pressure is very important on bikes. To low pressure will give you the wear that you show in your picture. I have 3600 km on my scooter now, and my rear wheel is still round and fine. And I do a lot of straight highway with high speed and heavy load of luggage.

In the owners manual it says 33kpi pressure in the rear wheel with full load. I have used 36 kpi. If you look at the side of the tire, you will find a "max load", and thats the pressure you can use to get most milage out of your tires.

The thing is that the worst enemy for the tires is heat. The warmer the tires get, the faster they wear. And they wear most in the middle. If you use higher pressure in your tires you lower the working temp, and therefore get more km out if it.

Eventually the tire will be flat in the middle anyway, if you drive normally. But you will get much more km if you use the max pressure stated at the side of the tire.
   could you send a picture of your J 300,  we cant get them here,.  in Canada  and USA,.  did they change the seat so it is more comfortable,  my downtown sloped to the front and gave me a wedgy every time I put the brake on,.  so I rebuilt the seat , 

[pipster326]

I would also like to see a picture of the j300. I was researching them, before I bought my DT300, but couldn't find anywhere in North America. I love my DT, I did however like the black and green j300, I saw pictures of


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Jalmar]

Off course I can post pictures.

Brand new:






At home for the first time:





Out in the forests in Sweeden:




On gravel road in Norway:




With the new top box:




Front of the seat and a new back pack that fits in front of the seat:




I find that I tend to slide back in the seat agains the back support, so the seat is higher in front. You sit in a well so to speak.

Mine is the black version. You can get it in a special edition with green stripes.

I hope Nireen999 excuse me for posting pictures of my bike in her tread 

[Stig / Major Tom]

We'll perhaps have to agree to disagree about proper two-wheel tire pressures.
Both of the service counter personnel at my Honda mega store motorcycle shop and my local multi-brand motorcycle and scooter shop tell me to use the PSI listed on the scooter/motorcycle sticker and in the owner's manual.
Do NOT, they say,  inflate and ride at the max pressure printed on the tire.....whether riding solo or two-up or heavily loaded. That figure is not meant to replace or augment the recommended PSI for the wheel/tire/scooter combo.

At least two things will happen if you over-inflate the tire like that:
1) you will immediately notice a harsher ride
2) you will decrease the tire contact patch & thus alter the designed handling - which you may or may not notice when riding

Solid tires will give you longer mileage, too. But mileage is not the sole purpose of a tire on most any vehicle.....and certainly not on motorcycles or scooters which need to make good and predictable contact across their rounded surface.

Tire and rim sizes are designed specifically for each bike. Stepping outside of manufacturer's  recommended PSI changes the tire shape & ride behavior characteristics.

Car tires on a scooter last a long time, too. Their box shape & road contact profile are different than the round shape of a scooter tire. Watch the youtube video with the gopro mounted under a scooter using a car tire. Some folks have no problem using car tires - even after watching what that car tire does on a turn.
To each his own - but I'll stick with trained guys who make their living servicing bikes & scooters.


I'll soon be at 10,000 miles on my pair of Michelin City Grips, running on the PSI in the owner's manual.
Stig

[Jalmar]

For the Maxxis we talk about 10% more pressure in the rear tire. 33 psi on the sticker versus 36 on the wall of the tire. I don't know how much more km's that will give, but from the picture Nireen999 posted compared to my rear tire at 3600 km it seams that it will give a lot more km's. And 10% more air pressure will not be noticeable or give any dangerous effects. I would say that a tire that is flat in the middle is far more dangerous.

On my Voyager Kawasaki recommended 36 psi in the rear wheel. Metzler said at least 46 psi. I used the same word as Stig when I talked to them and they answered that they had more knowledge about tires than Kawasaki had. They even had it in writing on their website, but I can't find it now. I'll keep looking and post it when I find it.

My experience with the Voyager tires was that I never experienced any drawback when it came to performance or grip. In all kind of weather and road surfaces for over 65K miles. And here we talk about 30% up on recommended pressure.

But everyone must choose what they want to try. I just wanted to tell about what I was recommended, and what's working good for me.  Maybe the most important thing is to check the tire pressure often. Many folks drive around with to low pressure most of the time.

[pipster326]

Very nice!!! Hope you have lots of good,fun miles. Ride Safe


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk