Michelin City Grip rear perfomance/life on 2019 XTown 300i

[john grinsel]

City Grip rear standard size on my 2019 XTown 300i----tire now has about 5000 miles---wearing round, of course bike handles much better than OEM Kenda that wore square---handling in both wet and dry=fine.

From experience and looking at tire, it will go at least 10,000 miles----kinda shooting down the car tire thing.

Too bad the City Grip is not available in proper front size for XTown 300i

As scooters can be tire fussy I am happy with the tire's performance/life.  Price was ok from Dennis Kirk and tire came from fresh stock.

When this tire and front OEM Kenda are done I hope to replace with Michelin Power Pure SC as matched pair....unless something better comes along.  Power Pure SC wear round, so handling stays about same thruout tire life.


Ride a lot, you are always thinking of tires.

[Neil955i]

I always used Michelin City Grip on my Honda PCX 125 and found them to be fantastic in terms of grip - to the extent of scraping the bodywork on one bend without losing grip at all!  The trade-off was wear which averaged 5K for a rear and about 8-9K for a front, an acceptable average I reckon.

My X-Town 300 comes with the Kenda OEMs and I'll be looking to change them ASAP and will doubtless go the Michelin Power Pure route as that's the only way to get a matched pair here in the UK at the moment.

[SemperVee]

  John,
  I am looking at getting tires for the i300DT and wondered what the new tread depth was when installed?  That is hard to find when ordering new tires and looking at specifications.  Thanks.

[CROSSBOLT]

From experience and looking at tire, it will go at least 10,000 miles----kinda shooting down the car tire thing.

John, I would have put one of those on if the overall reports would have been 10000 miles but they were not.

[SemperVee]

 There has been a not so secret "darkside" movement  growing for the last 20 years in the motorcycle world with using car tires for extended tread life... has anyone ever tried this on scooters?

[CROSSBOLT]

There has been a not so secret "darkside" movement  growing for the last 20 years in the motorcycle world with using car tires for extended tread life... has anyone ever tried this on scooters?

Why, yes, I have! Nyuk, nyuk! Got converted by some of the loonier guys on the Burgman and ADVrider forums. There is a Darkside.something that gives REAMS of data for car tires on motorcycles AND SCOOTERS, mostly Burgmans and one Kymco DT300i (mine!). Mine has been on for just a couple thousand miles so really no wear is noticeable. The Burgman 400 is comparable to the DT and several other models with a 13 inch rear wheels and they list over 20000 miles! I am sold based on others experience but you will have to investigate for yourself. You will be hammered to near-death by troll-like riders if you post you have gone darkside. Just a warning! I got a radial tire from Amazon for 35 bucks that the Burgs used. I just got tired of changing rear tires.

[SemperVee]

  Karl,
     Great info... What size did you get for the rear if I may inquire?  Did you did anything on the front tire?   I will be installing new shoes on the i300 DT soon..   :^)

[CROSSBOLT]

Have a Michelin Power Pure SC on the front. Achilles 122 155/80R13 on rear. The Burg 400 mount a 155/70R13 which is 1 inch smaller diameter than proper size cycle tire. The bad thing is neither car tire will fit under the fender "huggy" short fender thingy so I gotta fabricate a flap replacement to keep the road trash off the engine. Darkside.nwff.info tire database is open for inspection. Each model line listed is one guy who switched! I am "other" between Kawasaki and Suzuki.

[john grinsel]

My Michelin City Grip now has 8,000 miles or so----looks like it will go well over 10,000 miles.  Proper inflation/balance help the tire's life.  "Ride On" is my balance medium.


I see somebody inquiring about car tire on front---not really great idea as these bikes are designed to lean in cornering

[SemperVee]

Thanks Karl,

John -
 ALL bikes are meant to lean and my long years on ONLY mc tires  and former MSF instructor begs to manage risk but when something this big goes on for so long without any material accident statistics I have to ask maybe it really is OK with the advanced technology we have in tire manufacturing today?
    This is a very active group for such ideas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rollindarkside       YMMV  :^)

[CROSSBOLT]

Thanks for the fb link. I just requested to join!

[john grinsel]

My take on car tires on solo bikes------why aren't road racers using them?  I am everyday rider since 1955, ridden over 1.5 million miles, BSc Safety Degree, not fan of MSF but my instructor card dated 1973-74-----in the fifties bought a kinda junk Harley WLA 45 that had 18 inch junk yard car tires=unrideable until MC tires installed----experience with MZ sidecar outfits in Germany, 15 inch Citroen 2CV tire on rear---required special rim, tube with offset valve stem, spoked with offset for clearance on swing arm-----against the law solo and unrideable solo but worked well sidecar-----cost? not cheap.

[CROSSBOLT]

I like the car tire idea because I say, again, I am tired, no, weary of changing rear tires every season. I do not ride like a road racer so the oval cross section not really needed.

I suffered the 60's with the Navy and California playing catch-up on motorcycle safety none of which had a rational instructor approach. MSF class in 2009 Florida was great because the instructors were professional and did not constantly harp about how experienced and superb they were. They behaved like professional flight instructors and the material was organized and to the point.

We are blest in this country so far that we are not government supervised to death. Well, the FAA has virtually ruined aircraft manufacture and pilot certification but two wheels are quite safe for the time being. I like being free to experiment with stuff that really needs development.

[SemperVee]

I've close to 1,000,000 miles of riding (on MC tires) myself since I have not been without some form of 2wheeler since 1973 myself.  2wheel Commuter in SoCal for 20+ years of 100+ miles daily + pleasure riding and summer tours.  I did once run into Jay Leno at the Rock Store in Malibu Canyon on his MC for the day!   Nice guy.   I try to keep an open mind and prospective on things and new is sometimes really new and improved, then again sometimes it is just marketing.  I would like a MC tire to last longer also not only for the tire cost but the hassle of swapping them out and having the deal with an expensive MC dealer who will kill 1/2 my day waiting on it for them to have them mounted for a ridiculous price..    There are multiple youtubes of a Go-Pro mounted under a MC frame capturing the car tire in action on the road that is pretty impressive from a non engineer's view.

[CROSSBOLT]

I've close to 1,000,000 miles of riding (on MC tires) myself since I have not been without some form of 2wheeler since 1973 myself.  2wheel Commuter in SoCal for 20+ years of 100+ miles daily + pleasure riding and summer tours.  I did once run into Jay Leno at the Rock Store in Malibu Canyon on his MC for the day!   Nice guy.   I try to keep an open mind and prospective on things and new is sometimes really new and improved, then again sometimes it is just marketing.  I would like a MC tire to last longer also not only for the tire cost but the hassle of swapping them out and having the deal with an expensive MC dealer who will kill 1/2 my day waiting on it for them to have them mounted for a ridiculous price..    There are multiple youtubes of a Go-Pro mounted under a MC frame capturing the car tire in action on the road that is pretty impressive from a non engineer's view.

++2!