Rear tire cracks

[PiotrKymco]

That is rediculous, I've never seen such thing before. Rear tire just crack in several places despite of the fact that is still roadable. Of course is Maxxis. WTF is wrong with this tire??? There is no other producer 69 load only 65 but I wont buy Maxxis anymore. And what is the most important thing how to remove rear wheel? Any vdeo or information? Must change that tire because affraid to ride.

[john grinsel]

How old is tire?   Date can be read on sidewall.

[CROSSBOLT]

Maxxis is Kymco's OEM favorite for tires and they are terrible! They wear fast and they crack early. Any major brand is better especially not following every tar snake or groove. Removing rear wheel is labor intensive. I have a Downtown 300i and ASSUME it is similar to the 700i so beware! First, take  deep breath, you will be here awhile! Remove muffler at the forward clamp to exhaust pipe. This avoids having to disturb O2 sensor. 2. Remove seat and cargo tub. 3. Remove right rear shock. 4. Remove rear wheel nut. Use a hard/soft but stout stick to block wheel rotation. 5. Remove rear wheel brake and let hose stay attached. Support with wire or lay on floor out of way. 6. Remove  all the bolts holding right swingarm cast plate. 7. The hard part is removing this plate the first time. It SHOULD come straight off but the inner bearing race and the shaft get rusty. Use a puller if possible or pry carefully with wrenches or prybars. The main thing is NO HAMMERS! It comes STRAIGHT OFF! Use penetrating stuff if you have some, light oil. Patience and persistance! 8. You may have a short fender to remove then the wheel.

[Tromper]

Not sure where Load 69 comes in.
I checked Maxxis site, & older data and found one tire in that size, the M6135.

This tire shows a load rating of 66 like all the other tires I found in the range.
Die the 700 use a different, now discontinued tire?

...There is no other producer 69 load only 65 but I wont buy Maxxis anymore. And what is the most important thing how to remove rear wheel?...

[PiotrKymco]

Maxxis is Kymco's OEM favorite for tires and they are terrible! They wear fast and they crack early. Any major brand is better especially not following every tar snake or groove. Removing rear wheel is labor intensive. I have a Downtown 300i and ASSUME it is similar to the 700i so beware! First, take  deep breath, you will be here awhile! Remove muffler at the forward clamp to exhaust pipe. This avoids having to disturb O2 sensor. 2. Remove seat and cargo tub. 3. Remove right rear shock. 4. Remove rear wheel nut. Use a hard/soft but stout stick to block wheel rotation. 5. Remove rear wheel brake and let hose stay attached. Support with wire or lay on floor out of way. 6. Remove  all the bolts holding right swingarm cast plate. 7. The hard part is removing this plate the first time. It SHOULD come straight off but the inner bearing race and the shaft get rusty. Use a puller if possible or pry carefully with wrenches or prybars. The main thing is NO HAMMERS! It comes STRAIGHT OFF! Use penetrating stuff if you have some, light oil. Patience and persistance! 8. You may have a short fender to remove then the wheel.

Oh Man, that looks like hours spending in my garage. I'm so pissed you can not imagine because tire is in very good condition apart from cracks.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Check price dealer would charge. They can take shortcuts we don't know.
Dealer charged me $130 to install set of Michelins onto my Kymco scooter .
Might be worth it.....
Stig

[PiotrKymco]

Not sure where Load 69 comes in.
I checked Maxxis site, & older data and found one tire in that size, the M6135.

This tire shows a load rating of 66 like all the other tires I found in the range.
Die the 700 use a different, now discontinued tire?

Regarding the picture, are you sure I can remove right swing arm plate without removing pipes?

[PiotrKymco]

Maxxis is Kymco's OEM favorite for tires and they are terrible! They wear fast and they crack early. Any major brand is better especially not following every tar snake or groove. Removing rear wheel is labor intensive. I have a Downtown 300i and ASSUME it is similar to the 700i so beware! First, take  deep breath, you will be here awhile! Remove muffler at the forward clamp to exhaust pipe. This avoids having to disturb O2 sensor. 2. Remove seat and cargo tub. 3. Remove right rear shock. 4. Remove rear wheel nut. Use a hard/soft but stout stick to block wheel rotation. 5. Remove rear wheel brake and let hose stay attached. Support with wire or lay on floor out of way. 6. Remove  all the bolts holding right swingarm cast plate. 7. The hard part is removing this plate the first time. It SHOULD come straight off but the inner bearing race and the shaft get rusty. Use a puller if possible or pry carefully with wrenches or prybars. The main thing is NO HAMMERS! It comes STRAIGHT OFF! Use penetrating stuff if you have some, light oil. Patience and persistance! 8. You may have a short fender to remove then the wheel.

Sorry CROSSBOLT previous quote was directed to you regarding swing arm. Her you can see the cracks.

[CROSSBOLT]

Really bad cracks! Replace yesterday! Last week! Don't ride on those things! Don't even roll around in the driveway!

[john grinsel]

Tire age is important in judging tires, period.

[monkeybongos]

Correct.  Rubber loses it's pliability (= gripping ability) over time, so even if there aren't even tiny cracks older tires don't grab the road well, compromising your safety. 

Learned that from experience.

[MJR]

Same crap that happened to mine. https://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=26153.0

Not sure where Load 69 comes in.
I checked Maxxis site, & older data and found one tire in that size, the M6135.

This tire shows a load rating of 66 like all the other tires I found in the range.
Die the 700 use a different, now discontinued tire?

Not sure what model the rear tire was but it did show 69H for rating on the tire according to my old photos. I replaced it with the same size Bridgestone TH01R that my Burgman 650 uses. A special note I had a problem with the Bridgestone as well after a tire puncture but I think part of that problem is that Kymco lists too low of tire pressures for the weight of the bike (650 lbs) vs the Burgman 650 (615 lbs) which is 35 lbs lighter. I am now running 32 psi front and 36 psi rear in my Bridgestone vs the factory suggestion of 29 psi front and 32 psi rear.

[MJR]

Regarding the picture, are you sure I can remove right swing arm plate without removing pipes?

The muffler has to come off. You can get the swing arm off after that with a pry bar holding the forward pipe out a bit. I ended up doing this on the centerstand, disconnected the rear shocks at the swing arm, pushed it up, prying on the exhaust pipe, and slid off the right side of the swing arm. You will need a long Allen wrench/socket to get at the bolts recessed in the swing arm.

[Tromper]

Actually got a clear look of the tire on the other thread.

Sure 'nuff 69H.  I wonder if there was a variant of that tire that was a bit harder (and tended to crack) for the 700?

The TH01's a decent tire, kinda pricey these days so I run shinko's on my burger.
Odd that the burger wants 41 psi on the tire vs. the OEM on the 700.

Not sure what model the rear tire was but it did show 69H for rating on the tire according to my old photos. I replaced it with the same size Bridgestone TH01R that my Burgman 650 uses. A special note I had a problem with the Bridgestone as well after a tire puncture but I think part of that problem is that Kymco lists too low of tire pressures for the weight of the bike (650 lbs) vs the Burgman 650 (615 lbs) which is 35 lbs lighter. I am now running 32 psi front and 36 psi rear in my Bridgestone vs the factory suggestion of 29 psi front and 32 psi rear.

[MJR]

Actually got a clear look of the tire on the other thread.

Sure 'nuff 69H.  I wonder if there was a variant of that tire that was a bit harder (and tended to crack) for the 700?

The TH01's a decent tire, kinda pricey these days so I run shinko's on my burger.
Odd that the burger wants 41 psi on the tire vs. the OEM on the 700.

Dunno but after my experience with them I'm glad they never sold the tires here in the US. I had wanted to buy a set to try on the B650 years ago. The Bridgestones have been the best tires for mileage on my 650's. The Pirellis wore out way too fast (5,000 miles). A friend had tried Shinkos to have them bubble/tread separate so I've never been interested in them and according to LeDude's review they are undersized somewhat. I had imported a pair of Dunlop ScootSmart tires, I wasn't so impressed with the front tire but I got around 11,000 miles out of the rear. I wish they sold them here, just wasn't worth the cost to import another set vs the Bridgestones.

Burgman 650 weight 615 lbs, recommended tire pressures 33 psi front, 38 psi rear single rider/41 psi with passenger. I run 35 psi front and 39 psi rear.
MyRoad 700i weight 650 lbs, recommend tire pressures 29 psi front, 32 psi rear single rider/35.5 psi with passenger. I now run 32 psi front and 36 psi rear.