Question About Tires, Scooter's

[Syl]

Running on only two wheel's down the highway at variable speed's, I always had a question about the tire's. I never looked at the manual's or tire's themselve's but wondered just how good the scooter tire's are?? May sound like a dumb question but I have good reason for asking. Is this a A1 rubber meaning a very good type of rubber tire? Are they rated such as vehicle tire's (car's etc.) A, B, C, D or What I do know about car tire's is that if you have a C or D rated tire, you have a hard longer wearing tire but not as road worthy as a A rated which is a softer rubber and handle's much better. D rated (if I have that correect) and possible C are very hard tire's and in the winter, they get as hard as the pavement and not as good traction as A or B. As always, this is my basic knowledge not something I would say that people should find as fact's. Without looking, I am thinking that these scooter tire's are not a soft grippy type handling tire. Left to the more knowledgeable.........?? I did hear the softer rated tire's get much less mileage but are much safer...?

[aidanpryde18]

Are you asking about the Downtown's stock tires, or just about scooter tires in general?

I can not speak to the DT stock, but there are many options when it comes to scooter tires, from cheapy Chinese hoops, all the way to race-inspired Pirelli. You have nearly as much choice as with a large-wheeled motorcycle.

[Syl]

Great question for starting off my education...thanks! I guess I should say, the stock tire's on the DT 300i and what would be a much better tire to replace them with? Maybe in asking this, I should ask, from one to ten, ten being the very best known tire, where does the stock tire stand? Thanks

[TechGuy]

Is the stock tire a Kenda?  That seems to be Kymco's manufacturer of choice on the higher line of scooters (or the ones made in Taiwan) and a Chinese tire on the bikes made in China. Kenda is a high quality Taiwan brand of tires. Much like Kymco.

I currently have Shinko tires and I have no issues with them.

Michelin, Dunlap, Bridgestone, Continental and Pirelli also make high scooter tires.

[Whisper]

Hi Syl!

The stock tires on the DT300i are Kenda 120/80-14 rated 58S on front and a 150/70-13 rated at 64S.

I've bought Kendas before, and they are good, quality sausages that are reasonably priced.  Plenty of good tread, nice, stiff sidewalls.

The part you are concerned with would be the rating numbers - On this tire it is the 58S and 64S:
58S:  Load index - 520lbs  / Speed rating 112mph
64S:  Load index - 617lbs  / Speed rating 112mph

Pretty stout tires considering the vehicle weight and top speed!  As for wear - That is definitely a tour milage may vary thing.  Some compounds definitely wear better than others, but road condition, speed, and temperature play a HUGE role in tire longevity.  So any wear estimate you get can easily be +/- 10k miles.

In short - The tires are SAFE.  The tread wear?  We'll find out

[Syl]

Thanks Whisper, I needed that understanding about the tire's. As you know all rider's should put a great deal of thought etc. into their tire's. From the look's of the weather, I might have to purchase some winter tread's!!

[axy]

Thanks Whisper, I needed that understanding about the tire's. As you know all rider's should put a great deal of thought etc. into their tire's. From the look's of the weather, I might have to purchase some winter tread's!!

In most cases, 99 % of the job is done if the pressure is always correct and if the tires are changed timely. In my 12 years on two wheels, this means roughly when there is left 40-50% of the thread. Around that time, the profile of the tire becomes flat and not rounded and cornering becomes dangerous. This is why I change tires roughly twice as often as most people. I am amazed how people drive 150-200 hp bikes on bald tires or tires that are completely flat, even though there is some thread left (due to constant ride in a straight line).

Do not fret about details, especially not with scoots.

[Hoolander2]

As to rating, the only rating I've seen is for speed rating.  Nothing for stickiness vs hardness.  That seems to be left up to riders sharing their experiences on specific tires. 

My rear Shinko on my 500 seems to be quite sticky which I suppose is why I only get around 6 to 8 thousand miles out of them. The last one I had I could've changed at 5000 miles by Axy's standard and, yes, I would've felt safer doing so.  They're inexpensive and ride nice.    Perhaps Shinko is trying to expand their scooter market share so they're keeping prices low for now. 

[TechGuy]

I bought my Shinkos based on the comments and reviews on the "track day" forums.  The most common use for the Shinkos was as a track day tire for the guys looking for a balanced tire that was cost effective, good adhesion, and durability.  Many of them were using them for the track day and then would save the $500 racing tires for race day. I figures if they are good enough to be used as a track day tire for the riders who can be tire snobs, then it was good enough for my relatively low powered and less demanding scooter.

I have since seen very favorable reviews by the professionals at Rider and Motorcyclist magazines.