New Tires - Focus On Wet Traction

[Cortez]

Just bought a set of Metzeler ME7 tires as a replacement for Dunlop Scootmax:

How much were they?

[axy]

64 EUR with shipping.

[Cortez]

Damn, I paid €100 for my Michelins.. (sa montazom).

[axy]

Assembly will be additional 15-20 EUR...

[jstluise]

I ended up going with the Michelin City Grips.  I bought them from motorcycle-superstore at a good price, but before I did I emailed customer service to see what (load rating) version they carried.  The guy said they had the 51 for the front and 56 for the back.  Perfect!  I didn't want to the 62 reinforced for the rear.

They showed up today and looks like the guy gave me some bad info.  The rear is the 62 reinforced.

Haven't decided if I should just run it or call them to see if they can get me the 56, since that's what they told me they had.  I'm a light rider and don't ride 2up very often, so I know I don't need the load capacity of the 62.  Hmmm...what do you all think?

[axy]

I ended up going with the Michelin City Grips.  I bought them from motorcycle-superstore at a good price, but before I did I emailed customer service to see what (load rating) version they carried.  The guy said they had the 51 for the front and 56 for the back.  Perfect!  I didn't want to the 62 reinforced for the rear.

They showed up today and looks like the guy gave me some bad info.  The rear is the 62 reinforced.

Haven't decided if I should just run it or call them to see if they can get me the 56, since that's what they told me they had.  I'm a light rider and don't ride 2up very often, so I know I don't need the load capacity of the 62.  Hmmm...what do you all think?

Don`t waste your and their time for nothing.

I also bought rear reinforced tire (62 L. REINF.). I think it makes no difference for such a light scoot like Agility anyway.

[jstluise]

Don`t waste your and their time for nothing.

I also bought rear reinforced tire (62 L. REINF.). I think it makes no difference for such a light scoot like Agility anyway.

You're probably right.  I was concerned that the extra weight capacity (583# vs 494#) would make the tire stiffer than it needed to be, since I won't even be close to approaching that load.

I'm being picky.  I'll run it.  I don't want to wait around for another tire anyways (IF they could even get the 56, which I doubt).

[jstluise]

I was able to get the City Grips mounted up this weekend and I am glad I did since the wet weather is already here.  I also added two ounces of airsoft BB's (0.12 g BB) in each tire after I read about Dynabeads.  There were mixed opinions about them but most people were happy with the results.  I figured what the heck...and it only cost me $4 for the airsoft BB's instead of the higher cost of Dynabeads.

Here is the stock (4400 km old) tire and the new tire.  All I can say is that I know what tire I want to be riding on:

(these are both front tires, but the old tire isn't mounted and inflated so it looks like a different size)

I took a long ride last night to test them out.  My first impressions: Smoooooooth!  The ride was noticeably smoother and they handled bumps and road imperfections much better.  I was cruising at 50-55mph and they felt real good, so no weird problems with BB's I added.  Cornering felt different, but in a good way.  The roads were dry, but this week I should be able to test out their wet weather performance.  Overall I am very happy with the new rubber.  And just like anyone that upgrades from the stock tires, I highly suggest it!

[Cortez]

+1 on the city grips, I did the same, had the same crappy CST OEM tires.
Horrible in wet.

A huge difference in comfort was also what I noticed first, I never looked back.
They do, however, loose a bit of their initially unbelievable grip during the first
3000km or so, but still grip very well and are great in wet.

[jstluise]

I just had a 20 mile ride in the pouring down rain, so I was able to see the wet weather performance of the City Grips.  They were AWESOME!  They stuck like glue!  Much much better than the OEM tires. 

I did a couple of test: stopping and take-offs.  With the OEM tires I had no problem locking up the front tire on wet pavement (at <10mph).  I tried to lock up the City Grip when approaching a few stop signs and couldn't...it braked like it was dry out.   Last week I had a couple of sketchy take-offs when my back tire lost traction.  I tried the same thing today and was able to gradually increase my acceleration on each take-off until I was hammering it down.  No spin out!

Of course, I'll be driving more conservatively in the rain, but I had to run some tests    I was taking the corners nice and easy today just because I haven't gotten comfortable yet, but I know they shouldn't have a problem.

[jesionowski]

OK, City grips it is. Based on this thread. I have 7k on the OEM and could probably go at least one more year but I really want to ride into November, so I need a better rain tire. I am going to try to replace them myself.

[rxrunner]

Good info in this thread. I rode into work today in the rain - nice back roads - about 12 miles or so. I'm new to the sport. I bought my 2007 Agility 125 last Thursday. It is totally stock, including the tires. I think the stock tires are decent, but I have nothing to compare them to. Since they feel safe, even in the rain, and since the bike has only 3,000k on it, I think I will keep them for a while. I will be curious to hear how the various tires handle at speeds over 40 mph. My bike feels stable at 50, but I must say I would be even happier if it would be the next level more stable at such speeds.