Take it easy for 100km with new tires
Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated.
Current tires have been on the bike since new ( 7400 km ago )… not sure how this compares with other peoples’ usage ?
Replacing tyres In Taiwan? My guess, when they blow it out, anyhow always too late. Have seen enough scooters with bad tyres.
Had just replaced mine (rear tyre) on the Majesty, looked like a square tire instead of rounded at the corners. I had 6,500 Km on it.
I had a Maxxis put on it (140/70 -12 inch) 1,600 NT$.
The mechanic had a tuff time getting the the tyre off. Needed almost 30-45 minutes to replace it. Had to use a pully.
Hi Scott,
We were discussing scooter tyres just a couple of weeks ago. I’ve merged the old thread into this one. There’s some useful info in the old posts which are now above your one and on the previous page.
I’ve found replacing tyres is got everything to do with how you drive.
Obviously screaming around doing burnouts will run tyres into the ground. (No pun intended)
It’s reccomended to replace tyres every 5000Km, however, if the things have still got good tread, and are in good condition,why fork out again?
I’ve almost got 10,000 Km from a 90/130 Dunlop arrowmax. (Mind you you it’s at the end of its tether.
My scoot had Dunlop 130/70-12 inch and they looked awfull after 6,500 Km.
Hope the Maxxis’s will do better, don’t know though.
I live in the south and the rain isn’t that bad here, so I did kinda’ cheap out on my tires but they are new, and I check the tread all the time. I would certainly replace them if they started leaning toward bald. If you buy two at a time, you can probably get a good set for 1200NT. I hummed and hawed and he gave me a deal.
And the oil thing should be easy. I have a Jockey 125 in excellent running order and the oil indicator below the speedometer always flips to red when I need oil. Either way, change the oil evey month and you should be fine. Just on the first of the month or payday and you’ll never have to worry.
Topic split to a new[url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/changing-scooter-oil/18780/1 scooter oil.[/url] subject.
[quote=“Belgian Pie”]My scoot had Dunlop 130/70-12 inch and they looked awfull after 6,500 Km.
Hope the Maxxis’s will do better, don’t know though.[/quote]
Tires that last longer…are less safe on corners and in the rain. You’re trading performance for longevity. I’m lucky if I get 3,000km out of my tires.
The Maxxis are excellent tires. I’ve used them on my scooters and they’ve always done well. With a daily commute round trip of 30kms, they’re good to last 6,000km~7,000km until they get hard and squared enough to affect the handling. Quality-price wise, they are a good choice. Much better than those random generic tire brands that surface at some shops.
Cheers
Are the Maxxis marketed under an English or a Chinese name here, and if so, what’s the Mandarin? And do they have a choice of stickiness vs hardness levels within that brand? It’s time to replace my tires, and although all I do is the daily commute, I want to err on the side of good grip in wet conditions.
Yes, the Maxxis brand name is known in Taiwan as Cheng Shin Tire company. They have quite a comprehensive range of tires for cars and motorcycles. As for different compounds for scooter tires, I’m not sure. But they have some choices in the motorcycle tires. Check out their website on the link below. (In Chinese)
Cheers
no no… other way around… Cheng Shin Tires or CST is a Taiwanese company, for years they’ve been making tires for everything under the sun cars, trucks, carts, bikes, scooters, forklifts, wheelchairs, you name it… Maxxis is CST’s “premium” brand name, same company, same factory, different branding… Maxxis specializes in car, ATV, scooter, bicycle, motorcyle etc. tires for the export market and hence they do a lot of branding and promotion of the Maxxis label overseas… as a rule of thumb for domestic market scooter tires, CST branded tires will be the cheaper, lower spec tires and the higher end stuff with better compounds and profiles will be sold under their Maxxis brand… not all scooter shops are willing / able to get Maxxis tires since their market is and always has been “put on the cheapest ones you can find” a.k.a Dunlop / CST or worse… higher end scooter shops will stock Maxxis scooter tires which by and large you can’t go wrong with… you get 95% of the performance of premium brand (Michelin, Bridgestone etc.) scooter tires at about 1/3 of the cost…
Great info, thanks guys! 
Thanks for that Plasmatron…Your wealth of formosan knowledge is a blessing to us all. However, I think that I had answered Dragonbones’s question correctly (albeit without elaborating much due to my lack of having extensive background knowledge on the issue), correctly nonetheless…
Thanks for that Plasmatron…Your wealth of formosan knowledge is a blessing to us all. However, I think that I had answered Dragonbones’s question correctly (albeit without elaborating much due to my lack of having extensive background knowledge on the issue), correctly nonetheless…[/quote]
To further elaborate on both of your replies, Maxxis is called “瑪吉斯” (Mǎ jí sī) in Mandarin.
In my experience, scooter shops will get any part you want… most of the time, they telephone somebody and ten minutes later a guy shows up with the stuff. If they don’t do this… screw them, they’re lazy bastards! You shouldn’t give lazy bastards your money. For example, I bought a new SYM scooter from a Kymco-branded shop…
Now, I want to ask a question for the tire gurus. I see tires with tread like this: tw.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction … Y.tNipFLJ8
Or this: tw.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction … 2908698277
And then, I wonder if they’re as good in the rain as these? tw.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction … 1506210585
Or this: tw.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction … 3835870653
I also read somewhere that the treads in a scooter/motorcycle tire don’t matter that much, as the shape of the contact patch (vs. a car’s) is boat-shaped, which naturally funnels water out on either side. Is this correct?
Thanks in advance for replies!
Also, I got some ghetto Duro tires on my 3,500-km-old SYM GT Evo… and if you brake hard in the dry, they slide. They also still look as if they’re brand new.
I’ve noticed the it’s been suggested to replace both tires. I figure that’s because no-one knows your scooter, so they don’t know how old or in what condition your front tire is in. If the front tire looks like it’s in not bad shape, you don’t need to replace it. But then again, what’s “not bad shape”? Well, if there are cracks in the tread or sidewalls, that’s no good. Also, on the side wall you should be able to fine something that looks like when it was made, like month/year. If it’s more than 2+ years, it’s too old and needs replacing. If you find where that is on the tire, be sure to look for that date stamp when you go to by new tires. You might find that you’re buying a tire that’s already more than 2 years old, even though it looks brand new. I don’t know where you live, but if you can try and find a shop that just does tires (I’ve found one in Hsinchu). They will have a much better selection to choose from, as the scooter shops will just want to sell you the tires they have in stock. They’ll even go so far as to try and sell you a tire that’s smaller than what’s on your bike if they don’t have what you need.
As to what kind of tires to get if you do plan on changing both tires, I’d suggest getting a good rubber tire in the front, like one of the top foreign brands with a tread pattern that will allow to water to flow away from the centre of the tire. However, look for where that foreign brand tire is made. I highly don’t recommend getting one made from Thailand. For the rear, you can get a nylon based tread, like a Maxxis tire, with the same kind of tread pattern. The reason why I suggest a combo like this is because your rear tire will need replacing a lot more often than your front tire as more of the weight of the scooter, and the power from the engine, is on the back end. Both of these things causes more wear. You want a good rubber front end, because you don’t want your front end to lose traction as easily as a nylon tire can in certain road conditions. Most likely, you’ll be replacing the front tire every 2nd time you’re replacing the back tire if it’s not too old or in bad shape.
Regardless of what kind of tires you choose, always be aware of the road conditions when you are riding. Good rubber tires will not save you from gravel on the road, or wet road paint, when you go through a corner or are braking hard. So keep an eye out for these things, or you will go down faster than a $5 crack-whore mistakenly given $10 to do her “business”.
[quote=“johnledoe”] I’d suggest getting a good rubber tire in the front…[etc see above]
…For the rear, you can get a nylon based tread, ".[/quote]
Dont think you can.
I believe nylon refers to the internal belting. I’d be surprised if nylon is used on the tread in any tyre.
Unless you drive a hospital trolley, which is where we’re all heading, sooner or later.
