All About Tires...

I just changed the tires on my Chetak. It is like night and day difference. The POS Nylogrips should not even be legal for sale in the US. Not only do the new tires give me confidence in the corners, but the scoot is noticeably faster accelerating. It also doesnt wander all over the road anymore, it actually tracks straight.

The ones I got are the Pirelli SL26s. Stock size (3.50x10) but they are just a bit wider than the Nylogrips (but they dont rub anywhere). The ride isnt any harsher than the stock tires, but the handling increase is incredible. I have these tires on my other scooter and have been happy with them. They are actually pretty good in the wet stuff despite the race style tread patern.

BTW, I pressurized them to 36psi.

EDIT - 4-18-07 - For new Chetak owners, I think general consensus is that the stock Nylogrip tires should be replaced as soon as possible. While they do last a long long time, they are a very hard compound designed to operate on "goat paths" in the middle of India and arnt suited to US pavement conditions very well.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

Last edited by monza on Wed Apr 18, 2007 5:55 pm; edited 2 times in total

A newby question, do you have both wheels tread pattern face the same direction or different on the back? I have recently replace mine with Continental Zippy, by having both tread pattern face the same direction, runs fine but I have seen others with opposit way, any suggestion?

MK

Most tires will have a direction arrow that says which way the rotation should go. I don't know why one would have the tread facing in the opposite direction. Confused

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Mad Toto Scooter Club
www.madtoto.com

As Angry J mentioned, they have arrows. The Pirelli has arrows pointing in opposite directions depending on whether it is the front or rear. Why? dunno. Must have something to do with it being a radial tire.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

Normally the direction is based on the structural strength of the tire AND the tread pattern (for things like water shedding) on the SL26 it is not so much the direction of the rotation but rather the direction of "stress" (for lack of the proper word) On the rear, the stress is acceleration, while on the front the stress is during breaking, and if you think about it, the stress (in relation to the tire) is the same direction if you follow the directions on the tire in regards to the mounting location.

This raises an interesting point (as mentioned by POC Phil in an earlier post (on the Yahoo group)) Our scoots don't have all that much power, and don't really weigh all that much (depending on rider Rolling Eyes

) so perhaps it would be better for the folks that will be riding a lot in the rain to mount both tires in the same direction as the rear IIRC for slightly better water shedding and less chance of hydroplaning. This said, I mounted mine like the arrows indicate, and did the spare as a rear, because the rear wears out much faster and that way I could simply rotate the rear and spare when the time came giving myself plenty of time to purchase and mount a new tire on the now spare rim.

I have SL26s on my chetak and love them. I ride in the rain almost daily commuting in Seattle and have not had a single issue with them. Before the SL26s I had the stock tires and Michelin S83s the SL26s are much better, wet or dry plus they can be found cheaper than almost any scooter tire I've found (except the crapy stock ones) I think what makes them so good and so cheap is that they are designed as a mini motard tire for honda ct70s and xr50s. I got mine from motorcycle superstore because none of the local shops carried them.

BobK wrote:

Normally the direction is based on the structural strength of the tire AND the tread pattern (for things like water shedding) on the SL26 it is not so much the direction of the rotation but rather the direction of "stress" (for lack of the proper word) On the rear, the stress is acceleration, while on the front the stress is during breaking, and if you think about it, the stress (in relation to the tire) is the same direction if you follow the directions on the tire in regards to the mounting location.

I never knew that. Good info.

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Mad Toto Scooter Club
www.madtoto.com

I put Zippy 1s on my Stella and moved the stock Stella Zippy 3s to the Chetak. My wife seems to really like them. I agree that the Nylogrips should always be the first thing to go. Maybe we need a sticky!? GET RID OF YOUR STOCK TIRES!

Twisted Evil

-mark

what about zippy type tires with whitewalls.. anyone know where to get some>

	danman1178 wrote:
	what about zippy type tires with whitewalls.. anyone know where to get some>

Continental does make a whitewall that features the Zippy 3 tread pattern. They're more than twice the price of a regular Zippy 3 but I guess all whiteys are expensive. I would think that most stores that sell Continental tires will carry their whitewall tire. Scomo and ASC have them but I have not looked at Scooterworks.

-mark

I'm thinking of putting on the Pirellis. How hard is this to do? Anything to watch out for?

	dmcd wrote:
	I'm thinking of putting on the Pirellis. How hard is this to do? Anything to watch out for?

Changing tires is a task that everyone should be able to do and you'll get used to it. One thing to keep in mind is that split rims have a wide and a skinny side when you pull them apart. This orientation will remain the same when the rim goes back on the scoot so pay attention to directional tires or you'll just end up cursing when you're about to put the wheel back on and realize you mounted your tire the wrong way ;)

Removing the stock tires is *very* easy. Removing other tires that have an actual bead for running tubeless takes a little more effort.

Here's a good "how to" for you to check out.

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-mark

Were the stock tires Nylogrip Zappers or the 001's?

I've read nothing but bad things about Nylogrips.

Stock tires are the Nylogrips.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

Oh, I forgot to mention before that this is where I get my tires:

http://tiresunlimited.com/default.htm

They have really good prices on the Pirellis. I had to buy a new rear tire for the wifes BV200 (GTS24, like 140-70-16s). Vespa wanted $150 for it, $66 at Tires Unlimited.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

Ok, so I fitted a 100-90-10 Pirelli SL26 on the stock rim tonight that I had bought for my other scooter. As can be seen in the picture, it is just a little wider than the 3.5x10 SL26, and much wider than the stock Nylogrip. I measured the width and it is 5mm (just shy of 1/4") wider than the 3.5x10. Would there be a performance increase? Probably not anything noticable. This just gives the option of another tire size.

BTW, here are some measurements I took of the two tires (mounted on the rim, and pressurized to 36psi):
TIRE_____DIAMETER___WIDTH
3.50x10......17.25"..........3.70"
100-90-10...17.19".........3.90"

BTW, There is no rubbing.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

Last edited by monza on Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:16 am; edited 1 time in total

The dealer that sold me my Bajaj said to get rid of those nylon tires.He knew what he was
talking about.I had a Qlink scooter shop put on these pirelli sl26's for me..I dont know what
direction there going Rolling Eyes

But they sure hold the road good and wet roads r no problem now.
My nearest Bajaj dealer is close to 400miles... Sad

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Just how fast can you run before I pull this trigger?Make my day!

Keep one thing in mind. When you go to a taller tire, your are making your overall gear ratios taller. This matters in practice mostly for 4th gear, which is already very tall on Bajaj scooters. As an example, when I went to 4.00x10 tires on my 180 Riva, it actually slowed it's top speed down because there wasn't enough power to take advantage of the taller overall gear ratio.

All of the diagnal pattern tread tires or better than the conventional ribbed tread. Ribbed tires allow the scooter to dance a bit, much more so on freeway rain grooves.

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Groucho Marxist S.C.

I sort of asked this before - but I want a more spacific answer. I would like to Purchase white wall tires that have a sports style tread. My dealer told me that Michelin made one. Can anyone get me a good place to buy this....also if I got just a regular tire that was white wall with a classic tread would it be better than the Nylogrips? and why?

So bottom line - what is the best smoothest ride that had a white wall....

also has anyone tried to paint a tire?? and how..??

http://www.tiresunlimited.com

http://www.scooterworks.com/Whitewall_Tires_C11.cfm

I cant speak for handling or comparison to the Nylogrips as I dont have any of these, but I do know that the people I know that have had the Sava tires have been really happy with them.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

I have to get the ones that are 3.50x 10.0 correct?

the one in the bottom picture is 4.00 that is the style i am really looking for.....

Oops, I didnt notice that the tire I posted was a 3.0". It is acutally a bit skinnier (in designation) than the stock tire, although in reality it may be just as wide (see the picture I posted above with the three tires, the stock is marked 3.50" and the one next to it is also marked 3.50", but in reality it is wider).

As far as tires that I know fit right, a 3.50"x10 and 100-90-10 both fit with no problems.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

The only people I have heard of being unhappy with SAVA tires were those who bought the whitewalls. They yellow and brown at an alarming rate. While at a scooter shop in San Francisco, I noticed that the Sava whitewalls they had on display had already turned dark yellow. They had been inside the shop, no sun, no weather. I am running the Shinko whitewalls. They stay white and clean easily. They are not a performance tread, however. One option is to put whitewall "rings" on any performance tire you want. Scooterworks sells them, probably others do too. When you wear out the tires, you fit these rings on with the next new set of tires, re-using them over and over.

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Groucho Marxist S.C.

Got a link.....or some pics?

Ok, still confused, which way do the tires go on, arrows pointing in direction of rotation ? or what ?