I am at 7000 miles and was wondering how do you know you need to replace the tires? Do you look at the treads? I dont want to rely on the mechanic because I dont know if they are really telling me the truth or not. I took my Prius in last year before our trip and asked the mechanic to check the tires......they said they were fine. 10 miles from home we get a blow out and have to buy a new tire. When we returned from our trip, the other three had to be replaced. So you can see I am a bit hesitant about relying on the mechanic.
Help

I replace tires when I see cracks in the sidewalls. I didn't once...pretty spectacular failure, I don't want to repeat that!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When wear bars show (not all tires have these).
or use the penny test
http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.co ... _the_test/

I would venture to say that you are probably needing new tires here very soon. Most scooter tires don't wear much, depending upon how you ride on your scooter (2 people, amount of weight, etc.) and what brand they are. There are wear bars in the tire that you can look at. Also, does the tire tread look thin/flat? In other words, are the treads not very deep? This is where the penny test comes in! Also, make sure you shop around for a good price. I just replaced my front and back tires and I got mine from Scooterworks in Chicago. The lowest prices I found, even including the shipping. They were in a couple of days and Anna was fantastic in helping me out!

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There is no place like home . . . unless you are on the back of a scooter!

I was also told you should replace scooter tires every 5 years whether they look worn or not. The rubber gets becomes brittle over time and you run the risk of a blowout.

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The JOY is in the journey.

55+,

This link to a recent discussion on your question would be of interest to you:

http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic70329

And like piccolagita said, tires have a "shelf-life" and should be replaced every 4-5 years because the sidewalls may be too old. See here how to read the info embossed on the side of tires...locate the date on your scooter's tires (BOTH of them, they may have different dates or even tire brands/types) and see how old they are (scroll down to the "U.S. DOT & Safety Standard Markings" part to see how to read a tire's date of manufacture):

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoSidewall.dos

But frankly, if you drive your scooter often tires don't last very long at all (unlike car tires), so they'll wear out WAY before they get too old! And as Ruby Slippers said, at 7K miles it's probably about time for yours, but check it out further (the date and looking for the tread-wear-indicator-bars) to be sure.

Only if a bike is sitting for a LONG time -- like when you buy a used bike that has been parked for who knows how long -- is it likely to need new tires REGARDLESS of how good the treads APPEAR to be (and ALL filters & fluids -- oil, brake and coolant as well).

Good luck...

P.S. This is another example of where knowledge about your vehicle can help you sort out -- "filter" -- what the "professionals" are saying. Notice I put quotes around the word professionals...like you, I don't innately trust them either (or dealerships even). They have to prove they know their stuff first (AND be honest) before I do!

I know you can find some on ebay as well, I don't know if you have a discount tire but around here if you can get the tire off the bike and bring tire/rim to the shop, they will put the new one's on the rim for like $15 which is WAY better then the $75 the scooter shop wanted per tire.

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2010 150H Ice Bear Trike
"Dare To Dream"

You know when you need a new tire when you can see the tread wear indicators clearly.
Tread wear indicators are bars made of hard rubber lying crossways across the tread. I've never heard of a scooter tire getting so many miles. I would say it is time to replace them.

If you order your tires online, be sure to get the correct size: Width, Aspect Ratio and Rim Size. I don't know about your model, but it is common to have a smaller rear tire than the front so keep that in mind when you get your size off your tires.

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I caught the scooter bug!

My tires have over 5000 miles on them, and they look new. I think I'll replace them when they're flat...

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St Pete Slowpokes Scooter Group, at stpeteslowpokes.com

Tires...


I've noticed most of my tires go around 6K-8K miles. That said I pay close attention to what is going on because I've noticed certain tires are not made as well as others and some (radial for example) are tougher to begin with. I gave the dunlop brand a second chance, for example, and it bit me in the ass. Unbelievable cupping after 1,000 miles on two completely different bikes and types of dunlop tires!

I look at tires the same way I look at belts, chains and filters. They need to be checked and changed periodically and I all ready factor in the replacement costs as part of owning a scooter. I am very sensitive to the way my tires grip the road and handle on turns. A new set of tires can make a scooter feel like it's brand new again.

Also no matter how new or old your tire is, THEY FAIL PERIODICALLY, that's just a fact. You might never know what caused it.

Yesterday, for example I did my normal pre check. Everything was fine. Hopped on the highway and somewhere along the way of my 40mile highway commute I picked up a nail.

Front flat at 60mph was...um....a learning experience....



I had less than 500 miles on this very expensive Metzler tire and I will go buy the exact same tire because I loved the way it handled. Now, I know some people who would post a scathing review Metzeler about the tire because of the cost. But I know that this is just what happens and has nothing to do with the brand. So in this case i am getting a new tire and tube at less than 500 miles!


There's three ways a tire can fail (need to be replaced) in my mind.

1.) The above pictured way, which can happen to all tires, new or old, good brands and bad brands...

2.) They can cup and wear in bad ways that cause your handling to get worse the more you ride.

3.) Not sticking to the road in the conditions you specifically purchase them to ride in. Pavement, turns, gravel, rain, snow/ice tires....what ever it is you purchased the tire to do. If it doesn't work, then it's a fail.

Then there's the normal life of a tire. To me that's not a fail. Each brand, size and type of tire will have a different set of miles to it's life. Softer tires for example will grip superbly to the road but will wear quicker. Harder tires will grip like crap but might last 15,000 miles.....

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Jess
PIAGGIO BV500 for sale!!!!

Yikes! Glad you're okay

Was that your Bimmer?

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~~~~~ Linda ~~~~~

Thanks for asking. I was fine. Mostly shocked as it did NOT register to me what was happening until I was finally able to pull the bike over and stop. I had to keep riding because there were cars behind me. So I was riding 60mph on a flat FRONT tire...looking for a safe place to pull over...struggling to keep the bike from going down and getting run over. Funny thing is the most prevailing thought in my head was "I can't go down because If I die this way, it will prove my mother right!"

Imagine a very strong mad man taking your handle bars and shaking them violently in each direction trying to throw you off balance....then add a periodic speed bump (this is your valvestem you are running over) and the occasional feeling of metal against pavement (this is your wheel rim hitting the pavement).

A year ago I would have gone down, no question. I was only able to stay up and control (I called it a high speed limp dance) the bike to get it off the road at that speed because of my off road riding techniques-I recently acquired-which basically teach you not to freak out when your riding through sand/gravel and other circumstances where the handlebars do a somewhat similar dance but not as violent as what I experienced when the front tire went....

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Jess
PIAGGIO BV500 for sale!!!!

I bet I would've been thinking the exact same thing

Thanks for sharing your experience

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~~~~~ Linda ~~~~~

Glad you are okay Catskill!

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Karen
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Only a biker knows why a dog sticks it's head out the window ~ Author Unknown

Thanks. Didn't mean to hijack the thread....just so happens I've had tire life fresh on my mind..

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Jess
PIAGGIO BV500 for sale!!!!

The wear indicators and penny test are physical things you can see, and you can't argue with. Aging and UV/Ozone damage is a little harder to tell. On an RV, for example, which is a bigger tire that holds more weight, the guideline is no more than 7 years. That type of vehicle might sit like some scooters do...the tire might look great just to look at it. Not much wear on the threads, no hairline cracks on the sidewall...but inside the rubber where you can't see the rubber has deteriorated. Replacing a tire a year earlier than it needs to be is better than a blow out. You can check age on tires bought in the US, anyway, by the DOT code on the sidewall.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=11

And by the way, regular monitoring of your tire pressure will help your tires last longer and your bike perform better.