what tyres?

Just bought my 3k mile 2007 SW to replace my BMW GS1200 bike. Bike is wearing some Bridgestone tyres that have some life left.

However, in the wet they are horrible. Bike is very unstable and slidy. On the front especially when I approach with GS style vigour, it is almost lowsiding constantly. I reckon its only a matter of days before I actually lose the front properly and lowside the bike.

I think there are 2 issues here: I find it hard to believe the SW is that much worse that the GS in corners (I have owned a 125cc Vespa for years and it was better than my SW currently), so I think it must be the tyres.

What are the choices? Presumably all the big manufacturers make a tyre for it?

Actually the choices are not so many - You folks accross the pond have a few more choices than we do, but a good place for us in the states to shop from and a good place to do some research is: http://tinyurl.com/yj2eval

theop wrote:

Just bought my 3k mile 2007 SW to replace my BMW GS1200 bike. Bike is wearing some Bridgestone tyres that have some life left.

However, in the wet they are horrible. Bike is very unstable and slidy. On the front especially when I approach with GS style vigour, it is almost lowsiding constantly. I reckon its only a matter of days before I actually lose the front properly and lowside the bike.

I think there are 2 issues here: I find it hard to believe the SW is that much worse that the GS in corners (I have owned a 125cc Vespa for years and it was better than my SW currently), so I think it must be the tyres.

What are the choices? Presumably all the big manufacturers make a tyre for it?

I have never tried them but the Pirelli Diablos have been reported to have good wet gripping.

The Bridgestones are not fantastic cornering when wet ... the IRCs have been reported to be even worse.

My next front tire (waiting in my garage) is a rear Michelin Gold Standard.

From my research online and magazines the Pirellei Diablos seem to be rated highly, especially by the owners, and I've also read that the metzeler feelfree tyres are good.

Besides the bridgestones, which I agree as a set front and rear they handle horrible, I have tried the Michelin pilot sports front and rear, which are much better than the Bridgestones, but only two thirds the life on the rear tyre....

At the moment I am running a michelin pilot sport on the front and a bridgestone on the back, and wow...... best combination yet, even better than the michelins front and rear.... The handling is transformed, and the S'wing now corners much easier/quicker and drops into a corner with confidence and with just a little counter pressure on the handlebars.... At first it felt almost too quick, but once I got used to it, it felt great.

So if your bridgestones have some decent life left, I would recommend that you replace the front with something other than bridgestone and keep the harder wearing bridgestone on the rear. I can definitely recommend a Michelin pilot sport on the front in that configuration...

I ll try that Bernando, tks v much....

Thanks for all your comments on tyres, I too have experienced handling problem with the factory fitted Bridgestones. I may well try the Michelin Pilot front, Hoop rear combo.

At first I thought it was me on a new bike in the wet. But after nearly 2000 miles my confidence has not advanced much farther.

My Burgman sported Hoops all round and I had ultimate confidence in their abilities to grip the road in all conditions.

This is "Old Dave" in Western Nebraska....
I have a set of "Pirelli Diablos" on my 2005 Silverwing. I now have about
fifteen hundred miles on them and they are a good over all replacement. I
went up on the Scottsbluff Nat'l Monument the other day and hit a patch of
water and frozen ice. I was very surprised as they held very well. I don't know
if other tires would have made a difference but that was my experience with
the "Pirelli Diablos."

I have the Diablos, i bought my scoot used so all I can say is the new Diablo is a whole lot better than a worn down hoop. I never had the hoops when they were new and i only have a 1,000 miles on the diablos but it has been a world of difference. Theyre both stickier and quieter than the hoops were, Im taking freeway turnoffs at about 20 mph faster than before.

theop wrote:

I ll try that Bernando, tks v much....

Glad to help

On a final note my last bike (recently sold) I had Maxxis tyres fitted before selling her on, and they where also very good, especially the price!! They were certainly as good as any of the other more expensive tyres such as Michelin, Metzeler, Bridgestone, Pirelli, etc However I only recently discovered Maxxis, so have not tried them on the S'wing, though am not sure if they make them in the right size....

I currently have a Yamaha Fazer with Pirelli Diablos, and they are awesome.

Anyway good luck with your choice, and ley us know how you get on...

Best wishes

Bernard

getting a Michelin Pilot sport front only as per Bernando's idea fitted tomorrow. Will keep you posted...

theop wrote:

getting a Michelin Pilot sport front only as per Bernando's idea fitted tomorrow. Will keep you posted...

Excellent! How do you find it? At the risk of teaching u to suck eggs, please remember to go easy for the first 50 miles or so till the tyre is worn in and is gripping properly.... Have fun!

Hello THEOP,
just joined the forum and found your post - could almost have written it myself! I've just changed from 11 years with an R1100GS. Find the same unsure feeling with the SWing. First noticed it in the wet, I've had front wheel slide out and both wheels slide out on occasions. This in situations where the GS would have just run through with confidence. I've ridden a friend's Burgman 650 with Bridgestones and that feels much more "planted" and secure, so I'm wondering if it's also to do with weight distribution. The Burgman's engine is much further forward (and the bike weighs 50Kg more as well). Anyway, I've found the comments here useful and I'll decide when the time comes to change tyres. Meantime, I'll have to tone down my expectations on the wintry Pennine roads here.
Keep Shiney Side Up
Phillip

If available in your country try these http://tinyurl.com/6k7adfd

In my opinion its the best choice for the SW, but sometimes it produces a light shimmy at the scooter. These tyres are also available in wintec type.

RJ

i experienced Hoops bridgestone, michelin gold standard and pilotsport sc, metzeller feel free on the sw and maxxis on my first scoot.

what i think
MTZ FF > pilotsport sc >> michelin goldstandard > hoops >> maxxis

wintec type for metzeller does not exist in France (grrrr...)

Boudioue wrote:

wintec type for metzeller does not exist in France (grrrr...)

It does not exist? I thought they developed this tire for countries like italy and france...

But i think it should be no problem to order the tires from germany? As i know, tires in germany much cheaper than in france. I had some colleges that are working in Paris (Airport Orly, do you know the purple Aircrafts? ) and they are changing all the tires in germany because they costs only the half in germany...

If you want some of the wintecs, i think i can help you with the german online shops

The french version of www.reifendirekt.de have the Feelfree Wintecs and they are only ~7€ more than in germany.
Take a look at www.123pneus.com

Great, Thanks !

I think next I'll put Pilotsport sc or pirelli Diablo and for next winter I'll try your idea !

Just had some Pirelli Diablo Scooter fitted to my 08 at 25000km. 10 out of 10 for the Diablos. No understeer or bad habits. For ref, they replaced the orig front and second rear. The prev owner only got 10000km from the orig rear, and I got 15000km for the second but it looked like 'Kojak' in the end. The front had reverse type flappy wear, which made siren-type noise in a lean, probably due to my heavy braking in Melbourne traffic (thank god for the linked brakes). Go Swings! Getting a better run out of her that the Burg...

+1 for the Metzeler Feelfree Wintecs

Great for a wet Britain

Cheers,

Fitted Pirelli Diablo myself a while back and I like them, they seem to feel warmer than the Bridgestones after a ride which may make them better in the wet but mileage may suffer.

i thought it was just me,

still got original tyres on from new 2005 as far as i can tell

i am very nervous cornering to the right,erm (just had the wing two days) badly need new tyre to help my confidence, gonna try the Feelfree front and rear, drove over a middle white line today slipped thought i was going to lose it.

Hey La Moto Mota. I live in Fairfield and Jeff at Davis Motorsports does all scoot' work that I don't do myself. If you don't know Jeff, introduce yourself to him. He's a fine mechanic.
I ride through Davis on the way to meetings in Sacramento and up the hill to Placerville. The Swing is a great business vehicle, I've even taken clients to lunch on it. The storage allows you to show up for meetings with no one aware that you rode.
I mostly refuse to use my mobile while driving, so the scoot loses nothing to effeciency. Lastly, it gets the same MPG as the Prius I drive when it's cold and/or raining.
Where do you wait?

SCTLVR wrote:

Hey La Moto Mota. I live in Fairfield and Jeff at Davis Motorsports does all scoot' work that I don't do myself. If you don't know Jeff, introduce yourself to him. He's a fine mechanic.
I ride through Davis on the way to meetings in Sacramento and up the hill to Placerville. The Swing is a great business vehicle, I've even taken clients to lunch on it. The storage allows you to show up for meetings with no one aware that you rode.
I mostly refuse to use my mobile while driving, so the scoot loses nothing to effeciency. Lastly, it gets the same MPG as the Prius I drive when it's cold and/or raining.
Where do you wait?

La Moto Mota last posted in 2009 so don't expect a reply too soon!!!!!

I'm a very patient guy!

SCTLVR wrote:

I'm a very patient guy!

My next front tire (waiting in my garage) is a rear Michelin Gold Standard.[/quote]

I Had a Michelin rear Tire on the front of my Goldwing Trike that lasted twice as long is the Org. tire. It was turned to where the rotation was backward. Do you do this on the Swing?

I just received the brand new Michelin Pilot Power Pure SCs and will be mounting them in a few weeks to the second pair of wheels I picked up on ebay recently.

Jesse in Atlanta

I'm very happy with the initial 2,200 miles (~3,500 Km) on the Michelin PS SC's on the Swing.

2000 miles on the new Metzler Feel Frees and the difference is night and day from stock tires. I will never go back to stock after having these.

I run the 35 dollar Shinko tires on mine for the past 20,000 miles and they handle all weather great for me. I commute on mine so I get to test it in many weather types. Back tire last about 7000 miles or so.

I have a 2010 swing ,I have found that the tires that came from the factory gave me good service,IRC is the brand name ,I got 20,000 mi on the front and 11,000 on the rear and replaced them with the same .

Got to agree with CVan, I have had both the Metzler Wintec Feel Free and the Metzler Feel Free, the Wintec are not so good with the mileage, better on cold wet days; but better mileage and handling with the Feel free, would never got back to the stock Bridgestone hoops!

I am trying the Heidenau K66 tires to replace the hoops I had been running. I replaced both the front and rear tires together 6100 miles ago, and just replaced the rear again with the same tire.

Rear Tire (new):	Front Tire (6100 miles):

They seem to be fine on the road, it is off road (shoulders, dirt parking lots, etc.) where they really shine. I felt much more comfortable in a rainy construction zone with metal plates and broken pavement than with the hoops. They wear slightly better than the hoops, cost about the same (within $10), and feel more sporty.

TWJ74 wrote:

I have a 2010 swing ,I have found that the tires that came from the factory gave me good service,IRC is the brand name ,I got 20,000 mi on the front and 11,000 on the rear and replaced them with the same .

I agree with the above. The IRC's that came as OEM are great. I too got 11K on the rear and the front is still in service at well over 12K. Good tires and price is good too!

Az Kicker, I like the looks of those tires. How many miles did you get out of the rear Hoop ? Did the Hoop last longer than the Heidenau K66 ? The K66 looks like it would handle rain better than most tires I've seen.

This is all very confusing, I have been perfectly happy with my HOOPS and now I find that they are no good !!!

Look on sticker---those tires are what Honda tested and approved----for me of the approved type, IRC worked best. SilverWing is old design, recommended tires old design, too....but work!

Hoops rear seem to wear square=goofy handling...probably not bothering the car tire people. Recent experience, same size front Hoop as SilverWing, my Burgman 400 went 30,000 miles on Front....and could have gone more but I was starting trip and find it cheaper to start long rides with fresh tires put on at home by me.

I usually do not like to deviate from manufacturer's recommendation-----but Michelin SC power pure in proper size REAR work ok, wear round, don't slip....I can get at least 11,000 miles out of rear....and probably much more in local riding. Dennis Kirk has them under $50 at times.

Most bike shops cannot or do not balance scooter wheels well in US----I use "Ride On" as balance aide, not cheap@ $15 a wheel....but maybe tire/wheel rotating mass needs adjustment to balance during tire life---and this stuff does it. Getting it in can be messy pain.....I made up hose/clamps so with tire/wheel on bench=easy. Well balanced tire have more miles in them.

Don't be disheartened - I had Hoops on my X9500 and swore by them.

Horses for courses; I wouldn't mind betting different tyres react differently in different countries.

Az Kicker wrote:

I am trying the Heidenau K66 tires to replace the hoops I had been running. I replaced both the front and rear tires together 6100 miles ago, and just replaced the rear again with the same tire.  >>Edit<<!They seem to be fine on the road, it is off road (shoulders, dirt parking lots, etc.) where they really shine. I felt much more comfortable in a rainy construction zone with metal plates and broken pavement than with the hoops. They wear slightly better than the hoops, cost about the same (within $10), and feel more sporty.

Heidenaus have always been known as an off-road tire. I do hope you favor us with a follow up post regarding real-time tire life (mileage).

There's a nasty 500+km gravel road up in Labrador I've had my eye one for quite some time now. But having an extra set of tires for the to & fro transit just isn't in the cards.

Tim

Correction on Heidenau tires or tires from Heidenau----during DDR times known as Pneumant---OEM on MZ street bikes. Few dirt bikes were old on those times

Wore like iron, a little slippery in wet solo, great on sidecar outfits as they lasted a while.

Pneumant produced tyres in the former East Germany from 1952 until 1993, a few years after the Unification of Germany when the brand name was changed to Heidenau. That's only 20 years ago and at first they only produced 35 specific tyre types and sizes, so how have they 'always been known as an off-road tire'?

I used many a set of Pneumant tyres in my MZ riding years as they were OE on new bikes and had no idea Heidenau was formerly Pneumant until a few years ago. They advertise quite a bit in German scooter mags and their unusual tread patterns do catch the eye more than other tyres.  

Heidenau had a display at a cycle show I attended last year. I was amazed at the number of different sizes available now. Most are available by order (dealers don't carry all sizes natch). In examining the tires (tyres), they were very heavy and appeared well-made. Prices seem in line with others but to date I have not had need to try them.

And a Vewy Mewwy Christmas to you all.

GHM-PM wrote:

Heidenau had a display at a cycle show I attended last year.  I was amazed at the number of different sizes available now.

Heidenau have gone from the 35 tyre applications they had in 1993 to the 550 they currently do now. Apart from curiosity I've no reason to change from Bridgestone Hoops, I've had them on a variety of different sized maxi scooters and I average about 8500 miles before I change the rear. With the exception of the lardass 650 Burgman where the rear squared off as it became worn, I haven't had any problems with them at all.

I put a Metzler FeelFree on my 2005 last time and put almost 9000 smiles on it and really felt it was the best I have had so put on another new one today. I think my Silverwing functions well with the Metzers