Michelin City Grip tires

I'm a big fan of Michelin City Grip tires. But they seem to be NLA. However Michelin is currently offering City Grip 2 tires.

Has anyone used CG2's and how do you feel about them... how do they compare to original CG's?

Hi Tim.........I've got a City Grip 2 fitted to the rear. Fitted it around February time this year. Due to lockdowns etc I've not done lots of miles this year but find it much better than the original Hoop fitted. Still have the Hoop fitted on the front though. Still plenty of miles in it yet but haven't found and problems with the handling using two different tyres. Don't have any experience of the original City Grip. I will say though that it was a b****r to fit. Very stiff bead and side walls.

I used city grips on my Burgman 400 for a long time and found them excellent. At the time they did not do tyres to fit my Silverwing(maybe they do now). When my tyres on my Cruisym needed changing (originals were Maxxis)  i had no hesitation in fitting city grips and they have proved a very good fit and i ride all year round in all weathers. Not had city grip 2's.

Tim, if they are for your Silver Wing, you'd do well to consider Michelin's Power Pure SC tires. They are a derivative of Michelin's Pilot series of motorcycle tires.  

I've run through several cycles of the Power Pure SC's on both our Burgman and Silver Wing ... they handle very well, are great on wet roads and they last a decently long time as most Michelin tires do.

Here's an interesting video, at the bottom of the page, on scooter tires from Ryan at Fort Nine in Canada. He's very knowledgeable with a direct, no B.S. approach.

https://fortnine.ca/en/michelin-power-pure-sc-front-tire

I ride quite a lot. The season lasts half a year on it's best in Finland, that is part of northern Europe. I ride good 7000 miles mainly long distance trips in Finland but also one longer trip to Norway every summer. The roads I ride are mainly regional roads and because of rough winters, the roads are not in perfect condition because of frost damages and sometimes bad maintenance.

I'd like to try City Grips. but as the scooter market is very small in Finland, there has been difficulties to find City Grips on the size of SW. I don't want to order tyres on line as the date of manufacture may be overtime.

I tried Power Pures a couple of years ago and I do agree, they're good tyres, but only on main roads that are in good condition. Because of the profile of the Power Pures, they're directed very strongly following the cracks on the road and may therefore cause dangerous situations or feel very unpleasant otherwise.

The roads might get icy in spring time or in autumn and that's why I prefer Metzeler Feel Free Wintecs, they're qualified as winter tyres as well according to our legislation. Besides the roads might be very icy even late in July if you ride up in the mountains in Norway.
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Tim, it appears as if City Grips, both iterations, are still available in Canada (FortNine lists them). Perhaps they are simply running down the Gen 1 inventory until they are out of them.

Leena, several have commented about the Power Pures following "cracks" in roads. I have either not experienced this or didn't realize it was happening when I did experience it. Perhaps it's simply the roads I ride which, overall, tend to be in pretty good shape.

Too bad there are no Hakkapeliitta's available for our scooters.

Hello Tim and all,

This spring I install  a set of Contiscoot tire on my Silver Wing. So far I love them they really handle like a charm... The way Continental make  there tire is kind of special. The center is hard  going smooth to the edges,,, So traction is always at his top  either your straight up or lining in a curve...

I also had this type of tire (Conti trail attack 2) in the pass on my 1990  BMW R100GSPD  for over 8 years and always was satisfy.  Don't forget that I was going on dirt road with that bike....

But tires are always a thing for every one ... just telling my personal experience...

Enjoy winter ,,, getting your scoot ready for the spring and dreaming about your next ride....

Michel

My 2 cents on City Grip---were not available in matched sets in my SilverWing days---best for me on SilverWing Micheli Powe Pure---nice handling, lasts long time and wore round!!

I ran Michelin City Grip of my 2019 Kymco XTown 300i= of course not available in matched set, really nothing special, bike was still foul handling pig matched with OEM front. Switched to new matched set of Heidenau, bike is now smooth rolling, nice handling, fun to ride. These tires might cost a little more in US but are surely worth looking in to for Silverwing.

My last tyres were City Grips. However the front was 120/70-14, a slightly lower profile, which made the steering a bit sharper.
Having had a slow puncture in the rear recently, and with 6000 miles on the rear, there was still a bit of mileage left on it. Maybe another 2 - 3000 miles left, but I wouldn't leave it to the last mile before changing anyway.
However it was worn unevenly on the softer side of the tyre, to the point where is was getting twitchy while leaning into corners if the road surface was not perfect.
So with only a couple of thousand miles left on the rear, I decided to replace both tyres (front was also on the way out).
I like the City Grips, and the City Grip 2 now comes with the correct profile size on the front at 120/80-14.
I've only covered a couple of hundred miles so far, in both wet, very wet and dry but cold.
New tyres always feel so much better when you replace worn tyres anyway. But my initial opinion is that they are very good in all weather conditions. So much more confidence in corners.
With the correct front profile, the front end feel more stable. Opening the throttle while leaned over does not cause the rear to move, even in the wet (within reason - not talking MotoGP kind of riding here!).
It will be interesting to see how they wear over time, especially on the softer section of the tyre.

If I can get anything like 6k miles out of a rear tyre I'll be more than happy.
I need a new read boot as the Avon is now stuffed (just over 3k miles) so I'll give city grips a try next.

Just an update for the interested, Michelin City Grip 2 front tyre is now available as a 120 x 80 x 14 directional, as are the rear tyres.
In my opinion the BEST set of tyres you can put on a Swing, or a Burgman for that matter. Excellent grip in the wet and on white lines.
Had to change the centre stand on the Burgman for a later model version because I was grinding away both sides of the stand cornering(UK country roads are all about handling). Did over 5k mls on the Burgman last year, seem to wear slowly and even, they still look new minus the nipples
Just my pennies worth.

Be safe, be seen.

The fronts have been available for a while now. Fitted front one a year ago to match up with rear that I fitted the previous year. Have to agree that the City Grip 2 are great tyres.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

I'm a big fan of Michelin City Grip tires. But they seem to be NLA. However Michelin is currently offering City Grip 2 tires.

Has anyone used CG2's and how do you feel about them... how do they compare to original CG's?

I had Michelin S83 tires on my 50 cc and thought they improved the ride a lot so I decided to stay with them when I needed tires for my Swing ,they don’t make S83’s in the size for the Swingwhich brings me to yesterday morning I warmed the bike up and brought it down off the center stand I had a flat,so I pumped it up with air and no leak was found so I decided to order a set of tires ,I searched every dealer for CG2’s rear 150/70/13 and nobody had one in stock ,front tires are everywhere ,then I found a place in Spain that had both in stock so I sucked up the shipping fees and ordered them,the CG2’s had the most thread out of everything else Michelin has so I went with them,I’m not a fan of tires with only a couple grooves in them ,no way,I currently have Shinko tires on it with enough threads left on them but who knows how old they are so safety comes first….

Ride Safely

Hi John.
Just a foot note: Remind who ever fits the CG2s they are directional and marked with Front or Back direction arrow.
The front will look like it's on the wrong way around tread pattern wise because the grooves roll outer to middle, where as the back rolls middle to outer and "looks correct"

T r e a d ... vs. t h r e a d

JohnyC wrote:

Hi John.
Just a foot note: Remind who ever fits the CG2s they are directional and marked with Front or Back direction arrow.
The front will look like it's on the wrong way around tread pattern wise because the grooves roll outer to middle, where as the back rolls middle to outer and "looks correct"

Hi JohnyC,

Will do,I just went outside and looked at the Shinko’s and they’re just as you described,a question though,is there an marked arrow on the tire showing it’s direction that it spins in ? I was going to bring it to the dealer that the previous owner used for service,there’s a couple of smaller places closer but I’d have to give them a ring and see if they balance them,I seen weights on my rim so I’m assuming they need to be speed balanced , am I correct about that ?

Hi John.
Read my post again to answer your first question(direction being rotation), and yes they require fine balancing.

hope this helps.

Be safe, be seen!

JohnyC wrote:

Hi John.
Read my post again to answer your first question(direction being rotation), and yes they require fine balancing.

hope this helps.

Be safe, be seen!

Oh my bad,I thought when you wrote “ front,back” you were referring to which tires go where on the bike ,but with the tires being different sizes that really makes little sense.

I’ll stop by one of the local places (6 blocks from my house) and see if they have a balancer if not I’ll just bring it to the dealer.


Ride Safely

Balance-----in US, most shops do not or cannot balance scooter tires/wheels! Try "Ride On", not cheap but worked well for me for hundreds of thousand miles with various bikes/scooters.

Just a follow-up on my experience with City Grips.
Down to the wear marks, 0.9mm tread showing, in less than 3k miles and that is an MOT failure. Under 3k is a new record in tyre eating for me, I usually get 3.5 to 4k.
So nice and grippy but it doesn't last. Perhaps the clue is in the "city" bit and it will last longer on smooth, level tarmac at speeds below 50mph.
The search continues...

Just for Information

tps://www.michelinman.com/motorcycle/promotions

I have received my 35.00 rebate for my City Grip 2 tires.

How I look at tyre wear is simple, what value do you put on your life!

It doesn't take much surfing to realise a matched pair of Michelin City Grip 2s is the GOAT of scooter tyres according to reviews.
Personally I can say I have not had one moment or anxiety/fear of loss of traction in any circumstances while using either scooter I own, even on frosted roads in winter which is a real biggy for me on little wheels.
Ok it might come at a wear cost, but it's a price I am happy to pay for total peace of mind!
This is my personal view and not an invite for a bun fight.

Hope this helps others decide on choice of tyre when it comes to renewal.

Be safe, be seen!

john grinsel wrote:

Balance-----in US, most shops do not or cannot balance scooter tires/wheels!   Try "Ride On", not cheap but worked well for me for  hundreds of thousand miles with various bikes/scooters.

Hmm,I’m not sure if the weights on my wheels came from Honda when it was new or if the dealer who did the service on the bike put them on at the last tire change ,I see no difference between a motorcycle or scooter that does 100+ mph and the dealer can only balance motorcycle wheels  and not scooter wheels.

Ride On looks like an interesting product it says it prevents punctures but I’m guessing it really self seals a puncture which is still fine by me ,but I’m not sure on how they claim it balances a tire but I have very little knowledge on how adding a weight to a certain spot on a wheel really works,,,Thank you for posting that

shop machines usually do not take smaller wheels of scooters.

I just bought front and rear City Grip 2. Total cost was $198 US including shipping.

It seems like a very good price to me.

I look forward to installing them. My current OEM tires that came with the bike are showing cracks, and to be honest, don't feel that great when riding.

I looked up the amount of Ride-On needed for each tire and it is 237ml front and 267ml rear which works out to 17.04 oz and the containers of ride-on contain 8 oz each (16oz for 2 bottles).

so for the sake of 1oz, it looks like I will need to purchase an entire bottle.

Wish they would ship the bottles as 10 oz.

africa1228 wrote:

I just bought front and rear City Grip 2. Total cost was $198 US including shipping.

It seems like a very good price to me.

I look forward to installing them. My current OEM tires that came with the bike are showing cracks, and to be honest, don't feel that great when riding.

I looked up the amount of  Ride-On needed for each tire and it is 237ml front and 267ml rear which works out to 17.04 oz and the containers of ride-on contain 8 oz each (16oz for 2 bottles).

so for the sake of 1oz, it looks like I will need to purchase an entire bottle.

Wish they would ship the bottles as 10 oz.

I could be wrong, but if the Ride On is supposed to self distribute in the tire, I have serious doubts that 1 oz will make a huge difference unless you were riding at very high speeds (> 100 mph)- at more normal speeds like 60-70 mph, I don’t think it’ll matter. I’m not certain I would buy the extra bottle for 1 oz of volume.

You might be right. But I am not sure the risk is worth the 25 dollars to make sure. I wonder if the company would respond to a question like that?

africa1228 wrote:

You might be right. But I am not sure the risk is worth the 25 dollars to make sure. I wonder if the company would respond to a question like that?

How would you install Ride-On,,I’m guessing pull the valve stem then pour the stuff in then reinstall the stem ,fill with air then go for an hour ride or so ?

Johnbil09 wrote:

africa1228 wrote:

You might be right. But I am not sure the risk is worth the 25 dollars to make sure. I wonder if the company would respond to a question like that?

How would you install Ride-On,,I’m guessing pull the valve stem then pour the stuff in then reinstall the stem ,fill with air then go for an hour ride or so ?

I believe remove the valve core, connect the tube, fill the tire with the Ride On, replace valve core, reinflate and off you go. Or, install it before popping the bead in place when you perform a tire change. From what I understand, it’s not supposed to gunk up the valve stem (and you can blow some air through it with the valve core out if you wanted to be sure). The website says you can use any tire pump (I guess including a hand pump).

Erdoc48 wrote:

Johnbil09 wrote:

africa1228 wrote:

You might be right. But I am not sure the risk is worth the 25 dollars to make sure. I wonder if the company would respond to a question like that?

How would you install Ride-On,,I’m guessing pull the valve stem then pour the stuff in then reinstall the stem ,fill with air then go for an hour ride or so ?

I believe remove the valve core, connect the tube, fill the tire with the Ride On, replace valve core, reinflate and off you go. Or, install it before popping the bead in place when you perform a tire change. From what I understand, it’s not supposed to gunk up the valve stem (and you can blow some air through it with the valve core out if you wanted to be sure). The website says you can use any tire pump (I guess including a hand pump).

Gotcha,that’s what I thought.I was just looking at my front tire which is also used as a rear tire on some bikes because it has two directional arrow showing both rear going one way and front showing the opposite.Also surprisingly is Michelin City Grip 2’s are
 made in Serbia,,,,

Having now received my commission from Michelin, I can now recommend the City Grip 2 Tyre which I have just test riden.

I've used Hoops since I bought the bike 10 years ago and the CG2s have made a huge improvement to the inherent 'harshness' of the front end of SWs. My SW is all 'stock' apart from YSS rear shocks and a GiVi screen.

JohnyC's comments on the rotation orientation of the CG2s are quite interesting. When I picked the loose wheels up I had to check and double check that the shop had put them on the right way round! The tread pattern did confuse me.

They costed £128.00 the pair, plus shipping of £7, I thought that was very reasonable. The shop charged £60 for the fitting plus one valve and balancing; I winced a bit. Does that sound reasonable to you?

Anyhow, CG2s.....Serbian technology at its best.

I had a Hoop on the SWing (front and rear)- the original ones that I purchased the Swing with which were reportedly new and a replacement Hoop rear, as the original one had a couple of punctures in it- the replacement one also got a puncture, so now on the back, I’m running a Shinko 568 (I think that’s it) and it was $37 to mount it. I tried an internal patch that failed, and my tire machine is good for 14-21” wheels, so no go on the rear wheel- I took it for just a short ride with the new tire- so far it runs well/ handles well and was cheap ($63 for the tire). Anyone know if a fender extender is sold for the front? I was reading that with that, it reliably lessens the risk of a rear tire puncture as it doesn’t allow nails and screws to be set up to impale the back tire. Any thoughts?

Also, my tire shop said they couldn’t balance the rear wheel/ tire due to the larger hub (not like a typical MC wheel)- it doesn’t feels like it’s vibrating at all, but what is the opinion of Ride On vs Counteract vs DynaBeads?

Tyre repair has its limits so I prefer to replace the tyre after a puncture.

It seems as if balancing the rear wheel would have to be done at home. I haven't found anyone who can do it, they also say the rear wheel balance is not required but I disagree.

I always assumed that a front fender extension helps to keep the crud out of the radiator area although it may protect the rear tyre too.

Using beads is covered in other threads. That's a whole new world!

Erdoc48 wrote:

... snipped ... Anyone know if a fender extender is sold for the front? I was reading that with that, it reliably lessens the risk of a rear tire puncture as it doesn’t allow nails and screws to be set up to impale the back tire. Any thoughts?

Also, my tire shop said they couldn’t balance the rear wheel/ tire due to the larger hub (not like a typical MC wheel)- it doesn’t feels like it’s vibrating at all, but what is the opinion of Ride On vs Counteract vs DynaBeads?

1) I wrote to the Fenda Extenda manufacturer and they stated they do not make one for our SWings.  They said nobody had ever brought in a SWing so they could not prototype one! I can not believe with all of the other makes/models they supply, another one wouldn't be "close".

2) I use Counteract balance beads. I talked to the VP Sales from Counteract at the Toronto MC show in January. He said 1 oz. is all our tires need for balancing. Previously I had put 2 oz. in (I think I got this from the Dyna Bead site). I still had a small balancing issue with the 2 oz.

Just a reminder.

If your Michelin City Grip 2 tread pattern does not look like this Photo from the front (Suzuki AN400)



then it is fitted incorrectly and should be removed and refitted correctly.

Hope this helps.

Be safe, be seen!

Loosemarbles wrote:

Having now received my commission from Michelin, I can now recommend the City Grip 2 Tyre which I have just test riden.

I've used Hoops since I bought the bike 10 years ago and the CG2s have made a huge improvement to the inherent 'harshness' of the front end of SWs. My SW is all 'stock' apart from YSS rear shocks and a GiVi screen.

JohnyC's comments on the rotation orientation of the CG2s are quite interesting. When I picked the loose wheels up I had to check and double check that the shop had put them on the right way round! The tread pattern did confuse me.

They costed £128.00 the pair, plus shipping of £7, I thought that was very reasonable. The shop charged £60 for the fitting plus one valve and balancing; I winced a bit. Does that sound reasonable to you?

Anyhow, CG2s.....Serbian technology at its best.

The CG2’s for the front is a size that also fits some scooters rear tire that’s why on the side of the tire there is a directional arrow pointing in different directions if it’s mounted as a front it spins one way and if it’s mounted as a rear it spins in the opposite direction,,,,the stamps are on the same side of the tire with the words “ front” and “rear” with an arrow pointing in the spin direction…

I have Contscoot tires on my Swing since I bought it in September 2023 and now 5000 miles later the rear tire is down to the wear bars. This seems to me a pretty short lifespan and will replace it with a Shinko SR568. The Contis weren't bad on dry roads, tar strips didn't cause any concern and the front wobble between 35 and 55 mph was scary. I'm going to install and balance the Shinkos myself using MC tire irons.

I think you’re going to like the handling and grip with the Shinkos. I have a rear 568 on my SWing and it’s been on a few thousand miles and it looks like it hasn’t worn or flat spotted at all at the center. I have a front but am waiting for my current Hoop tire to wear in the front a bit more- they’re cheap and they work. To balance, you may need a Marc Parnes balancer if you want to do it properly:

http://www.marcparnes.com/Honda_Motorcycle_Wheel_Balancer.htm

I have one and it is very precise (and fits the larger hub of the rear wheel)- the rear tire took ~ 1.25 oz of weight to balance.

Erdoc48, thanks for the input. The tire does look beefy : anything over 5000 miles would be good. I still balance my tires using the shaft bolt with two identical upside down five gallon paint buckets.