New tyres

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SmithBlue
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New tyres

Post by SmithBlue »

Hello,
My rear tyre is losing air and it probably needs replacement as it can get flat in a couple of hours. I was not able to spot where the hole is.
I am very new to mororbike tyres so I would like to ask any suggestions on what could be done ?
Basically I was thinking on upgrading my tyres to something better.
I am interested in better grip in the rain.
And better grip in top speeds (65mph)
Any suggestions?
Thanks !!
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Re: New tyres

Post by TheMaverick »

An easy way to find the leak is to mix up some dishwashing liquid in warm water and "paint" (or even slop) it on the tyre while the bike is on the center stand - and then look for bubbles.

If there's still plenty of tread left then the tyre can probably be plugged, but my strong suggestion is not to let them do that without taking the tyre off the rim so that the repair can be inspected in the inside of the tyre (I made this mistake once and the plug blew out without warning - and as you probably know by now, a flat rear while riding is a VERY unpleasant and potentially dangerous thing). If the tyre is over 1/2 life then probably easiest to just have it replaced.

I've found stock tyre to be more than adequate. Tyres are always a compromise - the grippier the tyre the more drag you'll have and the slower the bike will go and the more fuel it'll burn. If you're riding conservatively then I can't imagine you'll be anywhere near the limits of adhesion even on stock tyres (we don't exactly have MotoGP type lean angles). Having just said that, Michelin City Grips are a very popular tyre -- not sure if you can get them where you live since your location isn't filled in in your profile yet :) (I can't get them here in New Zealand, but am happy with the stock tyres anyway).

The "trick" with tyres is not to run them too long; the inside of the tyre stayed rounded, but the outside gets a flat spot - and the tyre gets thinner and thinner until they "meet in the middle" and you get a rapid deflation which WILL make your "eyes water" if it happens at 65MPH (chances of skin grafts and metal plates screwed into bones is a distinct possibility at that point too). I've run a couple of rear tyres to 14,000km and had blowouts - I was stupid. These days I set myself a hard limit of 10,000km for a rear and 15,000km for a front. I'm also a big fan of the FOBO tyre pressure monitoring system - it's a seriously impressive piece of kit.

Hope this helps.
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Re: New tyres

Post by easyrider »

Michelin City Grip work very well
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Re: New tyres

Post by SmithBlue »

Thanks a lot for your replies ! Especially @TheMaverick! Very informative post! I stay in London,UK and it rains a lot here!. It is possible to to find the Michelin city grip here. I also found a winter edition of this tyre. Would it be better for rain?
Anyone else having another tyre model to suggest? It would be nice to have a list with tried tyres in the forum.
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Re: New tyres

Post by you you »

SmithBlue wrote:Thanks a lot for your replies ! Especially @TheMaverick! Very informative post! I stay in London,UK and it rains a lot here!. It is possible to to find the Michelin city grip here. I also found a winter edition of this tyre. Would it be better for rain?
Anyone else having another tyre model to suggest? It would be nice to have a list with tried tyres in the forum.

I didn't realise there was a winter version City Grip. Does it have a different reference or name? Other than winter grip :lol:

Your original tyre loosing air might be the valve. Easily tested with a bit of spit.
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Re: New tyres

Post by TheMaverick »

SmithBlue wrote:Thanks a lot for your replies ! Especially @TheMaverick! Very informative post! I stay in London,UK and it rains a lot here!. It is possible to to find the Michelin city grip here. I also found a winter edition of this tyre. Would it be better for rain?
Anyone else having another tyre model to suggest? It would be nice to have a list with tried tyres in the forum.
I've not used City Grips, but I don't think I've ever heard a bad report about them. Probably easiest for you to just jump on the web and do some searching for your area (or make a few phone calls).

Again, if you're riding properly then you should already have a big margin in tyre grip. Just be sure to avoid any lateral forces on the bike when going over painted road markings and especially on tar snakes when it's raining (ie don't go over either of them when you're leaned over in a turn). Be careful coming to a stop and putting your foot on pained road signs - they can be slippery underfoot too (I've had a foot slide as I stopped - was a wee "minties moment").
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Re: New tyres

Post by iceman »

SmithBlue wrote:Thanks a lot for your replies ! Especially @TheMaverick! Very informative post! I stay in London,UK and it rains a lot here!. It is possible to to find the Michelin city grip here. I also found a winter edition of this tyre. Would it be better for rain? Anyone else having another tyre model to suggest? It would be nice to have a list with tried tyres in the forum.
Hi, I live in London and have commuted 9 miles each way for over 3 years on stock IRC's and had zero issues in any conditions - they will soon need changing but I've done just under 13,000 miles on them with still 1mm tread depth. As you know, we have a fair share of flooded, dirty and icey roads and the IRC's coped perfectly. Still, others have issues with them even at low speed in good condtions, so each to their own.

From tyre discussions and links posted in this forum over time, here are some good on-line retailers for the UK/London area and some of them even have cheap fitting suggestions going by your postcode - £12-15 / tyre, and there is a mobile mechanic that fits scooter/motorbike tyres for £12.50 at home or work but they have to be off the bike! For the price from postcode lookups on those sites, the £12-15 fitted by turning up with them on seems good, too much hassle doing it yourself for these prices - dealers want £35-40 on average to fit tyres and many will only fit if they supply. HGB and another in Ruislip will supply and fit Battleax tyres for £75-85

http://www.tyretectrading.co.uk
http://www.mytyres.co.uk
http://www.tyreleader.co.uk

Good tyre suggestions are:
Michelin CG's
Pirelli Diablo's
Heidenau K66 (normal and a winter version)
Bridgestone Battleax (no idea what these are like)
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Re: New tyres

Post by iceman »

I was going to purchase a tyre online and get it fitted, or do it myself as I wanted to check and clean the inside of the rim where the tyre rests against as apparently overtime it can get a little rusty and thus cause a slow leak of pressure. But now taking it to a tyre/garage outlet as they stated £64 all in inc. VAT (tax) to supply and fit a Michelin CG rear, which is a good price and less hassle than buying a tyre and taking the wheel/tyre to get it fitted.

I was considering doing it myself as it seems easy enough to brake the bead but I was not sure about the 'bead' taking when re-filling with air - a Youtube video shows the tyre inflated way past the normal pressure to seal the bead and then letting air out (puffs of smoke came off the tyre when the bead broke?!) About 8.30 in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PD48uGl4o

After three years I was not sure how easy the wheel would have come off, now it's over to them and I can relax.
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Re: New tyres

Post by gn2 »

Much less hassle to get a ride in ride out service.
There wouldn't be much savings doing it yourself.
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Re: New tyres

Post by alx123 »

At 16000 kms im Still been using the oem tires IRC that came with the scoot, and i never had any problem with them even in the rain. I'm from Bangkok and it rains a lot here.

I figure I might need a new tire anytime soon too, so ill either try the city grip or the pirelli diablo.

Better change your tire now, if it's losing air that fast. Also depends on how many kms you have on it too..

If it's a valve leak, then that can be fixed easily. But if it's a puncture I would recommend changing the tires ASAP.
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Re: New tyres

Post by TheMaverick »

alx123 wrote:At 16000 kms im Still been using the oem tires IRC that came with the scoot
I'd love to know how you're managing to do that -- I haven't got any much past 14,000km to the point where they self-destructed.
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Re: New tyres

Post by alx123 »

TheMaverick wrote:
alx123 wrote:At 16000 kms im Still been using the oem tires IRC that came with the scoot
I'd love to know how you're managing to do that -- I haven't got any much past 14,000km to the point where they self-destructed.
my mistake, im at 14000 kms now, not 16k.

But my tire haven't touched its wear bars yet, as soon as they reached the wear bars, im gonna change it asap

It might be coz im light at 65kgs and i dont usually run above 100kph..

Also no longer distances so tires might not be heating much..i travel only 35kms to work and same going back home in the afternoon.
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Re: New tyres

Post by alx123 »

Oh, also keeping my tire pressure at reco specs. Checking every week to make sure they stayed 29 psi front and 33 rear.
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