Modern Vespa

Well, imagine my surprise when I was checking my tires this morning and found cracks all over my Continetal Zippys. I only just got them less than maybe 1,200 to 1,500 miles or so ago (I have about 3,100 total miles on this scooter). Granted, I took them on a long ride (300+ miles in two days) but they still shouldn't fall apart because of that. Anyone else have this trouble?

First of all, I'm posting this just in case you have Zippys too and want to run out and check them. Also, does anyone know what the warranty is on these? Should I try to contact Continental or the store I bought them from? I was really shocked, since nearly all I've ever read/heard about Zippy 1s are good things, that's why I got them. My mechanic looked at them today and said "they were probably in storage on a shelf somewhere," but I know it wasn't at the store (Scooter Parts Direct) since they ordered them for me.

:: sigh :: I love these tires, but all the cracks scared the crap out of me when I saw them:

All the cracks appear to be near the rim. I wonder if somehow they were overstressed during mounting. I would contact the seller and see if the warranty would cover them.

Forgive me for being too busy or lazy to walk outside my office and check my GTS tires for comparison, but are scooter tires marked the same way car tires are?

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

I remember looking into this one time when getting car tires and was told about this date stamping so you can be sure you're not getting old tires. Since the Vespa tires should also fall under DOT, I'd guess they have to be stamped too. As I said, I should have walked outside and checked my tires before writing this, but maybe it's worth looking on your tire. At least that way you can rule out that issue.

Karen

I just checked my tires and, although they are not Zippys, they do have the maufacture date on them. I would think yours would too....

Just checked mine - 1006 on my '06 GTS, so it's there on the Savas too.

Karen

THE DREADED DRY ROT..... OLD INVENTORY , NOT FRESH STOCK..... OR TO MUCH ARMOR ALL.

Did any of those people who went outside to check the date stamp on their tires even look for cracks?

Of course! Mine were fine. Bought in June '06 with tires apparently made in the 10th week of 2006, and 3,300 miles later they are ok. I am about to change them to Michelins though when I bring it in for service (and hopefully the Leo Vince pipe will be available by then too).

Karen

Thanks for posting this by the way!!!

I've been checking my tire pressure and tread but didn't think to look for cracks when doing my tire check!

Yep! I have 2 sets of tires one set is from 04 and one from 05. No cracks, good tread, pretty little tires!

Because of this thread I have been checking the sides much better than before.

Ok, I have to say this. People keep throwing this Armor All thing around and I swear no one but me must be using it anymore since everyone thinks its so bad. BULLSHIT

I have bikes I've been using Armor All on for twenty years. The hoses are like new. The seats have not developed not even one crack. The tires get liberally sprayed at the end of the riding season and no, they don't seem any slicker in the spring than any other tire which sits for a few months. The grips are worn but never showed any cracking either.

Listen, I don't mean this to be harsh but I'm pretty sure the next response will be someone saying their brother/father/cousin/sister/GOAT used the stuff and all hell broke loose. It just is not true. I sprayed Armor All on the dash of a car I had for twelve years which was only garaged for about a year or so of those twelve years. The vinyl and rubber on that thing looked better than some new cars which don't have those parts treated with anything at all. I'm not telling you someone else told me this, I'm telling you this is what I use because it flat works. The original formula either sprayed on or wiped on has never in over twenty years presented a hint of a problem for me. And I've got a twenty year old bike I bought new and ONLY use Armor All on, to prove it.

Roadbum

I just got around to this post.

My Continental Zippy 1 on the rear of my ET4 was just mounted a couple of weeks ago. I received it just a little before that from Motorsport Scooters.

No cracks that I can see.

I'm not sure of where exactly the date stamp is, but there is an oval with 1107 marked in it. Is that it? Time for some decaf, dude.

i use armor all all the time, don't see what the big deal about not using it is.

just don't use it on your scooter seat. not that it will ruin it, it's just that you'll slide right off it going down a hill. i did that once, never again.

Those tires look a bit on the old side judging the coloring. The placement of the cracks would make it seem that they were not installed properly, or were run with too little air in them.

That should be it - your tires were manufactured in the 11th week of this year (March). I have found the marks on my other tires too.


Karen

I have to agree. Improper mounting or running underinflated are the most likely causes. I would replace them if mine looked like that.

Well here's the problem. They were made in the 17th week of 1959.

Now THAT is some seriously bad stock rotation habits there

Crystal, thanks for posting this. Too bad!

Who did the mounting for you? I'd check with them in case it was caused by a mounting problem.

I'd also contact Scooter Parts Direct and have them double check with their vendor.

Sorry to hear about it. Let us know how this works out.

--Deborah

You are saying that the Continental Zippy 1 tire has been made since 1959 and that these tires are 48 years old?

No, certainly not. It was a joke about the DOT numbers because the tire said "1759" and we just learned how to decipher the codes. That is not the date code, it's a different number.

get rid.


then get some new rubber.


dont risk a blow out.

I'm sorry I dropped this thread - I'm getting prepared for a big move, so I've been kind of tunnel-visioned by working and packing.

Some follow up:

The oddest thing is that I bought the front one from Max (Hi Max) at Scooterwest and the rear one from Scooter Parts Direct within a week of each other. So maybe it is a mounting issue. But they could have each come from the same warehouse, even if they were from a different vendor, right?

No one can tell me if there is any sort of warranty on these tires. Actually, I haven't even had a chance to talk to Scooterwest about them. Continental did not respond to any queries.

In any case, tomorrow they are being replaced with Michelin S1s that I ordered from scootrichmond.com.

thanks all for your help!

Crystal

Well,now it's sorted,I can do the joke that it's probably all those little yellow arrows that have cracked your tyres...

Oh, thanks for the reminder - I forgot to mention, I removed all the sharp little yellow arrows and disposed of them in a proper and legal manner.

fwiw, here are the numbers stamped on my continentals:

the front, from Scooterwest:


the rear, from Scooter Parts Direct:


Maybe they were inflated too low - but I can blame all of you since I posted on here asking what they should be inflated to, and I went with the manufacturer's suggested psi that I learned about here.

Since it was mentioned, I have not used Armor All or other similar product on these tires.

I was warned years ago by a vinyl seat recoverer about using Armor All in dry, high altitude locales. I was told it can dry out rubber or vinyl.

Thanks for the update, Crystal. A mystery.... will you have someone different mount the new tires?

I've heard such good things about Zippy 1's till now. And now I'm somewhat worried.

No one else here has had similar problems, apparently--

Hope your move hasn't been too crazy-making!

--Deborah

Deborah, if I had an option maybe I'd have someone else mount them. But I'm going to go with my current mechanic. I trust him, and he's been mounting tires for a zillion years. Maybe he made a mistake, maybe it's a fluke, or a pressure thing like Max suggested, especially since they came from two sources and no one I know of has had this problem with them. I guess we'll see! I hope it serves as a reminder to everyone to keep an eye on their tires regularly, no matter what the brand.

Crystal