Modern Vespa

Per this post: https://modernvespa.com/forum/post2377676?highlight=#2377676 I was desperately due for some new tires since the '03 scoot was still on original city grips (14.5K mi).

Searched for alternatives since city grip fronts are still ~$85 delivered, I looked at Pirelli Angel Scooter as the older Angel GT has good reviews from the ST crowd. the only US based (Angel Scooter is relatively new in USA) review was on ADVR: https://advrider.com/f/threads/angel-scooter-tire.1405433/page-2 but I figured at $67 - 110/70-16 shipped there was a significant saving.

So far I've < 100 mi on these.


A few thoughts:
Date code: 1419, I received the tire 0320. Kinda bummed the tire sat around for over 10 months, but apparently it's not selling well even via Cycle Gear.
All my front wobble is gone.
The new tire rides like a pile of marshmallow encased rubberband. It's soaking up so much more small road bumps and the front end is so smooth now.
Tramlining, especially highway, drastically reduced.

I don't know how much of that is from just a new tire, or how much was from THIS tire, but at < $70 + tire mounting/balancing the bv is riding very differently and comfortably.

The bad: per report on advr, the initial turn-in requires greater push, possibly due to stiffness, possibly due to taller sidewall. I'm no expert, but the minute delay between bar-push and actual turn was very disconcerting at first.

I first noticed the disparity even while the scooter is static. W/ the rockhard old tire, the handle bar moved as soon as you applied pressure, w/ the new tire, there is some odd force preventing quick angle change. I'm still getting used to it.

Hoping to get 10K+ mi out of these, at which point the BV will be more than 10YO and would probably cleared out of the staple.



Next: TCX GP Master, currently on "clearance" at Amazon for $140. Substituting my old, bulky Oxtar TCS Sport that's down, but not quite worn out.

These came in less than a week ago, is no longer made in Italy - now Romania -- like the old Oxtar, no longer features leather insoles, but the build quality is still extremely high compared to the Joe Rocket/Cotechs. The GP Master has Goretex water proofing that I obvs haven't tested, cause "LA", and is much more compact around the shins. It's definitely not as rigid as the TCS Sport but seems to be a better fit for scootering as I was riding a 900cc Brutale previously.

Big fan of these as they are much more cozy than the stiff, squeaky Oxtar, and despite the lack of torsional rigidity needed to support the ankle when down, they seem to be a better fit for my current ride as they easily going under the textile overpants. Also, besides the pants, I finally have hi-viz colored gear from head to toe, after a year of replacing all my gear w/ close-out models.

Sorry for the length.

tl;dr Pirelli Angel Scooter tire is cheaper but the jury is still on. TCX GP-Master is on clearance at Amazon; it's a good buy.

what tire pressures are you running?
Have you tried going up or down a few PSI?

I love my angel on my MP3 and am going to put them on my sport city this spring

^ right, didn't include that cause it'd make this silly post way too long.

I'm still at 34psi which was how the shop mounted it. Tire shows max 38psi cold, so I'm not sure how much higher I should go... After break in, I'll push it up to 36psi and see if I get more front end confidence? Right now it "feels" tad wobbly compared to the hard old city grip.

I'm obviously not doing power pures since I freeway commute.

I had planned to try one on one of my scooters, but the distributor was out of the Pirelli Angel in 150/70-13, so I just picked up a Pirelli Diablo Rosso for one of my other bikes. Haven't put it on yet, but it looks like a pretty decent tire for $50. We'll see how it does in the rain. I look forward to hearing how yours holds up. I haven't been overly impressed with the durability and handling of inexpensive Asian made tires in the past, (or Brazilian Metzlers, for that matter), but the front and rear Pirelli Angels for the Vespa GTS have a pretty decent speed rating and if they last, $35 a wheel is hard to beat compared to Heidenaus. I bought someone at the Heidenau factory an in-ground swimming pool last year.

I have a set on my '12 Kymco Yager GT200i with about a thousand miles on them. I love the ride quality, traction and handling! They have effectively become my preferred tire choice. I had another set of Power Pures set aside for that bike, but I'll probably put them on the emergency backup Yager so it has a matched set.

My only lament with the Angels is that I have two bikes that I'd love to put them on, but the Angel isn't offered in the correct size for the front tire. One of them is a bit odd (Spade 150), but the other is a Majesty 400. Between the number of Majesties and '07-'16 Burgman 400s out there, I'd hope they'd offer that size. I'm throwing a new Bridgetone Hoop on the back for now and hoping the right size Angels will be available when this set wears out.

I'm about to hit 300 miles on these new angel scooters front tire. So far, they've been great. I have them up to 35psi and once the new tire "greasiness" worn off I've gained much more confidence in them (though I mostly do Cali freeway riding). Next issues will be longevity vs. grip.

My rears are about 1/2 done, and I will probably switch to matching Angel rear instead of the Michelin city grip.