Modern Vespa

for all but my smallframe I've always gone for the MICHELIN S83 mostly because it's non directional allowing me to rotate my tires from spare>front>rear>trash. This gets maximum life out of them and keeps fresh rubber all around.

I had heard that the S1 is also non directional, can anyone confirm?

Are there others?

The list of good non-directional tires:
MICHELIN S83
...

The list of directional tires:
MICHELIN S1
...

S1 is directional. Just installed a fresh set yesterday. If you have a modern tread it's going to be directional.

^^^^
Gorgeous scoot!

You could always go with some sweet shinko white walls.


Seriously .. iirc Pirelli makes a decent set.

link found here:
https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/tyre-pirelli-sc-30-300-10-42j-tt_80301100

updated it to be "good" non directional tires

most of the classic style tires have an awful profile. that's where the S83 is the exception.

I've also considered just mounting the directional correct for the front and not worrying about the rear running in the wrong direction.

Front tire direction is second only to A.T.G.A.T.T., for causes of motorbike-related arguments on the internet.

But I would say your front tire is installed backwards. On the front, the "drive" direction (the direction of the arrow on the tire, if only a single arrow is printed) should point opposite of the tire's rotation when rolling forward. This is to give traction when braking, especially in the wet.

That said, I have a P200 that came with new Michelin S1 tires when I bought it, with the front mounted exactly the same way as yours. Since I don't generally ride in the rain and since the scoot doesn't have any front brakes anyways, I haven't done anything about it and haven't suffered any adverse effects. In truth I don't think it matters very much on these bikes. Now that's a bad idea IMO; the front doesn't matter very much (as above) but you definitely want your drive tire running in the correct direction.

In my experience, the rear tire wears at approximately twice the rate of the front. I just rotate the rear and spare, and keep the front tire as is.

These guys have a relatively easy to search site. https://www.americanmototire.com/search-results/?q=90%2F90-10

has anyone run the Metzeler ME1? looks like it may not be directional.

I'm a bit confused with this subject of tire rotation direction.
My small frame and also large frame tires mount all on the same way, front or rear, I can exchange them and rotation remains correct…

What am I missing?

most directional scooter tires only have one arrow on them, that arrow applies when mounted on the rear.

if that same tire is used on the front, then the arrow should point opposite of rotation.

the zippy1 has two arrows one for front, one for rear.
some will say rear with a single arrow.
very rarely will you find dedicated front tires in 10in.

Oh right, thanks - direction changes if front or rear, in rear it resists traction and in front resists movement or braking, that makes sense. Didn't know since I've ever used non directional tires.

This S83 spent two days on the front and 4 on the rear.

You wore that out in 6 days? Never seen that before. I've had decent luck with the s83's

ISDE (Sei Giorni) tire?

I wore the last one out a month ago in about the same number of days

How many miles? What kind of roads? Never used that particular tire is it a soft tire?

They are not really sticky, but predictable wet and dry. and they look right on a vintage bike.

Spirited riding on twisty back roads.
800 miles in 3 days a month ago
600 miles in 3 days last weekend

I've ridden large cruisers for the last 20 years or so, I can get anywhere from 6,000 - 20,000 miles on a back tire. A lot of it comes down to tire choice, a touring tire which is usually a harder rubber will get me closer to 20,000 miles. Pick a sportier tire with better grip mileage has been as low as 6,000. Guessing scooter tires have same issue. Seems like S83 is on softer or sportier tire rubber side.

Okay guys, what has happened to the supply of non-directional 10" tires?

Michelin S83's -- Can't find anywhere at the "normal" price.
Heidenau K38's -- same or worse.
Pirelli SC30's -- available.

I guess we all have an idea...

Managed to get a pair of 3.00-10 S83 tires at 39,90/piece. When they arrived, they still had the old price stickers on them saying 26,90 and 32,90 on the other.

while poking around for some new shoes, I found these and wondered if anybody had feedback of riding on any of them.

Vee Rubber VRM-054 looks basically like an S83 knock off, and is also J rated

Kenda K303 looks like the OG CEAT donuts, it's reinforced and J rated

SIP classic TL/TT looks about the same block tread and it's P rated

Heidenau K38 TL/TT same block tread and J rated

Conti Classic 59L a little different look, but still in the realm and J rated

Conti K62 basically the black wall of the famous whitewall. J rated

Mitas B14 is a rebadged sava. it's J rated. but I've ridden enough stock Stellas with those on them to practically eliminate them from inclusion on this list.

Tires you say? (Or "tyres.") I can comment on what I have, for what it's worth:

HEIDENAU K38: Nice vintage look, feel solid, but a bit "fishy". I have them on my GS 160, and it feels slippery. It's actually stable. I can roll over speed bumps, lean into tight turns, pot holes, etc. and the scooter never feels like I'm losing control, or that it's going to slide, but there's a slippery feel to it. The rest of the scooter checks out fine, so I think it's the tires. I've had them for about two years. (These are directional.)

CONTINENTAL WHITE WALL: I read these were crap tires, but decided the GS 150 needed white walls. I love these. They ride great. Good feel, tight grip, no complaints at all.

MICHELIN S83: Eh. Just basic tires. I like Michelins, and have preferred them for my cars. They do the job, but they just feel like tires. Nothing notable.

I'm about to give up and just go with directional and sticky.

zippy 1's or S1's never did me dirty and I swapped them front to rear all the time.

Two more:

Heidenau reinforced K38's. M rated. Ordered these:

https://www.scooter-center.com/en/tyre-heidenau-k38-3.50-10-inch-tl-59m-reinforced-6300002m?number=6300002M

BGM Classic's. P rated. Delicious looking tread:

https://www.scooter-center.com/en/tyre-bgm-classic-made-in-germany-3.50-10-inch-tt-59p-150-km/h-reinforced-for-tube-rims-only-bgm35010ct?number=BGM35010CT

K58's?
K38's are non-directional.

Recently ordered Heidenau K38s in 3.50 - 8 and they are directional

Saw that arrow. The K38 treads aren't directional in terms of front-rear.

So why the arrow?
Couldn't get a good answer from Heidenau. Their response was more a generic answer for directional treads like the K58's.

Guessing the arrow ensures the tire is mounted so the lighter side is on the valve stem side. In that sense they are directional, but interchangeable front-rear-spare.

how do you guys like the H's and BGM's in 8? I think that the direction I'm headed for the war department's scoot.

If there is any arrow I'd consider it "directional"

If there is an arrow and it's not specified as front or rear, then normally that is the direction when mounted on the rear. Standard practice when mounting these on the front is to point the single non-specific arrow backwards.

When I moved here and needed new tires, the local vintage Vespa shop guy put me on Sava MC18s. Never heard of these before, but he said he had tried a lot of different ones over the years and liked these the best for performance and price. I'll have to check if they're directional or not, I don't even know! Haven't been riding anywhere near as much since moving here, compared to my daily commute in SF. But back there I always ran the Zippy, and I remember Tony at First Kick saying it didn't really matter which way you ran them. That said, I wasn't always great about monitoring and rotating them.

10's:
There is no comparison between BGM/Heidenau's and the S83's. In hands it's laughable.

After two blowout experiences I'll never go back to S83's.
Hot tire turns to mush.

Sorry for the late replay. Was out of town. If there's an arrow, and it says "Direction," it means directional.

After more tech support emails:
The directional arrow applies to both front and rear on the K38's and BGM's, i.e. they fit Oops' front-rear-spare criteria. Both are far superior to the S83's in terms of construction.

Heidenau says the front tire can go in either direction. SC/BGM insists mounting both in the direction of rotation.
SIP Classic's don't appear to have an arrow.