Modern Vespa

In another thread we explore the choice of a GT200 vs GTS300. Good discussion.

I ended up with the GT200 and am buying tires this week. Generally I lean toward Michelin (or Continental for the vintage whitewalls), but if there is a better choice (Pirelli Angel?) I would like to hear it.

I prefer a performance tire, that is more important than longevity.
Thanks

Tires are like oil-come to think of it, they ARE oil--you'll get lots of opinions here. The biggest consensus seems to be Michelin City Grip 2.

I personally prefer Shinkos, but I've owned City Grips as well. Hard to go wrong with a Michelin product.

city grips seem to be the best overall choice for mileage and overall riding. the angel is Pirelli's equivalent. for more "spirited" riding many prefer the Pirelli diablo or Michelin power pure.

there are several more economy offerings with shinko, kenda and vee rubber that are perfectly suitable as well.

personally I use diablo as I want maximum confidence when nailing it around hairpins / switchbacks on the sides of a mountains.

I do ride these all year around and on gravel roads but am not a commuter and don't care about longevity.

If I was a commuter I'd probably go the angels or city grip

Michelin or Heidenau.
Since the Chinese Government bought Pirelli, they've been more interested in cutting costs and making tires for the Southeast Asian market, where scooters are smaller, don't go as fast, and nobody wants to pay a lot for a tire. So you have tires that are very durable and inexpensive.

I have the Michelin City Grip 2's and have been happy, but do not have anything to really compare them to. I have a GTS 300

if it's the same factory and same model of tire then I wouldn't be too concerned.

I use the Michelin City Grip 2 on my GT200. I'm on my second set. I got 6000 miles out of the rear one (I weigh 240, and carry a lot of stuff with me) and about twice that long on the front. I ride a lot at or near full throttle, but don't lean over a lot. Mostly highway riding.

On my GT200 I had Continental Zippys (like the Contitwist tread pattern if I remember correctly) when I bought it, and one went out of shape. Replaced with Metzler which initially felt odd, but I adapted to the better grip and sold the scooter on those tyres with about 8000km on them. On the GTS300 it came with City Grips which were good for comfort and grip but suddenly I had terrible steering shake above 80kmh. The front had gone out of round and the back needed replacing because of wear. Again I am on Metzler and really like them for both grip and comfort.

I bought my GT200 when it was 10 years old. It had 1800 miles on it and still had the original tires. It had obviously been kept inside, the tires still looked like new. I went ahead and wore them out. I can't remember the brand for sure, I think they were Pirellis. but they worked just fine. I really can't tell the difference in ride and handling between different tires on a scooter.