Modern Vespa

My vespa primavera 125 needs new tyres. I was going to go with Michelin city grip 2s. The tyre size is 110/70/12 front and 120/70/12 rear. My mechanic has two 120/70/12 in stock, he says they're interchangable front and rear and it should be fine to put a 120/70/12 on the front too, does this sound ok? Otherwise I'll have to wait until after Christmas to get the front tyre and they are badly needed ASAP!

Below is a link to a previous discussion on this Forum that may help.

Is it safe to have 2 front city grip in the same direction?

The 2nd link I have below is a tire size calculator.
I have a 110/70/12 vs 120/70/12 up. Change as you like. Fill in the left side with two sizes for comparison and you'll get a visual of an approximate difference in the 2 sizes on the right side.
Good Luck.

https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/

Really helpful information, thank you! So basically what I gather from the first link is that the CG2 doesn't come in different front and rear models they're the same tyre, they just need to be mounted accordingly?

That I can't answer. Parts of that discussion I didn't fully agree with, or maybe I misunderstood.
I even looked on Michelin's website for the City Grip 2 and couldn't get a clear answer. Most major vendors have knowledgeable customer service reps that are helpful without being over-bearing or pushy.
If I had to decide this weekend... I'd call Revzilla's customer service and get verification.
It may be worth a shot to get another opinion. Their link is below if you like.

https://www.revzilla.com/contact-us

rev z is a primary M/C business and they tolerate scooters. Also the op is in Ireland and doubt he wants to call the USA looking for info on tires. Plenty of scooter shops in the UK though that should be able to help answer his questions.

I'm sure you're right. But information on tires should be fairly consistent in both the US and UK. My suggestion involved three posts previous that didn't seem to give a definite answer. Maybe a local shop can sort it out for him.

No it does not sound ok.
Whereas the tyre týpe is ok both front and rear, the size is not. You want to stick to the specified sizes.

There are multiple posts here and on other platforms where people have used 120/70 front and 130/70 rear which is a size up on both and they've said that it's actually improved their ride. Just out of curiosity is there any particular reason why you think it wouldn't work?

Yep, I'm one of those that sized up. More solid feel. ODO is 4% less than actual. Speedo is now a little over 2% off where it was about 4% off from my GPS before.
Wears slower for me.
I'd asked my dealer to install the GTS tires. When he removed the wheels, he said the tire would fit back in the bike. He just tried to place the tire, unmounted inside for a test. I asked him to mount it and inflate it.
It fit.
Easier to get on/off the center stand ( not that it was difficult before).

Don't try it, you'll like it!!!!

I am in the up size crowd as well.

I sized my GTS from 120/70 front and 130/70 rear to 130/70 fr and 140/70 rear.

I like the handling better as its less twitchy feeling

1. Did you notice that all size up front AND rear?


2. Also all observe that the behaviour changes.

The manufacturer chooses the in their eyes optimal compromise tyre size with thé utmost care after lóts of testing.
Whether upsizing works depends on personal preference.
A good example being that ´less twitchy´ can also be experienced as less nimble.
Please note that I am not commenting on that.
To all the upsizers; do (re)read the OP about fitting 120/70 up front TOO.
Thát imo will not work satisfactory.

It's a scooter, not an R1. Handling sucks with the stock tires, and it sucks with a larger front tire. If someone put larger tires on your scooter, and didn't tell you, the odds are that you wouldn't notice a difference in how it handles.

As I wrote it is all relative.

Concerning the OP, imo he best stick to standard size but if he wants to upsize then do keep the stagger.

That observed, the scoot will fail annual periodic inspection with anything but stock sizes.
And whatever ´we´ think/feel about it, there ís reason behind it.