Modern Vespa

Hi,

New scooter owner here. I bought a 2009 GTS 250ie about a month ago and put 1000 miles on it. It now has a total of 2800 miles. When I bought it I noticed the rear tire was worn. I definitely need to replace it. Is this common? What's the life span of an original Saba tire and what do you recommend for longer life?

The pressure in the tire was correct when I bought it and the whole scooter was in immaculate condition. Here's a photo of the tire. I'm wondering if the wear pattern looks unusual.

Thanks in advance from a Newbie!

3,000 miles is about right for a Sava on a 12" rear wheel.

The photo sure looks like premature death from chronic underinflation, at least to my novice eye.  My first rear tire suffered a similar fate before I got religion about checking the pressure frequently.

Update: I'm wrong.  See mattgordon's post below.

Sava tires are crap. Some riders get rid of them within the first couple of months after buying their scooters. 2000-3000 miles is the average lifespan of a Sava rear tire. The fronts will last much longer.
I just replaced the rear on my wife's GTS with a Heidenau K66 a couple of days ago. (did it myself with my Harbor Freight tire changer and No-Mar tire change bar). Her tire looked exactly like yours and had 2500 miles on it. I check tire pressures every week and it was always inflated to the factory recommendation of 29 lbs.

That's good to know, I thought I might have a bigger problem as the front looks practically new. I'll look into the K66. Thx!

Look into Continental Zippy's too...great tires...Sava's do SUCK BIG TIME !!!

+1

I would add a few lbs. over the recomened pressure

Underinflated tires wear on the outer edges, over-inflated tires wear in the middle. That's neither...it's normal for a Sava and characteristic of this type of scooter regardless of the tire make...although you'll net more miles from many other brands.

I stand corrected.  Thanks!

Not the best tire in the world, but I got 5700 miles out of the rear.

I weigh 220, ride every day and just did basic maintenance--checking and adjusting tire pressure every week or so.

3-4000 miles sounds plausible. More in the country (that's me). I'd definitely recommend a better tire for your replacement--do a search.

P.

nothing wrong with SAVA tires but there is a school on this site that buy into that idea, everyone is alowed an opinion and I respect theirs. I got 8,600km 5,160miles out of my rear and I have 13000km/7,800miles on my front at this time plan on getting 15 to 18,000 km before changing. SAVA make several types of tires the MC20 MONSOON is a rain tire with good grip but a little lateral movement due to the design of the thread pattern, this is why, IMO they notice a difference in handling and going from old to new tires in any brand will make a difference. Yours are worn sooner then I would expect. Maybe hard riding, or carrying more weight.

I just replaced my front tire on my GT200 w/ only 2800 miles. It was not worn, just looked cracked and dry rotted - I have pirelli tires. I don't know how often tires are supposed to be replaced but I was surprised to see that mine was cracking. It stays in a covered garage when not in use.

I had problems on my old Vino with Pirelli SL26s rotting and cracking at the sidewall before they wore out (and that was with me riding every day!). Must be a rubber compound that doesn't tolerate ozone well.

if parking on concrete be sure to park it on plywood or carpet so the tires don't come in contact with the concrete for long periods of time. The concrete litterally sucks the life out of rubber over time.

I was not aware of this...even after only 1 year? Also, I drive my scooter almost every day so it gets plenty of use. Is there a tire that you guys recommend? I just put a michelin tire on the front.

Newbies tend to ride a little more upright than most experienced riders too, hence the centre wear.

I should have said that I'm a "newbie" to the forums; I've been riding motorcycles for 20+ years, so I don't think it's my riding style

Get ya knee down then !
I am Mr Conservative Rider 2009, four years scooting (still a newbie IMO) only bought my GT200 just after my 40th B'day. I am always wearing my tires flat on top

I'm still trying to find my limit on this scooter. My last bike was an 1150RT and I dragged the center stand a few times. But this scooter reaaally likes to lean over (so much fun!) but I haven't dragged anything yet. With the short wheelbase I find I get too deep into the corner too soon and then have to straighten up a bit. On a side note, for trips of > 1hr, I don't miss my BMW at all; I actually prefer the Vespa.

chippie, I'm also an old BMW rider. Bought my first Beemer in 1976 and owned a bunch since then. I've also owned a R1150RT....Great bike but too damned heavy and too tall for my taste (and I'm 6'1" tall). Last year, I discovered that a scooter was more suited the type of riding that I now want to do.
The Heidenau and Continental Zippy tires seem to be at the top of the list for many of the Vespa riders that post on this forum.
You can buy Heidenau tires here: http://www.moto-amore.com/

Continental Zippy's are available at a variety of places. I just bought the Heidenau for my wife's scooter based on a lot of people posting their satisfaction with these tires on this forum. We rode in the mountains this morning for about 75 miles and my wife said that she really likes the feel of the K66 Heidenau on the rear. She says that it feels more stable than the Sava and that is exactly what others have posted.

I have also had good experiences with Zippys and Heidenaus. I had a K61 on the back of my GTS that lasted for about 4,000 miles before I got tired of the left-heavy tire wear and swapped it out for a Pirelli Diablo Scooter (also feels great). On the front, I just replaced a lumpy 6,000-mile Sava with a Zippy, and the difference is really noticeable. I'm sure part of the difference is simply due to the new-versus-old tire thing, but I do feel like the Zippy grips better than the stock tire did when it was new. Also, to me, the Zippys look really cool--I love how deep the tread is, and they give the scooter a solid, race-worthy appearance.

BTW, that rear tire is insane! I'd be so freaked out if I ever had to ride on one that worn down. I'm glad it lasted that long for you guys without blowing up.

I don't think you have anything to worry about considering the miles on that tire.

Personally, I get far more miles on the rear tire with a Conti Zippy.

Yeah, just normal wear. The rear tires don't last too long when using the Sava's. Out of the 3 rears I have used, my Avon 140/70-12 has held out the best at almost 4000 miles, but its getting thin.

You guys have to get it right before you trash a company on a site like this. You have to compare apples to apples and not blanket something based on misinformation. I don't want to labour this but SAVA are a fairly small eastern european manufacturer specializing in scooter tires and they make excellent tires. All you people who compare the MC20 to heidenau k61/66 or Continetal Zippy sports or Michelin pilot sport should be comparing those to the SAVAs MC28 a touring sport tire, long lasting or SAVA's MC18 a soft compound racing tire, much stickier then Conti sports, Perrelli or Metzlers, tested personnaly on wet and dry tracks under racing conditions. I have swithed from SAVA to Michelin on both my GT s but that was much more about price, availabiltiy and dealers preference then perceived gains. Give them a fair shake. You can't expect snow tires to behave the same way as slicks.

I'm getting tired of repeating my satisfaction with my Savas, so I won't. But just to throw a hard number out there, my rear Sava lasted over 5000 miles.

Thanks for all the input; went ahead and put on Michelin Pilot City SC's. $38 and I changed it myself following one of the tutorials on the forum. What a great resource! (Les Schwab mounted it for free and the local m/c shop balanced it for $13)

We'll see how the Michelins work out over the summer.