Modern Vespa

Ever just happen across a super bald tire?

Saw one yesterday, was a bit of a shocker, took a pic. Now I'm gonna share it all over the place.

Dude, maybe it's time. Maybe, maybe it's time.


Encounter any frighteningly bald tires in your day to day travels..?

(maybe it's time)...to get your money's worth and start riding on the shoulders...?

God, I think it's a Sava, too.

Hey Oz, that looks just like the tyre Jess had on his scooter in Italy. (and about five of the other scoots too....) To be honest I don't know how he rode it as it had no front shock either. I know, I rode it for the last day or two...

You know, I was just about to say "That looks just like the tire on my LX in Italy".

Beat me to it.

chicken strips

In all seriousness, please explain to me the difference between the above scooter tire and a slick race tire like the one below.

To my understanding, treads are to funnel away water. On a dry road, treads are not needed and even reduce the contact patch, which is why racing tires (for dry weather) are treadless slicks.

So, if the outer, sticky rubber layer of that scooter tire is still there (and I don't see evidence that it isn't), would this tire not be perfect for dry road conditions?

Not looking to troll but to clarify this once and for all.

Hah!

That's what I picture in my head when I hear people brag about how they got 7,000 miles out of their rear tire. You are correct on your assessment of treads vs. slicks. Its important to remember though, that racing slicks are built as slicks and have the necessary amount of rubber between the belts/cords and the road. A treaded tire is built in such a way that the majority of the rubber intended for the contact patch is in the treads. The tire in that picture is close to showing cord in the center.

Most states have standards for tires in their statutes. The pictured worn tire and slicks are likely universally illegal for road use. Standard tire compounds are not formulated to be run as a slick.

Windbreaker: Other than when a normally treaded tire is down to the core and very little rubber is left in the slick areas, you are correct. A racing slick tire actually gives more contact and is safer on a dry road. But in the real world, racing slicks can't legally be used anywhere but race tracks because they have extremely poor traction on damp or wet roads.

But, officer, there ARE no treadwear indicators on this tire!


New vs old Diablo. The old was on my rear wheel until I changed it. It still had an intact layer of sticky rubber. I never rode it on wet streets and never felt it was losing grip or contact. Au contraire.

It was getting a bit squarer than I liked, though.

I've ridden with my friends on sportbikes who had cords showing on the tire! Stupid. I use to go nuts on them because if they pop a tire on a big ride they could easily take out a bunch more riders behind them. When I get near the wear indicators I get new tires. period. Riding is already dangerous enough without making it worse.

When a tire gets that slick and hot, you have so little rubber left before getting to the cords and it is more likely to have a blowout.

Thanks for the responses to my question. I fully agree that racing slicks are not legal on public roads and that the risk of bald tires is to hit a damp or wet road, in which case they may have less contact than a treaded tire. I understand the physics behind all that, and my question left out the legalities.

Okay, damn all those maverick riders!

That's exactly the point I wonder about. To my understanding, the outer sticky rubber layer has one main task: provide contact. It is way too soft to provide structural strength. That's what the underlying layers with cords, belts, etc are there for. But I guess nobody will say that such a bald tire is still safe within limits, just for the liability involved with such a statement.

That's not the summary that I would write on this subject. For me, the much bigger risk is that you have no idea how close to the cords you are.

Good point. To find the answer, I made a cross cut into the above worn Diablo and found that there was about 1mm soft rubber left before the hard rubber layer, in which the cords are embedded.

1mm isn't very much.

Also, you don't really know until you cut into the tire, as there's no reference point once you're past the wear bars.

That's why I thought it was a good point

I've found (anecdotally) that worn tires are more prone to flats. Even with tread left. For that reason alone, I wouldn't use a PTW tire past it's wear indicators (at speeds higher than I'm willing to crash).

Okay, damn all those reckless riders!




This is a K58 that needed and was replaced.

Check the whole tire, if it looks warn, don't be cheap, replace it, regardless of how many miles you think you should get out of it.

If I lived in an agricultural area like you, with sky-tinted water all around me and god-knows-what on the roads, I'd change that tire even sooner

I know better....

Yeah I got ~3200 mi on my rear and I'm thinking I need to change it in the next 1K mi... still got some wear bars tho

Maybe SF Vespa has the same deal on tires they have on oil filters?

SADNESS MOMENT OF THE YEAR:

getting a new tire @ VespaSF on my MP3 500 cost me almost $400.

Was kinda SOL at the time, no one else had a tire the right size, and no one wanted to mount it on that thing anyway. Siiiiiiiigh.

Yeah, I rode on the last rear tire on my 300 much farther than I should have, a Heidenau K61 140/70-12. I knew I was pushing it, so one night after I got home from Santa Cruz, I decided I should inspect it to look for anything questionable. At first glance, it just looked bald in the center, but as I rotated it, I saw some white stuff in one spot... when I looked closer, realized it was down to the cords and a couple had already worn through! Immediately I parked the bike until I could get a new tire and rode the Bajaj for the next week instead. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of it, but it sure was a big wake up call for me when I checked that tire, and boy am I glad that I did!

On a side note, my girlfriend recently had a rear tire blowout on the freeway, on a badly worn Shinko whitewall. There was a little bit of tread left, so we figured it would be able to make the 175 miles back home, but it ended up only got as far as 75 miles. Thankfully she did an awesome job of maintaining control of her GTS and pulled off the road safely... but man, did my heart ever jump into my throat when I got her text about what happened! The moral of the story: the cheaper the quality of the tire, the less you should push it!

Last but not least, here's my contribution to the badly worn tire photo collection, courtesy of the 2008 Cannonball, taken in Fort Scott, KS:

I'm speechless.

$300 to install a $100 tire.

Awesome defilement business model.

Next time - FedEx it to me, I'll have tire custom made and shipped in from Tireland or wherever they make tires, I'll buy a tire changing machine, I'll buy a tire balancing machine, I'll learn how to use it all, and I'll FedEx it back - for less.

I was thinking the same thing. Actually a rear tire can be had under 100. And not no junk. removing the rear wheel 30 min MAX and that is if the wrench is f**king off. remove the old tire and replace and spin balance 15 min. Reinstall 30 min again MAX all told MAX 1.5 hrs at $100 per hr = $150 MAX plus tire

how much do we really need to hash this out. Whatever happened to common sense? We are riding on only 2 tires, why would you push it? Its not like they are super expensive, compared to some upgrades we put on our rides. Change them when they need to be changed, and that one definitely needs to be changed.

Gads Arno!

Missed this line in the first read! FFS it's illegal and for good reason. Some riders haven't enough sense to always ride on a safe tire. These regs were in place before the shift to a more litigious culture. You've been posting this position for a couple of years. You've even gone so far as to claim you were capable enough to know when riding on cords was safe. (photo still available) Shit city...Condoms are for the bedroom, not the road! Replace a tire before it's bald! Encourage all riders here to do the same!

K, Tom, you made your point, and I made mine.

Now, next time you quote me, keep me in context, will you?

Yikes, I figured that it was time to replace my back tire, but after seeing this photo and looking again at mine, I had better get to it, and quick! In my defense, I only acquired the scoot recently and have been researching what tire to get. Any opinions on this tire: http://www.scooterworks.com/Tire-Continental-Zippy-1-13070-X-10-P3439C566.aspx I'm wondering if a wider tire would be better..I'm new at this. Also, can I purchase the tire online and have it installed at a scooter shop. There's a Vespa dealership not too far from me.

Here's what I saw and what I would have seen had I rotated the tire.

Talk to the shop first.

Some shops will install free or reduced rate if you buy from them.

Um... balding tires have very little rubber on them and new race slicks have a ton. What am I missing?

to run a tire past its service life and keep rolling the dice till a major incident and ruining a rim or worse. I ain't got no sympathy for those folks when something happens, I lump them in with Darwin.

you should NEVER get to the point of showing cords, you know when the tread life is getting thin and folks should have enough smarts to stop riding till a new tire is on. No fricken excusses.

That he can't respond?