Modern Buddy

I'm getting to the point where I need another new rear tire and thought I would find out how the oversize rear tires have been working out in the long run.
I put it out there as a post rather than PM's so all could benefit.

I know MYSCTR is running both 110/80 and 130/70 on two different scooters with no modifications needed.
I also read that BuddyGuy has "a 120/90/10 on the rear, and it took quite a lot of R&D to get it in there, and stop it from rubbing."

So, what's the story folks? You still like the bigger tire and have you encountered any problems?
Anyone else running bigger tires?

Good news - mine have worked well when i was riding

Bad news - I have been off the scoot for the past several months so i have no new news

100/90 = 90.00 Factory
110/80 = 88.00 Smidge smaller
130/70 = 91.00 Slightly larger yet even rounded up due to the width of the rim - works great

120/70 = 84.00 Too short
120/80 = 96.00 Too Tall
120/90 = 108.00 WAY TOO TALL to work with no mods


Heidenau K61 Tire
Made in GERMANY
Sporty street profile

Available sizes:
Size: 3.50 - 10 59J K61 Price: $60.09
Size: 100/80 - 10 58M K 61 Price: $61.98
Size: 100/90 - 10 61M K 61 Price: $68.31
Size: 110/80 - 10 63M K 61 Price: $70.84
Size: 120/70 - 10 54M K 61 Price: $74.60
Size: 130/70 - 10 62M K 61 Price: $78.43

Hello MYSCTR:

Do you mean the tire size 120/80 would still fit in the rear without mods?

Does the 120/90 fit in the rear, if one removed that black plastic fender over the top of the wheel?

Rick71454

rick71454 wrote:Do you mean the tire size 120/80 would still fit in the rear without mods?

Does the 120/90 fit in the rear, if one removed that black plastic fender over the top of the wheel?

I believe the 120/80 would be a problem since you are going from a factory size of 90 all the way to a 96.

Even removing the black guard - you still have other cast parts to deal with. Would not even try a 120/90 (108) - unless you are planning on modifying the frame.

Have not tried either of these yet the math says know as we understand it - keeping all factory frame with no modifications.

So, I went ahead and installed a 130 X 70 rear tire on my scooter. Posting some pictures to share.
Both front and rear needed replacing and I've been sticking with the Michelin S1's for some time now. They seem like a nice balance of price and performance.
No problems with the install. I do my own tire changes and I'm way past worrying about scratching the rims. I was actually going to repaint them while the tires were off this time but that would have meant more days without riding. So that just wasn't an option.
The weather sucks here now so I'll update once I get a chance to ride.

Pictures look awesome!

Humor with your notes... did not paint the wheels as that would keep you off the scoot YET the weather sucks so NO riding! LOL

REALLY! You are going to love the ride. Play with your pressure to find the sweet spot - lean towards less is more for longer life. The last thing I wanted to do was run the center flat or bald without using the whole tire. So far so good!

Enjoy! ...and thanks for the great pics!

Tocsik wrote:So, I went ahead and installed a 130 X 70 rear tire on my scooter.

Love to hear how it rides and other info once you get to ride.

MYSCTR wrote:...

Humor with your notes... did not paint the wheels as that would keep you off the scoot YET the weather sucks so NO riding! LOL...

Well, I have to admit I was close to painting.
I read some posts on MB and I bought the paint. Knowing my tires were getting delivered on a Saturday, I took the wheels off the scoot, removed the tires and washed the rims with Dawn. Then I started looking at the rims and noticed the rear one has some deep crevasses with grease and gunk in them. I knew I would need to find a way to *really* get them clean before painting and then painting would mean they would need to sit around to cure/harden for a day or so. And, the deep grooves would be a pain to get painted well.
Anyway.....I just didn't want to deal with it.
One day, I plan on blacking-out the whole scooter except the Prima pipe and other chrome bits.

I got almost 100 miles on my 130/70 s1 and love it . I went from w/w maxxis to s1 front n rear what a difference!

I took mine out for a spin Saturday.
MYSCTR was correct; the bike really rolls into the turns nicely!
I still need to dial-in the best pressure. Started out at 30 lbs cold pressure then dropped it to 30 lbs when heated up. It still feels a little too hard so I'll play around some more when this latest storm passes. We're supposed to get a few inches of snow tonight and another few tomorrow night. We need the moisture but, shoot! Bad timing.

Saturday was also the first ride since cleaning the transmission and setting my NCY torque driver from the angled slots to the straight slots. Feels like I lost some top speed so now I need to figure out if that was just weather-related, new tire or changing the torque driver settings.

Easy and MYSCTR- what pressure are you running your 130/70 tire?
I weight about 173-ish depending on my exercise : ice-cream intake ratio.

About 20 pounds heavier and running 27 pounds in the rear tire.

easy wrote:I got almost 100 miles on my 130/70 s1 and love it . I went from w/w maxxis to s1 front n rear what a difference!

Any mods, or are you running everything else stock?

A little transmission mods I posted everything in the custom buddy thread

Question for MYSCTR (or anyone here I guess), what is the advantage to running 100/90 in front and 130/70 in rear, which is your current setup, right? Why not switch out the front to 130/70 as well?

The whole intent was to get a wider tire on the rear since that is where the bulk of the weight is and with the factory size tires we were pretty consistently running 5 rear tires to 1 front tire. We wanted to end up with a longer lasting rear tire. The height was not a goal, we were working with what was available in our 10” size and would fit on the Buddy. The clearances may be less on the front so we don’t know if the Buddy has the clearance for the taller tire. With a lot less weight on the front, we don’t know if a taller tire would stand up in the twisty’s or slide out. Not a chance we wanted to take.