Modern Buddy

Guys,
I don't need the tires yet, not even close, but I was curious about how much they would cost.

Funny thing, I can not find any 120/60-13. I have found 130/60-13 and 140-60-13. I do remember something about front tires not being available from a few months back, though.

So it appears there is still not front tire size in the USA that I could find. Any sources you know of?

And secondly, would it be OK changing the front to a 130-60-13 and the rear to a 140/60-13? The proportion would be the same as the original set-up, not sure if it would fit on the fenders. Or maybe that is just not a good idea handling wise?

Comments, please.

Scooterworks sells this tire:

http://www.scooterworks.com/Tire_Michel ... 89C292.cfm

The description mentions the size difference but says it's just fine. Makes sense, actually. Maybe then the odometer would be accurate! Ha!

Being able to swap tires front to rear wouldn't be all bad either.

You get out and ride at all this weekend?

I saw that at Scooterworks. I think that adding a bigger width on the front will make the bike a bit harder to lean, thus why I was thinking doing 130 on the front and 140 on the back to keep the same size mismatch as it has now.

I was mulching all weekend (one of the "joys" of having a big yard), but I did escape for a 100 mile ride south of Lakeville and back. What a nice day ! How about you?

Yeah, rode 'round Lake Minnetonka on Saturday afternoon for about two hours, then rode out to Pizza Lucé uptown with the mrs. to meet up with people from "The Regulars." Then we headed over to the Riverview Theater for a showing of the very mediocre Spiderwick Chronicles, then took the Grand Rounds back to uptown and Hwy 7 back to EP. A very nice ride. Then yesterday I found a couple of great routes to get from EP up to the Ridgedale Mall area and actually found that the North Frontage road along 394 is a blast to ride - very smooth and windy.

As for the front tire diameter, I would wonder more about tire cross-section shape than diameter when it came to the leaning. If it had a goofy lip on it like some scooter tires do, that'd mess with the lean. But I'm no expert on what does and doesn't make a Blur lean well. That'd probably be a good thing to call and ask Scooterworks about. Bob or David H. might be a good source as well. So long as it's got nice round edges, it seems like it ought to be just fine.

I think going from 120/60x13 front& 130/60x13 rear to a 130/60x13 front & 140/60x13 rear would be a good idea. Several tire manufacturers have matching sizes. I also checked a tire spec chart and it says that for the 130 fronts rims from 3-4" are ok (ours are 3.0") and for 140 rears rims from 3.5-4" are ok ( ours are 3.5"). The increase in diameter is only about .5" (for 130 to 140 tire). This should help highway cruising. I'm not ready for tires yet , but will try this combo as the cost of the factory 120/60x13 Maxxis is through the roof! -Kevin

Kevin,
I have not even been able to find the 120/60-13 maxxis in the US. Where did you find them?

Also, when it is time to change your rubber, let us know if you go to the 130 on the front and 140 on the rear. I am curious about then handling.

I found the stock 120/60x13 Maxxis tire from the dealer (Philadelphia Scooters) from Genuine. I didn't buy it though, because it was some crazy price. -Kevin ps: have a little past 4000 km (bdus) and tires still look good, so no need for tires yet.

I'll probably try the 130/60-13 front and 140/60-13 rear when it comes time for a tire change. Unfortunately, my tires are still pretty new so it may take awhile. I really think the change to a larger front tire will make the odometer more accurate since with a larger outer diameter, the inner hub should spin a little slower. Once I make the change, I can confirm this by comparing the stock odometer reading with that of my cyclometer.

i checked with scooterworks (chicago) and the blur tires have been on backorder for some time. dude said not to hold my breath. i found 2 websites that have them, and they're almost HALF the price as scooterworks. i have not found 120/60-13's, only 130/60-13's.

got a nail in back tire a few months ago and let it be. sure enough it worked it way in enough to produce slow leak. mechanic "plugged" it for 5 bucks. a month or so later the plug is leaking. it doesn't go completely flat but will only hold bout 10psi. when i put 30psi in it, it will go down to 10psi in a matter of minutes. so, i think i can at least drive it mile or so if need be.

i did not purchase them yet, but if i did how hard would it be for me to put them on the rims? suppose i'd need a machine for the bead, or do u think it could be done by hand? also, i have no idea were to start to take the tire & rim off the bike. i'm not the most mechanically inclined - i have changed both oils on the blur but haven't tackled the oil filter (this week hopefully).

i appreciate any thoughts!

I may have located a source for the 120/60-13's. I'm not familiar with the manufacturer, or the reputation of their products, but at least it seems that they have a US dealer network, so ordering may not be very problematic.

Link:

http://www.shinkotireusa.com/product/product.php?id=30

Who wouldn't want to ride on an infinite loop of sadness? I mean, yeah, you'll have to wear a billowing black cape and some eye-liner, but c'mon.... what else is gonna give you that feeling of crushing someone (or infinite some-peoples) spirits... Right?

For the record, i couldn't do it.

babblefish, would your source in Taiwan for digital speedos be able to get OEM PGO tires?

While looking thru the Scooterworks site I saw that they are the distributer of a new line of tires.

For 13" tires the only size they have are 130/60-13. Based on what I see in some previous posts this might be a compromise to put these on the front and the back.

I am calling Scooterworks tomorrow on another matter. I will try to remember to ask about this.

Scooterworks used to say that you could fudge the front tire...until we actually tried it. Scooterville here in MN tried to fit the other size, which does fit the wheel, but it wouldn't flclear the fork, so they had to order the OEM. The size tire prescribed for the front is the ONLY one that will fit, and right now the OEM tire is the only one available. The good news is that your Genuine dealer can order one from Taiwan.

Well that's surprising news. I wonder how they (Scooterworks) came to that conclusion without actually testing it?!

OK, to give the benefit of doubt to SW, the shop that tried the 130 tire.. was it the same brand/model that SW suggests for the Blur? I have heard of instances where the reported size doesn't exactly measure up to the stock size. In any case, I'd love some stickier tires up front; even if it meant they wore faster.

/aside
Nate, how've you been? I gotta say, it's been a little quiet round here lately. I still refer to your post on the Stebel horn install when referencing newer Blur owners. I even used it to install one on my other bike (the wiring diagram is superb). Is the potential 220 Blur tempting you at all?

My blog takes up most of my time these days. I still read the first page of posts now and then and I keep in touch very regularly with ericalm on Twitter. I'm trying to shame him into doing a podcast with me. We'll see how that goes.

Blur 2.0 will be an awesome scooter, but it's not for me. I have heard from inside sources that the prototype was at the EPA a few weeks ago for emissions testing. It's a superb bike, but the ergonomics will never be a good fit for me, even if they have tweaked it. My Vespa is such a fantastic scooter and I fit on it perfectly. It'll do better than 70mph and is super comfortable. There's no going back for me. I want a whole fleet of bikes someday, but I can't see a need for another scooter in that engine range. The sporting bike of choice for me at this point would be a Triumph Tiger. But always in addition to my trusty italian scooter

Speaking of tires, I just put a pair of Heidenau K61 tires on my GT and it's made a huge difference. http://is.gd/37Bxz The OEM Vespa tires were crap. You might see if there are any available in the size you need.

I might have to look into that tire brand. My Blur's about due for a new rear tire. Thanks for the tip.

I'd be lying if I said I haven't looked at another scooter or two in the small engine category. Glad to hear you're enjoying the Vespa, they're certainly beautiful machines.

EVAP system and crappy OEM tires not withstanding, it's turned out to be a magnificent scooter. You really do get what you pay for. I'm coming up on one year of ownership and am almost to 4000 miles. I'd love to have a Blur to play with also, but that'd be such a waste.

I'd like to have a Honda Cub (or clone) to play around with. I'm really interested in the upcoming KLD electric scooter as an addition to "the fleet" also. I'd also like to make a monster, drag-style Honda Ruckus with at least a 150cc motor slung on the back. That'd be super fun to tinker with.

NathanielSalzman wrote: <SNIP>I'd also like to make a monster, drag-style Honda Ruckus with at least a 150cc motor slung on the back. That'd be super fun to tinker with.

FWIW: Honda does (did?) make a 250cc version of the Ruckus. Kinda rare, but I see one on Craigslist every so often. I rode one a while back and it moves pretty good.

Yeah I'm not so interested in the Big Ruckus. I would want to mod the small Ruckus. Take it from a 50cc dog up to some sort of little hot rod. It's so damn light and there are so many great aftermarket mods available for it that it'd be a lot of fun. A LOT cheaper to get started on than a Big Ruckus also.