Tire Help

[captain awesome]

I have a 2009 Buddy 50. I got a flat a month ago and had the dealer plug the tire (tubeless). One month later, the tire is flat again. I called the dealer to see what it would cost to get a new tire, and they said $75 each. I balked at this price so now I'm trying to order one online. The trouble is, the service manual posted here says I need 3.5-10, but I've seen elsewhere that 90/90 10 is the correct size. Which one is right?

Also, will any brand work? Or is it only important that I get the right size? Also, how do I make sure I'm getting a tubless tire?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Kaos]

The easy answer is both work. The two sizes are ALMOST the same size, and both will fit your rim and work correctly. You can get them from scooterworks.com among other places. Search the forum a bit, there are a lot of threads about which tires are good and how much they cost.

[ericalm]

Is that $75 for the tire and mounting? Or just the tire?

$75 is a lot for a Buddy tire. Even the pricier ones are less. Stock tires are much less. for the Buddy 50 you don;t need something with a high speed rating so could probably find one close to $40.

These are all pretty good ones: http://www.scooterworks.com/Tires___10__C566.cfm

[captain awesome]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I called a Vespa dealer in the area, and they wanted $80 to install a rear tire. So with the tire, I'm looking at a total of $120. Does this seem too high?

I still need to call back the Buddy dealer to find out if the $75 included the price of the tire.

[jmazza]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I called a Vespa dealer in the area, and they wanted $80 to install a rear tire. So with the tire, I'm looking at a total of $120. Does this seem too high?

I still need to call back the Buddy dealer to find out if the $75 included the price of the tire.

A rear tire does seem to take about an hour of shop labor, so that price of $80 seems within the range of acceptable. But I believe there are members here who get tires changed for considerably less. My Vespa dealer services my scooter too and that's what I was charged for the rear tire change.

[jmkjr72]

save your self a small fortune ans take the tire off the scoot your self and bring it in
heck if your handy you can even swap it yourslef but if your not a diy type of person with an air compressor at home i wouldnt think about putting the new tire on the rim your self

[Kaos]

save your self a small fortune ans take the tire off the scoot your self and bring it in
heck if your handy you can even swap it yourslef but if your not a diy type of person with an air compressor at home i wouldnt think about putting the new tire on the rim your self

+1!! I got some Vee Rubber tires from Scooterworks, and they were around $25 each. I took off my wheels myself and took them to a local dirtbike shop. They swapped them for $15.

[dsmith65]

I just got done doing this myself. Part of the reason the rear costs more is they have to take of the muffler/exhaust to get to the wheel. If you don't mind taking that part off and then taking the wheel in by it self you can save some money. I ended up getting some tools and changing out the tire myself.

[Major Redneck]

iv searched for an hour and can not find the link...

a few months back someone posted a link of a video of a man that made a mount for the Harbor Fright Mini Tire changer... i thought i bookmarked the link but must not have... it shows how he mounted/used and took apart the tire changer...

anyone remember or have the link???

also has anyone used Dyna Beads on scooter tires for balancing??? where would i find Dyna Beads???

[Kaos]

iv searched for an hour and can not find the link...

a few months back someone posted a link of a video of a man that made a mount for the Harbor Fright Mini Tire changer... i thought i bookmarked the link but must not have... it shows how he mounted/used and took apart the tire changer...

anyone remember or have the link???

also has anyone used Dyna Beads on scooter tires for balancing??? where would i find Dyna Beads???

Yep, I saved that link, it was <a href="http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic10771">over on Modern Vespa</a>

[Major Redneck]

yep thats it,,, no info on the dyna beads??? i found a location not to far from where i live,,, has anyone used or talked to someone who has used this way of balancing a scooter/bike tire???

[Kaos]

yep thats it,,, no info on the dyna beads??? i found a location not to far from where i live,,, has anyone used or talked to someone who has used this way of balancing a scooter/bike tire???

Never bothered to balance mine. They don't seem to vibrate or anything without balancing... Maybe I've been lucky though.

[Major Redneck]

both my scooters have a problem with balancing of both tires... put a new tire on and in 1000 miles you start to get chopping of the tire as well as at some speeds bouncing like a basketball....

http://www.evolutioncycles.com/

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.html

[AZruckuspride]

Bikebandit.com has tires for super cheap and if you take the rim and tier to discount tire they will dismount the old tire and mount the new one on for 10 bucks. I just got a new one from them for my ruckus 120/90-10 for thirty bucks shipped.

[AZruckuspride]

His is your solution to tire balancing on a scooter. Dyna Beads. Read it. Shows how to install them your self.

http://totalruckus.com/phpBB3/viewtopic ... ds#p654106

[Dibber]

When you are replaceing your rear tire on the scooter just be careful not to over tighten the nuts holding the header pipe to the engine. It is posible to twist off the bolt stud. Also apply some Blue color Lock Tite to the studs before you replace the nuts (just a little more insurance that the nut doesn't work loose). It isn't hard to remove your wheels off the Buddy. Then start calling scooter and motorcycle shops to see who will give you the best deal on mounting. www.scooterwest.com also has good deals on tires. I feel that the plugs for scooter/motorcycle tires are only a temporary fix to get you to a place to replace the tire. Good Luck!