Buddy Italia Tires

ItalianBoy · Post by **ItalianBoy** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:49 pm

I have a 2007 Buddy Italia and it is time to replace my rear tire. I have a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with.

1. I see that there are 2 different size tires; 3.5x10 and 100/90x10. What is the difference between these tires and which one is the correct size that I should choose?

2. Should I stick with tubed or switch to tubeless and why?

3. What is a good brand that is recommended?

4. I was hoping to stick with whitewalls, but it looks like choice is somewhat limited. Does anyone have a picture of what the buddy looks like with standard tires?

Thanks for your help.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:58 pm

There's lots of tire threads floating around. Do a search and you should be able to come up with a bunch.

In a nutshell:

1. You can use either tire size. The 100/90-10 is a tiny bit fatter and taller than the 3.5x10 as a general rule. But all tires vary even within the posted size. The only way to truly know is to compare them mounted side-by-side.

2. Tubed or tubeless, your choice. IMHO, most choose tubeless.

3. Michelin S1, Continental Zippy 1, and Heidenau K61 seem to be favorites.

4. Evidently, no good whitewall seem to be available at this time.

ItalianBoy · Post by **ItalianBoy** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:05 pm

I would hate to lose the whitewalls, has anyone used the continental whitewalls compared to the primas?

dsmith65 · Post by **dsmith65** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:25 pm

I couldn't find a decent white wall so I ended up with a regular tire on the back and a white wall on the front. I may be wrong, but I thought tube rims were different from tubeless rims. If they aren't at the least you are going to have to add valve stems to your rims.

Don

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:33 pm

dsmith65 wrote:I couldn't find a decent white wall so I ended up with a regular tire on the back and a white wall on the front. I may be wrong, but I thought tube rims were different from tubeless rims. If they aren't at the least you are going to have to add valve stems to your rims.

Don

Tubed is a split rim. Buddys run tubeless.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:25 pm

ItalianBoy wrote:I would hate to lose the whitewalls, has anyone used the continental whitewalls compared to the primas?

The Prima whitewalls have received a number of poor reviews for longevity.

The Continental is a nice tire, but tubed, so you lose the benefits of running tubeless. Namely, it's more prone to blow out and can't be plugged easily like a tubeless can.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:47 am

ericalm wrote:The Prima whitewalls have received a number of poor reviews for longevity.

Not only does the Prima lack longevity, it is horrible in cold or wet conditions. I rode with a Prima on my back wheel for about 800 miles. It was fine on warm, dry pavement, but once the temp dropped and it started to rain, it was just scary. I had a couple of instances where it slipped on me, just taking some corners at a relaxed pace. That never happened to me with the stock Maxxis whitewalls. I'd strongly recommend against the Prima whitewall.

Demo_Nic · Post by **Demo_Nic** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:09 am

I have a Maxxis whitewall front tire and Shinko whitewall rear tire. The previous owner had the rear tire installed just before he sold it to me and the front looks practically new as well so I have no excuse to get new tires. I want the Heidenau 61 tires since a certain somebody has praised then so fanatically.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:28 am

Demo_Nic wrote:I have a Maxxis whitewall front tire and Shinko whitewall rear tire. The previous owner had the rear tire installed just before he sold it to me and the front looks practically new as well so I have no excuse to get new tires. I want the Heidenau 61 tires since a certain somebody has praised then so fanatically.

The Maxxis are really good for tubeless whitewalls. Shame they no longer make them!

As a counter to my enduring love for the Heidenau K61s, SkootzKabootz got very few miles out of the rear on his Buddy. (Rear tire, that is.) So on my Vespa LX (120/70-10), I got around 13K. On his Buddy (90/90-10), Skootz got under 5K. No idea why. Bad run of tires, maybe? He checks his tire pressure MUCH more often than I do and I'm pretty good about it.

rsrider · Post by **rsrider** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:45 am

Send me a set of Heidenau K61s, and I'll send the Shinko's that are on my scoot. Only 800 miles on them and they still looks great. srsly, no burn outs or front end slides.............

ThreeSheets · Post by **ThreeSheets** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:04 pm

run Michelin and don't look back! make the best motorcycle tires as well.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:36 pm

When Maxxis whitewalls were no longer available, I switched to regular blackwall tires.
I tried Pirelli's and hated them; they were slippery as heck and even worse in the rain.
I have stuck with the Michelin S1's for the past 14,000 miles and love them.
I never tried Prima (poor reviews) or Continental (Zippy's are hard to find in 100/90/10).
I stay with what I like and what works for my riding.
I haven't tried Heidenau because of the price. I get the Michelin S1's for $33 and change the rear every 4K miles.

AlleyOops · Post by **AlleyOops** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:52 pm

You could always paint them, they sell white wall tire paint.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 8:11 pm

Tocsik wrote:When Maxxis whitewalls were no longer available, I switched to regular blackwall tires.
I tried Pirelli's and hated them; they were slippery as heck and even worse in the rain.
I have stuck with the Michelin S1's for the past 14,000 miles and love them.
I never tried Prima (poor reviews) or Continental (Zippy's are hard to find in 100/90/10).
I stay with what I like and what works for my riding.
I haven't tried Heidenau because of the price. I get the Michelin S1's for $33 and change the rear every 4K miles.

Tocsik - so comparing the S1's to the Maxxis, how would you rate them? I loved my Maxxis whitewalls and would love to get something that's just as good or better. I had Michelin s83's on the Italia that I wrecked. They were good, but not very sporty. I now have a 125 with stock tires which I really, really, truly hate, hate, hate.... They suck just as bad as the Prima whitewall, maybe even worse. I might just have to do the old "dump them before they dump me".

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 8:37 pm

pdxrita wrote: Tocsik - so comparing the S1's to the Maxxis, how would you rate them? I loved my Maxxis whitewalls and would love to get something that's just as good or better. I had Michelin s83's on the Italia that I wrecked. They were good, but not very sporty. I now have a 125 with stock tires which I really, really, truly hate, hate, hate.... They suck just as bad as the Prima whitewall, maybe even worse. I might just have to do the old "dump them before they dump me".

I thought the Maxxis WW's actually handled and gripped very well. They were softer than the Michelin S's which made them ride really nice, too.
For cornering and in rain, the S1's feel better, though.
Like any bike tires, I still feel a little slippage when cornering on wide areas of reflective road paint, but that's to be expected.

They have a sporty tread pattern and I get a little over 4K miles on them. I tend to ride pretty fast so others may get more out of them. Most of my riding is high speed commuting; hardly any city driving.

Edit: I don't have many pics of my scooter but I think it looks just fine without whitewalls. I actually prefer it for the Pamplona because there are too many colors on that model to start with.

CROSSBOLT · Post by **CROSSBOLT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 8:49 pm

Put a Shinko 3.50x 10 on wife's Buddy 150. Had to buy a tube since I missed the note on MotorcycleSuperstore. Put Dyna Beads in the tube and mounted on the Buddy rear rim with effort.....she had only about 6000 miles on the original Maxxis so we will see.

Karl

KABarash · Post by **KABarash** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:43 am

Yes, the Maxxis seemed to be great tires WHY aren't they available anymore I wonder......
At 14000 miles there's still some life in the one I have up front, therefore I put another Prima on the rear last month. I wanted WWs......
Really, as bad as even I think they are the Primas look good, dry pavement handling is pretty good, wet pavement handling ain't that bad either. Heck, I even had something like 5000 miles on it before it picked up a nail and went flat.
OH BTW: it was a 'baloney skin' for about 1000 miles.....

Mtlgrlie · Post by **Mtlgrlie** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:27 pm

Just ordered the S1's from motorcycle superstore for our Pamp. Been pumping up the rear for a while with a slow leak from a staple (still in it).
Found a local cycle shop that charges 20 bucks a tire (off scooter) to change them out. Not excited by that, but closer and better $ than others.

I figure we'll keep the 2000 mile front whitewall for my blackjack when she loses a shoe! she would look much odder without white walls I think.

Poor Pamplona, she loved her old school tires. But I keep telling her that her grip will be much better.

Thanks for the picture, it made me feel better about her looks!

ItalianBoy · Post by **ItalianBoy** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:12 pm

Just realized thatI don't think I thanked you guys for the feedback. If I go with a tubeless tire, can someone point me in the directions of what valve stems I shoudl get. It looks like the only ones scooterworks has come in blue.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:59 pm

Our valve stems are the exact same size/angle/style used on Honda Goldwings.
If you have a Honda shop nearby, you can get great quality Japanese valve stems for your Bud'.
That's what I do.

MYSCTR · Post by **MYSCTR** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:35 pm

ItalianBoy wrote:... can someone point me in the directions of what valve stems I shoudl get. It looks like the only ones scooterworks has come in blue.

The anodized aluminum blue valve stems are a great upgrade - we are running three scoots with them. Color don't mind... Even replaced the chrome covered rubber valve stems as they did not last on my chromed wheels.

zuki · Post by **zuki** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:05 pm

Stay with the tubeless, the tube tire if you get a nail or something you are done and if you are running very fast may end up in the payment. We had a motorcycle years ago with tubes in the tires and there was a small bur on the wheel that after a few hundred miles would cut a hole in the tube instant flat, talk about scary at a high speed. Tubeless if you get a nail or something you most likely will just get a slow leak.

ItalianBoy · Post by **ItalianBoy** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:10 am

The blue stems will look funny on green rims.

ThreeSheets · Post by **ThreeSheets** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:56 pm

the international series scooters look sweet with black tires!

Grant H · Post by **Grant H** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:49 pm

Does anyone have any pictures of an Buddy Italia with non-whitewall tires on it? I just got some in the mail today and am hesitant to have the whitewalls swapped out for non ones.

Mtlgrlie · Post by **Mtlgrlie** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:06 pm

No, but we switched out our Pamlona out with black S1's also and I like it. My girl also says the front end feels more stable too. Cool.

Go for it!

Just save your other tires? I saved her front whitewall for my BJ in the future.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:30 pm

I do have a picture, but it's not a very good one. It's of my Italia, post crash, so it may give you the creeps more than warm fuzzys about the black tires.

If you still want to see it, I can post it later.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:36 pm

Grant H wrote:Does anyone have any pictures of an Buddy Italia with non-whitewall tires on it? I just got some in the mail today and am hesitant to have the whitewalls swapped out for non ones.

I don't have the Italia but if you look up higher in this thread, I posted my Pamplona with non WW's.

Grant H · Post by **Grant H** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 11:13 pm

I see your picture up above and I hate to say that I dont like the look and am thinking that a non-white wall tire on the Italia will just totally kill the looks. I have some Zippy 1's that I just got in the mail today but I dont like the look so I posted them for sale here. Just ordered the S1's to see how they look, but pictures would be nice