Whitewall tires exploding

mukaiboston · Post by **mukaiboston** » Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:49 am

My normal mechanic had a change of ownership (long story, but apparently mechanics were shooting up and stuff and Piaggio threatened to revoke their license unless they did a 100% staff turnover in ten days).

Anyway.......the new management won't service Genuine scooters so I now have to go to the dealer in my area to have my tire changed. The guy over there told me whitewall tires are made from two pieces of rubber (white and black) that are welded together and they will explode on the highway.

Never heard of that in my life and I can't see any record of that happening.

So I said, I'm ordering what I already have:
https://www.scooterworks.com/Continenta ... 12090.aspx

I've used this tire for years and can say it's a damn good tire and I go close to 80kph or 55-60mph on it and it is great. I even told the Scooterworks guys about the exploding tires and he said those tires are J rated for faster than the speeds I go and he never heard of whitewalls exploding.

So I ordered the tire and sent it to the mechanic since if I use the all-black tires he's got, I would need to replace both and the front doesn't need changing.

I called him today to work out the details and he starts laughing on the phone that the whitewalls are gonna explode. Now I'm paranoid.

What's the truth here?

fried okra · Post by **fried okra** » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:08 am

I'm not sure who you are dealing with but since the 1980's I've had a positive impression of Gerry and the gang there at Modern Classics in NE DC.

fried okra

mukaiboston · Post by **mukaiboston** » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:03 am

It was Modern Classics, but not Gerry though as he is in Italy. I'm sure they are competent. I just never heard of a whitewall tire being two fused pieces of rubber and then exploding. The white part looks painted on to me.

New2Scoots · Post by **New2Scoots** » Thu Feb 28, 2019 5:18 am

Whitewall tires have been around for decades & I've never heard of one exploding. Some 800 pound motorcycles tour the country on whitewalls in 100+ degree heat at highway speeds or more. Sounds like that guy was trying to get you to buy what he had in stock. Me, I've gotten compliments on my Buddy whitewalls. Next set will likely be those Continentals. I like the look, sort of sets it apart from most other scoots.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:40 pm

Well, tires are "vulcanized" together alright but the process has been in use for well over a hundred years and I see no reason to believe that whitewall tires are any less secure than other tires. Some tires do fail of course, and poor quality tires are more likely to fail than higher quality tires. Unfortunately there are few choices in higher quality whitewall scooter tires available in the US. The problems I have seen have been with tires I wouldn't put on my scooter as blackwalls either. In my experience, Continentals are well made tires and I see no reason why you would hesitate to use them if that is your choice. I use Continental Zippys on my Buddy and have for years.

lovemysan · Post by **lovemysan** » Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:38 pm

White walls are not my favorite but continental is a huge brand. I don't think there tires are going to randomly delaminate unless you are using it outside its design parameters. Such as weight, speed, or age. What tires is he recommending? People always have differing opinions of tires. But he sounds a rude, egotistical, and ignorant. Some white walls do suck but I would just stick to something from a known good supplier

EricV · Post by **EricV** » Sat Mar 02, 2019 1:43 pm

The guy telling you they will explode likely has no direct experience with that ever happening. Call his bluff and ask him how many whitewall tires he's personally seen that exploded. Then tell him to mount your tires.

He's an idiot that believes something some other idiot told him and has no real grasp of how tires are made.

Some people have a very narrow view of life that only includes their false beliefs and fantasies. Don't let it get to you. Just smile like you would to a child and tell him you're still going to go with the tires you personally know from your direct, first hand experience work great for you.

JettaKnight · Post by **JettaKnight** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:06 pm

New2Scoots wrote:Whitewall tires have been around for decades & I've never heard of one exploding. Some 800 pound motorcycles tour the country on whitewalls in 100+ degree heat at highway speeds or more. Sounds like that guy was trying to get you to buy what he had in stock. Me, I've gotten compliments on my Buddy whitewalls. Next set will likely be those Continentals. I like the look, sort of sets it apart from most other scoots.

THIS.

However, I rode on those tires for years, and they suck compared to Zippy's or S1's.

Old Crow · Post by **Old Crow** » Tue Jun 25, 2019 11:25 pm

I would say the guy telling you the whitewalls will explode is trying to gouge you for two tires and/or a complete moron. I've got 26k miles on my Buddy 150 running whitewalls and no exploding tires. Hope you didn't fall for his crap. Stuff like that makes me avoid a shop FOREVER.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:59 am

Sounds to me like the shop didn't quite get rid of ALL the mechanics that were "shooting up", lol.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:55 pm

I have read about this before but have never heard of it actually occurring. To me it's an urban legend type of thing.

Personally I'm just not a WW kinda person but if it's your style roll it with a good brand.