Car Tire on A Scoot

Well Cindy's stock rear tire lasted 3800 miles(140/70-12) so I went with a 145/70-12 car tire(Mini) and I hope to get at least twice the miles out of the c/t.
Here is a pic of that big bad boy
http://www.7ent.com/products/145-70-12-falken-sincera-swt0129.html
Can you believe $80 for that little thing? We put the tire on a MP3 250

ROD

I swear I can never get used to the word 'scooter' now in our vocabulary! Prior to the 80's, we called our chops scooters or sleds.

quadancer wrote:I swear I can never get used to the word 'scooter' now in our vocabulary! Prior to the 80's, we called our chops scooters or sleds.

The picture is of a 12" tire.... I think he is really talking about a scooter.

MP3 250

Come on quad, your showing your age. I see we're about the same age and till we got the MP3 when I would think the same thing when I heard the word scoot when talking about bikes.

ROD

Yup, new grey every day. I don't hate the word, I just immediately think of a chopper when I hear it!

It's funny, I think I'll have to take the 145/70-12 car tire off my wife's 250. We were coming home from a coffee run on Hwy 99 between Lodi and Sacramento. It was dark(9:30 pm) and she was cruising along at 73 to 76 mph by my GPS, she only has 3k miles on a bike of her own. Hell, I had to gun my 1100 to get in front of her to slow her down to 60/62 mph.   She said the bike sounded just like it did with the bike tire but now she has to look at the speed-o now to make sure she's not going to fast. She said that the car tire did affect the top speed of her bike, and now I know HOW. I'm going to have to take it out and see what the top speed is now with the 1.3" taller tire out back.
Hey, can I put a governor on it.   J/K
This is the first bike/scoot that I've ridden with a CVT and it is harder to keep it going a steady speed.

ROD
p.s. That c/t is not going anywhere, 3.8k miles on the original is just  

This won't do much for her highway riding, but when you watch this stuff once a month or so, it WILL make you content to slow and look at intersections:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4O0zxEAVB8

Thank's for the video, I'll have her watch it. One of those type of accidents could punch your life ticket, forever.

ROD

rrounds wrote:It's funny, I think I'll have to take the 145/70-12 car tire off my wife's 250. We were coming home from a coffee run on Hwy 99 between Lodi and Sacramento. It was dark(9:30 pm) and she was cruising along at 73 to 76 mph by my GPS, she only has 3k miles on a bike of her own. Hell, I had to gun my 1100 to get in front of her to slow her down to 60/62 mph.    She said the bike sounded just like it did with the bike tire but now she has to look at the speed-o now to make sure she's not going to fast. She said that the car tire did affect the top speed of her bike, and now I know HOW. I'm going to have to take it out and see what the top speed is now with the 1.3" taller tire out back.
Hey, can I put a governor on it.     J/K
This is the first bike/scoot that I've ridden with a CVT and it is harder to keep it going a steady speed.

ROD
p.s. That c/t is not going anywhere, 3.8k miles on the original is just   

Just curious, what kind of car does that 12'' tire fit on?

I'm thinking a 1969 Mini Cooper  
Heck I have 14" rims on my Valk....

I've got a 150cc scooter with 12'' wheels, but I never thought about puttin a car tire on it.

Yep, Classic Mini.
Here is where I got my tire
http://www.7ent.com/
This tire is so much better that the stock tire that came on the MP3. It rides better, breaks better, puts more rubber to the ground and I know it'll last longer than the 3800 miles that the stock tire lasted.
Now if I can just get my wife to slow down.

ROD

toolsbody wrote:I've got a 150cc scooter with 12'' wheels, but I never thought about puttin a car tire on it.

I was going to get this tire for my MP3 250 but it's just a little to tall(21.3"), I would have had to modify my rear fender. If it will fit your scoot, I think its a better tire.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Y372&partnum=4SR2372

ROD

I originated the use of car tires on the rear of the Honda Reflex 250 scooter way back in 2008. The little 145/70R12 I put on mine went for 35,000 miles. Yours may not last quite as long maybe, but I would estimate a minimum of 20,000 miles of use. (and likely longer) You're just going to have to face it; that tire is going to be on there for a good long while.

Oh, almost forgot to add; I think the next tire I will get is a 145/80R12 GT MAXTOUR. It has a craaaazy long tread life warranty of 80,000 miles. It would be the last rear tire I would ever need again for one of my Reflex scooters.

Glad to see you over here rrounds I Currently have 12,000 darkside miles on my MP3 500 and I am just starting to notice some wear.

My VT1100-T has had a c/t since 2009 and that is why I went to a c/t on my wife's scoot(MP3 250), I just couldn't see replacing the rear tire every 3800 to 4000 miles.

ROD

I think some of you Scooter owners might need to consider the rubber life, more than the tread life. Any tire over 6 years old should be in the trashcan,
and from what I've found, the CT's also, used on bikes. You'll notice less braking after even just a year old, but still way better than with a MT. At the 6-
year mark, I doubt it'll be worth keeping.

Yeah that is definitely a concern. Especially for those that only ride on weekends or holidays. I ride daily so it is of less concern for me.

Scooter riders tend to ride more than cruiser weekend riders. Most of the bikes I see on the road in Florida appear on weekends only. Posers.

OK posers was a joke. Heh heh...heh... ah well.

You Fart! I have to consider that MOST of the "scooters" around Atlanta, are doing 25mph or so, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry are trying to get around them...
then there are the larger scoots that actually can keep up, but hey, I see VERY FEW of them, here or in our Tri-State area, one being a club member too. We actually
call him, "Scooter", online. I'd hate to think that my CT would have to make as many revolutions as one of those 12" donuts, but hey, if it works, it works, right?

Yeah it works great.

I am betting that many of those scooters you see going slow are only 50cc. We have a few here two and one of them rides 35 right in the middle of his lane stacking up cars and other bikes. The scooter I ride can get near to 100 mph. I am very rarely passed by anyone during my commute.

MP3- 500 spec says top speed 89mph, I don;t think I would like to go at that speed on that thing. no matter what the hype.
Take care.
Be safe.

I've done some tuning and have had it to 94 gps measured. It took awhile (and a little downhill) to get there. But it will cruise all day at 75-80 and is very solid at those speeds.

The two fronts are 12 inch but the rear is 14. Was hard to find a car tire that fit and took a lot of grease and nearly 115 psi to seat.

Lou wrote:MP3- 500  spec says top speed 89mph, I don;t  think I would like to go at that speed on that thing. no matter what the hype.
Take care.
Be safe.

I've been on bikes for over 40 years and I can tell you that the MP3 is one hell of a scoot. I bought one for my wife for her first bike and after I rode it if they made one with a 750cc or 1L engine I would buy one in a heart beat. It's a very solid bike that handles very good on wet or dry roads. If you have not ridden one, go take a test ride and see how it rides. I think you might be surprised.

ROD