Several types of scooters use a hard-to-find
rear tire in size 140/70-16. The Aprilia Scarabeo 500,
the Piaggio BV200 and the Kymco 250 use larger rear
tire sizes than traditional scooters, and there may be others.
Apparently, these tire sizes are hard to find, but
should become less so as these scooters become more popular.
This page will provide updated information on the 140/70-16 rear
scooter tire and the 110/70-16 front scooter tire as it becomes
available. Please send any information on scooters that use
these tire sizes or on sources for these tires to
and we'll post it to this page.
More: Visit our new scooter partner,
Scoot Street!
| See the wBW
Motorcycle Tires page; many motorcycle tire retailers also
sell scooter tires |
Sources for 140/70-16 65S and 140/70-16 66S
Rear Scooter Tire:
Sava North
America now has this tire size and others in stock in North
America; Sava is an OEM tire supplier to Piaggo, Vespa, Derbi,
Aprilia, Malaguti and others | The
Kenda K671 Cruiser 140/70-16 rear tire and a matching front
tire in size 110/70-16. They are available through any
Powersports Network dealers in the U.S.A. Here is the
Kenda K671 scooter tire page on the Powersports Network website
|
Pirelli ST66 size 140/70-16; Pirelli makes a variety of
sizes for front and rear |
Reifenwerk Heidenau in Germany makes two models of scooter tires
in this size (see below) | Here's a
currency
converter from XE.com
wBW
Visitor "K.F." first informed us of the scooter tire problem
(Thanks K.F.!) He writes:
Subject: Aprilia Scarabeo 500
replacement rear tires not available in the USA: "Rick,
Here's an FYI of a posting I made to the Scarabeo group: Folks, As per the title, I have 7500 mi on my
Scarabeo 500 and am ready for a new rear tire (the S500 comes with a
140/70 66S Maxxi rear tire. According to the user's manual the
S500 takes a 140/70-16 65S or 66S. I searched the web.
There is a Pirelli model available -- unfortunately no one in the US
stocks it.
I sent several emails overseas. One German
firm (Heidenau)
answered very promptly -- it's a smaller tire maker in Hanover,
Germany. Price of 140/70-16 65S tire is: 82,00 Euros.
Transport to the USA Euro 60,00 Add about 25% to Euros to get
dollars.
They have two models, a K66 all season and a K72
sport, and ARE LOOKING FOR A U.S. DISTRIBUTOR. The export
manager (who responded quickly) is Rolf Haertner at:
haertner@reifenwerk-heidenau.de Since there's nothing on
the market that even comes close to replacing an Aprilia Scarabeo
500 -- hopefully someone can take up Mr. Haertner on his offer and
stock a few tires for us all."
Kenda Scooter
Tires: "J.R." writes: "Thank you for
posting the lead regarding the Kenda rear tire.
It worked out perfectly for me. My Aprilia
dealer wasn't able to come through other than to say
that the stock tire is back-ordered from Italy
(possibly indefinitely). I went to a dealer
closer to me that handles Piaggio with the
110/70-16s designed for the Piaggio BV200; the
Pirelli tread design looked fine to me but I was
concerned about the weight and speed ratings because
the Scarabeo is much heavier and the P-speed rating
(94 mph) is lower than the stock Maxxis S-rating
(112 mph) -- I just wasn't comfortable (the Scarabeo
is capable of very close to 100 mph with the wind at
your back -- not that I'm likely to go there, but I
didn't want less tire than spec).
The dealer guys agreed with that,
even though the Vespa mark-up is clearly higher, and
they found the Kenda -- which happens to be H-rated
(130 mph). Well, I was never terribly
impressed with the Maxxis, but I really didn't have
a choice in any event since I was riding on a
plugged tire that had picked up a screw after 1,800
miles (about one-third worn).
Right from the start -- even with
the mismatch (Maxxis front / Kenda rear) -- I can
tell you there's no question that I have improved
the ride and handling significantly. I have put
about 500 miles on the new tire, and it performs
extremely well with more confidence in the twisties
and windy conditions, and is much better in wet
weather (even with considerable hazardous leaf
debris on the road). Most notably, it feels
like the suspension has been improved with a softer
feel over bumps. Bottom line, other Scarabeo
owners should consider the replacement when it's
convenient; I certainly wouldn't wait for a last 10%
of tread life situation.
It is
disappointing that Kenda does not really have a
matching front tire -- the 110/70-16 is not a
correct fit; a match to 110/80-16 is highly
recommended (the bike already is
less-than-responsive in slow turns due to weight and
wheel size, and a wider front tire profile would
only make matters worse)."
More on Aprilia Scarabeo scooter
tires from wBW
visitor "R.D.": "Found this source for
Michelin Gold scooter tires for Scarabeo 500
140/70-16 and 110/80-16 tires at
EasyParts (they ship only in Europe though)
110/80-14 Scooter Tire Size: How
about a 110/80-14? This tire is used on the Italjet Torpedo
125 and possibly other scooters.
Heidenau
comes to the rescue again with this and many other rare sizes
| wBW
visitor "K" told us that this tire does fit the Italjet Torpedo, whose tire
size is 110/80-14. This tire is available at
The Scooter
Shop in Orange, California. They carry the 110/80-14 size
from two manufacturers,
Pirelli
and Sava
| Sava scooter tires are now distributed in the U.S.A. through
Scooterworks
(Chicago); Ozbike
(Miami); A & R Trading Company (South Carolina - email only at this
address: aandrtr@aol.com ); and
Sava West
(California) | Alternatives to the 110/80-14 are the
120/80-14 or 120/70-14. The 120/80-14 is the tire on the Honda
Siverwing 600, so it may be more widely available and the 120/70-14
is used on the Piaggio X9
More on 110/80-14
Scooter Tires: From wBW
visitor "F.G.": "I just bought a Dunlop D-305 (in size) 120/80-14 and
it fit fine, if anyone is having a time finding the
110/80-14 don't pull your hair out looking. On a
1.5'' wide rim the total tire width came out to 4.20''
wide and total of 21'' tall, the widest part of the tire
is at 19.5'' tall the tire flat comes in at 4.75'' wide.
You can find it at
Bike
Bandit. If I had the do it over again I would
have gone with the Michelin Pilot SC 120/70-14 because
the tread profile would have been a little flatter.
Prices are under 65.00 delivered.
Scooter Tire Retailers: AmericanMotoTire
has a nice selection of Bridgestone, Cheng Shin,
Continental, Dunlop, Duro, IRC, Kenda, Michelin and
Pirelli scooter tires | Michelin, Cheng
Shin and Bridgestone scooter tires at
Tiresnstuff
|
Onoffroad.com has scooter tires |
Tires
Unlimited has Pirelli, Bridgestone and Michelin scooter tires in
a variety of sizes
Scooter Tire Manufacturers: Bridgestone
- look for scooter tires on their site under motorcycle tires
| Kenda
| Michelin
| Pirelli
- Pirelli's
scooter tire section has listings of standard and
high-performance scooter tires
►Your Comments and
Feedback
Please send comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published (
details). Comments may be edited for
clarity prior to publication.
From "B.L." (05/11): "Heidenau now has a
US distributor, in California.
They are located in Santa Clara, California and sell both in
store and mail order. They can also mount in-store.
The K72 model comes in the 140/70-16 65S size. I
myself have a Piaggio X-9 500 evolution. That takes
a 120/70-14 front and a 150/70-14 tire on the rear,
the latter of which is getting harder to find.
I
could only find Pirelli Diablo, Heidenau K66, and
Michelin City Grip as reasonable choices for the
rear. The Michelin Gold Standard line is
discontinued. The Michelin Pilot Sport SC is
supposed to come in that size, but two dealers I
called didn't have a listing for it.
The Heidenau
K66 is a good rain tire, but some claim is not that
suitable for the long warm/hot dry months we get
here in California. The K61 would be better, but it's not
available in the 150/70-14 size. Hope this helps
others."
